Vidhu Vinod Chopra | |
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![]() Chopra in 2023 | |
Born | Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India | 5 September 1952
Occupations |
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Spouses |
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Children | 3, including Zuni Chopra and Agni Chopra |
Relatives | Ramanand Sagar (half-brother) |
Website | vinodchoprafilms |
Vidhu Vinod Chopra (born 5 September 1952) is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. [1] He is the recipient of several accolades, including four National Film Awards, ten Filmfare Awards and an Academy Award nomination. He is known for directing films such as the crime drama Parinda (1989), the patriotic romantic drama 1942: A Love Story (1994), the action drama Mission Kashmir (2000) and the biographical drama 12th Fail (2023). He is also known for producing the Munna Bhai film series , 3 Idiots (2009), PK (2014), and Sanju (2018) under his banner Vinod Chopra Films.
Chopra was born and grew up in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India to a Punjabi Hindu family. [2] His father was D. N. Chopra and veteran filmmaker Ramanand Sagar was his half-brother. [3] His parents were originally from Peshawar, British India. [4] His mother was Shanti Devi Mahalakshmi, who left Kashmir, due to the Kashmir conflict in 1990. He dedicated his film Shikara to his mother, which was based on the same. [5] He studied film direction at the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune.
Chopra's first student short film, Murder at Monkey Hill (1976), won the National Film Award for Best Short Experimental Film and the Guru Dutt Memorial Award for Best Student Film. [6]
This was followed by a short documentary highlighting the plight of India's destitute children, called An Encounter with Faces (1976), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film in 1979. It also won the Grand Prix at the Tampere Film Festival in 1980. [7]
Sazaye Maut , his first full-length feature film, was an adaptation of his previous short, Murder at Monkey Hill. It starred Naseeruddin Shah, Radha Saluja and Dilip Dhawan. Vanraj Bhatia composed the music for the film.
He founded his own production company, Vinod Chopra Films, in 1985. Since then, the company has gone on to produce major Bollywood films, and is currently one of the biggest and most successful film production houses in India.
For Khamosh , his next directorial venture, Chopra assembled a cast featuring some of the finest acting talent in India. Shabana Azmi, Amol Palekar, Naseeruddin Shah and Pankaj Kapoor, among others, appeared in prominent roles. An inventive meta thriller set in Kashmir, Khamosh remains one of the notable Indian films in the genre.
His next directorial, the crime drama Parinda (1989), proved to be a landmark film in Hindi cinema. It expanded the orbit of the crime drama and the vocabulary of images used in Hindi films while garnering widespread critical acclaim and numerous awards. Several modern Indian filmmakers have expressed their admiration for and drawn inspiration from Chopra's film.
Chopra's next film, 1942: A Love Story (1994), was a patriotic romantic drama set during the decline of the British Raj. With Anil Kapoor and Manisha Koirala in lead roles, it was also the last film to have its music composed by the legendary R. D. Burman. Burman received a Filmfare Award for Best Music Director and the film won a total of nine awards at the 40th Filmfare Awards. His following two films, Kareeb and Mission Kashmir , were also critically and commercially successful.
Chopra then produced 5 films with filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani for 5 films: Munna Bhai MBBS , Lage Raho Munna Bhai , 3 Idiots , PK , and Sanju . The first 3, which Chopra also co wrote, each won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, and Lage Raho Munna Bhai also won the National Film Award for Best Screenplay. They were all also very commercially successful, with 3 Idiots and PK becoming the highest grossing Indian films of all time in India and worldwide, also breaking into East Asian markets. [8] He also wrote and produced Parineeta , Ferrari Ki Sawaari , and Wazir .
However, Chopra's next directorials after 2000 were not as successful. His 2007 film Eklavya: The Royal Guard was a financial disappointment. He also made his Hollywood directorial debut in 2015 with the film Broken Horses , a remake of his own film Parinda. However, it received a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 22%, [9] and was a commercial disaster, only making Rs. 60 lakh in its opening weekend. [10] His 2020 release Shikara was a romantic drama about the Exodus of Kashmiri Hindus. It became his lowest grossing film since Khamosh.
Chopra then saw a return to success with his 2023 release, the biopic 12th Fail . Despite a low opening day box office, due to great reviews and word of mouth, it became a financial hit, grossing 70 crores on a 20 crore budget. [11] It then won 5 Filmfare Awards, including Best Film, Director, Screenplay, and Editing for Chopra.
Year | Film | Credit as | Notes | ||
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Director | Writer | Producer | |||
1976 | Murder at Monkey Hill | Yes | Yes | No | Diploma film; also Actor |
1978 | An Encounter with Faces | Yes | No | No | Documentary film, nominated for the Oscars. |
1981 | Sazaye Maut | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
1983 | Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro | No | No | Production Controller | also Actor |
1985 | Khamosh | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
1989 | Parinda | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
1994 | 1942: A Love Story | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
1998 | Kareeb | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
2000 | Mission Kashmir | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
2003 | Munna Bhai MBBS | No | Yes | Yes | |
2005 | Parineeta | No | Yes | Yes | Supervising Editor |
2006 | Lage Raho Munna Bhai | No | Yes | Yes | Associate writer; lyricist |
2007 | Eklavya: The Royal Guard | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
2009 | 3 Idiots | No | Yes | Yes | Screenplay Associate |
2012 | Ferrari Ki Sawaari | No | Yes | Yes | |
2014 | PK | No | No | Yes | |
2015 | Broken Horses | Yes | Yes | Yes | English Film |
2016 | Wazir | No | Yes | Yes | also Editor |
2018 | Sanju | No | No | Yes | |
2019 | Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga | No | No | Yes | |
2020 | Shikara | Yes | Yes | Yes | co-writers: Rahul Pandita and Abhijat Joshi |
2023 | 12th Fail | Yes | Yes | Yes | Also Editor; Singer, "Restart" and "Restart" (Rap 'N' Folk) |
Title | Year | Role | Notes |
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Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi (DD National) | 1984 | Himself | Episode 32: "Dieting" |
Year | Name | Co Writer(s) | Notes |
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2021 | Unscripted: Conversation on life and cinema | Abhijat Joshi | [12] |
He has been married thrice, his first wife was noted editor Renu Saluja (m. 1976–1983), he was then married to filmmaker Shabnam Sukhdev (m. 1985–1989), the daughter of S. Sukhdev (1933–1979) a well known director of documentaries for the Films Division of India. He has a daughter with Shabnam, Ishaa Chopra, who works as a dance instructor and choreographer. [13] [14]
He is currently married to Indian film critic Anupama Chopra, whom he married on 1 June 1990. [15] He has two children with her, a son, Agni and a daughter, Zuni Chopra. [16]
Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. is a 2003 Indian Hindi-language satirical comedy drama film written and directed by Rajkumar Hirani in his directorial debut and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra under the banner Vinod Chopra Films. It features Sunil Dutt in his final film role as the father to his real-life son, Sanjay Dutt, who stars as the titular character. Gracy Singh, Jimmy Sheirgill, Arshad Warsi, Rohini Hattangadi and Boman Irani also appear in the film.
1942: A Love Story, also known as 1942 A Love Story, is a 1994 Indian Hindi-language patriotic romantic drama film, directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. It stars Anil Kapoor, Manisha Koirala and Jackie Shroff, with Anupam Kher, Danny Denzongpa, Pran and Brian Glover. The film revolves around lovers Naren (Kapoor) and Rajjo (Koirala), who come from contrasting family backgrounds and depicts how their relationship is threatened owing to the outbreak of the Indian revolutionary movement.
The Filmfare Best Screenplay Award is given by the Filmfare magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films.
Boman Irani is an Indian actor, producer, filmmaker, photographer and voice artist who works in Hindi-language films in addition to Telugu, Tamil and Marathi films. One of the most popular character actors in Hindi cinema, he has featured in over 100 films. Irani has won a Filmfare Award and an IIFA Award. Boman Irani has recently ventured into film production and advertising under his home banner, Irani Movietone.
Lage Raho Munna Bhai is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language satirical comedy drama film written, edited and directed by Rajkumar Hirani, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Abhijat Joshi, and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra under the banner Vinod Chopra Films. A sequel to Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. (2003), the film is the second installment of the Munna Bhai series. Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi reprised their roles as Munna Bhai and Circuit, respectively. New additions to the cast include Vidya Balan, Dilip Prabhavalkar and Dia Mirza, while several actors from the original, notably Jimmy Sheirgill and Boman Irani, appear in new roles.
Renu Saluja was an Indian film editor. In the 1980s and 1990s, she worked with both mainstream and art house Hindi cinema directors, including Govind Nihalani, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Sudhir Mishra, Shekhar Kapoor, Mahesh Bhatt, and Vijay Singh. Her work encompassed multiple feature films, documentaries, short films, and television series.
Parinda (transl. Bird) is a 1989 Indian Hindi-language crime drama film directed, produced and distributed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. The film stars Jackie Shroff, Anil Kapoor, Nana Patekar and Madhuri Dixit. The story and scenario were written by Chopra, while Shiv Kumar Subramaniam and Imtiyaz Husain wrote the screenplay and dialogues, respectively. R. D. Burman composed the music and Khurshid Hallauri wrote the lyrics. Binod Pradhan served as the film's cinematographer and Renu Saluja was its editor.
Gandhigiri is a neologism in India which is used to express the tenets of Gandhism in contemporary terms. The term became popular due to its usage in the 2006 Hindi film, Lage Raho Munna Bhai.
Abhijat Joshi is an Indian screenwriter, film director, producer and editor who works in Hindi cinema. His is known for collaboration with Vinod Chopra Productions and director Rajkumar Hirani, as the screenwriter for Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006), 3 Idiots (2009), PK (2014) and Sanju (2018). He is a professor of English at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, since 2003.
Rajkumar "Raju" Hirani is an Indian filmmaker known for his works in Hindi films. He is the recipient of several accolades, including four National Film Awards and 11 Filmfare Awards. Hirani is referred as one of the most successful filmmakers of Indian cinema. His movies are often lighthearted but revolve around significant societal issues with humour and emotional intelligence.
3 Idiots is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, edited and directed by Rajkumar Hirani, co-written by Abhijat Joshi and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. Adapted loosely from Chetan Bhagat's novel Five Point Someone, the film stars Aamir Khan, R. Madhavan and Sharman Joshi in the titular roles, marking their reunion three years after Rang De Basanti (2006), while Kareena Kapoor, Boman Irani and Omi Vaidya appear in pivotal roles. Narrated through two parallel dramas, one in the present and the other set ten years in the past, the story follows the friendship of three students at an Indian engineering college and is a satire about the social pressures under the Indian education system.
Ferrari Ki Sawaari is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language sports comedy drama film written and directed by Rajesh Mapuskar and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra under the production banners of Eros International and Vinod Chopra Films. The film was released in India on 15 June 2012 and stars an ensemble cast of Sharman Joshi, Boman Irani, Ritvik Sahore, Vidya Balan, Paresh Rawal, Seema Bhargava Pahwa, Deepak Shirke, Aakash Dabhade, Vijay Nikam, Nilesh Diwekar and Bhalchandra Kadam.
The 35th Filmfare Awards were held in 1990.
Achyut Potdar is an Indian actor who has worked in over 125 Bollywood films. In addition to film, Potdar has appeared in 95 serials, 26 plays and 45 ads.
Munna Bhai is an Indian Hindi-language film series created, written and directed by Rajkumar Hirani and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra under the Vinod Chopra Productions banner. It consists of Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., released in 2003, and its sequel, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, in 2006. The films share the same characters of Sanjay Dutt as Munna Bhai and Arshad Warsi as Circuit, with different plot elements and settings. Boman Irani features in each film as different characters. Both of the films received widespread critical acclaim and became huge commercial successes of their time.
Shikara is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film produced and directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. The film is based on the Kashmiri pandit exodus of 1990. The story revolved around the love story of Shanti and Shiv Dhar, who are Kashmiri Pandits in the backdrop of the Exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from Kashmir. The book Our Moon Has Blood Clots by Rahul Pandita has inspired many parts of the movie.
Sadia Khateeb is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. She made her acting debut with Vidhu Vinod Chopra's film Shikara (2020) for which she received Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut nomination. Khateeb has since starred in Raksha Bandhan (2022).