The grand daddy of Bollywood Mr.Yash Chopra has been recognized by the French government for his 50 year along association and contribution towards the Indian cinema by conferring him with the highest French distinction- Officer de la Legion d'Honneur.
Jerome Bonnfont who is the Ambassador of France to India will present the award to Yash Chopra in a special ceremony to be held at the French Embassy in New Delhi on July 5.
The Ambassador said that France has a long tradition of supporting artists from around the world. Yash Chopra was selected for his efforts in the promotion of cultural exchanges and Indian cinema in the world.
Three other legendary film personalities from India who have got this French honour in the past are Lata Mangeshkar, Amitabh Bachchan, and Satyajit Ray.
The French recognition of course increases our respect for this senior film maker who is also known as the father of romance in India.
But for the veteran the experience of getting the award will be nothing new.
In the year 1962, he received the government's gold medal for the film 'Dharmaputra'
In 2001, he was chosen for the prestigious Dadashadeb Phalke Award which is the topmost and the highest honour given in the Indian Film Industry.
He became the first Indian to be honoured at Cineasia with the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004 held at Bangkok in Thailand.
In 2005, Yash Chopra joined the acclaimed film personalities like Martin Scorsese and Dame Judi Dench when he was honoured with a major award presentation at the 5th Annual Marrakech Film Festival in November 2005 by his Royal Highness, Prince Moulay Rachid at the Royal Palace.
Also in 2005, he was selected for the coveted Padma Bhushan Award which is one of India's highest civilian honours. The then President Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam presented the award to him.
The Superbrand Award, which is considered to be the Oscars of Brand Management and is the Global Benchmark of Brand Management was awarded to Mr. Chopra in 2005 by Superbrands International, a world wide organization operating in 44 countries started to promote the discipline of brand management and pay tribute to exceptional brands.
In 2005, MTV IMMIES came knocking at his door. Yash Chopra was presented with the Inspiration Award for his contribution to the Indian Music in a career spanning 5 decades.
International Pop star Ronan Keating presented him the award.
At the 2nd Dubai International Film Festival in 2005, Mr.Chopra was chosen as the Asian honoree in the festival's "In the Spotlight" program.
The award was given to for his distinguished service to the film Industry.
The American actor Morgan Freeman was the Hollywood honoree and the Egyptian comedy superstar Adel Imam was chosen as the Arab Honoree.
The experienced film maker is the only film maker to have won the National Award six times.
Yash Chopra is the only Indian Film Producer and Director to receive the BBC Asia Awards twice in 1998 and 2001 for outstanding contribution to films.
Some other awards and honours for which this exceptional personality was chosen are,
The Dr. Dadabhai Naoroji Millennium Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001, Certificate of Recognition from the British Tourist Authority and British Film Commission for promoting tourism in the UK through his films, the prestigious Priyadarshini Award for his outstanding contribution to Indian Cinema, Golden Peacock National Quality Award for outstanding achievement in pursuit of Total Quality Management in the Entertainment sector for the year 2002 and the Teachers 2003 outstanding Achievement Award.
All the awards that Mr. Chopra has got till now also will be received by other distinguished persons in the years to come, but there is a honour that the Indians, Yash Chopra and his generations can also be proud of.
It is the lake in Switzerland named as 'The Chopra Lake' in honour of Yash Chopra by the Swiss Government for the way he showed the lake in one of his films and also for rediscovering Switzerland.
He was presented a special award by Ms.Ursula Andress on behalf of the Government.
