NEW DELHI: Filmmaker Yash Chopra has strongly defended his brand of cinema saying that he does not show mere commercial romanticism but infuses a lot of meaningful content into it,

Speaking on the sidelines of a festival of films by his elder brother B R Chopra, Yash Chopra said that it was erroneous to say that his films did not have the kind of social commitment that one saw in the films of his brother.

While noting that he had got his first break as a director in his brother’s ‘Dhool ka Phool’, he said he was entitled to make his own kind of cinema.

Asked about the absence of his son Aditya from the assemblage of the large number of members of the B R Chopra family and others who attended the festival which concluded here over the weekend, he said his son was busy with the release of their film ‘Tashan’.

Paying a tribute to his brother, he said Baldev Raj Chopra was probably the only filmmaker in India who had never made any compromises and gone ahead and made the kinds of films he wanted irrespective of their commercial outcome.

The cinematic tribute from 18 to 20 April with nine masterpieces from the BR stable were part of ‘Guild Greats’, an initiative of the Film and Television Producers Guild of India. Co-organised by ASSOCHAM, the event was sponsored by Time Broadband Services Group’s ‘My Time‘ to kick-start the announcement of IPTV service launch in India through empowering technology and compelling content.

Yash Chopra recalled how his brother had proved wrong filmmakers at the time who felt films on themes like widow re-marriage, rehabilitation of prostitutes, or a court room drama sans songs would never be able to woo audiences.

Speaking at the inauguration and a discussion on the second day, BR’s son Ravi said his father has always been a man of principles who has continued to make films that he felt committed about, irrespective of the financial returns. BR is a ‘karmayogi’ who firmly believes in the motto of BR Films from the Mahabharata which says one must do one’s duty without worrying about the consequences. Ravi said he would not dare re-make any of his father‘s films because he could never bring out the finesse they contained, and stressed that the message in his father’s films came out in a subtle manner without the film turning into a documentary.

Amit Dev who is chairman of the ASSOCHAM Committee on Convergence said though India had the largest entertainment industry in the world, it global share was not very high. He said the Guild and ASSOCHAM had come together on a single platform and the offshoot was creation of a Content Licensing Centre. He announced another festival of Dr Chopra’s films would be held later in the year.

Time Broadband MD Sujata Dev said the launch of IPTV (Internet Protocal Television) on TV sets, computers and mobiles would make TV more interactive, and help to fight piracy and empower content protection. Time Broadband is preparing to shortly launch IPTV over both Mobile and Broadband in India , through collaboration with recently licensed progressive telecom operators; under the brand of “MY TIME” content package.