Aditya Chopra

Aditya Chopra (born 21 May 1971) is an Indian filmmaker. His work as a director includes Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), Mohabbatein (2000), Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008) and Befikre (2016).

He is also the current Chairman of India's multi-national film, media and entertainment conglomerate Yash Raj Films (YRF) becoming the second person to hold that position in the company's history after Sanjeev Kohli. Chopra has written and produced a number of films under the banner such as Veer-Zaara (2004), Fanaa (2006), Band Baaja Baaraat (2010), Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012), the Dhoom series (2004, 2006 & 2013), Sultan (2016), the Tiger series (2012 & 2017), and War (2019). He has broken away from typecast through production of off-beat films such as Chak De! India (2007), Rocket Singh (2009), and Dum Laga Ke Haisha (2015), that do not necessarily fit into the realm of "masala films". Chopra is also the first to move towards a true film studio model through independent projects helmed by talent under his banner. Major post-production work of the company is now carried out of YRF Studios (co-founded by his ex-wife Payal Khanna), where Chopra serves as Chief Executive. He has produced ten films that have accumulated worldwide gross earnings of more than $250 million, which is the most for an Indian film producer.

In December 2009, Chopra fought a $3.7 billion hostile takeover bid by Walt Disney, post its acquisitions of Pixar and Marvel. YRF continued as a domestic entity aided by the Tata Sons as Disney acquired UTV at $500 million. In January 2019, YRF reached a $9.1 billion valuation by the NSE, thereby making it the biggest and most successful film production company in the history of Indian Cinema. Apart from emerging as an equitable brand, his company earned the status of a movie mogul through distribution networks spread across the globe. Having denied him admission into the NSD as a young applicant, the Directorate of Film Festivals eventually honored him with the National Award for his achievements in 1995, 2005, 2007 and 2015. The Government of India appealed both Chopra and Mani Ratnam to focus on content created locally under its Make in India initiative, which was later followed by productions like Sui-Dhaaga (2018) and Jayeshbhai Jordaar (2020) planned by his company. In June 2018, he was awarded membership into The Academy by the Producers Guild of America. Widely regarded as one of the most influential and powerful executives in Indian entertainment, Chopra has however rejected the publicity and fame that came with being Yash Chopra's son and the Chief Executive of Yash Raj Films. He has remained extremely media-shy and a passive individual, battling constant reports of an alleged dysthymic disorder throughout his three-decade career, resulting in very few public photos of him being in existence.