# B. R. Chopra (बालदेव राज चोपड़ा)
**B. R. Chopra** (बालदेव राज चोपड़ा; Baldev Raj Chopra, 22 April 1914 – 5 November 2008) was an Indian film director and producer who shaped socially conscious mainstream [Hindi cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/hindi-cinema) from the 1950s through the 1980s and created the television serial *[Mahabharat](https://www.edgepedia.org/mahabharat-1988-tv-series)* (1988–90), one of the most-watched programs in Indian broadcasting history.[1](https://www.tuliresearchcentre.org/b-r-chopra)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | 22 April 1914; 5 November 2008 in Mumbai, aged 94[1](https://www.tuliresearchcentre.org/b-r-chopra) |
| Signature films | *Afsana* (1951), *Naya Daur* (1957), *Sadhna* (1958), *Kanoon* (1960), *Gumrah* (1963), *Hamraaz* (1967)[1](https://www.tuliresearchcentre.org/b-r-chopra) |
| Production house | Founded B.R. Films in the mid-1950s; producer of *Waqt* (1965), *Ittefaq* (1969), *Chhoti Si Baat* (1976), *Baghban* (2003)[1](https://www.tuliresearchcentre.org/b-r-chopra) |
| Television | *Mahabharat*, 94 episodes on Doordarshan, 1988–90, co-directed with his son Ravi Chopra[2](https://indiancine.ma/documents/DSP/Encyclopedia%20of%20Indian%20Cinema.pdf) |
| Audience reach | *Mahabharat* peaked at 75% of the urban adult population, with over Rs 10 million advertising revenue per episode[2](https://indiancine.ma/documents/DSP/Encyclopedia%20of%20Indian%20Cinema.pdf) |
| Honors | Dadasaheb Phalke Award (1998); Filmfare Best Director for *Kanoon*; first National Award for Best Direction for *Humraaz* (1968)[3](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-GAO4_54MQ) • [4](https://www.tuliresearchcentre.org/b-r-chopra/research-centre/all/dastaan-1972-cinema-lobby-card-1609) • [5](https://businessofcinema.com/bollywood-news/veteran-filmmaker-b-r-chopra-passes-away/25621/) |
| Output | About 40 films as writer, producer, and director[6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/jan/21/obituary-br-chopra) |
## Early life and film journalism
Chopra was born on 22 April 1914 into a middle-class Punjabi Khatri family, one of seven children of a government officer; the *Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema* records his birthplace as Ludhiana, while other accounts give Lahore, where the family settled.[2](https://indiancine.ma/documents/DSP/Encyclopedia%20of%20Indian%20Cinema.pdf) • [6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/jan/21/obituary-br-chopra) • [7](https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/visionary-of-hindi-classics/story-45aPrxEt9YrD2qAYcEwSsO.html) He studied at an Urdu-medium school in [Jalandhar](https://www.edgepedia.org/jalandhar) and completed an M.A. in English Literature at Government College, Lahore.[7](https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/visionary-of-hindi-classics/story-45aPrxEt9YrD2qAYcEwSsO.html) • [8](https://www.eoimadrid.gov.in/archives/IP_Eng_Jan-Mar.pdf) He wanted to become an [Indian Civil Service](https://www.edgepedia.org/indian-civil-service) officer but failed the entrance examination, and turned instead to film journalism, editing the Lahore magazine *Cine Herald* from 1938.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/jan/21/obituary-br-chopra) • [2](https://indiancine.ma/documents/DSP/Encyclopedia%20of%20Indian%20Cinema.pdf)
After the [Partition of India](https://www.edgepedia.org/partition-of-india) in 1947, which placed Lahore in Pakistan, Chopra became a victim of the communal riots, migrated to Delhi, and then settled in Bombay, where he joined a film company as a producer.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/jan/21/obituary-br-chopra) • [8](https://www.eoimadrid.gov.in/archives/IP_Eng_Jan-Mar.pdf) After the first film he produced flopped, he turned to direction and persuaded [Ashok Kumar](https://www.edgepedia.org/ashok-kumar) to star in *Afsana* (1951), which became a hit.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/jan/21/obituary-br-chopra)
## B.R. Films and social filmmaking
Chopra founded his own production company, B.R. Films, in the mid-1950s; the Guardian dates its founding to 1955, while the *Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema* ties it to the success of *Chandni Chowk* (1954) and dates it 1956.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/jan/21/obituary-br-chopra) • [2](https://indiancine.ma/documents/DSP/Encyclopedia%20of%20Indian%20Cinema.pdf) His first film under the banner, *Ek Hi Raasta* (1956), took up widow remarriage.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/jan/21/obituary-br-chopra) He believed that a film addressed itself to society and that filmmakers had a duty to make healthy, wholesome films with a good story and a social message.[8](https://www.eoimadrid.gov.in/archives/IP_Eng_Jan-Mar.pdf)
The signature of his work was social issue inside commercial form. *Naya Daur* (1957) dramatized the rivalry between pony-trap drivers and a new bus service to argue for tempering industrialization with a humane approach to labor.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/jan/21/obituary-br-chopra) Later films dealt with the after-effects of Partition and the rights of Muslim women.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/jan/21/obituary-br-chopra) In 1960, at a time when interspersing 10 to 12 songs with the script was standard practice, he made the songless courtroom drama *Kanoon*, and won the [Filmfare Award for Best Director](https://www.edgepedia.org/filmfare-award-for-best-director) for it.[8](https://www.eoimadrid.gov.in/archives/IP_Eng_Jan-Mar.pdf) • [4](https://www.tuliresearchcentre.org/b-r-chopra/research-centre/all/dastaan-1972-cinema-lobby-card-1609) Other directorial works regarded as ahead of their time included *Gumrah* (1963), about a woman resuming an affair after marriage, and the thriller *Ittefaq* (1969), which he produced and which cast its heroine as the murderer of her own husband.[9](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0159148/)
As a producer, his banner released *Dhool Ka Phool* (1959), *[Waqt](https://www.edgepedia.org/waqt-1965-film)* (1965), *Ittefaq* (1969), *Aadmi Aur Insaan* (1969), *Chhoti Si Baat* (1976), *The Burning Train* (1980), and *Baghban* (2003), among others.[1](https://www.tuliresearchcentre.org/b-r-chopra) *Waqt* was B.R. Films' first color production, directed by his younger brother [Yash Chopra](https://www.edgepedia.org/yash-chopra).[10](https://caravanmagazine.in/reviews-and-essays/show-shows) His younger brother Yash Chopra began his career as his assistant and directed *Dhool Ka Phool*, *Dharmputra* (1961), *Waqt*, and *Ittefaq* before leaving to found his own company; B.R. Chopra later entrusted the direction of major productions to him.[11](https://www.yashrajfilms.com/about-us/yash-chopra-the-legend) • [6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/jan/21/obituary-br-chopra)
In his 1968 film *Humraaz* he became the first recipient of the National Award as Best Director.[5](https://businessofcinema.com/bollywood-news/veteran-filmmaker-b-r-chopra-passes-away/25621/) From the mid-1970s he was the Hindi film industry's senior spokesman and a regular contributor to *Screen* in the late 1960s and 1970s, influencing the film-financing policy of the NFDC.[2](https://indiancine.ma/documents/DSP/Encyclopedia%20of%20Indian%20Cinema.pdf)
## Mahabharat on Doordarshan
In the 1980s, [Doordarshan](https://www.edgepedia.org/doordarshan), India's state broadcaster, approached Chopra to make either *Ramayan* or *Mahabharat* as a television show, and he chose *Mahabharat*, arguing that the epic could not be compressed into a three-hour film and demanded a long format.[12](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/mahabharat-br-chopra-stood-by-rahi-masoom-raza-doordarshan-questioned-how-a-muslim-man-could-write-the-show-9958585/) The 94-episode serial ran on Doordarshan from 1988 to 1990, with his son [Ravi Chopra](https://www.edgepedia.org/ravi-chopra) credited as co-director.[2](https://indiancine.ma/documents/DSP/Encyclopedia%20of%20Indian%20Cinema.pdf)
The serial held the collective attention of 200 million Indians for 45 minutes each week for nearly two years, with streets emptying before the 9 a.m. Sunday broadcasts and rural viewers cycling tens of kilometers to the nearest television set.[10](https://caravanmagazine.in/reviews-and-essays/show-shows) At its peak it reached 75% of the urban adult population and drew over Rs 10 million in advertising revenue per episode.[2](https://indiancine.ma/documents/DSP/Encyclopedia%20of%20Indian%20Cinema.pdf)
Chopra regarded *Mahabharat* as his most ambitious and successful project.[13](https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-and-the-arts/story/19900131-my-films-have-always-had-social-or-political-relevance-br-chopra-812319-1990-01-30) Its writing was central to the design. He hired the poet and writer [Rahi Masoom Raza](https://www.edgepedia.org/rahi-masoom-raza), and when Doordarshan questioned how a Muslim man could write a Hindu sacred story, Chopra stood by him, saying the epic was not Hindu or Muslim.[12](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/mahabharat-br-chopra-stood-by-rahi-masoom-raza-doordarshan-questioned-how-a-muslim-man-could-write-the-show-9958585/) Raza created the serial's now-classic narrative device, the opening line "Main samay hoon" ("I am Time"), with the personified narrator Samay setting the context for each episode.[12](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/mahabharat-br-chopra-stood-by-rahi-masoom-raza-doordarshan-questioned-how-a-muslim-man-could-write-the-show-9958585/) He followed the serial with other mythological and serial productions including *Dhristi*, *Kaamna*, *Asha Nai Asha*, and *Shrimad Bhagwad*.[14](https://www.indiantelevisionacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/The_ITA_Coffee_Table_Book_2024_compressed.pdf)
## Honors and family
Chopra received the [Dadasaheb Phalke Award](https://www.edgepedia.org/dadasaheb-phalke-award), Indian cinema's highest honor, in 1998.[3](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-GAO4_54MQ) His awards also included the Filmfare Best Director prize for *Kanoon*, a Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award (2004), [National Film Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-film-awards), and BAFTA lifetime membership (2006).[4](https://www.tuliresearchcentre.org/b-r-chopra/research-centre/all/dastaan-1972-cinema-lobby-card-1609) He died in Mumbai on 5 November 2008, aged 94, of old age.[1](https://www.tuliresearchcentre.org/b-r-chopra) • [5](https://businessofcinema.com/bollywood-news/veteran-filmmaker-b-r-chopra-passes-away/25621/) He was survived by his son Ravi and daughters Shashi and Neena; his grandsons include the Bollywood director Abhay and the actor Kapil.[6](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/jan/21/obituary-br-chopra)
## References
1. [B.R. Chopra, Tuli Research Centre for India Studies](https://www.tuliresearchcentre.org/b-r-chopra)
2. [Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema entry for Baldev Raj Chopra, indiancine.ma](https://indiancine.ma/documents/DSP/Encyclopedia%20of%20Indian%20Cinema.pdf)
3. [Baldev Raj Chopra (B.R. Chopra) Biography, People & History (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-GAO4_54MQ)
4. [B.R. Chopra research page, Tuli Research Centre](https://www.tuliresearchcentre.org/b-r-chopra/research-centre/all/dastaan-1972-cinema-lobby-card-1609)
5. [Veteran filmmaker B R Chopra passes away, Business Of Cinema](https://businessofcinema.com/bollywood-news/veteran-filmmaker-b-r-chopra-passes-away/25621/)
6. [BR Chopra obituary by Mark Tully, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2009/jan/21/obituary-br-chopra)
7. [Visionary of Hindi classics, Hindustan Times](https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/visionary-of-hindi-classics/story-45aPrxEt9YrD2qAYcEwSsO.html)
8. [India Panorama, Embassy of India Madrid bulletin (Jan-Mar 2009)](https://www.eoimadrid.gov.in/archives/IP_Eng_Jan-Mar.pdf)
9. [B.R. Chopra, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0159148/)
10. [The Show of Shows, The Caravan](https://caravanmagazine.in/reviews-and-essays/show-shows)
11. [Yash Chopra – The Legend, Yash Raj Films](https://www.yashrajfilms.com/about-us/yash-chopra-the-legend)
12. [Mahabharat: BR Chopra stood by Rahi Masoom Raza, The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/mahabharat-br-chopra-stood-by-rahi-masoom-raza-doordarshan-questioned-how-a-muslim-man-could-write-the-show-9958585/)
13. [My films have always had social or political relevance: B.R. Chopra, India Today](https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-and-the-arts/story/19900131-my-films-have-always-had-social-or-political-relevance-br-chopra-812319-1990-01-30)
14. [B.R. Chopra / Ravi Chopra, Indian Television Academy coffee table book (2024)](https://www.indiantelevisionacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/The_ITA_Coffee_Table_Book_2024_compressed.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Film and television directors › Directors of South Asia*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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