It was also one of the first few Hindi films that did not have any songs, and yet was a huge hit. It threw light on the immense power the judiciary holds over people’s lives with the death sentence, especially, as the film’s plot shows, when the sentencing depends on people’s testimonials, which can easily be influenced and changed. The film also enthralled the audience with its songs like Aaj Kyon Humse Parda sung by Mohammed Rafi.Ī legal drama, Kanoon dealt with the debate around capital punishment. It won accolades, including the Filmfare’s Best Film of the Year. The film shows the stigma attached to sex workers and how women are exploited by the society. The story followed a young Guru Dutt, who falls in love with Vyjayanthimala not knowing that she was a prostitute. Films’ Naya Daur is a distinctly successful combination of pertinent social education and moral and top-rate entertainment.”Ī film way ahead of its time, Sadhna dealt with the perception of sex workers in India. Filmfare’s review puts it best: “A powerful and vibrantly gripping picture, B.R.
B R CHOPRA MAHABHARAT MOVIE
The movie catapulted both the lead actors to instant fame. Vyjayanthimala plays Dilip Kumar’s love interest in the movie. One of his most memorable films, Naya Daur, made Chopra a household name.Ī man versus machine tale, the story was simple but resonated with the audience - a tongawala (horse-cart driver) played by Dilip Kumar takes on the big, bad ‘corporate’ who wants to bring in bus services to the town and render tongawalas jobless. ThePrint takes a look at some of the films that defined Chopra much like his Mahabharat. Chopra passed away at the age of 94 in 2008, leaving behind a huge legacy. He also helped his brother, Yash Chopra, by giving him the opportunity to work as an assistant director and encouraged him to set up his own production company, which is now an immensely successful Bollywood empire.ī.R. This going-against-the-grain formula magically worked for Chopra as the audiences flocked to the theatres to watch his films.Īlthough Chopra took a step back from directing movies in the 1990’s, he continued producing films from then to 2000s - Baghban (2003), Baabul (2006), and Bhoothnath (2008). The most striking factor about Chopra’s films was that most of them dealt with socially relevant issues - from widow remarriage to sex workers to inter-faith love - he showed it all.Ĭhopra, by and large, shied away from casting big stars in his movies, and instead went with unknown faces such as Amol Palekar (when he had just started out) and even preferred singer Mahendra Kapoor to Mohammed Rafi. He would then go on to make films that would define Hindi cinema in the 1960’s and 70’s. He, however, kept his dreams of filmmaking alive, and managed to collect funds for his next film Afsana in 1951, which was a huge hit.Ĭhopra delivered yet another hit movie Chandni Chowk in 1954 and this led him to set up his own production house.