Pam Chopra to attend Yash Chopra tribute at London fest

Pam Chopra will attend an event dedicated the work and life of her late husband and veteran Hindi filmmaker Yash Chopra at the 16th annual Tongues on Fire London Asian Film Festival.

To be held June 7, Remembering Yash Chopra will see Pam in conversation with Rachel Dwyer, professor of Indian Cultures and Cinema at London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and an authority on the work of Yash Chopra, having penned a biography on the filmmaker, said a statement.

Veteran actor Anupam Kher, who appeared in several Yash Chopra productions like “Darr”, “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge”, “Mohabbatein” and “Lamhe”, will also make a special appearance during the event, to be held at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in London.

The evening promises insight into his cinema and his family.

Writing soon after the director’s passing, Dwyer said: “The work of Yash Chopra is one of the glories of Indian film, his career bridging the Hindi cinema of the 1950s and the globalising India of today. Nothing made him happier than making films; then having his family and friends around him for a great meal: Family, films and food. His wife Pamela was the centre of his world and his strength.”

Pam’s tete-a-tete with Dwyer will be preceded by a documentary short film written and directed by award-winning Delhi-based documentary filmmaker Vinky Singh.

Titled “The Master Stroke”, Singh’s film delves into the legendary filmmaker’s use of the ‘Navarasa’ – the nine essential emotional themes that are the fundamental building blocks of Indian art – in the unforgettable and timeless music that became the cornerstone of his films.

The evening will also see another documentary charting Yash Chopra’s career in Bollywood and a performance by Pam.

“The late Yash Chopra is regarded as the king of romance in Indian cinema who presented the notion of falling in love with a sense of aspiration, escapism and adventure.

“His love for Britain is evident in his iconic films like ‘Lamhe’ and ‘Jab Tak Hai Jaan’ as he leaves behind a unique legacy of visual aesthetics that continue to inspire a new generation of filmmakers,” Pushpinder Chowdhry, organiser of the London Asian Film Festival, said in a statement.

Inputs by IANS