[6] In 2006, British Academy of Film and Television Arts presented him with a lifetime membership, making him the first Indian to receive the honour.

Chopra rose to prominence after directing the critically and commercially successful family drama Waqt (1965), which pioneered the concept of ensemble casts in Bollywood.

Chopra's collaboration with his brother continued in the form of the 1965 film Waqt,[8] which featured an ensemble cast including Sunil Dutt, Raaj Kumar, Shashi Kapoor, Sadhana, Balraj Sahni, Madan Puri, Sharmila Tagore, Achala Sachdev and Rehman.

He directed Ittefaq (1969),[8] a mystery thriller film based on a Gujarati play, depicting the events of a single night, with Rajesh Khanna and Nanda in the lead roles.

[17][18] [5][12] His first independently-produced film, Daag: A Poem of Love (1973),[19] a melodrama about polygamy, starring Rajesh Khanna, Sharmila Tagore and Raakhee was a blockbuster and won Chopra his third Filmfare Award for Best Director.

[20][21] He directed a number of cult classics starring Shashi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan, and scripted by Salim–Javed, notably Deewaar (1975) and Trishul (1978), which were major critical and commercial successes and remain popular even today.

The action-oriented film, which was based on the well-known Marathi play titled Ashroonchi Zhali Phule, received critical acclaim, but fared only average at the box-office.

A year later, he made Faasle, a romantic drama starring Sunil Dutt, Rekha, Rohan Kapoor and Farah, which proved to be a critical and commercial disaster at the box-office.

After a string of critically and commercially films, the success of Chandni consolidated Sridevi's position as the top female Bollywood star of the era.

[8] The film received widespread critical acclaim, had exceptional music, and was one of the biggest Bollywood hits in the overseas market; however, it was a flop in India due to its controversial storyline.

Over the years, Lamhe has been hailed as a cult classic; it is regarded as a modern masterpiece and possibly his finest film to date.

Despite an all-star cast of Ramya Krishnan, Aamir Khan, Raveena Tandon, Sunil Dutt, Anupam Kher, Vinod Khanna, Ashwini Bhave and Saif Ali Khan (in his film debut), the film was a commercial failure and was panned by critics for its weak storyline and soundtrack, although Chopra's direction was commended.

In 1993, Chopra directed the newcomer Shahrukh Khan along with Juhi Chawla and Sunny Deol in the musical psychological thriller Darr.

[5][8] The film depicted the story of an obsessed lover (Khan) and the lengths to which he goes to pursue a woman (Chawla) who is already happily engaged to another man (Deol).

[29][30] In 1997, Chopra directed, produced and co-wrote the musical romantic drama Dil To Pagal Hai,[8] starring yet again Shahrukh Khan in a love quadrangle with Madhuri Dixit, Karisma Kapoor and Akshay Kumar.

Rama Sharma from The Tribune wrote: "Giving love its due, Chopra has understandably linked the script to the life of a common man.

Drawing from the best of the two countries, the story is made more colorful by a spray of the Punjabi culture—be it celebrating Lohri in India or visiting a dargah in Pakistan.

In September 2012, in a special interview with actor Shahrukh Khan on the occasion of his 80th birthday, Chopra announced that Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012)[8] would be his last directorial venture and that he would opt to focus on his production company and his personal life.

Chopra was known to often cast the same actors in his films, his most famous collaborations being with Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjeev Kumar, Madan Puri, Amrish Puri, Prem Chopra, Nirupa Roy, Aruna Irani, Bindu, Manmohan Krishna, Poonam Dhillon, Parikshit Sahni, Shashi Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Neetu Singh, Raakhee, Rajesh Khanna, Sunil Dutt, Anil Kapoor, Waheeda Rehman, Hema Malini, Anupam Kher, Iftekhar, Achala Sachdev, Vikas Anand and more recently, Shahrukh Khan.

[40] |https://www.cnbctv18.com/entertainment/yash-chopra-shyam-benegal-to-receive-lifetime-honours-at-jaipur-international-film-festival-2025-19535361.htm The Yash Chopra Memorial Award ceremonies were instituted by the TSR Foundation of T. Subbarami Reddy, which carries Rs 10.00 lakhs cash and citation.

The ceremonies are held annually in Mumbai, and feature awards to people in recognition of their outstanding contribution in the field of art and culture.