Yash Chopra’s 81st birth anniversary: Let’s commemorate the legend through his work today

Today, being the 81^stbirth anniversary of one of Bollywood's most respected filmmakers Yash Chopra, we will love to have a flashback of his topmost films which redefined the Hindi film industry’s onscreen love stories. With a career spanning over five decades, he has contributed some of the most romantic tales of Hindi cinema.

Born on September 27, 1932 Yashji served the Hindi film industry as a scriptwriter, producer and director. After debuting with Dhool Ka Phool in 1959, Yashji never looked back in his career. His 1965-film Waqt helped him bag his first Filmfare Award as a director. He debuted as a producer in the industry in 1973 with Daag: A Poem of Love which also founded Yash Raj Films. Starring Sharmila Tagore, Rajesh Khanna and Raakhee, this adaptation of The Mayor of Casterbridge, helped him receive his second Filmfare Award for Best Director. Then his 1975-film Deewar and the 1978-film Trishul were the benchmark films for Amitabh Bachchan with which the megastar came to be known as an angry young man in the industry. The 1976-movie Kabhi Kabhie, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor and Raakhee, is a love-story to be remembered through generations and it also bagged seven Filmfare awards that year. Yash Chopra’s 1979-film Kaala Patthar swept away almost all the categories of Filmfare awards that year winning Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Story, Best Music Director and Best Male Playback Singer. It is also known to be the greatest classic of Chopra.

Silsila, the 1981-movie, won many hearts and its love triangle between Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan and Rekha is still one of the favourite ones, though it didn’t fare well at the box-office at the time of its release. The 1989-film Chandni, starring Rishi Kapoor and Sridevi, redefined the magical word ‘love’ in the industry. Anil Kapoor-Sridevi starrer Lamhe is another classic from Yash Chopra and it’s still regarded as a masterpiece in the cinema industry. The 1993 film Darr, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla and Sunny Deol, gave a new definition to love which is mingled with hate and madness. Then his 1995-classic Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, featuring Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, has been a lifetime achievement for the filmmaker and it’s still running successfully at Mumbai based Maratha Mandir hall. Yashji’s Dil To Pagal Hai, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit and Karisma Kapur, was a musical romance film in 1997 which emerged as the second biggest hit of the year. The 2004-film Veer Zaara, which had an ensemble cast of Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Rani Mukherjee, Amitabh Bachchan and Hema Malini, was a tale of love, separation, bravery and sacrifice. Chopra made a comeback with Jab Tak Hai Jaan in 2012 with Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma. Though the chemistry between the modern day lovers was quite liked by the audiences, the plot couldn’t create much impression. Apart from 6 National Film Awards and several Filmfare Awards, he was also honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2001 and the Padma Bhushan in 2005. Yash Chopra will always be remembered for his significant contribution to the Hindi film industry and we pay our respect from the core of our heart to the legendary filmmaker on his 81^stbirthday today.