A tearful Bollywood bid its final adieu to legendary filmmaker, director, producer B R Chopra, who died at his Juhu home on Wednesday at the age of 93. Sources in the film industry said they will always remember Chopra, whose career spanned five decades, for his revolutionary ideas and films.Hundreds of people from the film industry attended the funeral, where his eldest son Ravi Chopra performed the final rites, on Wednesday evening. Scriptwriter Ram Govind, who wrote some of the best screenplays for Chopra, said: “With the passing away of Chopra saab, a complete era in Indian cinema has passed. He was a great person who respected everyone on his set. In my 20 years of association with him, I learnt so much.he taught us the finer techniques of writing. I learnt how to develop a character from him.” “It’s a very big loss for me because in a span of one month I lost my father and now Chopraji, who was like a father to him. So it’s like I’ve lost my father and my grandfather now. After Gumraah, he never signed any other singer but my father. He was like a pillar for him,” said Rohan Kapoor, son of singer Mahendra Kapoor.Actor Jeetendra said: “Unfortunately, we never worked together. The one film we planned did not take off. But I had the opportunity to work in films under the BR banner. We also shared close family ties. Chopraji was always ahead of his times and chose subjects that could shake the pretentious value system of society.”Director and producer Madhur Bhandarkar, who never had the opportunity to meet the legendary filmmaker, said Chopra’s work has always been an inspiration to him. “His pathbreaking films, like Naya Daur, Nikaah, Insaaf Ka Taraazu and Gumrah always carried a strong social message and mirrored the society of the time.”
