Yash Chopra started his career as an assistant to his brother B.R. Chopra. After a series of critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful ventures, Chopra finally hit the mark with Waqt (1965). Waqt started the trend of multistarrers in Bollywood and talked about a family seperated and reunited by fate. Since then Yash Chopra has straddled as many genres as a man possibly can. From the neo-noir 'Ittefaq', the gangster flick 'Deewar', the vengeance saga 'Trishul' to the compliated 'Silsila', the poignant 'Lamhe', the obsessive 'Darr' and the passionate 'Dil To Pagal Hai'.
Considered as the face of progressive Bollywood, Chopra strived his entire career to bring Bollywood upto international standards. The picturesque locations, the univeral themes that he chose helped his films reach out to a global audience.
In a career spanning half a decade, Chopra directed 22 feature films and produced over a 100. His production house 'YashRaj Films' is one of the leading production houses in the world. On 21st october 2012 Yashji passed away leaving behind for us his final feature film 'Jab Tak Hain Jaan' starring his protege Shahrukh Khan.
Out of the 22 films (all of which are great), i have chosen 10 films that every Bollywood enthusiast should watch. This is my tribute to the Legend.
10. Dil To Pagal Hai (1997)
Despite being a run of the mill love triangle this film stood out simply for its direction. The passion that Chopra infused in each scene was breathtaking. Notice the scene where Khan plays the drums while Madhuri Dixit dances to the tunes or the faceoff between Karisma Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit and you'll know what i am talking about. Shiamak Davar became an overnight star choreographer after this film. The film sweeped all the major awards at the Fimfare and additionally won two National Awards (One for yashJi and the other for karisma kapoor). This was one of the first films in bollywood that dealt with dance solely.
9. Daag - A Poem of Love (1973)
Daag was the first film produced by Yash Chopra under his banner 'Yash Raj films'. An adaption of 'The Mayor of Casterbridge, Daag dealt with the issue of Bigamy. Critically and commercially successful Daag was one of the first film where Yashji showcased his visual skills. The scenic cinematography (seen later in films like Kabhie Kabhie and Silsila) was highly lauded. Rajesh Khanna missed out on the national award by just 4 votes!. Daag still remains a classic film.
8. Kaala Patthar (1979)
Based on a true story about a mining disaster in Bihar, Kaala Patthar was the first ever film to show the sufferings of mine workers. This was Bachchan's fourth collaboration with the director and hew was particularly praised for his fiery potrayal of a disgraced Marine. Not a commercial success yet it is considered a classic and was very different from the kind of films Chopra and his production house dealt with. Chopra would go on to confess that this was one of the most difficult films to make.
7. Trishul (1978)
This movie furthered the image of Bachchan as "The AngryYoung man". The film is about Vijay (Bachchan) the illegitimate son of construction baron RK Gupta (Kumar) who years earlier had dumped his mother to marry a rich heiress. Vijay is out to exact revenge and how that affects the lives of the people around him including his half brother (Shashi Kapoor) is what the story is about. The film was a huge success upon release and was the only film that brought together Khayyam and Chopra.This was also the final Yash Chopra film to be penned by Salim-Javed.
6. Veer-Zaara (2004)
The final Yash Chopra film that released while he was still living. The star crossed romance follows the love story of Zaara (Zinta), a rich Pakistani girl and Veer Pratap Singh (Shahrukh Khan), an Indian air force officer. Seperated for over two decades,their worlds collide again when Samiya (Mukherji) a human rights lawyer vows to free Veer from a prison he was falsely indicted to. The film was a huge grosser globally, it earned 7 filmfare awards (including best Film) and two national Awards. Considered by many as one of his best films to date, Veer Zaara featured some excellent performances from actors across the border too. This was Khan's third collaboration with Chopra.
5. Darr (1993)
5. Darr (1993)
With' Darr' chopra completely defied the image of the conventional hero and created a unique version of a revisionist hero. The film made Khan an overnight star and the superstar still maintains that the film changed his life forever. The Cape-Fearish type genre was never seen before in India and not many thought that audience would accept it, but the film was a huge hit. kkkkiran still remains asscoiated with the lead. The film dealt with Rahul (Khan) a shy introvert and his obsession with Kiran (Chawla). Darr still remains a milestone in Indian Cinema.
4. Silsila
Arguably the most controversial and famous Yash Chopra film, Silsila featured real life husband and wife pair of Jaya and Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha as his mistress (Rekha was alleged to have had an affair with Bachchan during that period of time). Chopra dealt with the concept of adultery with taste and delivered a poignant commentary on love and marriage. The film was the debut of javed Akhtar as lyricist and had soulful music by Shiv-Hari. Silsila is essentially made of moments. The moment when Bachchan sees Rekha, The confrontation scene are all proofs that Yash Chopra was an ace when it came to relationships. Silsila's style has inspired the likes of Karan Johar and Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
3. Lamhe (1991)
Chopra till his dying day maintaned that Lamhe was his best work till date. A Mills and Boon ish film, Lamhe is the story of Kunwar Virendra Kapoor (Anil Kapoor) who falls hopelessly in love with Pallavi (Sridevi) when she is does not reciprocate his love and marries someone else, he is heartbroken but they continue to remain friends. When a freak accident takes Pallavi and her husband's life, Kunwar is devastated beyond repair. She leaves behind her newborn daughter Pooja and Kunwar takes it upon himself to raise her. Pooja grows up in awe of the man, while he can never separate her from her mother's shadow.When Pooja (Sridevi) falls in love with the man 25 years her senior, complications ensue not only due to the age but because Kunwar cannot seem to let go of her deceased mother. Shot ecstatically and directed with equal fervour, Lamhe is considered a modern classic and sweeped 8 National Awards and an equal number of Filmfare Awards.
2. Ittefaq (1969)
Not too many people know of this little gem. A first of its kind, Ittefaq is a neo-noir Hitcockian type of a film. The films follows the events of a single night when Dilip (Khanna) a convicted felon runs into Sushma's (Nanda) house and asks to spend the night to evade the cops. Things go as planned until he sees a dead body in the house. The bollywood of the 60's was a different world altogether, where the hero is the good guy and always wins in the end, But CHopra in his usual style defied the concept of 'the hero' completely. Khanna would later go on to say that he really wished a role like Ittefaq came up again in his career. Ittefaq was the first Hindi film that featured no songs in it. For all of you who have not seen it, please download it right now. You will not be disappointed.
1. Deewar (1975)
For me, Deewar is the best hindi film ever made. The movie made a star out of everybody The director, the actors and most importantly the scriptwriters (Salim- Javed). The film is also a very important piece in the history of India. Released during emergency when the average man was a bundle of stick ready to fire up, Deewar potrayed Bachchan as the "Angry young Man" revolting against a system he knew too well and instantly he became the face of angry youth. Bachchan became an idol overnight and Vijay became a symbol of national resistance. Deewar id the story of two brothers Vijay (Bachchan) and Ravi (Shashi Kapoor). While Ravi has been given a good education and has a high sense of ideals., Vijay has strived his entire life to provide his brother with a good life and has seen the system at its dirtiest. When destiny puts them on opposite sides of the law, a wedge is driven between the brothers. What happens next is what deewar is about. Deewar has always been so much more than a tale of two brothers. It was almost a social commentary. The character of Vijay (most say) was inspired by noted Don Haji Mastan's life. Even today each dialogue can give you goosebumps. Deewar won every award in the book. Deewar still remains relevant in todays time and has attained cult status
