Yash Chopra to retire from direction

Yash Chopra declared that he had had enough of direction, and that he would like to instead mentor younger film-makers and nurture his studio in suburban Andheri

It was Yash Chopra's 80th birthday on September 27 and what better way to celebrate it than chronicle his remarkable contribution to Hindi cinema, his experience with clippings of all his films. A promotional event for his Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma starrer Jab Tak Hai Jaan, which is Chopra's 22nd film as a director and first in eight years after Veer Zara, also marked the occasion.

The highlight of the evening, however, was an animated conversation between Chopra and SRK and that was the time when Chopra declared that he had had enough of direction, and that he would like to instead mentor younger film-makers and nurture his studio.

Interestingly, the statement came at the conclusion of a seemingly casual chat between Khan and Chopra about the milestones in the director's 53-year-long career. Assembled at studio No. 3 at the Yash Raj Studios complex the guests were reminded of the range of subjects Chopra has tackled and the sheer number of actors he has showcased or launched.

Some of the biggest hits in Khan's own career have been with Yash Raj Films (YRF), so it was fitting that the producer called upon his favourite leading man to make the announcement.

Khan, looking dapper in a black and white suit, was at his wittiest best and claimed that the first film he watched in a theatre was Chopra's Joshila; and he was watching Lamhe when he got a call from Chopra's office to audition for Darr. Chopra talked about how the release of his 1956 hit film, Waqt, was delayed by the first Indo-Pak war, why he broke away from his brother B. R. Chopra's's company and set up YRF. Khan expertly balanced deference with his trademark irreverence-he made fun of Chopra's baldness for instance-but Chopra got even with him, when he gently ticked off Khan for being late while shooting for the film. He told Khan why he liked working with him. "Shah Rukh, you are one actor who never asked me, 'what is the story about, how much are you paying'. We trust each other," he said.

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