Ravi Chopra (27 September 1946 - 12 November 2014) was an Indian movie producer and director. He was the son of producer and director Baldev Raj Chopra and nephew of producer and director Yash Chopra. Aditya Chopra and Uday Chopra are his cousins. He is known for directing the epic Indian television series Mahabharat, Vishnu Puran and Aap Beeti.

Career

Chopra started his career assisting his father B.R. Chopra in films like, Dastaan (1972) and Dhund (1973). He also assisted his uncle Yash Chopra in Ittefaq (1969). Eventually, he made his independent directorial debut with Zameer (1975), produced under the family banner, B. R. Films.

Since 2006, the only movies Ravi produced after his father's death was Bhoothnath and Bhoothnath Returns. Ravi Chopra was served with a legal notice in 2009 by 20th Century Fox, which charged that his upcoming movie Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai blatantly plagiarized the 1992 comedy My Cousin Vinny. Chopra and the production company, Mumbai-based BR Films, denied the charges in court in May 2009; the movie's release was to be delayed until June 2009 by order of the Bombay High Court. Fox sought damages of $1.4 million; this was the first time a Bollywood filmmaker was taken to court by a Hollywood company over the remaking of a film. Fox had given Chopra permission "to make a film loosely based on the Oscar-winning movie" but concluded the final product was a "substantial reproduction" of the original.

Television serials

Ravi directed the highly successful television serial Mahabharat, which aired during 1988-1990, and the television mini-series, Ramayan, which was aired in 2002. He also directed mythological shows like Vishnu Puran and Ma Shakti. His TV series Aap Beeti was one of the most popular TV show on Doordarshan National in early 2000's. He expected to come back to television with another mythological series, Vasudev Krishna in 2014-15.

Personal life

Ravi was the son of producer-director B.R.Chopra and nephew of Yash Chopra. On 23 October 2012, he was diagnosed with a severe lung ailment and was discharged from Breach Candy hospital after a week. "He was discharged from hospital on October 26," hospital sources said, without divulging details about his health. He was in for Lung Cancer and is getting his treatment at CMC Vellore. He died on 12 November 2014 at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai where he was admitted few days ago for lung ailment. He was 68 years old, and survived by his wife and two children.

Filmography

• Zameer (1975)
• The Burning Train (1980)
• Mazdoor (1983)
• Aaj Ki Awaaz (1984)
• Dahleez (1986)
• Pratigyabadh (1991)
• Baghban (2003)
• Baabul (2006)

Television

• Mahabharat (1988-1990)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]