Vidhu Vinod Chopra

Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Vidhu Vinod Chopra
	Chopra in 2023
Born	5 September 1952 (age 72); Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir Princely State (present–day Jammu and Kashmir), India
Occupations	Film director; film producer; screenwriter; editor;
Spouses	Renu Saluja (m. 1976; div. 1983); Shabnam Sukhdev (m. 1985; div. 1989); Anupama Chandra (m. 1990);
Children	3, including Zuni Chopra and Agni Chopra
Relatives	Ramanand Sagar (half-brother); Kamna Chandra (mother-in-law); Vikram Chandra (brother-in-law); Tanuja Chandra (sister-in-law);
Website	vinodchoprafilms.com

Vidhu Vinod Chopra (born 5 September 1952) is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and editor.

12th Fail (2023). He is also known for producing the Munna Bhai film series, 3 Idiots (2009), PK (2014), and Sanju (2018) under his banner Vinod Chopra Films

.

Early life

Chopra was born and grew up in

Punjabi Hindu family.^[2] His father was D. N. Chopra and veteran filmmaker Ramanand Sagar was his half-brother.^[3] His brother, Vir K. Chopra, was a scholar of Indian politics and worked as a producer. ^[4] His parents were originally from Peshawar, British India.^[5] His mother was Shanti Devi Mahalakshmi, who left Kashmir, due to the Kashmir conflict in 1990. He dedicated his film Shikara to his mother, which was based on the same.^[6] He studied film direction at the Film and Television Institute of India

in Pune.

Career

Chopra's first student short film, Murder at Monkey Hill (1976), won the National Film Award for Best Short Experimental Film and the Guru Dutt Memorial Award for Best Student Film.^[7]

This was followed by a short documentary highlighting the plight of India's destitute children, called An Encounter with Faces (1976), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film in 1979. It also won the Grand Prix at the Tampere Film Festival in 1980.^[8]

Sazaye Maut, his first full-length feature film, was an adaptation of his previous short, Murder at Monkey Hill. It starred Naseeruddin Shah, Radha Saluja and Dilip Dhawan. Vanraj Bhatia composed the music for the film.

He founded his own production company, Vinod Chopra Films, in 1985. Since then, the company has gone on to produce major Bollywood films, and is currently one of the biggest and most successful film production houses in India.

For

Pankaj Kapoor, among others, appeared in prominent roles. An inventive meta thriller set in Kashmir, Khamosh remains one of the notable Indian films in the genre

.
His next directorial, the crime drama Parinda (1989), proved to be a landmark film in Hindi cinema. It expanded the orbit of the crime drama and the vocabulary of images used in Hindi films while garnering widespread critical acclaim and numerous awards. Several modern Indian filmmakers have expressed their admiration for and drawn inspiration from Chopra's film.
Chopra's next film, 1942: A Love Story (1994), was a patriotic romantic drama set during the decline of the British Raj. With Anil Kapoor and Manisha Koirala in lead roles, it was also the last film to have its music composed by the legendary R. D. Burman. Burman received a Filmfare Award for Best Music Director and the film won a total of nine awards at the 40th Filmfare Awards. His following two films, Kareeb and Mission Kashmir, were also critically and commercially successful.
Chopra then produced 5 films with filmmaker

Munna Bhai MBBS, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, 3 Idiots, PK, and Sanju. The first 3, which Chopra also co wrote, each won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, and Lage Raho Munna Bhai also won the National Film Award for Best Screenplay. They were all also very commercially successful, with 3 Idiots and PK becoming the highest grossing Indian films of all time in India and worldwide, also breaking into East Asian markets.^[9] He also wrote and produced Parineeta, Ferrari Ki Sawaari, and Wazir

.

However, Chopra's next directorials after 2000 were not as successful. His 2007 film

Shikara was a romantic drama about the Exodus of Kashmiri Hindus

. It became his lowest grossing film since Khamosh.

Chopra then saw a return to success with his 2023 release, the biopic 12th Fail. Despite a low opening day box office, due to great reviews and word of mouth, it became a financial hit, grossing 70 crores on a 20 crore budget.^[12] It then won 5 Filmfare Awards, including Best Film, Director, Screenplay, and Editing for Chopra.

Filmography

Year	Film	Credit as			Notes
Year	Film	Director	Writer	Producer	Notes
1976	Murder at Monkey Hill	Yes	Yes	No	Diploma film; also Actor
1978	An Encounter with Faces	Yes	No	No	Documentary film, nominated for the Oscars.
1981	Sazaye Maut	Yes	Yes	Yes
1983	Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro	No	No	Production Controller	also Actor
1986	Khamosh	Yes	Yes	Yes
1989	Parinda	Yes	Yes	Yes
1994	1942: A Love Story	Yes	Yes	Yes
1998	Kareeb	Yes	Yes	Yes
2000	Mission Kashmir	Yes	Yes	Yes
2003	Munna Bhai MBBS	No	Yes	Yes
2005	Parineeta	No	Yes	Yes	Supervising Editor
2006	Lage Raho Munna Bhai	No	Yes	Yes	Associate writer; lyricist
2007	Eklavya: The Royal Guard	Yes	Yes	Yes
2009	3 Idiots	No	Yes	Yes	Screenplay Associate
2012	Ferrari Ki Sawaari	No	Yes	Yes
2014	PK	No	No	Yes
2015	Broken Horses	Yes	Yes	Yes	English Film
2016	Wazir	No	Yes	Yes	also Editor
2018	Sanju	No	No	Yes
2019	Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga	No	No	Yes
2020	Shikara	Yes	Yes	Yes	co-writers: Rahul Pandita and Abhijat Joshi
2023	12th Fail	Yes	Yes	Yes	Also Editor; Singer, "Restart" and "Restart" (Rap 'N' Folk)
2024	Zero Se Restart

Television

Title	Year	Role	Notes
Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi (DD National)	1984	Himself	Episode 32: "Dieting"

Bibliography

Year	Name	Co Writer(s)	Notes
2021	Unscripted: Conversation on life and cinema	Abhijat Joshi	^[13]

Awards and nominations

List of Vidhu Vinod Chopra awards and nominations
Year	Category	Nominated work	Result
National Film Awards
2003	Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment	Munna Bhai MBBS	Won
2006	Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment	Lage Raho Munna Bhai	Won
2006	National Film Award for Best Screenplay	Lage Raho Munna Bhai	Won
2009	Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment	3 Idiots	Won
Filmfare Awards
1990	Best Film	Parinda	Nominated
1990	Best Director	Parinda	Won
1995	Best Film	1942: A Love Story	Nominated
1995	Best Director	1942: A Love Story	Nominated
2001	Best Film	Mission Kashmir	Nominated
2001	Best Director	Mission Kashmir	Nominated
2004	Best Film	Munna Bhai MBBS	Nominated
2004	Best Screenplay	Munna Bhai MBBS	Won
2007	Best Film	Lage Raho Munna Bhai	Nominated
	Best Story		Won
	Best Diaolgue		Won
2010	Best Film	3 Idiots	Won
2010	Best Screenplay	3 Idiots	Won
2014	Best Film	PK	Nominated
2019	Best Film	Sanju	Nominated
2024	Best Film	12th Fail	Won
	Best Director		Won
	Best Film (Critics)		Nominated
	Best Screenplay		Won
	Best Diaolgue		Nominated
	Best Editing		Won

IIFA Awards

2007: Winner, Best Screenplay for Lage Raho Munna Bhai
2001: Nominated, IIFA Award for Best Director for Mission Kashmir
2010: Winner, Best Screenplay for 3 Idiots

Stardust Awards

2009: Winner, Readers' Choice Award for 3 Idiots

FICCI Awards

2009: Winner, Most Successful Film of the Year for 3 Idiots

Screen Awards

2006: Winner,
Lage Raho Munnabhai
2006: Nominated,
Best Screenplay
for Lage Raho Munna Bhai
2009: Winner, Best Film, 3 Idiots
2009: Winner, Best Screenplay, 3 Idiots

Zee Cine Awards

2007: Winner, Best Screenplay for Lage Raho Munna Bhai
2005: Winner, Best Dialogue for Parineeta
2005: Winner, Best Director for Mission Kashmir

Tampere International Short Film Festival

1980: Winner, Grand Prix for An Encounter with Faces

Personal life

He has been married thrice, his first wife was noted editor

Films Division of India. He has a daughter with Shabnam, Ishaa Chopra, who works as a dance instructor and choreographer.^[14]

He is currently married to Indian film critic Anupama Chopra, whom he married on 1 June 1990.^[15] He has two children with her, a son, Agni and a daughter, Zuni Chopra.^[16]

References

^ "Vidhu Vinod Chopra". IMDb. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
^ "Vidhu Vinod Chopra recalls troubled time in Kashmir – NDTV Movies". ndtv.com. 6 February 2013. Archived from the original on 24 July 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
^ "In Bollywood, everyone's related!". The Times of India. 14 June 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
^ "Obituary: Vir K. Chopra | Ranbir Singh - Mainstream Weekly". mainstreamweekly.net. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
^ "Vidhu Vinod Chopra: I was arrogant, volatile and violent, living with Anu has changed me". The Times of India. 9 April 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
^ "Vidhu Vinod Chopra on Shikara: It is about those who have been refugees in India for over three decades". India Today. 7 January 2020 – via Indo-Asian News Service.
^ "Murder at Monkey Hill". Rudraa. Archived from the original on 3 October 2009. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
^ "Tampere International Short Film Festival (1980)". IMDb. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
^ "3 Idiots – Lifetime Box Office Collection, Budget, Reviews, Cast, etc". BOTY. 4 July 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
^ "Broken Horses". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
^ "Broken Horses Is An Epic Disaster – Box Office India". boxofficeindia.com. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
^ "12th Fail Box Office Collection". Bollywood Hungama. 27 October 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
^ "Vidhu Vinod Chopra's New Book 'Unscripted' 2021". Times Of India. 12 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
^ Watch: A documentary revisits S. Sukhdev's life and career. Scroll.in.
^ "Sleeping with the Enemy". OPEN Magazine. 6 May 2010. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
^ "Zuni Chopra, the quirky millennial author, at her candid best". in.com. Archived from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2019.

External links

[1] "Vidhu Vinod Chopra". IMDb. Retrieved 23 July 2019.

[2] "Vidhu Vinod Chopra recalls troubled time in Kashmir – NDTV Movies". ndtv.com. 6 February 2013. Archived from the original on 24 July 2015. Retrieved 30 June 2018.

[3] "In Bollywood, everyone's related!". The Times of India. 14 June 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2016.

[4] "Obituary: Vir K. Chopra | Ranbir Singh - Mainstream Weekly". mainstreamweekly.net. Retrieved 12 January 2025.

[5] "Vidhu Vinod Chopra: I was arrogant, volatile and violent, living with Anu has changed me". The Times of India. 9 April 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2020.

[6] "Vidhu Vinod Chopra on Shikara: It is about those who have been refugees in India for over three decades". India Today. 7 January 2020 – via Indo-Asian News Service.

[7] "Murder at Monkey Hill". Rudraa. Archived from the original on 3 October 2009. Retrieved 8 October 2009.

[8] "Tampere International Short Film Festival (1980)". IMDb. Retrieved 30 June 2018.

[auto-9] "3 Idiots – Lifetime Box Office Collection, Budget, Reviews, Cast, etc". BOTY. 4 July 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2019.

[RT_Broken_Horses-10] "Broken Horses". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 30 June 2018.

[11] "Broken Horses Is An Epic Disaster – Box Office India". boxofficeindia.com. Retrieved 29 June 2018.

[12] "12th Fail Box Office Collection". Bollywood Hungama. 27 October 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2024.

[13] "Vidhu Vinod Chopra's New Book 'Unscripted' 2021". Times Of India. 12 January 2021. Retrieved 12 January 2021.

[14] Watch: A documentary revisits S. Sukhdev's life and career. Scroll.in.

[15] "Sleeping with the Enemy". OPEN Magazine. 6 May 2010. Retrieved 23 July 2019.

[16] "Zuni Chopra, the quirky millennial author, at her candid best". in.com. Archived from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2019.

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v t e Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Directed	Murder at Monkey Hill (1976) An Encounter with Faces (1978) Sazaye Maut (1981) Khamosh (1985) Parinda (1989) 1942: A Love Story (1994) Kareeb (1998) Mission Kashmir (2000) Eklavya: The Royal Guard (2007) Broken Horses (2015) Shikara (2020) 12th Fail (2023)
Produced only	Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. (2003) Parineeta (2005) Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006) 3 Idiots (2009) Ferrari Ki Sawaari (2012) PK (2014) Wazir (2016) Sanju (2018) Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga (2019)