Yash Chopra - Master of the Game

On his 80'th Birthday Yash Chopra told  Shah Rukh Khan in a heart-to-heart televised chat that his family wanted him to become an engineer but he knew he wanted to direct films. "My mother said do what your heart says and gave me Rs.200 and said my blessings are with you. Go ahead and don't worry,"
In the 50 years he was active in the film industry he directed 22 films out of which 10 were super  hits . He had a gift for composing stunning scenes that oozed perfection .His sense of camera angles and  lighting was so good that the films had a larger than life quality to them .His leading lady were the highlights of his film and were presented in the most beautiful way. From the chiffon saris in Silsila and Chandni  to the tight kurta and salwar worn by Sharmila Tagore and Sadhana in Waqt, everything presented in his films turned into a fad.

1.  Dhool Ka Phool (1959)-  Steeped in Nehruvian secularism, the story revolves around a Muslim bringing up an `illegitimate' Hindu child and featured classic song, Tu Hindu banega na Musalman banega, insaan ki aulaad hai, insaan banega on Manmohan Krishna, who also won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Abdul Rasheed.

2. Dharmputra (1961) - Based on a novel by the same name by Acharya Chatursen. It was first Hindi film to depict, the partition of India, and Hindu fundamentalism.  The raw reconstruction of partition riots and sloganeering led to riot-like situations at theatres screening the film , and the film flopped at the box office. Yash Chopra never made a political film again, stuck to love stories till many decades later, when he touched the theme of religious harmony again with Veer Zaara (2004) .

There is a heated scene between a sensible father (Manmohan Krishna) and his son, a Hindu fanatic (Shashi Kapoor playing a extremist oblivious to the fact that he's actually adopted and a Muslim by birth) after the latter resents the idea of a Muslim taking refuge in their home.

Kapoor refers to him as an enemy of his 'sabhyata', 'sanskriti' and 'culture' resulting in a richly articulated argument from Krishna, 
'Tumhara culture kya hai? Tum jaahil ho. Tum culture ka matlab nahi samjhte. Kissi khaas tareeke se khana pakana, pooja-paath karne ya Ganga mein snaan karne ka naam culture nahi. Roohani taraqui ka naam culture hai. Aatma ka parmatma ko pehchaane ka naam culture hai. Achai aur khoobsurti ka naam culture hai.' 

3. Waqt (1965) - This film got Yash Chopra  his  1'st  Filmfare Best Director Award .  B R Chopra had originally planned the film with Prithviraj Kapoor and his three sons, Raj, Shammi and Shashi. Eventually, only Shashi Kapoor was cast in the film.

Famous Song-  Ae Meri Zohra Jabeen, sung by Manna Dey 
Famous Dialogues- 
Jinke apne ghar sheeshay ke hon, woh dusron par pathar nahi phenka karte 
Jani, Yeh bachon ke khelne ki cheez nahi, haath kat jaye toh khoon nikal aata hai 

4.Aadmi Aur Insaan (1969) This is the only movie in which Yash Chopra and Dharmendra have worked together. Feroz Khan received  Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award for this film. Feroz Khan plays Jai Kishan, a rich man who befriends Dharmendra and sends him abroad to get an engineering degree. This friendship comes under fire when both the men fall in love with the same woman.

5.  Ittefaq (1969) Yash Chopra won his 2'nd Filmfare Best Director Award for this film.It was one of the first Bollywood movies to have no singing and dancing in it. This suspense thriller  was a remake of a British film, Signpost to Murder (1965)






6. Daag (1973) -  Yash Chopra made his debut as a producer and laid the foundation of Yash Raj Films. It is an adaptation of the novel The Mayor of Casterbridge.
He won his 3'rd  Filmfare Best Director Award for the film and Raakhee won her first Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award
Famous Song- Mere dil main aaj kya hai 

7. Joshila (1973) - Joshilia was the only Yash Chopra directed movie that had Dev Anand in it. The movie was a love triangle between the three characters, Amar, Shalini and Sapna. 
Yash Chopra was famous for making movies that were actually love stories, but had a different twist about them.
 Even in Joshila, it is about a young convict who falls in love with a young poetess. 





8. Deewaar (1975) - Yash Chopra won his 4'th Filmfare Best Director Award  for this film .This movie cemented the success of the writing duo Salim-Javed, who went on to write many more blockbuster films, and made them one of the most memorable writers in Hindi cinema. It is said that after the success of this film, the value of film writers skyrocketed, thanks to Salim-Javed, and they soon were being paid as high as some of the actors at the time. 
Rajesh Khanna and Navin Nischol were the first choice for Vijay and Ravi's roles but Salim Javed insisted that Amitabh Bachchan would suit Vijay's character better. Similarly Nirupa Roy's role was first offered to Vyjayanthimala but she turned it down. 
Deewaar is noted for having "swept the 1976 Filmfare Awards for Best Film (Gulshan Rai) , Best Supporting Actor (Shashi Kapoor) , Best Story (Salim-Javed) , Best Dialogue (Salim-Javed) , Best Screenplay (Salim-Javed) , Best Sound (M. A. Shaikh)  except for the Lead Actor, for which Amitabh Bachchan was nominated."  Sanjeev Kumar won the award for  Aandhi that year.

Famous Dialogues -

'Aaj khush toh bahut honge tum'

'Mere paas maa hai '
'Jab ek bhaai bolega to ek bhaai sunega, jab ek mujrim bolega to ek police officer sunega.'
'Main aaj bhi feke huye paise nahi uthata' 
'Jao jaake pehle us aadmi ka sign lekar aao, jisne mere haath par yeh likh diya.. [Mera baap chor hai.] '

9.  Kabhi Kabhie (1976)-  Every single frame of this epic romance spanning two generations is elegance personified. It examines multiple aspects within a man-woman relationship -- heartbreak, compromise, refusal to let go, envy and grace .
The movie was shot in Kashmir, and Yash Chopra has claimed this to be one of his happiest experiences .The film led to the reinvention of Amitabh Bachchan as a romantic poet who loses his love, which was a major departure from his earlier "angry young man" roles such as Deewar and Zanjeer. The film had been written with Raakhee in mind, and she had agreed to do it during the making of Daag  but before production started she married lyricist Gulzar, who wanted her to retire from acting. However, after some persuasion from Yash Chopra, Gulzar let her do the film. . 
The film particularly noted for its soundtrack compositions by Khayyam, who wonFilmfare Award for Best Music, while film lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi won the Best Lyricist Award for "Kabhi Kabhie Mere Dil Mein," the song which also got singer Mukesh, the Best Male Playback Singer award.^[2]

10.  Trishul (1978)  This film about an illegitimate son's quest to destroy his father's fortune was one of the biggest hits of the eighties. Dilip Kumar was initially offered the role which was eventually played by Sanjeev Kumar .
Though the movie didn't win any awards it was one of the top grossers of 1978 along with Muqaddar Ka Sikander and Don. Amitabh Bachchan was nominated for best actor for all the three films and won the award for Don . 

11.  Kaala Patthar (1979) -  Kala Patthar is a landmark movie in Hindi cinema. It was one of the first movies to be made on a real event, and was also one of the first movies to be inspired from a natural calamity. 
This movie had Shatrughan Sinha and Amitabh Bachchan in their most towering roles, and many would say that Shatrughan Sinha stole the scene from under Amitabh Bachchan.
Famous Dialogue - "Teesre Baadshah hum hain" 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsyQpm8cojA

 The direction of the time when the miners are stuck in the coal mine is actually quite good for its time. The almost nonexistence of the background music during the sequences add to the grit and intensity of the sequences. 
The film, though not a commercial hit then, had it's own intensity and fire in it. Especially for the character Vijay Pal Singh played by Yash Chopra's favorite Vijay Amitabh Bachchan. He didn't have much dialogues and he rather emoted with his fiery eyes. His base baritone set the right tone for the content and his various emotions come out in the form of frustration, anger, love, compassion and disgust.


12.  Silsila (1981)  -  A sensitive tale of emotional conflicts, love, tragedy and adultery, Sisila sent out a message that 'love is faith and faith is forever'. 
It was the most controversial movie  of its time because there were talks about Amitbah Bachchan and Rekha having an affair, and the movie was released during the heat of it all. In fact, many industry insiders were of the opinion that no other production house and director could have got the Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha to work in a movie together at the time that the world was speaking about their rumored relationships. 
In a conversation with Shah Rukh on his 80th birthday, Chopra disclosed that he had earlier chosen to cast actors Smita Patil and Parveen Babi alongside Amitabh Bachchan and both had signed the film.But eventually, it was the Amitabh's real life heroines who got to play the roles. Despite the cold war between the two actresses, Jaya Bachchan and Rekha were dignified enough to not make the shooting difficult for anyone.

"Dekha ek khwab" song was picturised on Amit and Chandni at Keukenhof Tulip Garden, Netherlands. The song was shot there to lend more clout to the lyrics "dur tak nigahon mein hai gul khile huye" 


Famous Song- Rang Barse remains an all-time favourite at every Holi party  

 

13.  Mashaal (1984) - Dilip Kumar plays a straight forward man who takes to a world of crime after some unscrupulous characters kill his wife, but not before he takes Anil Kapoor under his wing, another criminal who turns over a new leaf because of Dilip Kumar’s mentoring. However, when Anil Kapoor returns from further studies to work with Dilip Kumar in his newspaper, he finds out that Kumar has become a underworld don, and then there is a clash between the two of them. Mashaal was considered to be Anil Kapoor’s breakthrough movie, and Yash Chopra’s direction as impeccable as usual. 

Famous Scene- " Ae Bhai, koyi hai "

14.  Faasle (1985)  The first time Yash Chopra shot in Switzerland was for this film  .  It is the debut film for Rohan Kapoor son of singer Mahinder Kapoor and actress Farha, niece of Shabana Azmi.  It was a massive flop at the box office and was panned by critics for weak storyline , bad editing and weak music.

15.  Vijay (1988) -  Before Yash Chopra made romantic movies, he was in a phase where he made big budget movies with a huge starcast.
Anupam Kher played a grandfather who disowns his son’s wife and child because they were from a poor family. Rishi Kapoor plays the rich grandchild who adores his grandfather, but turns against him when he finally finds out what his grandfather did to the young Anil Kapoor. Yash Chopra took the best performances out of everyone. The dramatics and the emotion that he could get from the big starcast was tremendous. Vijay was a kind of a flop at the box office, but it still has a few sequences that are legendary. Anupam Kher played the grandfather with elan, and Anil Kapoor as the guy with the angst was very good. Rajesh Khanna as the washed out son was very good, and some considered it to be his breakthrough and return to the mainstream movie role.  Oh, and yes, Yash Chopra got one of the first women in a bikini sequence in Vijay – starring Sonam with Rishi Kapoor chasing her through the pool. 

16.  Chandni (1989) 

Yash Chopra originally offered the role to Rekha (who had played a woman named Chandni in "Silisila" nearly a decade earlier) but she did not want to go back and play a character she thought she had already done. So she recommended Sridevi for the part. 

Sridevi and Yash Chopra's beautiful bond started with this romantic treat. The lead pair stunned all with their genuine-show of all things possible – love, intimacy, disagreements, separation, grief and reunion. Add to it, the film's captivating soundtrack that still makes us dance up a storm!

The film was a blockbuster hit and not only revived the sagging careers of an aging Rishi Kapoor and director Yash Chopra, but also proved that Sridevi was Bollywood's queen bee.The platinum success of its music was instrumental in ending the era of violence in Bollywood and bringing back music into Hindi films.  Chandni, like most movies of the time, cheerfully disregarded logic, continuity and detailing. Rohit tells Chandni that they should go to Switzerland for their honeymoon and cut to song, the two are in Switzerland with the mountains forming a majestic backdrop for the canoodling couple. The picture-perfect locales of Switzerland were captured in their full splendour. Chandni made chiffon saris the quintessential garb of the Bollywood heroines

Famous Song - Mere haathon main nau nau churian hai is a must in every marriage functions.

17.  Lamhe (1991) -  Lamhe was one of the most mature movies to ever come out of Bollywood, and the movie starred Anil Kapoor and Sridevi. The movie was one of the most poignant love stories ever made in Bollywood, and had Sridevi in her career best performance. Before Anil Kapoor acted in mature movies like My Wife’s Murder and others, this was the movie for which he was most remembered.
It is one of the few films that picked up the Filmfare Award for Best Movie despite its lacklustre business.Over the years the film has been hailed as a cult classic and is regarded as a modern masterpiece and possiblyYash Chopra's finest film. It is also one of the biggest Bollywood hits in the overseas market and video circuit. Sridevi won a lot of acclaim for her double-role as mother and daughter, winning the Filmfare Best Actress Award and other awards. It was also Yash Chopra's personal favourite.

18. Parampara (1992) This was the last film that Yash Chopra directed outside  Yash Raj Films .Saif Ali Khan made his  debut with this film.The film was panned by the critics for its weak storyline, weak music and bad direction by Yash Chopra. It was a commercial flop.

19 . Darr (1993) - This saga of an obsessed lover who goes to any lengths changed Shah Rukh Khan's career graph for good. While Juhi Chawla was actually named Kiran in the film, it was Shah Rukh Khan who became famous for this dialogue. Most parts of the film was shot in Yash Chopra's favourite country-Switzerland where Kiran and her husband go to escape the deranged Rahul. 
The fantasy song ‘Tu Mere Samne' finds Juhi and Shah Rukh cavorting in the snow with SRK wearing a colourful tropical shirt, while Juhi starts off sensibly clothed in pullover and leggings but goes through inexplicable costume changes through the song sporting the mandatory chiffon sari, a mini skirt and the mythological costume that was popular at the time.

Famous Dialogue  - Ki ..Ki..Ki..Ki..Kiran 

20. Dil To Pagal Hai (1997)  This Bollywood musical romantic drama with the tag line  "Someone somewhere is made for you "  was the second highest grossing movie of 1997 and won many awards, including sweeping most of the major categories at that year's Filmfare Awards. The film, initially supposed to be called 'Maine To Mohabbat Ki Hai' brought back the concept of soulmates shall meet. It was a hit with the younger generation with its foreign locales, chart-bursting songs and yes, chiffon!
The film had one of the most infectiously catchy scores of the 90's with 12 songs which were seamlessly woven into the story line. 

Famous Dialogue -  ‘Rahul , naam toh suna hoga?’

21. Veer-Zaara (-2004) The film was the top-grossing Bollywood film of the year at both the Indian and the international box office, earning over Rs. 750 million worldwide, in addition to being showcased at numerous prominent film festivals around the world. The music of the film, based on old compositions by the late Madan Mohan with lyrics by Javed Akhtar, was also successful. 

The film was originally going to be called 'Yeh Kahaan Aa Gaye Hum', after the song from Silsila, but Yash Chopra felt that 'Veer-Zaara' went better with the story of the film. However, a song in the film twisted the title and became 'Yeh Hum Aa Gaye Hai Kahaan'. Rani Mukherjee's role was originally intended for Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, but she backed out.

Famous Dialogue - "Agar kahi kabhi bhi koi dost ki zarrorat pade to bas itna yaad rakhna ki sarhad paar ik aisa shakhs hai jo aap ke liye apni jaan bi de sakta hai "

22. Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012) Jab Tak Hai Jaan was Yash Chopra's last directorial venture before his death on October 21, 2012 from dengue fever . The romantic scenes of the film were directed by Chopra's son Aditya Chopra to give the romance a more contemporary feel.The music and the background score for the film is composed by A.R. Rahman, teaming up with Yash Chopra for the first time .
The movie features SRK playing a role spanning across two stages, first where he plays a 20 something guy and second where he plays an army officer.

For the shoot of the last remaining song in Jab Tak Hai Jaan, director Yash Chopra had a grand vision: a sari-clad Katrina Kaif romancing Shah Rukh Khan in the lush meadows of the Swiss Alps. 
It is now  believed that the film's stars Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma will work together to ensure that the film proves to be a fitting tribute to the Bollywood "King Of Romance "