Prem Chopra (born 23 September 1935) is an Indian actor in Hindi and
Punjabi films. He has acted in 380 films over a span of over 60 years.
He has a soft-spoken diction despite being a villain in most films.
His 19 films, with him as antagonist and Rajesh Khanna in the lead
role remain popular with audiences and critics.Chopra, the third of
six children of Ranbir Lal and Rooprani Chopra, a Punjabi family, was
born on 23 September 1935, in Lahore. After the partition of India,
his family moved to Simla (present-day Shimla), where he was brought
up. He has studied in S.D. Sr. Sec. School, Simla. His father desired
for him to be a doctor or an Indian Administrative Services
Officer.Chopra completed his schooling and college from Shimla after
his father, who was a government servant, got transferred there. He
graduated from Panjab University. He took part in college dramatics
enthusiastically. At his father's insistence, he completed his
graduation and then went to Bombay (present-day Mumbai). Soon after he
made his debut film, his mother was diagnosed with mouth cancer and
she died, leaving his then nine-year-old sister Anju to be looked
after by his father and his four other brothers. The brothers had
given warning to their respective wives that only if their sister is
happy, would they be happy and Prem considers his sister to be his
first daughter. Noted writer-director Lekh Tandon brought the proposal
of Uma for marriage to Prem. Uma was the younger sister of the
siblings Krishna Kapoor, Prem Nath and Rajendranath. The couple have
three daughters, Rakita, Punita and Prerna Chopra. Rakita is married
to film publicity designer Rahul Nanda. Punita owns a pre-school
called Wind Chimes in Bandra, suburban Mumbai, and is married to
singer and television actor Vikas Bhalla. Prerna is married to
Bollywood actor Sharman Joshi. He resides in a duplex apartment in
Pali Hill, Bandra in Mumbai.He became estranged with two of his four
brothers in the late 1980s. Chopra had bought a bungalow in 1980 in
Delhi, which was jointly owned by him and his father, and his father
and one brother used to stay there. Chopra had gotten his brother a
job in Delhi, and made him stay at the bungalow. But his father, a day
before his death, was made to sign a will favouring one of his
brothers, taking away Chopra's rights to the bungalow. Later, an
income tax raid happened in that same house, and his brother said in
the raid that Chopra had given them the bungalow, but the house still
was in name of Prem Chopra. Chopra had two other houses in Bombay as
well, which were sold off cheaply by his other brothers without
telling him, as they needed the money.
Punjabi films. He has acted in 380 films over a span of over 60 years.
He has a soft-spoken diction despite being a villain in most films.
His 19 films, with him as antagonist and Rajesh Khanna in the lead
role remain popular with audiences and critics.Chopra, the third of
six children of Ranbir Lal and Rooprani Chopra, a Punjabi family, was
born on 23 September 1935, in Lahore. After the partition of India,
his family moved to Simla (present-day Shimla), where he was brought
up. He has studied in S.D. Sr. Sec. School, Simla. His father desired
for him to be a doctor or an Indian Administrative Services
Officer.Chopra completed his schooling and college from Shimla after
his father, who was a government servant, got transferred there. He
graduated from Panjab University. He took part in college dramatics
enthusiastically. At his father's insistence, he completed his
graduation and then went to Bombay (present-day Mumbai). Soon after he
made his debut film, his mother was diagnosed with mouth cancer and
she died, leaving his then nine-year-old sister Anju to be looked
after by his father and his four other brothers. The brothers had
given warning to their respective wives that only if their sister is
happy, would they be happy and Prem considers his sister to be his
first daughter. Noted writer-director Lekh Tandon brought the proposal
of Uma for marriage to Prem. Uma was the younger sister of the
siblings Krishna Kapoor, Prem Nath and Rajendranath. The couple have
three daughters, Rakita, Punita and Prerna Chopra. Rakita is married
to film publicity designer Rahul Nanda. Punita owns a pre-school
called Wind Chimes in Bandra, suburban Mumbai, and is married to
singer and television actor Vikas Bhalla. Prerna is married to
Bollywood actor Sharman Joshi. He resides in a duplex apartment in
Pali Hill, Bandra in Mumbai.He became estranged with two of his four
brothers in the late 1980s. Chopra had bought a bungalow in 1980 in
Delhi, which was jointly owned by him and his father, and his father
and one brother used to stay there. Chopra had gotten his brother a
job in Delhi, and made him stay at the bungalow. But his father, a day
before his death, was made to sign a will favouring one of his
brothers, taking away Chopra's rights to the bungalow. Later, an
income tax raid happened in that same house, and his brother said in
the raid that Chopra had given them the bungalow, but the house still
was in name of Prem Chopra. Chopra had two other houses in Bombay as
well, which were sold off cheaply by his other brothers without
telling him, as they needed the money.
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