Yash Chopra, India's greatest ever director of romantic cinema, has died at the age of 80 shortly after completing his final film, London-set Jab Tak Hai Jaan. A minute's silence is to be observed for him at the Mumbai Film Festival which he helped to found.
With a career spanning five decades, Chopra was oe of the most important voices in Indian cinema and also worked as a writer and producer. He was a great advocate of film as entertainment and felt that viewers should be able to leave the cinema feeling uplifted. He was the first Indian director ever to be honoured by BAFTA for his life's work, he won six National Film Awards in his own country. Fans will fondly remember his collaborations with stars Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan.
Chopra is understood to have suffered multiple organ failure caused by dengue fever. He is survived by his wife, Pamela Singh, and their two sons, director Aditya and actor Uday.
