The recipient of six National Film Awards and eight Filmfare Awards left for his heavenly abode on October 21, 2012

One of the finest film directors ever to grace Indian cinema, Yash Raj Chopra was known for his romantic movies, especially those he made in collaboration with Shah Rukh Khan. He and Shah Rukh Khan ushered in a new era of romantic films with productions such as Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Veer-Zaara, and Jab Tak Hai Jaan. However, Yash Raj Chopra wasn’t all about romantic ventures. His filmography includes some of the best action and thriller works in the history of Indian films. On his death anniversary, we have listed our top picks.

Ittefaq

(Credit- The Hindu)

Starring the legendary Rajesh Khanna, Ittefaq was a thriller with a unique format. In an era when shooting a film used to take months, Ittefaq’s shoot wrapped in just 28 days. Furthermore, the film had a runtime of 1 hour and 41 minutes, which was significantly shorter than those of films made at that time. Not to forget, the film was written in one week and was the fourth Bollywood film without a single song. A remake of the 1965 American movie Signpost to Murder, Ittefaq was a semi-hit.

Deewaar

(Credit- Jagran)

Two brothers divided by fate, pitted against each other – the quintessential formula of Bollywood in the 70s and 80s. Apart from being an action movie, it also had a thriller element coupled with melodramatic dialogues such as 'mera baap chor hai' and ‘Mere paas maa hai’. The film also solidified Amitabh Bachchan’s identity as the ‘Angry Young Man’ more than it did in Sholay, another blockbuster released that year.

Darr

(Credit- The Indian Express)

Directed and produced by Yash Raj Chopra, this was one of the earliest psychological thriller films in Bollywood. Shah Rukh Khan nailed the role of a possessive and obsessive lover to the point that he gained much more appreciation and limelight than Sunny Deol, who was then a senior figure in the industry and did not like the glorification of the villain in the script.

Kaala Patthar

(Credit- Google Play)

Although Kaala Patthar wasn’t an action film, it did involve a good deal of hand-to-hand combat and action sequences. However, the film focused on the lives of coal mine workers, including working in unsafe conditions and receiving poor wages. The film was inspired by the Chasnala mining disaster in 1975 that took the lives of nearly 380 miners.

Dhoom

(Credit- MensXP)

The movie that introduced Indians to sports motorcycles, especially the Suzuki Hayabusa. Even though the film was neither directed nor produced by Yash Raj Chopra, he heavily backed Aditya Chopra to take the bet on a film that was way ahead of its time. Dhoom not only gave us superbikes but also gave us John Abraham’s Kabir, the coolest villain in Bollywood’s history. After all, you can be cool, but you can never be “Mere Rules Koi Nahi Tod Sakta…Main Bhi Nahi” cool.

The late Yash Raj Chopra’s filmography spanned a wide range of genres, and on his death anniversary, it is essential that people watch his works, which were as good or even better in some respects, as his romantic productions.