Vidhu Vinod Chopra is among the most celebrated film producers in the history of the Indian film industry. He was born into a Punjabi family on September 5, 1952, in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. His father, Lala Dinanath Chopra was an insurance officer, while his mother, Shanti Devi Mahalakshmi was reportedly a housewife. Right from an early age, he was fascinated by cinema and wanted to become a filmmaker.
However, Vidhu Vinod Chopra's parents were against his dream as they had no clue, just like him, as to how he would go to Bombay and become a director there. Instead, they insisted their son continue focusing on his studies, as he was a brilliant student, and encouraged him to become a doctor. Under his father's constant pressure, Vidhu Vinod Chopra completed his schooling with flying colours. Still, he failed his pre-medical examination intentionally so that his father could not send him to a medical school.
Instead of venturing into medicine, VidhuVinod Chopra pursued a degree in Economics Honours and became a national scholar. For his commendable achievement, he got a scholarship of Rs. 250 from the government of India, which he utilised in order to gain admission to a film school. Vidhu made his first student short film, Murder at Monkey Hill, back in 1976. The short film was so good that it won two major awards, the National Award for Best Short Experimental Film and the Guru Dutt Memorial Award for Best Student Short Film.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra became famous across India when his short documentary, An Encounter with Faces (1976), was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film in 1979. It was a huge moment for Vidhu as he proved the mettle of his filmmaking skills at the Oscars. Not only this, Vidhu's documentary won the Grand Prix award at Tampere Film Festival in 1980. In 1981, Vidhu made his directorial debut in Hindi cinema with the film, Sazaye Maut, and the rest is history.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra has made a series of memorable films in his career. Some of his most impressive work was seen in the films, Parinda, 1942: A Love Story, Kareeb, Mission Kashmir, Shikara, and 12th Fail. While almost everyone is aware of Vidhu's illustrious career as a director and producer, his personal life always remained in the shadows. Thus, today we are going to talk about his three wives, Renu Saluja, Shabnam Sukhdev, and Anupama Chopra. So, without further ado, let's get started.
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Vidhu Vinod Chopra was studying at Pune's Film and Television Institute of India when he met Renu Saluja, and the duo instantly fell in love with each other. After dating each other for some time, Renu and Vidhu decided to tie the knot at the mere age of 19. As time passed, cracks started appearing in Vidhu and Renu's happy married life, and due to a series of irreconcilable issues, they filed for divorce. It was in 1983 when the court granted them divorce. As per multiple reports, one of the prime reasons why Vidhu and Renu parted ways was because the latter didn't want to embrace motherhood. Even after their divorce, they remained in touch, and unfortunately, in 2000, Renu passed away due to cancer.
After parting ways with Renu Saluja, the filmmaker fell in love with Shabnam Sukhdev, who is also a renowned director. The couple got married in the mid-1980s after dating each other for a substantial period. Vidhu and Shabnam welcomed a daughter, Isha Vinod Chopra. However, even after embracing parenthood, things started going off the line for Vidhu, and he parted ways with Shabnam in 1989. It was his second divorce and a tough one to take for Vidhu, who was in his late 30s at that time.
In the same year, when he got divorced, Vidhu Vinod Chopra was called for an interview by a journalist named Anupama Chopra. The director agreed initially, but when she told him that she was taking her interview for a story on 'Directors of Tomorrow', Vidhu Vinod Chopra got absolutely furious, as he was already a renowned filmmaker by then. Vidhu told Anupama, "What do you know about my yesterday? Do you know I've won 21 awards? Go do your homework."
After some months, Vidhu Vinod Chopra's film, Parinda was released, and Anupama Chopra was stunned watching his work on the big screen. It was then that she understood Vidhu's excellence and told his actress-mother, Kamna Chandra to work with him. Kamna and Vidhu worked together in the film, 1942: A Love Story. During the film's shooting, Anupama used to accompany her mother to the sets, and that's how love blossomed between her and Vidhu.
It was on June 1, 1990, when Anupama Chopra and Vidhu Vinod Chopra got married and welcomed two children, Zuni Chopra and Agni Dev Chopra. The duo is leading a happy life with his third wife, Anupama and their children. While Zuni is an author, Agni Dev is a professional cricketer. One of the most romantic anecdotes from Vidhu and Anupama's love story is that he made the film, Kareeb to impress Anupama. Although the film failed at the box office, but it won Anupama's heart. We hope Anupama and Vidhu continue to live the rest of their lives together happily with their children.
What are your thoughts on Vidhu Vinod Chopra's personal and professional lives? Let us know.
Also Read: Rajendra Kumar Wanted To Leave His Wife To Marry Saira Banu, Here's How Dilip Kumar Stopped Him
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