Jagmohan Singh Barhok
On His Death Anniversary
B R Chopra born 22 April 1914 in Punjab needs no introduction. He has been one of the finest commercial filmmakers whose films mirrored the happenings around with music being his forte.”Ek Hi Rasta ” (1956) was the first film produced & directed by him under his banner followed by “Naya Daur” (1957),”Kanoon” (1960),” Gumrah” (1963), “Hamraz” (1967), “Dhund” (1973), “Insaaf Ka Tarazu” (1980).
“Waqt”,”Ittefaq’ & “Aadmi Aur Insaan” were produced by him. Interestingly ,suspense played ‘key’ in his most romantic films. His younger brother, Yash Chopra directed some of his films. Towards the fag end of his career he produced epic TV serial “Mahabharat” (1988), introducing many young talents some of which are now permanently settled in Los Angeles. His son Ravi Chopra successfully directed the serial under his guidance.
I also covered the shooting of the serial at Film City & there interviewed Mukesh Khanna, Gufi Paintal & Gajendra Chauhan. I had a long chat with him during the “Mahabharat” cocktail party at Hotel Centaur, Juhu in 1990. I interviewed almost all prominent actors including Roopa Ganguly, now BJP MP from West Bengal, until 3.00 am. The veteran filmmaker died this Day in Mumbai in 2008.
