Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Why Yash Chopra is a Bollywood icon

THE FILMMAKER’S 20 MOST AWESOME MOMENTS

by ASJAD NAZIR


THIS Sunday (27) marks the day late great filmmaker Yash Chopra was born, and October 12 is his death anniversary.

The prolific producer/director will be remembered on both occasions by Bollywood fans, the film fraternity and all those he influenced in his own unique way across the decades.

Most will recall how incredibly amazing the influential filmmaker was, and to mark the occasion, Eastern Eye presents 20 of the most awesome things he did during his decades-long career.

Magnificent seven: From his first film Dhool Ka Phool in 1959 to his final offering Jab Tak Hain Jaan in 2012, the filmmaker delivered a hit Bollywood film in seven different decades and this achievement will likely never be matched.

Religious tolerance: Chopra’s successful directorial debut Dhool Ka Phool was way ahead of its time. The film’s message of religious harmony and humanity resonates more than 60 years later.

Fabulous formulas: With his 1965 blockbuster Waqt, the filmmaker reintroduced the lost-and-found formula back into Bollywood in a big way along with popularising multi-starrers. The film would influence countless blockbusters that followed, which included most 70s classics.

Song-less success: Hindi films almost exclusively being musicals didn’t stop the filmmaker from giving audiences the path-breaking suspense thriller Ittefaq (1969). It had no songs but surprised everyone by becoming a huge success.

Studio launch: In 1970, he launched Yash Raj Films, which would become the most successful banner in Bollywood history. In the past 50 years, the production house has delivered blockbuster hits, launched new talent, built a giant studio and expanded the horizons of Hindi cinema.

Bold subjects: His 1973 Daag: A Poem of Love became the first commercial Bollywood film to explore bigamy and had perhaps the most unexpected ending at the time, with the hero going off with both leading ladies. Chopra would make these kind of brave choices throughout his career, something which set him apart from other filmmakers.

Deewar: The 1975 classic is one of the greatest Bollywood films ever made and Amitabh Bachchan would later say that in many ways it was the best project of his career. The all-kinds-of-awesome film gave Bollywood’s greatest star his career-defining role and consolidated his position as the undisputed king.

Kabhi Kabhie: What makes this 1976 classic incredible is that Chopra delivered one of the all-time great romantic movies at a time when the action genre was dominating Bollywood. That takes some serious skill and self-belief.

Tackling taboos: Chopra had never shied away from subjects considered taboo. He did that brilliantly with his 1977 production Doosra Aadmi, which was way ahead of its time and revolved around an older woman falling for a younger man.

New talent: The filmmaker supported new talent throughout his career and that included launching Poonam Dhillon as a leading lady in his 1979 home production Noorie. The banner he founded would kickstart the career of many more stars including Anushka Sharma, Ranveer Singh, Saif Ali Khan, Arjun Kapoor, Parineeti Chopra and Vaani Kapoor.

Eye-popping triangle: It remains a mysteryhow Chopra managed to cast the real-life love triangle of Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan and Rekha in the lead roles in Silsila (1981), but it was an incredibly audacious feat.

Star-maker: The filmmaker helped turn many actors into movie mega-stars. This included Anil Kapoor with Mashaal (1984), which helped propel him to the very top; and Shah Rukh Khan with Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), which turned him into the king of Bollywood.

Swiss hit: With his 1989 romance Chandni, Chopra not only reintroduced romance back into Bollywood in a big way, but also popularised Switzerland as a shooting destination, which subsequently helped tourism skyrocket in the country. It also inspired other Bollywood filmmakers to shoot more films at exotic locations abroad.

Perfect partnerships: Whether it was with musicians, lyricists and cinematographers or with stars, Chopra had some truly awesome partnerships throughout his career. The two greatest were arguably with superstars Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan. He gave them some of their most successful films, including Deewar, Kabhi Kabhie, Trishul, and Silsila (Bachchan); and Darr, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Dil To Pagal Hai and Veer-Zaara (Shah Rukh).

Original love story: There have been countless love triangles in Bollywood, but the most original ever was delivered by the visionary filmmaker with 1991 cult classic Lamhe, where a man is torn between a dead older woman he loved in his youth and her younger identical-looking daughter.

Making of a mogul: The most powerful Bollywood movie mogul of the modern era is Aditya Chopra and it is all thanks to his father. The legendary filmmaker launched his son as a writer/director with Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and then helped shape him into the most successful Bollywood producer of all time, which would help Hindi cinema go global.

Madan magic: The visionary filmmaker always had an incredible ear for great music and incredible lyrics. But he took it a step further by taking unfinished compositions of late music director Madan Mohan, who had died decades earlier, and using them in the Veer-Zaara (2004) soundtrack to stunning effect.

Inspiring actors: Whether it was getting mega-star Rajesh Khanna to play a bigamist (Daag), making Amitabh Bachchan age in Kabhi Kabhie, getting Shah Rukh Khan to play a crazed stalker in Darr or break his no-kissing rule in Jab Tak Hain Jaan, Chopra regularly got big stars tostep out of the comfort zone.

Girl power: Most actresses wanted to become a Yash Chopra heroine because he always gave them something substantial to do. They were never just eye-candy in his films and had impactful roles, including being the main protagonists. Perfect examples include Silsila, Chandni, Lamhe, Darr, Dil To Pagal Hai and Veer-Zaara.

Body of work: Last but not least, the visionary filmmaker left an incrediblebody of work that has entertained audiences across different generations and will continue to do so for many years to come. That is why he is rightfully celebrated every year on his birth and death anniversaries. We at Eastern Eye also salute him.

More For You

New Covid strain

Experts have raised concerns about the immune-evasive nature of the Stratus strain

iStock

New Covid strain Stratus spreads in UK with unusual hoarse voice symptom

Key points

  • A new Covid strain known as Stratus is spreading across the UK
  • The variant is marked by a distinctive symptom: a hoarse or raspy voice
  • Sub-variants XFG and XFG.3 now account for 30% of cases in England
  • Experts say there is no evidence of more severe disease
  • Lower immunity levels may make more people vulnerable to infection

Covid variant Stratus on the rise in the UK

A new strain of Covid-19, known as Stratus, is spreading across the UK and drawing attention for its unusual symptom — a hoarse or raspy voice. According to data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), Stratus and its two sub-variants, XFG and XFG.3, are responsible for around 30 per cent of Covid cases in England.

Of the two, XFG.3 is currently the more dominant. The UKHSA confirmed that monitoring of all circulating Covid-19 variants is ongoing as part of regular surveillance.

Keep ReadingShow less
Human brain continues forming neurons

Neurogenesis, the process by which new neurons form in the brain

iStock

Human brain continues forming neurons well into old age, study finds

Key points

  • New neurons continue forming in the brain’s hippocampus into old age
  • Study confirms presence of neural progenitor cells in adults
  • DNA carbon dating and single-nucleus RNA sequencing were used
  • Research shows variation in neuron production between individuals
  • Findings could aid treatments for neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders

Human brain shows ongoing neuron formation into older age

A new study has confirmed that the human brain continues to produce new nerve cells well into late adulthood, challenging previous assumptions about age-related decline in neurogenesis. The findings, published in the journal Science, provide fresh insight into how adaptable the brain remains over a lifetime.

Neurogenesis, the process by which new neurons form in the brain, is known to occur in the hippocampus — a region involved in memory. While previous research has suggested that this process continues throughout life, there has been limited concrete evidence of the presence of neural progenitor cells in the adult brain.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kent County Show 2025

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, who grew up in Brenchley

Getty Images

Kent County Show opens with royal visit from Duchess of Edinburgh

Key points:

  • Day one of the Kent County Show begins at Detling Showground near Maidstone
  • The Duchess of Edinburgh visits the event for the first time in 16 years
  • Organisers expect up to 70,000 visitors over the weekend
  • Farming and rural life are at the centre of the three-day programme
  • Highlights include live camel racing, equine sports, livestock displays and more

Kent County Show opens with royal visit

The Kent County Show returned to Detling near Maidstone on Friday, marking the start of a major three-day celebration of farming, food, and rural living. The event opened with a special visit from the Duchess of Edinburgh, who is attending for the first time in 16 years.

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, who grew up in Brenchley near Tunbridge Wells and serves as patron of the Association of Show and Agricultural Organisations (ASAO), met with farmers, equine exhibitors, and local businesses on her tour of the showground.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sri Aurobindo

Heehs’s biography is grounded in extensive archival research across France, England, India and Israel

AMG

Sri Aurobindo and the rise of the Asian century

Dinesh Sharma

My friend and colleague, the American historian Peter Heehs, who has lived in Pondicherry, India, for decades, recently published a compelling new biography, The Mother: A Life of Sri Aurobindo’s Collaborator (2025). Heehs previously authored The Lives of Sri Aurobindo (2008), which remains one of the most balanced and scholarly accounts of Aurobindo’s life.

According to Heehs, most previous biographies of the Mother were written for devotees and relied on secondary sources, often presenting her as a divine incarnation without critical engagement. “Such biographies are fine for those who see the Mother as a divine being,” Heehs said, “but they can be off-putting for readers who simply want to understand her life – as an artist, writer, spiritual teacher, and founder of the Ashram and Auroville.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Black women cancer risk

Serious public health challenges in the decades ahead

iStock

Study warns of rising uterine cancer rates, with Black women hardest hit

Key points

  • Uterine cancer cases and deaths are projected to rise significantly in the US by 2050.
  • Black women are expected to experience the highest increase in incidence-based mortality.
  • A new model predicts incidence rising to 86.9 cases per 100,000 for Black women and 74.2 for White women.
  • Researchers stress the urgent need for improved prevention and early detection strategies.

Sharp increase in uterine cancer predicted over next three decades

Uterine cancer, currently the fourth most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in the United States, is projected to see a substantial rise in both cases and deaths by 2050, particularly among Black women. A new study led by researchers at Columbia University warns of worsening racial disparities in outcomes if preventative measures are not introduced.

This year alone, around 69,120 new cases of uterine cancer and nearly 14,000 deaths are expected in the United States. However, projections by the Columbia University research team, published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, indicate a significant increase in both incidence and mortality over the next 30 years.

Keep ReadingShow less