Wednesday, 12 November 2014
MUMBAI : Ravi Chopra, who co-directed Mahabharata (1988), one of the most popular serials in the history of Indian television, died due to a lung ailment at a private hospital in Mumbai on Wednesday afternoon.
Ravi didn't always make movies with a social conscience. But his Baghban (2003), a film his father wanted to make 30 years ago, tackled the problem of the elderly among the increasingly prosperous and individualistic urban middle-class. The film, starring Amitabh Bachchan in a pivotal part, became a box-office biggie.
Which had started way back with Zameer (1975), his debut film as a director, endured over the decades. The successful kiddie-flick Bhoothnath (2008), which Ravi produced, saw the actor in another central role.
Born in Lahore shortly before Partition, Ravi learnt his craft assisting father and uncle Yash Chopra but was trained as a filmmaker in the US.
The Hollywood influence was evident in his younger days as a filmmaker. Aaj Ki Awaz (1984), a box-office smash with Raj Babbar in the lead, was inspired by Charles Bronson's vigilante thriller. And at a time when disaster-movies were big in Hollywood, he made the multi-starrer The Burning Train (1980), one of the most talked-about and expensive box-office duds of its time. More recently, he co-produced two Deepa Mehta movies, Heaven on Earth (2008) with Preity Zinta in the lead and Cooking with Stella (2009) with Seema Biswas doing the title role.
Ravi's finest moment in career came via television. At the peak of Mahabharat's popularity streets nationwide would be empty during the telecast of the serial on Sunday mornings. Even public transport buses and trains would make unscheduled stops for people to enjoy the mega mythological serial.
Ravi's father, B.R. Chopra, passed away in 2008 and uncle Yash in 2012. His death is another sad blow to one of the most distinguished families in Bollywood. more >>
