In the death of Baldev Raj Chopra, famously known as BR Chopra, Hindi cinema has lost a doyen who belonged to its golden era. His contribution to mainstream cinema was phenomenal. Throughout his career spanning more than four decades he stood out for his uncanny ability to blend “commercial” elements into socially-relevant themes with remarkable finesse and success, something not many of his ilk could do.

The BR legacy began in the ‘30s, when a young Baldev Raj Chopra, after graduating in English Literature, opted for a career in film journalism to the surprise of his family, who had expected him to pursue academics. But cinema had captivated his interest very early. As a film critic he was known to be very strident. Later in the ‘40s, he look over as editor of the monthly film magazine Cine Herald for which he had been writing .

In the mid-’40s, goaded on by a family friend, he got down to producing a film, Chandni Chowk, based on a story by the late I.S. Johar. But as bad luck would have it, on the day they were to record the first song, communal riots broke out and life went topsy- turvy.

The situation worsened by the day and BR’s house was burnt down in the melee. And he fled to Delhi with family and later moved to Mumbai. Interestingly, Khayyam, who was to become one of our finest composers (he came up with a memorable score in Yash Chopra’s Kabhi Kabhie),was an assistant to Chisti, who was to be the music director of Chandni Chowk.

Though BR Chopra’s attempt to make Chandni Chowk went in flames, his dreams didn’t die. He co-produced a film called Karwat in Mumbai in 1949. However, the film was a disaster at the box- office. A somewhat disheartened BR was wondering what next, when a friend from Lahore, Govardhan Das Aggarwal, convinced him to direct a film. The film was Afsana, again written by I.S. Johar , with one of the biggest stars of the time, Ashok Kumar, in the lead. The film was a huge success.

Curiously, BR’S first choice to play the double-role of the twins in Afsana was Dilip Kumar, but the thespian felt he was too young for the part and suggested Ashok Kumar. However, Dadamoni, conscious of his stature, wasn’t sure of doing a film with a new director. But, shrewd and perceptive as he was, he quickly sensed the potential in the script. He also liked BR’s confidence. The rest, as they say, is history. The success of Afsana did make Dilip Kumar wonder if he had erred in letting the film go. When he shared his regret with BR, the latter promised he would one day remake the film with him. And he did, in 1972, in the form of Daastan with Dilip Kumar and Sharmila Tagore in the lead. However, the theme didn’t go well with the times.

BR’S next film, Shole (1953) with Ashok Kumar and Bina Rai in the lead, was a failure. That’s when he went back to Chandni Chowk (1954) with the emerging star of the time, Meena Kumari (who was fresh from the phenomenal success of Baiju Bawra), but that film too sank at the box-office. The setbacks didn’t rattle BR. In retrospect, he realised the virtue of total control over the making of a film and decided to set up his own production house before venturing into his next project. The resolve marked the birth of BR Films in 1955. His first film under his own banner was Ek Hi Raasta (1956) with Ashok Kumar and Meena Kumari in the lead along with a promising newcomer, Sunil Dutt. The film on widow remarriage went on to become a huge hit both critically and commercially. Its success galvanized the crusader in BR to continue to explore provocative social issues through his films, and he did it with remarkable success, and with far greater consistency than any of his peers.

Naya Daur (1957) dealt with the socio-economic evils of mechanisation, Kanoon (1960), the first song-less Hindi film, took a dig at the vagaries of the legal system and Gumrah (1963) focussed on adultery. Dhool Ka Phool (1959) looked at the travails of an illegitimate child and Dharamputra (1961) touched upon the communal divide. BR sustained his crusader’s zeal right through his career. He made films like Insaf Ka Tarazu (1980) and Nikaah (1982) even as he was pushing 70. BR produced the multi-star Waqt in 1965. Directed by Yash Chopra, it had some of the biggest stars of the time in its cast like Balraj Sahni, Raaj Kumar, Sunil Dutt, Shashi Kapoor, Sadhana and Sharmila Tagore.

BR had launched his favourite brother Yash Chopra, who had been his assistant for a long time, as a full-fledged director with Dhool Ka Phool in 1959. The film, which dwelt on the complex theme of unwed motherhood and illegitimacy, was a phenomenal success at the box-office. Yash’s next was another hard-hitting film (Dharamputra in 1961) on communal strife. Yash directed five films for BR banner including Waqt (1965) and Ittefaq (1969), an offbeat thriller that traced the mysterious happenings in the lives of a man and a woman unrelated to each other who are trapped in a bungalow one night. Aadmi Aur Insaan (1970) was to be Yash Chopra’s last film for the BR banner. He walked out after his marriage to Pamela Singh in the early ‘70s to set up his own banner, Yash Raj Films.

Yash Chopra’s walkout affected BR Chopra deeply. He often rued the fact that his dream of living in a happy joint family had been shattered. He was never tired of saying that he always treated Yash like his eldest son. As son Ravi Chopra would remark, “Yash uncle was closer to my dad than I ever was.” Ravi remembers sharing a room with Yash uncle in their earlier abode before they moved into the sprawling new bungalow in Juhu in Mumbai and before he moved out after marriage.

It could be the law of averages or plain coincidence, but BR Films hit an unusual low after the brothers parted. Daastan (1972), which came five years after Hamraaz (1967), was a return to BR’s first flick Afsana, but with disastrous results at the box-office. Dhund (1973) was a hit, but Karm (1977) flopped. Son Ravi Chopra’s debut film Zameer (1975), starring a post - Zanjeer Amitabh Bachchan along with Vinod Khanna and Saira Banu, was only an average success at the box-office too. BR’s next major hit came in 1978 in the form of an uncharacteristic Pati Patni Aur Woh (starring Sanjeev Kumar, Parveen Babi and Ranjeeta Kaur)! It was followed in quick succession by two more blockbusters Insaaf Ka Tarazu (1980) and a Muslim social, Nikaah (1982). BR Chopra was in his element once again. The magnum opus, however, was Mahabharat (1988) which gave a new dimension to the concept of television series in India and recorded mind-boggling TRPs.

BR Chopra had taken quite a while to live down the impact of Yash Chopra walking out on him, something he had never fathomed. When Yash left, BR admitted to experiencing ‘a strange sense of emptiness’ which seemed to affect his work as well. He saw the episode as a ‘major aberration’ in his life, but never wanted to go into the why’s and what’s of it.

As Editor of Screen in the late ‘90s, I remember trying for a ‘scoop’ of sorts by bringing the two brothers together for a joint interview. One evening, after a long interview, where he had spoken feelingly about ‘the great days’, I asked BR off-hand, ‘Will you call Yashji over for a photo shoot if I request you to?’. His instant response was,’ Why not?’. After a pause, he said, ‘But talk to Yash first’. I did, and Yashji was graciousness personified. He shouldn’t be calling me, he is more a father to me than a brother. I have learnt everything under him,’ he said in an emotion-charged voice. ‘I can just walk into Bhai-saab’s house anytime.’ He did walk in one evening as we had fixed and we had a very pleasant photo session. The brothers were chatting away merrily as photographer Haresh Daftary and I decided to take leave. However, the joint-interview we had planned didn’t happen. Before we could get down to it, I had quit Screen.