Yash Chopra (Film director, Screenwriter, Film producer, Artist)

Yash Chopra was born on 27 September 1932 in Lahore, Punjab Province, British India, to a Punjabi Hindu Khatri family. His father was an accountant in the PWD division of the British Punjab administration and he was the youngest of eight children, the oldest of whom was almost 30 years his senior. His brother B. R. Chopra was an eminent film-maker. He was brought up in the Lahore home of his brother B. R. Chopra, a film journalist, and studied at Doaba College, Jalandhar. Originally seeking to pursue engineering, he eventually moved to Ludhiana, East Punjab (in India) after the Partition of India. His passion for film-making eventually led him to travel to Bombay, where he worked as an assistant director to I. S. Johar, and then his brother B. R. Chopra, while another brother Dharam Chopra was his cameraman.

Yash Chopra's first major directorial success was Dhool Ka Phool in 1959 which was produced by his elder brother B.R. Chopra. This film revolved around a Muslim bringing up an "illegitimate" Hindu child and was well received by critics and became the fourth highest-grossing film of the year. Chopra's collaboration with his brother carried forward with the 1965 film Waqt, which was one of Indian cinema's first multi-starrers. It also began the now-obligatory style of depicting wealth and social class and for this movie, Chopra received his first Filmfare Award for Best Director.

In 1970, Chopra founded the independent Yash Raj Films and his first independently-produced film was Daag: A Poem of Love (1973). Starring Rajesh Khanna, Sharmila Tagore and Raakhee, the melodrama about polygamy was a major critical and commercial success and Chopra won his third Filmfare Award for Best Director for the film. His following films with Amitabh Bachchan and featuring script by Salim-Javed, Deewaar and Trishul, were major commercial successes and remain popular even today, establishing Bachchan as the "angry young man".

Chopra's lean phase ended in 1989 with the highly-successful romantic musical Chandni which marked the first collaboration between Chopra and Sridevi. With its melodious music used in songs picturized in foreign locations, the film was instrumental in ending the era of violence in Bollywood films and brought back music into Hindi films. Lamhe (1991) followed and was an intergenerational musical romantic drama starring Sridevi and Anil Kapoor and though it was only a moderate box-office success, it was hailed as a cult classic and remains regarded as a modern masterpiece. In 1993, Chopra directed Darr which launched Shahrukh Khan as a bankable star and became one of the highest-grossing Hindi films of that year. Dil To Pagal Hai in 1997 marked Chopra's last major directorial success and the movie, starring Shahrukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit, Karisma Kapoor and Akshay Kumar, was the highest grosser of the year. His last directorial venture, Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012) was the biggest hit of that year in both domestic and overseas markets.

1. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2005 for his contribution to the Indian Film Industry.

2. He was the recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2001 for his immense contribution to Indian Cinema.

3. He won 8 Filmfare Awards including 4 'Critics Choice Awards'.

4. He also won a BAFTA Award and 7 National Film Awards.

5. He gave several memorable films including Waqt, Kabhie Kabhie, Silsila, Veer-Zaara, Lamhe and Jab Tak Hai Jaan.

6. He directed some of the most iconic songs ever including 'Koi Kahe Kehta Rahe', 'Mehbooba Mehbooba', 'Tere Liye', 'Mein Hoon Na' and 'Mere Hathon Mein Nau Nau Choodiyan'.

7. He was the founder of Yash Raj Films, one of the most successful production companies in India.

8. He was instrumental in launching the 'King of Romance', Shah Rukh Khan, in Bollywood.

9. He was a revolutionary force in the Indian Film Industry who changed the way movies were made.