Yash Chopra, one of Bollywood’s leading directors and producers, on Thursday was named Asian filmmaker of the year by one of the region’s top movie festivals.
Chopra’s “tireless five-decade-long devotion has made considerable contributions to enhance the global status of Indian films as well as Asian cinema,” organisers of South Korea’s Pusan International Film Festival said in a statement.
The 76-year-old filmmaker made his debut with the 1959 film Blossom of Dust and in 1970 set up Yash Raj Films, which became one of the industry’s top production houses and distributes Indian movies abroad. Last year, Yash Raj Films teamed up with The Walt Disney Co. to release the animated film Roadside Romeo .
The Pusan festival will screen four films that Chopra either directed or were made by Yash Raj Films - Lamhe, Dhoom 2, New York and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi , a romantic comedy starring Shah Rukh Khan and directed by Chopra’s son, Aditya.
The award will be presented during the October 8-16 festival in Pusan.
Past winners of the Asian filmmaker of the year prize include Taiwanese art-house directors Hou Hsiao-hsien, Edward Yang and veteran Hong Kong actor-singer Andy Lau.
