B R Chopra View Biography 51 Views

Admittedly, B R Chopra was a patriarch personality in Bollywood and set a few industry norms, while his family dominated the industry for over 50 years.

Elder brother of Yash Chopra, Baldev Raj who was born today in 1914. had a Master’s degree in English, worked as a film journalist and ran a film magazine in Lahore. He was planning to make a film in 1947 which had to be shelved due to partition and he finally settled down in Mumbai.

His first film did not yield much but from the mid fifties he ruled the box office, starting with Ek Hi Raasta, Naya Daur, Gumrah, Kanoon and many such landmark films. With an odd flop film in between, he continued the trend till early 80’s when he turned to TV and in 1988, presented Mahabharata over Doordarshan which is considered one of the most successful TV serials till date.

He had also produced a number of films like Waqt, Dhool ka Phool, Burning Train, Baghban and Bhootnath, some directed by his brother Yash and some by his son Ravi. His production company also made a number of ad films.

B R Chopra launched and supported many talents and won numerous awards for his films. He was conferred the Padma Bhushan and Dadasaheb Phalke Award.