Filmmaker BR Chopra dead

Abdul Rahman Ansari

@ar78655

Rocker

Posted: 16 years ago

Filmmaker BR Chopra dead

MUMBAI: Legendary Filmmaker BR Chopra died here on Wednesday following prolonged illness. He was 95 years old, a family source said.

Chopra died at 8.15 am at his residence in Juhu. His funeral will be held at 4.30 pm

A winner of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, Chopra had made successful films like "Naya Daur", "Gumrah", "Humraaz", "Dhundh", "Insaaf ka Tarazoo" and "Nikah".

He is survived by his son filmmaker Ravi Chopra and two daughters Shashi and Neena.

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Abdul Rahman Ansari

@ar78655

Rocker

Posted: 16 years ago

Man behind Mahabharat is no more

Baldev Raj Chopra, a legend popularly known as B R Chopra, passed away early this morning following a long illness. The successful Bollywoood director and producer was most remembered for his serial Mahabharat that had the nation glued to their television sets for years every Sunday morning.

B.R. Chopra was born in Lahore in 1914 to an accountant working in the administration of the British Punjab administration. After graduating, he did his M.A. degree in English Literature from Lahore University. Having a deep-rooted fascination for films, he switched over from a higher education to film journalism much to the surprise of his family. He began his celluloid career writing and editing film reviews for the Cine Herald journal.

In 1949, he produced his first film Karwat (1949). Unfortunately for him it turned out to be a flop. In 1951 he tried his luck again as the producer and director of the film Afsana which struck gold for him. The movie was a tale of mistaken identity with Ashok Kumar in a double role. It was a runaway hit and went on to celebrate its silver jubilee.

He was an architect of what is now known as the golden era of the Bollywood industry. He converted offbeat stories into immortal classics like Waqt (1965), Naya Daur (1957), Gumrah (1964) and Insaaf Ka Tarazoo (1980).

B R Chopra turned to television in 1985 and made several successful television programs - the most successful of the being the serial Mahabharat (1988) based on the Hindu epic. Perhaps the most popular serial in the history of Indian television, it entered the Guinness Book of World Records for scoring the highest ever viewership for a serial.

In 1999, B.R. was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for his contribution to Indian Cinema.

B R Chopra is survived by his brother Yash Chopra, son Ravi Chopra and nephew Aditya Chopra are also successful directors in the Bollywood industry.

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Filmmaker BR Chopra dead

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