Baldev Raj Chopra

Baldev Raj Chopra
Born (1914-04-22)22 April 1914
Rahon, Punjab Province, British India
(now in Punjab, India)
Died 5 November 2008(2008-11-05) (aged 94)
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Nationality Indian
Other names B. R. Chopra
Occupation Producer, director
Years active 1944–2006
Children Ravi Chopra
Relatives See Chopra-Johar family

Baldev Raj Chopra (22 April 1914 – 5 November 2008)[1] was an Indian director and producer of Bollywood movies and television serials. Best known for making Hindi films like Naya Daur (1957), Sadhna (1958), Kanoon (1961), Gumrah (1963), Humraaz (1967), Awam (1987) and the TV series, Mahabharat in the late 1980s,[2] he was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1998.[3]

His younger brother Yash Chopra, son Ravi Chopra and nephew Aditya Chopra are also directors in the Bollywood industry. His nephew Uday Chopra is an actor and producer.

Biography

Chopra was born in Rahon India, the son of Vilayati Raj Chopra, an employee of the PWD. He was the second of several siblings; one of his brothers is the film-maker Yash Chopra.

"B.R." received an M.A. in English literature from University of the Punjab in Lahore. He started his career in 1944 as a film journalist with Cine Herald, a film-monthly published in Lahore, he later took over the magazine and ran it until 1947.[4] In the same year, he launched a film with a story by I. S. Johar, Chandni Chowk. Naeem Hashmi was hero of this movie and Erika Rukhshi was the heroine. Just as the production of film was to start, riots broke out in Lahore and he and his family had to flee from the city. After the partition of India into India and Pakistan in 1947, he moved to Delhi. He later moved to Mumbai, where his first production, Karwat, began in 1948, though it turned out to be a flop. His first film as a director, Afsana, was released in 1951 and featured Ashok Kumar in a double role – the film was a hit and established his name in Bollywood. Chopra made Chandni Chowk, with Meena Kumari as a lead, in 1954. In 1955, B.R. formed his own production house, B.R Films. His first movie for this production house was Ek hi Raasta which was highly successfulhe followed it up with Naya Daur (1957) starring Dilip Kumar and Vyjayantimala Bali, the film became a golden jubilee hit.His subsequent releases like Kanoon, Gumrah, Humraaz were major hits in the sixties. In 1963, he was a member of the jury at the 13th Berlin International Film Festival.[5] His second film with actor Dilip Kumar was Dastaan which became a flop in 1972.

He directed successful film across genres after 1972, with films like suspense thriller Dhund, comedy film Pati Patni Aur Woh, crime film in Insaaf Ka Tarazu, Muslim social in Nikaah and the political thriller Awam.

B.R. was instrumental in developing the career of singer Mahendra Kapoor, whom he employed in most of his movies. (Director-producer Yash Chopra cast Mahendra Kapoor's son in Faasle.) One prominent thing about B. R. Chopra is the relatively low number of songs sung by Lata Mangeshkar and Mohammed Rafi in his films, with Asha Bhosle and Mahendra Kapoor being his preferred singers. The reason behind this was never revealed by him or the singers. Incidentally, both B.R. and Kapoor died within a gap of little longer than a month in 2008, with the latter dying first.

B.R. forayed into television with Mahabharat, one of the most successful TV serials in Indian television history. Nitish Bharadwaj played the role of Krishna in that series. Another of his memorable TV dramas is Bahadur Shah Zafar.

He died in Mumbai at the age of 94 on 5 November 2008,[6] survived by his son, Ravi Chopra, and two daughters.[7]

Awards

Civilian awards
National Film Awards
Filmfare Awards
Other Awards
  • 1998: Kalakar Awards for Lifetime Achievement
  • 2008: Phalke Ratna Award by the Dadasaheb Phalke Academy[11]

Filmography

YearFilmRole(s) Notes
1951AfsanaDirector, Producer Directorial debut
1953SholeDirector
1954Chandni ChowkDirector
1956Ek Hi RaastaDirector, Producer First film under B.R. Films
1957Naya DaurDirector, Producer
1958 SadhnaDirector, Producer Nominated - Filmfare Award for Best Film
1959Dhool Ka PhoolProducer
1960KanoonDirector, Producer Won- National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi
Filmfare Award for Best Director
1961DharmputraProducer National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi
1963GumrahDirector, Producer National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi
1965WaqtProducer Nominated- Filmfare Award for Best Film
1967HamraazDirector, Producer
1969IttefaqProducer
1970Aadmi Aur InsaanProducer
1972DastaanDirector, Producer
1973DhundDirector, Producer
1975ZameerProducer Directorial debut of Ravi Chopra
1976Chhoti Si BaatProducer Nominated- Filmfare Award for Best Film
1977KarmDirector, Producer
1978Pati Patni Aur WohDirector, Producer
1980The Burning TrainProducer
1980Insaf Ka TarazuDirector, Producer Nominated- Filmfare Award for Best Film
1981Agni PareekshaProducer
1982BetaProducer
1982NikaahDirector, Producer Nominated- Filmfare Award for Best Film, Nominated- Filmfare Award for Best Director
1982Teri Meri KahaniProducer Telefilm
1983MazdoorProducer
1983Dharti AakashProducer Telefilm
1984Aaj Ki AwaazProducer
1985GhazalProducer
1985TawaifDirector
1986KirayadarProducer
1986DahleezProducer
1987AwamDirector, Producer
1988MahabharatProducer TV Series
1991PratigyabadhProducer
1992Kal Ki AwazDirector, Producer
1992SaudaDirector, Producer TV Series
2000Vishnu PuranProducer TV Series
2001-2002RamayanProducer TV Series
2001-2004Aap BeetiProducer TV Series
2002-2003Ma ShaktiDirector, Producer TV Series
2003BaghbanProducer Nominated- Filmfare Award for Best Film
2004Kamini DaminiProducer TV Series
2006-2007ViraasatProducer TV Series
2006BaabulProducer
2008BhoothnathProducer

References

  1. ↑ NDTV
  2. ↑ B.R.Chopra made socially relevant films The Hindu, 6 November 2008.
  3. ↑ B.R. CHOPRA – Purposeful Film Maker – 30th Recipient – 1998 Archived 1 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Dadasaheb Phalke Award.
  4. ↑ Films transformed Chopra's destiny and vice-versa The Times of India, 6 November 2008.
  5. ↑ "Berlinale: Juries". berlinale.de. Archived from the original on 29 March 2010. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
  6. ↑ Filmmaker B.R. Chopra dead
  7. ↑ Bollywood producer BR Chopra dies BBC News, 5 November 2008.
  8. ↑ "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 November 2014. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  9. ↑ "8th National Film Awards". International Film Festival of India. Archived from the original on 23 November 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  10. ↑ "9th National Film Awards". International Film Festival of India.
  11. ↑ Apunkachoice Archived 1 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
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