Vveteran filmmaker B R Chopra broke the mould in many ways. April 22 was his 96th birth anniversary. we remember a legend.
His name is synonymous with cinema for fans and critics alike. Baldev Raj Chopra or BR Chopra as he was famously called was among independent India’s first filmmakers whose socially relevant films struck box-office success in the 1950s and 1960s. However, to restrict his legacy to the boundaries of the silver screen is to do him injustice. He was, after all, a visionary director-producer, the man behind one of India’s finest television serials, a patron for some of the biggest names in the Indian film industry, and the larger-than-life patriarch of one of the finest families in the Hindi film industry.
Born in Jalandhar on April 22, 1914, Chopra became a film journalist after completing his M.A. in English Literature from Government College, Lahore, in the late 1930s. While he was known for his scathing criticism of, what he called, ‘frivolous cinema’, Chopra strongly believed in the need for more meaningful cinema. Professor Rachel Dwyer who write a biography on Yash Chopra (Chopra’s younger brother) some years ago, noted in the book: “He... wrote articles for film magazines but ... they were mostly criticisms of the film producers, who, in his opinion, were wasting their time with comedies... thus avoiding dealing with any serious social issues.” It was Chopra’s desire and ambition to make a difference that prompted him to come to Mumbai during the Partition. His contacts in the industry paved the way for his directorial debut called Afsana (1951). This crime thriller was a runaway success and marked the beginning of an outstanding career in films for Chopra.
With Ek Hi Raasta (1956), Chopra formed his own production company, B R Films, which would become synonymous with a brand of cinema that spelt substance and aesthetics. The production company came to nurture many artistes, including playback singer Mahendra Kapoor, lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi and screenwriter Akhtar-ul-Iman.
As a filmmaker, Chopra believed in the primacy of a film’s story and along with other noted directors like Guru Dutt and Raj Kapoor, his films, too, held the mirror up to a nation coming to terms with its new found independence. Naya Daur (1957), with its idyllic village setting, for instance, was a fine example of a film with a strong social message by Chopra. The conflict between man and machine, played out more than 50 years ago in the film, is relevant even today.
An emphasis on women’s issues became a hallmark of sorts in his films. According to Dinesh Raheja and Jitendra Kothari in The Hundred Luminaries Of Hindi Cinema, “Whether it was adultery (Gumraah, 1963), the politics of rape (Insaaf ka Taraazu, 1980), Muslim matrimony laws (Nikaah, 1982), rehabilitation of prostitutes (Sadhana,1958) or widow remarriage (Ek Hi Raasta, 1956), Chopra always had an incisive non-formula tale to tell”. Chopra’s works, in that sense, constantly broke away from tradition. One could, however, argue that the climax of a few of his films bordered on political correctness, some even regressive in their underlying messages, but there is no denying that in an industry where scripts were — and still are — heavily loaded in favour of male protagonists, Chopra scripted success while directing his female characters.
He mentored his youngest sibling, Yash Chopra, to make a mark in the film industry and though he was older by 18 years, it is believed that the two were very close to each other. In fact, when Yash’s second film as a director failed (Dharmputra, 1962), Chopra, like a father pampering an upset child, decided to make the banner’s first colour production, Waqt (1965). With this film, Chopra would give the reins of direction to Yash and as a producer-director duo, they would, in the future, make landmark films such as Dhool Ka Phool (1959), Admi Aur Insaan (1969), Ittefaq (1969), etc. Yash’s subsequent move to branch out on his own, it was believed, sent Chopra into severe depression and he confessed to resorting to sleeping pills. Unfortunately, the depression had an effect on some of his projects like Dastaan (1972) and Dhund (1973), which predictably flopped at the box office. In 1978, however, he came back with another hit, a laugh riot called Pati Patni Aur Woh (1978).
Despite a spate of hit films, Chopra, at the age of 75, ventured into Indian television with Mahabharata, a television series, directed by his son Ravi Chopra. This was based on the great Indian mythological epic and ran successfully for two long years, from October 1988 to June 1990.
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A Dadasaheb Phalke Award recipient for his lifetime contribution to Indian cinema, Chopra wrote the script for Baghban (2003) when he was 90 and it is believed that he wanted thespian Dilip Kumar to play the central character, eventually essayed by Amitabh Bachchan. Both his scripts Baghban and Baabul (2006) were directed by his son Ravi Chopra.
He died on November, 5, 2008, but cinema audiences and critics all over the world remember him with affection and respect.
(Akshay Manwani is a Mumbai-based freelance writer)
