King of Romance Yash Chopra dies at 80

Legendary Bollywood filmmaker Yash Chopra, 80, passed away on Sunday evening at the Lilavati Hospital in Bandra, where he was being treated for dengue for the past one week.

Chopra, who was popularly known as the ‘King of Romance’ for his several films in that genre, directed some of Bollywood’s most successful and iconic films.

Born on September 27, 1932 in Lahore, Chopra began his career as an assistant director to his older brother BR Chopra and filmmaker IS Johar.

In the five-decade long career that followed, Chopra made romantic films like Silsila, Kabhi Kabhi, Chandni, Lamhe, Dil Toh Pagal Hai and Veer Zaara.

Chopra, who has won six National Film Awards and 11 Filmfare awards, including four Filmfare Award for best director, was honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2001 and the Padma Bhushan in 2005 for his contributions towards Indian cinema.

Chopra’s first film was Dhool Ka Phool in 1959, which was about illegitimacy, and he continued making several socially hard-hitting films, including Dharmaputra.

His action thriller Deewar established superstar Amitabh Bachchan as the 'angry young man'. Chopra was the one who began the concept of multi-starrers in Waqt (1965).

His last movie Jab Tak Hai Jaan starring Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma is scheduled for release during Diwali.

He still had to shoot a song for the film in Switzerland, a destination Chopra made popular among cinegoers in India.

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