Aditya Chopra (born 21 May 1971) is an Indian film director, producer, and studio executive who works in Hindi Cinema. He is the Chairman of India's multi-national film, media, and entertainment conglomerate Yash Raj Films (YRF).Aditya Chopra Announces New Film on Yash Chopras Birth Anniversary – NDTV Movies. Movies.ndtv.com (26 September 2015). Retrieved on 21 November 2015. The films he has produced make him the highest grossing Indian film producer of all time.
Having denied Chopra admission into the National School of Drama due to his severe stammering as a young applicant, the Film Division of India eventually honored him with the National Award for his achievements in 1995, 2004, 2007 and 2015. Widely regarded as the most influential executive in Indian entertainment, Chopra has however rejected the publicity and fame that came with being Yash Chopra's son and the chief executive of Yash Raj Films.
Early life Chopra, the elder son of late filmmaker Yash Chopra and Pamela Chopra, was born on 21 May 1971.Aditya Chopra Announces New Film on Yash Chopras Birth Anniversary – NDTV Movies. Movies.ndtv.com (26 September 2015). Retrieved on 21 November 2015. His only sibling is actor and producer, Uday Chopra. He is the nephew of film producers B.R. Chopra and Yash Johar, and the cousin of filmmakers Ravi Chopra and Karan Johar. He completed his secondary education at Bombay Scottish School, earning his Indian Certificate of Secondary Education. He graduated from Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics, along with Anil Thadani, Karan Johar, and Abhishek Kapoor.
Filmmaking career Chopra started his film-making career at the age of 18 as an assistant director, working with his father on films such as Chandni (1989), Lamhe (1991) and Darr (1993). He also wrote his first screenplays for his father's Parampara (1992) and his mother's independently produced film Aaina (1993), which was the only film not directed by his father that he was an assistant director on.
1995: Directorial debut and success Chopra, after gaining a respectable amount of experience, started independently at the age of 23 with the all-time blockbuster romantic comedy-drama Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995), with Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol, for which he was the director and writer. The film was scripted by Chopra and produced by his father Yash Chopra, under the YRF banner. Chopra started work on the script of the film in 1990, at the age of 19, and gradually spent time making about five drafts of the film's original script. Chopra even managed to convince his brother Uday Chopra and Karan Johar, both aspiring filmmakers, to enter the film industry as assistant directors with the film. Chopra once said that the presence of his relatives during the making of the film worked as a huge emotional support. Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge eventually went on to become one of the biggest hits of all time and won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment and the Filmfare Award for Best Film, in addition to the Filmfare Award for Best Director for Chopra.
1996–2002: Extensive work in Yash Raj Films Chopra eventually went on to write the dialogues and the story of his father's 1997 musical romance Dil To Pagal Hai, (which won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment), also made under YRF. His next film as a director was the musical romantic drama Mohabbatein (2000) starring Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai, and also launched his brother Uday Chopra into the film industry. The film was also written and co-produced by Chopra and emerged as the highest-grossing film of the year, earning Chopra his second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director. The next film under the banner was the romantic comedy Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai (2002), which released in June 2002, starring his brother Uday alongside Tulip Joshi, Bipasha Basu and Jimmy Sheirgill. The film did moderately well at the box office. The studio's final release that year was the romantic drama Saathiya, a remake of the Tamil film Alai Payuthey, which starred Vivek Oberoi opposite Rani Mukerji. The film proved to be a major hit at the box office.
2004: Breakthrough in production In 2004, Chopra produced the romantic comedy Hum Tum, the action thriller Dhoom and the epic love saga Veer-Zaara (for which he was also the screenwriter) under the YRF banner. All three films went on to become major critical and commercial successes, earning more than (unadjusted for inflation) in the worldwide market. The films became the sixth, third and highest-grossing Indian films of 2004. The company won most of the Indian film awards in the year, with Veer-Zaara also winning the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.
Chopra then produced and wrote several other highly critically and commercial successful films over the years, namely Bunty Aur Babli, Salaam Namaste, Fanaa, Dhoom 2 and Chak De India (which also won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment).
Chopra also made his third film as a director in 2008 with the romantic comedy Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi starring Shahrukh Khan and launching newcomer Anushka Sharma. The film received mixed reviews upon release, but emerged as one of the highest-grossing films for Khan and YRF at that time, earning in the worldwide market. The film earned Chopra his third nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Director.
YRF launched a number of budding screenwriters and directors under their banner throughout these years. Directors and screenwriters such as Karan Johar (his Kuch Kuch Hota Hai was co-produced and released by Yash Raj Film Distributors), Kunal Kohli, Kabir Khan, Sanjay Gadhvi, Jaideep Sahni, Siddharth Anand, Shimit Amin, Habib Faisal, Shaad Ali, Maneesh Sharma and Vijay Acharya debuted under YRF and have gone on to become independent entities in films. The company also produced films for filmmakers such as Anil Mehta and Pradeep Sarkar under their banner. The company was eventually ranked at Number 1 (among the most successful film production companies in India) in a survey conducted by Filmfare and at number 27 (among the most successful film production companies in the world) in a survey by The Hollywood Reporter, both under the vice-chairmanship of Chopra.
Return to film direction: Befikre (2016) In September 2015, YRF announced Chopra's directorial comeback with the romantic comedy Befikre, scheduled for a December 2016 release. In October 2015, it was announced that Ranveer Singh and Vaani Kapoor were cast in the lead roles. In December 2015, YRF announced that the music of the film will be produced by Vishal–Shekhar and Jaideep Sahni, both of whom would return to collaborate with YRF after roughly 9 years. The film marked Chopra's directorial comeback 8 years after Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008). A theatrical trailer of the film was released at the Eiffel Tower and across social media platforms in the month of October. The film was budgeted at (including print and advertising costs) and released across 2900 screens worldwide on 9 December 2016. It opened to widespread negative reviews across platforms and faced heavy losses to its business because of the currency demonetisation implied by the Government of India a few days prior to its release. The film managed to gross after a two-week theatrical run at the global box office, failing to manage break-even business for YRF.
Career as studio executive
In 2004, Chopra started producing under the YRF banner. He produced Hum Tum, Dhoom and Veer-Zaara (for which he was also the screenwriter), all three films went on to become critical and commercial blockbusters, earning more than (unadjusted for inflation) in the worldwide market. The films became the sixth, third and highest-grossing Indian films of 2004. The company won most of the Indian film awards in the year, with Veer-Zaara also winning the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.
The company saw an all-time low, with several of their high-budgeted films not doing well at the box office, despite favourable critical reviews and the company thereby suffering losses amounting to millions from 2007 to 2010. The films broke YRF's perfect success ratio and were oddly released one after another. Some of the most unsuccessful films produced under the banner were Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Laaga Chunari Mein Daag, Tashan, Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic, Roadside Romeo, and Pyaar Impossible. Chopra then took over as the Vice Chairman of Yash Raj Films in 2010, soon after the release of the film Badmaash Company under the same banner.
Chopra has produced several commercially viable projects including off-beat content not necessarily fitting into the realm of "masala films". Chopra is the first to move towards the film studio model through independent projects helmed by talent under his banner. Major post-production work of the company is completed at YRF Studios (co-founded by his ex-wife Payal Khanna), where Chopra is chief executive. The Government of India appealed both Chopra and Mani Ratnam to focus on content created locally under its Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat initiatives. In June 2018, he was awarded membership into the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences by the Producers Guild of America. Apart from emerging as an equitable brand, his company earned the status of a movie mogul through distribution networks spread across the globe.Yash Raj Films. Yash Raj Films. Retrieved on 21 November 2015.
Legal issues and controversies Ghajini Photographers of the Indian media caught a glimpse of the extremely-reclusive Chopra on 27 December 2008. Chopra's Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and Aamir Khan's Ghajini were the two big Indian releases of the year 2008 and were pitted against each other by the press; Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi was to release on Diwali and Ghajini was to release on Christmas, with a gap of a few weeks between them. Chopra was present at a private screening of Ghajini that was held by Khan, for members of the film industry. Chopra was seen leaving through the back entrance of the theatre premise around 2 am, just before the end credits of the film. On spotting multiple journalists outside the venue, he reportedly panicked and desperately sprinted towards his car to avoid being photographed. Chopra pulled down the sun visor of his car and drove away.
Failed acquisition of Yash Raj Films by Walt Disney The Walt Disney Company entered India in 2007 through a co-production agreement (Ta Ra Rum Pum, Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic, and Roadside Romeo) with YRF. Disney's move was seen as a bid to increase its global presence and enter Indian entertainment. This was followed by Warner Bros., Columbia Pictures, Universal Pictures, and 20th Century Fox, who made similar moves.
Post the release of the three films, Disney attempted a hostile takeover of YRF in December 2009. The offer was pushed after its acquisitions of Pixar and Marvel from the previous year. YRF however fought the offer and continued as a domestic entity, heavily aided by the Tata Sons.SlashFilm. Retrieved on 27 November 2021. This was followed by the exits of Dick CookDeadline. Retrieved on 21 November 2021.GeeksofDoom. Retrieved on 29 November 2021. from Walt Disney and Sanjeev KohliYRF Studios. Retrieved on 25 November 2021.ITV. Retrieved on 26 November 2021. from YRF. In June 2011, Disney acquired UTV at to establish Disney-UTV. Records from the Registrar of Companies of the same year showed that YRF received investments from LIC of India, Catamaran Ventures, and Maruti-Udyog.