Vidhu Vinod Chopra (Punjabi:ਵਿਧੁ ਵਿਨੋਦ ਚੋਪਰਾ, Hindi:विधु विनोद चोपड़ा) (born on 5 September 1956) is an Indian director and producer. Chopra is the head of his own company, Vinod Chopra Productions, and is particularly known for producing the Munna Bhai films (Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. and Lage Raho Munna Bhai) and 3 Idiots.
[edit] Early life
Born in a Punjabi family of Kashmir, he grew up in Srinagar, Kashmir, India. His father was D. N. Chopra and veteran filmmaker Ramanand Sagar was his half-brother. His love of Hindi cinema and support of his family encouraged him to study film direction. Since there was no college for film-related courses in North India, he went to Pune and studied film direction at the Film and Television Institute of India. Chopra could not speak English and is, by his own confession, self-taught by watching numerous Hollywood films.
[edit] Career
Chopra's first student short, Murder At Monkey Hill, won the National Film Award for Best Short Experimental Film and the Guru Dutt Memorial Award for Best Student Film.[1]
This was followed by a short documentary highlighting the plight of India's destitute children, called An Encounter with Faces, which was nominated for an Academy Award in the Documentary Short Subject category in 1979.
His first feature film, shot in black-and-white, was Sazaa-E-Maut (Death Penalty) – a thriller made on a shoestring budget with then-unknown actor Naseeruddin Shah and editor Renu Saluja, who were his fellow students at FTII, Pune. It was the feature-length remake of Chopra's own diploma film at FTII, Murder at Monkey Hill (1976), which also had the same cast.[2]. His critically acclaimed films include Parinda, 1942: A Love Story, Mission Kashmir, the Munna Bhai series, Parineeta, Eklavya: The Royal Guard, and the biggest blockbuster in the history of Hindi cinema, 3 Idiots.
[edit] Personal life
Chopra's first marriage, to film editor Renu Saluja, ended in a divorce. Nevertheless, after the divorce, they continued to work together on several films. Shabnam Sukhdev, the only daughter of a well-known documentary maker, was his next wife. Later, he married writer Anupama Chopra, previously a resident of the United States. Anupama has recently taken jobs as a movie reviewer with NDTV and India Today.
[edit] Filmography
| Year |
Film |
Role(s) |
| 2013 |
Munnabhai Ki Aatma Katha |
Producer, Writer |
| 2012 |
Ferrari Ki Sawaari |
Producer, Writer |
| 2012 |
Taalismaan |
Producer, Writer |
| 2011 |
Broken Horses |
Director, Writer |
| 2009 |
3 Idiots |
Producer |
| 2007 |
Eklavya: The Royal Guard |
Director, Producer, Screenplay |
| 2006 |
Lage Raho Munna Bhai |
Producer, Screenplay Associate, Lyricist |
| 2005 |
Parineeta |
Producer, Story and Dialogue Writer, Supervising Editor |
| 2003 |
Munna Bhai MBBS |
Producer, Writer |
| 2000 |
Mission Kashmir |
Director, Producer, Writer |
| 1998 |
Kareeb |
Director, Producer |
| 1993 |
1942: A Love Story |
Director, Producer, Writer |
| 1989 |
Parinda |
Director, Actor (corpse) |
| 1985 |
Khamosh |
Director, Producer, Writer |
| 1983 |
Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro |
Actor, Production Controller |
| 1981 |
Sazaye Maut |
Director, Producer, Writer |
| 1978 |
An Encounter with Faces |
Director |
| 1977 |
Murder At Monkey Hill |
Director (Diploma film) |
[edit] Awards and nominations
[edit] Star Screen Awards
[edit] IIFA Awards
[edit] Filmfare Awards
[edit] National Awards
[edit] Stardust Awards
- 2009: Winner, Readers' Choice Award for 3 Idiots
[edit] FICCI Awards
- 2009: Winner, Most Successful Film of the Year for 3 Idiots
[edit] Zee Cine Awards
[edit] Tampere International Short Film Festival
[edit] External links
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| 1981–2000 |
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| 2001–2009 |
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| 2010–present |
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| 1954–1960 |
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| 2001–present |
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Vidhu Vinod Chopra films
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| Persondata |
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Chopra, Vidhu Vinod |
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| Date of birth |
5 September 1956 |
| Place of birth |
Srinagar, Kashmir, India |
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