He treated us to happily-ever-afters

Bollywood stars thronged Bandra's Lilavati Hospital to bid farewell to the 80-year-old filmmaker; cremation at Pawan Hans in Juhu at 3pm today.

The man who taught us how to love and gave us Indian happily-ever-after stories, Yash Chopra, passed away on Sunday evening after he succumbed to dengue fever.

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People thronged Lilavati Hospital at Bandra, where he had been admiited in the ICU since last Saturday. From Shah Rukh Khan to a child from the slum down the road, everyone gathered to say goodbye to the veteran filmmaker.

"He had developed bacterial pneumonia and dengue which led to multiple organ failure. He remained unconscious throughout his hospitalisation," said Dr Prakash Jiandani, intensivist, Lilavati Hospital under whose care Chopra was admitted.

Chopra will be cremated at 3pm today at Pawan Hans crematorium in Juhu. "From 9am to noon people can come in at the Yash Raj Films studio in suburban Andheri to pay their condolences," said a spokesperson.

Actor Dilip Kumar, who was at Lilavati, tweeted, "Shattering, hard to accept. Yash was more than a friend, a brother. I am numb and have no words to express my grief."

Considered among one of the greatest filmmakers in the history of Hindi cinema, Chopra's career has spanned over five decades and over 50 films. His movies such as Dewaar, Kabhi Kabhi and Silsila set the agenda for Bollywood movies. But he was as humble as ever. Waheeda Rehman recalls, "I remember during Lamhe, he called me especially from Bangalore and asked my opinion on the story. He wanted to know if the climax was right or not. He felt I was a mature actor I could give him sound advice."

Born in Lahore in a Punjabi family on September 27, 1932, Chopra moved to India after the Partition. Chopra's original plan was to pursue a career in engineering. However, his passion for filmmaking led him to travel to Mumbai where he initially worked as an assistant director to IS Johar, and then for his director-producer brother BR Chopra.

He gave us our superstars - from Amitabh Bachchan to Shah Rukh Khan, who is the lead actor of the last film Jab Tak Hai Jaan. Chopra has won several awards including six National Film Awards and eleven Filmfare awards.