French honour for Yash Chopra

From a boy who would go about barefeet in Jalandhar, Punjab (India) to recipient of France's highest civilian honour is definitely a defining moment for Bollywood's undisputed "King of Romance" Yash Chopra.
And why not? After nearly half a century in Hindi commercial cinema as a director and producer, 75-year-old Chopra is just the fourth Indian to receive the "Officier de la Legion d'Honoeur", the French government's highest award whose past winners are master director Satyajit Ray, super star Amitabh Bachchan and melody queen Lata Mangeshkar.
And when Chopra stepped forward to receive the honour at a function here from the French Ambassador to India Jerome Bonnafont on the evening of July 5, the veteran maker of hit romantic movies was clearly overwhelmed by the occasion.
"I'm overwhelmed by this honour. It has been a long journey for me in the film industry. It's a humbling experience for a boy who used to walk barefeet in Punjab dreaming of making it big one day in the industry," said Chopra who gave the audience hit films like Silsila, Deewar, Lamhe, Veer Zara, Dil To Pagal Hai, Kabhi Kabhi, Darr and Chandni.
Conferring the honour, Bonnafont said Yash Chopra has "shaped today's Indian film industry and he is the embodiment of Indian cinema and Bollywood in particular and has always been helpful in building bridges between Indian and French entertainment industries."
The director-producer, who is also the founder of Bollywood's major production house Yash Raj Films, has shot several of his films in Paris, the most recent being Jhoom Barabar Jhoom.
Chopra has seen the best of times and worst of times in his career. For instance, the latest movies from Yash Raj Films including Tashan and Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic did not do well at the box office. But Chopra is unfazed. "If my films aren't doing well, there must be something wrong with them. I won't blame the audience for that."
"The audience today is too discerning to be led up the garden path by attractive packaging. Stars and technology cannot guarantee the success of a film. We need good stories and scripts," said Chopra.
The filmmaker is not the one to be distracted by the success or otherwise of a film. "One learns from mistakes and moves on," he said.
Chopra said he wanted to "experiment" with films like Chak De India and Dhoom and it clicked. But not all experiments succeed all the time, he is quick to add. And he takes everything in his stride. It is this attitude which has seen him survive in the cut-throat competition of Bollywood for 49 years.
Even at the happiest hour of his life, Yash Chopra cannot forget his past and his brother B.R. Chopra. "But for my brother, I would not have been here talking to you," he said when the French Ambassador pinned the medal on his chest.
Yash Chopra said it was B.R. Chopra who brought him to Mumbai and today was being missed due to ill-health.