Vidhu Vinod Chopra is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. He has won the National Film Award five times, namely in 1976, 2003, 2006 (twice) and 2009.
Wiki/Biography
Vidhu Vinod Chopra was born on Friday, September 5, 1952, in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India (age 71; as of 2023). His zodiac sign is Virgo.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra childhood photos
He pursued his education at DAV College Magarmal Bagh, Srinagar, Kashmir, India. He received his bachelor’s degree from Sir Parasurambhau College, Pune. Later, he studied film directing course at Film and Television Institute of India, Pune.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′ 9″
Hair color: black
Eye color: dark brown
family
He belonged to a Punjabi Kashmiri Hindu family and came from Peshawar, British India (now Pakistan).
Parents and siblings
His father, Lala Dinanath Chopra (DN Chopra), was a manager of an insurance company in Srinagar, Kashmir, and wrote poetry. His mother’s name was Shanti Devi Mahalakshmi. His brother Veer Chopra owns a motorcycle company. His sister Shailija Dhar is a film director who made a brief appearance in the Hindi film 3 Idiots (as the lady at Mona Singh’s wedding).
Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s mother
Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s siblings
wife and children
Renu Saluja
While studying at FTII, he met Renu Saluja, an Indian film editor who was studying editing at FTII. Soon they became friends and then fell in love with each other. At the age of 19, Vidu married Renu. However, in 1983, the couple divorced because Renu did not want to have children. Renu died of cancer in 2002.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra and his Renu Saluja
Shabnam Sukhdev
In 1985, he married Indian film producer Shabnam Sukhdev. The couple later gave birth to a daughter named Ishaa Vinod Chopra, a dancer, film producer and writer. His marriage didn’t last long, and in 1989, the couple divorced.
Photos of Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s second wife Shabnam
Vidhu Vinod Chopra and his daughter Isha
Anupama Chopra
In 1989, Indian journalist and film critic Anupama Chopra approached Vinod for an interview, but he arrogantly denied it. Later, she met him through her mother. Gradually, they became friends and later, fell in love with each other. On June 1, 1990, the couple got married. They have a daughter named Zuni Chopra (author) and a son named Agni Dev Chopra (cricket player).
Vidhu Vinod Chopra with Anupama and her children
other relatives)
Ramanand Sagar, the famous Indian director and producer, is his half-brother. After the death of Ramanand’s mother, his father married Vidu’s mother.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s half-brother Ramanand Sagar
His father-in-law, Navin Chandra, is a former Union Carbide executive. His mother-in-law Kamna Chandra is a screenwriter. His brother-in-law Vikram Chandra is an Indian-American writer. His sister-in-law Tanuja Chandra is a director and writer.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s in-laws
Profession
Writer/Director/Producer
In 1976, he directed the Hindi-English short film “Murder at Monkey Mountain”. In 1978, he directed the Hindi documentary “Encounter of Faces”. He made his debut as a director-writer-producer of Hindi films in 1981 with the film Sazaye Maut. His Hindi films include Parinda (1989), 1942: A Love Story (1994), Mission Kashmir (2000), Shikara (2020) and Failure 12 (2023) .
Vidhu Vinod Chopra on the sets of ‘Parinda’
As a screenwriter, he has worked on many Hindi films such as Parinda (1989), Munna Bhai MBBS (2003), Parineeta (2005), 3 Idiots (2009), Shikara” (2020), and “The 12th Failure” (2023). Vidhu has produced several Hindi films such as 1942: A Love Story (1994), Mission Kashmir (2000), Munna Bhai MBBS (2003), 3 Idiots (2009), Sanju (2018), and “Failure 12” (2023).
Other jobs
He served as executive producer in the 2005 Hindi film Parineeta. He worked on the Hindi film “Lage Raho Munna Bhai” (2006) as an associate screenwriter and lyricist. In 2009, he worked as a screenwriter’s assistant on the Hindi film “3 Idiots”. He served as writer, director and producer on the 2015 English-language film Broken Horses. He worked as an editor on the 2016 Hindi film Wazir. In 2020, he co-created the Hindi film Shikara with Rahul Pandita and Abhijat Joshi. In 2021, he co-authored the book “Unscripted: Conversations between Life and Film.” He has created some advertisements for brands such as Lehar Pepsi. He opened Creative Ideas, a merchandise clothing store.
T-shirts from Vidhu Vinod Chopra store
dispute
Allegation of copyright infringement
In 2009, shortly after the release of the Hindi film 3 Idiots, Indian writer Chetan Bhagat accused Vidhu of copyright infringement. Vidhu then held a press conference in which one of the reporters behaved inappropriately by asking questions related to the infringement.
He later apologized to reporters. In 2020, Chetan Bhagat posted a tweet insinuating that Vidhu Vinod Chopra bullied and harassed Chetan.
Chetan Bhagat’s tweets about Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Inappropriate conduct with journalists
In October 2016, he behaved inappropriately towards a journalist at a film festival in Mumbai. He said,
Don’t tell me what to say and why I should talk. “
Awards
national film award
- 1976: National Film Award for Best Experimental Short Film
- 2003: Best Popular Movie Munna Bhai MBBS Provides Wholesome Entertainment
- 2006: Best Popular Movie “Lage Raho Munna Bhai” Provides Wholesome Entertainment
- 2006: Best Screenplay for the movie “Lage Raho Munna Bhai”
- 2009: Best Popular Movie “3 Idiots” Provides Wholesome Entertainment
Vidhu Vinod Chopra wins National Award
Film Audience Award
- 1990: Best Picture “Parinda”
Vidhu Vinod Chopra wins 35th Filmfare Award
- 2004: Best Film Munna Bhai MBBS
- 2004: Best Screenplay for the movie “Munna Bhai MBBS”
- 2007: Best Dialogues in the movie Munna Bhai MBBS
- 2007: Best Feature Film for the film Lage Raho Munna Bhai
- 2007: Best Film (Critics) for the film Lage Raho Munna Bhai
- 2010: Best Screenplay for the movie “3 Idiots”
- 2010: Best Picture “3 Idiots”
- 2024: Best Editing for the Movie “12”
- 2024: Best Screenplay for the movie “The 12th Fail”
- 2024: Best Director for the film “The 12th Fail”
international indian film academy awards
- 2004: Best Screenplay for the movie “Munna Bhai MBBS”
- 2006: Best Feature Film for the film “Parineeta”
- 2010: Best Screenplay for the movie “3 Idiots”
- 2010: Best Feature Film for the film “3 Idiots”
- 2010: Best Picture for “3 Idiots”
ETC Bollywood Business Awards
- 2015: Movie “PK 3 Billion Club”
- 2019: 300 Crore Club for Movie ‘Sanju’
- 2019: Movie ‘Sanju’ earns top box office revenue of the year
screen award
- 2007: Best Feature Film for the film Lage Raho Munna Bhai
- 2010: Best Screenplay for the movie “3 Idiots”
- 2010: Best Picture for “3 Idiots”
Bangladesh Film Journalist Award
- 2004: Munna Bhai MBBS Best Film
- 2007: Lage Raho Munna Bhai Best Film
FOI Online Awards
- 2023: Best Editing for the Movie “12”
- 2023: Best Screenplay (Adaptation) for the movie “The 12th Fail”
Other awards
- 1976: Oscar nomination for the Hindi-English short film Murder at Monkey Mountain
- 1980: Won the Grand Prize at the Tampere Film Festival for the documentary “Encounter with a Face”
- In 1995, he won the Best Film at the Shanghai International Film Festival for his film “1942: Love Story”
- 2006: Best Feature Film for the film Lage Raho Munna Bhai
- 2007: Won the Bollywood Best Film Award for the film “Lage Raho Munna Bhai”
- 2010: Won the China-Europe Bollywood Award for Best Film of the Year for the movie “3 Idiots”
- 2010: Won the Stardust Award for Best Picture for the movie “3 Idiots”
- 2015: Won the Feitian Film Producers Association Award for Best Film for the movie “PK”
- 2015: Won the IBN Live Movie Award for Best Film for the movie “PK”
- 2019: Won the Zee Cine Awards for Best Film for the movie “Sanju”
Favorites
- Filmmakers: Steven Spielberg, James Cameron
- Films: Ajantrik (1958), Meghe Dhaka Tara (1960)
- Film Type: Thriller, Comedy
Facts/Trivia
- His name is also VVC.
- During his childhood, the family’s economic conditions were not good. He revealed in an interview that once he was diagnosed with jaundice, he did not even have 5 rupees for medical treatment.
- Since he was a bright student in school, his father wanted him to become a doctor. He shared that he was a national scholar. Apart from studying, he is also good at playing cricket.
- In his first few years of school, he studied only Hindi and Urdu. At the age of 16, he began to learn the English alphabet.
- His elder brother paid Vidhu Rs 250 as FTII fee and provided financial support while he studied there.
- When he was a fresher at FTII, Pune, he was so afraid of wearing tattered clothes that he used to carry a knife to the college campus. He once revealed that if his seniors bullied him, he would even kill them with a knife.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra as a young man
- In an interview, he said he wanted to study at UCLA since he was a teenager. However, due to lack of financial resources, he was unable to realize his dream.
- As a teenager, he wanted to be an actor. He even made a brief appearance in the Hindi film “Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro” (1983).
- He follows a non-vegetarian diet.
- He was often spotted drinking at parties and events.
- In an interview, he said that it was his mother’s last wish for Vidhu to direct a film on the struggle of Kashmiri Pandits. To fulfill his mother’s dream, he directed the Hindi film “Shikara”.
- In his free time, he likes to travel to different places.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra during his trip
- He was an avid animal lover and had several pet dogs.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra and a dog
- He has said that he does not use Instagram or Facebook.
- Vidhu has close relations with Indian politician LK Advani. He shared that he met Advani when he received his first National Award. He said,
The first Rs 5000 I ever earned in my life was given to me by Mr. LK Advani for the National Award. When I came on stage, they gave me the National Award, which can be redeemed after 8 years because it is a postal certificate. Then I made a lot of noise and I don’t want to say it but he was the I&B minister and the next day he called me to his office and gave me breakfast. He then sent me to Gol Dak Khana in Delhi and I actually got my first Rs 5000 from him, which I will never forget. “
- When he was nominated for an Oscar, he had no money to book a flight to the United States. LK Advani then gave him an Air India ticket and $20 per day till he stayed in the US.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra and LK Advani
- In 1998, he directed the Hindi film Kareeb and dedicated the film to his wife Anupama.
- On his production company’s YouTube channel, his team uploads videos related to his work.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra Movies YouTube Channel
- Vidhu once gifted Amitabh Bachchan a Rolls-Royce worth Rs 45 crore. At that time, Vidhu only owned a Maruti van.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education