Pamela Chopra (born 1938) is an Indian playback singer. She is the wife of veteran

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

film director

Yash Chopra Yash Raj Chopra (27 September 1932 21 October 2012) was an Indian people, Indian film director and film producer who worked in Bollywood, Hindi cinema. The founding chairman of the film production and distribution company Yash Raj Films, Chop ...

. She has also written and produced several films.

Early life

Chopra was born as Pamela Singh, the daughter of Mohinder Singh, an officer in the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

. The eldest of three children, she has two younger brothers. Since her father was posted in several remote locations all over India, Chopra was educated at several army schools. She is a cousin of the actress

Simi Garewal Simi Garewal (born Simrita Garewal; 17 October 1947) is an Indian actress, director, producer and a talk show host. She is the recipient of two Filmfare awards and an ITA Award. She is known for her work in Hindi films like ''Do Badan'', '' Saa ...

. Chopra's father Mohinder Singh and Garewal's mother Darshi Garewal were siblings.

Marriage

Pamela married the film-maker

in 1970. The marriage was arranged by their families in the traditional Indian manner. The two families had a common friend, the mother of film-maker

Romesh Sharma Romesh Brij Sharma is an Indian film producer, actor and director. Under his banner Romesh Films, he has been actively involved in the production of films and television shows for over 30 years. Personal life His son Karan Sharma is also an a ...

(producer of the blockbuster ''

Hum Hum may refer to: Science * Hum (sound), a sound produced with closed lips, or by insects, or other periodic motion * Mains hum, an electric or electromagnetic phenomenon * The Hum, an acoustic phenomenon * Venous hum, a physiological sensation ...

''). Sharma contacted the wife of

BR Chopra Baldev Raj Chopra (22 April 1914 – 5 November 2008) was a famous Indian director and producer of Bollywood industry and television series . Best known for directing Hindi films like ''Naya Daur'' (1957), '' Sadhna'' (1958), ''Kanoon'' (1961) ...

and suggested that Pamela Singh would be 'the ideal bride' for BR's younger brother Yash Chopra. "She was not wrong because we had a wonderful marriage", Pamela was to say forty years later in an interview. The couple met each other for the first time in a formal setting and found each other agreeable. The wedding was held in 1970. They have two sons together,

Aditya Surya (; sa, सूर्य, ) is the sun as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja and a me ...

(b. 1971) and

Uday Uday or Odai is a masculine name in Arabic as well as several Indian languages. In many Indian languages it means 'dawn' or 'rise'. The Arabic name (عدي) means 'runner' or 'rising'. List of people * Uday Benegal, Indian musician * Uday Pratap Si ...

(b. 1973). Aditya is a film producer and director. He is married to actress

Rani Mukerji Rani Mukerji (pronounced ; born 21 March 1978) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. Noted for her versatility, she is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Rani Mukerji, multiple accolades, including seven Filmf ...

. Uday is an actor and film producer.

Career

Chopra has dabbled in several fields connected to film. She has sung several film songs, all of them for her husband's films, from '' Kabhie Kabhie'' (1976) to ''

Mujhse Dosti Karoge! ''Mujhse Dosti Karoge!'' () is a 2002 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age romance comedy film directed by Kunal Kohli and produced by Yash Chopra for his banner, Yash Raj Films. The film stars Rani Mukherji, Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor ...

'' (2002). Her name also appeared in the capacity of 'producer' on the credits of certain films made by her husband. However, the 1993 film '' Aaina'' was independently produced by her. Pamela co-wrote the script of her husband's 1997 film ''

Dil To Pagal Hai ''Dil To Pagal Hai'' (; ), is a 1997 Indian Hindi-language musical romance film directed by Yash Chopra. The film follows the love lives of the members of a musical troupe, in which two dancers played by Madhuri Dixit and Karisma Kapoor get ent ...

'' along with her husband Yash Chopra, her son Aditya Chopra and professional writer

Tanuja Chandra Tanuja Chandra (born 1969) is an Indian film director and writer. Chandra is the daughter of writer Kamna Chandra and sister of author Vikram Chandra and film critic Anupama Chopra. She co-wrote the screenplay of Yash Chopra's ''Dil To Pagal Ha ...

. She has appeared on screen on one single occasion: in the opening song "Ek Duje Ke Vaaste" of the film ''Dil To Pagal Hai,'' where she and her husband appeared together. As a schoolgirl, Pamela had learnt

Bharatanatyam Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of S ...

, but she has never performed in public.

Selected filmography

Playback singer

Other roles

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chopra, Pamela Place of birth missing (living people) Living people Hindi film producers Bollywood playback singers 1938 births Indian women film producers Indian women playback singers 20th-century Indian singers 21st-century Indian singers Hindi screenwriters Indian women screenwriters 21st-century Indian women singers 20th-century Indian businesswomen 21st-century Indian businesswomen 20th-century Indian women singers