On the 111th Birth Anniversary of B.R. Chopra (April 22): Papa (B.R. Chopra) always gave women a higher status - Renu Chopra

By Shantiswaroop Tripathi

On April 22, 2025, the 111th birth anniversary of B.R. Chopra, the creator of iconic films like Gumrah, Ek Raasta, Naya Daur, Sadhna, Dool Ke Phool, Kanoon, Dhund, Ittefaq, Insaaf Ka Tarazu, Nikah, and the famous TV series Mahabharat, was celebrated. On this occasion, Renu Chopra, the daughter-in-law of B.R. Chopra, wife of the late Ravi Chopra, and a filmmaker herself, had an in-depth conversation recalling B.R. Chopra and his contributions to cinema.

On the 111th birth anniversary of B.R. Chopra, could you share how you first met him?

What I admired most about Chopra Sahab was that, besides being an excellent filmmaker, he was also a wonderful human being. You see, I don't come from a film background. I was brought up and educated in London. However, I do remember I had a great passion for watching movies. Chopra Sahab's films were known for their storytelling during that time. So, I would go to watch his films with my friends. One film I particularly remember is Waqt. I went to see it at Liberty cinema. You may not believe it, but I watched the first show from 11 AM to 2 PM. After that, I went again with my friends for the 3 to 6 PM show because we loved the movie so much. It was such a beautiful film. Moreover, Gumrah was my all-time favorite because I felt that in the 1960s, he portrayed a woman’s extramarital affair and justified it. In this film, you never feel Mala Sinha is a vamp, nor do you feel Sunil Dutt is wrong. I was later told that when this film was offered to Sunil Dutt, he told Chopra Sahab, "Chopra Sahab, please don’t make me the villain. I can't refuse you, but please consider that." Chopra Sahab confidently assured him, "Sunil, this picture will give you great credit, just wait and see." The day the film was released, we were in Delhi. Gumrah was released at Sheila Cinema in Delhi. Sunil Dutt secretly went to a corner of the theater, and when all the girls were leaving, because during those days, the 11 AM show in Delhi was mainly attended by girls, they all fell in love with him, saying, "Wow! What a man! What a performance!" And for me, the best part of the film was its climax. As we all know, Gumrah had four different climaxes shot. I liked the climax because I felt that a husband who says, "If you have an affair outside of marriage, there must be something lacking in me, something went wrong, which led you to take this step," and then forgives his wife and tells her, "You can leave if you want, but if you step out of this house, don’t come back."

It’s very important for a woman not to cross that threshold. I really liked this. The world has changed a lot now, but I still feel that a wife is called 'ghar wali' (the one who stays at home) because she stays at home. Today’s generation might not agree with my views, maybe their thinking is different, and that could be right for them. But what I mean is, I would think a thousand times before breaking up a home because when a home breaks, when a woman leaves, an entire family, community, and society get shattered. That’s happening today. Our generation has very little patience, and they divorce over every little thing. Our parents used to tell us, "Once you leave, never look back." Look, a clap needs two hands. When I came to Chopra Sahab’s house after my marriage, I was completely from a non-film background. I didn’t know anything. Our marriage was arranged. My father liked only one thing – that Chopra Sahab had a good reputation. At that time, my husband Ravi was young, just 25-26 years old, and I was 21. My father didn’t know much about Ravi. He only knew that Ravi had a Master's degree, didn’t smoke, and didn’t drink. My father had never met Ravi. He always said, "I look at the family. I look at the breed of the horse, not the horse itself." That’s why my marriage happened. But when I reached Chopra Sahab’s house, I received so much love that I can’t even express it. I used to call him 'Papa' but considered him a father from the heart. He was never a father-in-law to me. He always understood me like a father, whenever I needed advice. There was a tradition at their home that the daughter-in-law would wake up first and do pairi-pana (touch the feet of elders). I had studied in an English school, lived in London, so initially, I found it strange to wake up early and touch someone’s feet. But Chopra Sahab, or Papa Ji as I called him, explained to me. He told me, "Look, if you don’t want to touch feet, that’s fine. But when you touch the feet of an elder, their hand goes on your head. That means all the energy from that person is transferred to you, and you will receive so many blessings that you can’t even imagine. Those blessings will take you far." I think, in my life, whatever ups and downs came, they all worked out. Even when times were tough, I felt I had the blessings of the elders. There was something special about those blessings, and I felt that goodwill lasts forever.

Papa always said, "Whether there is anyone at home or not, but if someone comes, offer them water or food." Earlier, I didn’t think my father-in-law’s emphasis on food and drinks was that important. But later, I understood the importance of this. Till today, people say that when they visited Chopra Sahab’s office, they were offered tea and snacks. Subhash Ghai Ji also says, "I went to B.R. Films as a struggling actor. I used to sit outside the office. It was the only office where they would ask if we wanted tea." He remembers how he was offered tea, unlike other offices where he was ignored. I must tell you that it was Chopra Sahab who, after watching Subhash Ghai in one or two films, told him, "Subhash, you have such a great vision. Why don’t you make films as a director?" Following that advice, Subhash Ghai became a director. That was the way Chopra Sahab presented opportunities.

Papa’s first film was Afsana, starring Ashok Kumar, Bina, and Pran Sahab. It too had an extramarital affair. I remember the climax of that film, written in 1955. Ashok Kumar, who knew everything about Bina’s affair, comes to her with two capsules, one containing poison and the other one without. He tells Bina, "One capsule contains poison, and the other doesn’t. Let’s leave it to fate to decide who is right or wrong. Pick one, and I’ll pick the other. Whoever dies is wrong." If you remember the climax, Bina picks both capsules and dies. In this film too, Chopra Sahab gave a woman a high place, giving her the right to make her own decision. No husband should dominate so much that he denies his wife the right to decide. A woman is always equal to a man. She always stands by her husband. There’s no talk of being superior or inferior. Equality is the rule in our house. During Karva Chauth, we would all gather on the terrace with our friends. All the women would break their fast by touching their husband’s feet. But in our house, the wife didn’t touch her husband’s feet. Instead, she shook hands with him and hugged him. According to Papa Ji’s instructions, we touched the feet of elders but not the husband’s because the wife and husband were equals.

You were raised in London, a completely different world. After watching films like Afsana and Gumrah, what thoughts crossed your mind?
Chopra Sahab made these films before I got married. I watched them later, when he told me, "You should watch these pictures." After seeing the climaxes of these films, I felt that he had justified the story. I remember that when Gumrah was being advertised, it said, "Do not miss the beginning and don’t reveal the end." I thought Chopra Sahab was making some kind of thriller or something else. But when I sat down to watch, he began the film with the concept of the Lakshman Rekha (the line that should not be crossed). For a moment, I was shocked and thought, "What is this old-fashioned story? What is Chopra Sahab showing here? This is not something I expect from him." But when the film’s ending came, I understood the meaning of the Lakshman Rekha and how he connected the film’s beginning to its end. I think this was the brilliance of a master filmmaker, and the timing of that era demanded such a storytelling technique.

Before the release of Baghban, a five-day program of five films was organized. Did you have any role in that?

Yes! I was the one who organized it. Let me tell you the truth. Ravi ji was about to direct Baghban after 12 years. During this time, Papa ji and Ravi ji were busy with Mahabharat. The truth is that Baghban’s story was written by Chopra Sahab 20 years ago. Whenever he thought about making it, people would say that the story was old. They would mention that many films, including Avatar, had already been made on this theme. One day, when Papa ji was narrating the story in the office, Ravi had just returned from shooting Mahabharat. He also started listening to the story, though initially, Ravi wasn’t interested in making Baghban. But the story really touched him, and he kept listening to it repeatedly. One day, after hearing it, Ravi was so moved that he said, “Papa, I will make Baghban.” Papa ji asked, “Why do you want to make it? This film won’t work.” But Ravi replied, “When you were narrating it, I didn’t feel like it was Avatar or Zindagi; I felt it was a love story of older people—like two swans being separated. That’s the feeling I got. So, I want to make this film. The story may seem old, but I will change it slightly.” Papa ji agreed, and then Ravi worked on the story.

Our writer was Achla Nagar, who had written Nikah. Achla Nagar was a forward-thinking woman. So, sitting with her, Ravi revived the story while keeping the original essence but adding his own touches. For example, there was a café with Paresh Rawal’s character in the film, and the idea of a café came from the time we went to T-Series’ Music Café in Bandra, Mumbai, where they had opened it (though it has probably closed now). We got the idea for the music café from there. Even the climax of the original Bagbaan was that the father would be so angry that he would take his sons to court and say that he was disowning them. Ravi felt that a father wouldn’t take his sons to court. So, Ravi asked Papa ji, "Will you ever take me to court?" Papa ji replied, "No, everything is yours." Ravi realized that every father, whether he has two sons or four, would think the same way, and he wouldn’t take them to court. Hence, Ravi came up with a new climax for Baghban. In this new version, the book gets published, and the father gets money, but the wife still says, "I can’t forgive you."

Ravi’s contribution was significant because he wanted the climax of Baghban to be in the hands of the woman. Although Amitabh Bachchan’s character gave a long speech, the climax was in Hema ji’s hands, where she said, "No, I can’t forgive you, not now, and never will I forgive you." In this way, Baghban was told with a new perspective.

You see, the tradition of B.R. Films is still carried on by our children. My children also made films like Pati, Patni Aur Woh, Bhootnath Returns, Bareilly Ki Barfi, Ittifaq, etc. They too try to add something new, even when making remakes. For example, in Pati, Patni Aur Woh, they gave the climax to both women. In Bareilly Ki Barfi, we showcased a modern young girl who smokes and is a strong, independent character. It reflects how much the society and family dynamics have changed over the years. Through all this, we have always given a strong and positive role to women.

My question was, why did you decide to organize a 5-day festival, and why did you choose those particular films?

We hadn't made a film for 12 years, so we wanted to create a publicity campaign for the launch of Baghban. At that time, social media was very expensive, and everything was costly. My friend and journalist, Bhavna Somaiya, suggested that I organize such a festival. Then, Ravi and I thought about which films to choose. We picked films whose actors were still alive and could attend. After screening the films, we also wanted to have discussions with the artists. We selected films like Gumrah where artists like Mala Sinha and Sunil Dutt were present at the time. For Waqt, we had Yash Uncle and Chopra Sahab. We chose three or four films where we could invite our actors. No matter what you say, star power is the greatest. No matter how much I talk or how much you listen, as long as there is star power, it’s because that is the face of cinema. Everyone behind the camera works very hard, does excellent work, and contributes a lot, but the credit always goes to the actors. Even if the film doesn’t work, the director faces the consequences. In the end, when a film works, all the credit goes to the actors, and that’s the truth. This is what we call star power. So, we carefully selected five films and asked questions related to them.

There are so many memories I have of Papa Ji (B.R. Chopra Sahab) that they can never be exhausted.

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