Mumbai, Oct 22 (IBNS): The last rites of veteran Bollywood director, screenwriter and producer Yash Chopra were performed in Mumbai on Monday as thousands of his fans mourned the death of the icon.
He was cremated at Pawan Hans crematorium in Vile Parle in a private ceremony that was closed to the public.
It was attended by family members and close associates from the world of Bollywood.
The funeral procession of the iconic filmmaker started in the afternoon and his body was taken from Yash Raj Studios to Pawan Hans crematorium in an ambulance for the last rites.
His sons Aditya Chopra and Uday Chopra, and filmmaker Karan Johar were present inside the ambulance as they accompanied the his body to the crematorium, reports said.
The procession comprised of a bus with employees of his studio.
Earlier in the day, Chopra's admirers, including Bollywood celebrities, paid their last tribute to him from 9 am to 12 noon at Yash Raj Studios, where his body was kept.
Chopra's body was kept on stage number 3 of the studio as his sons Uday Chopra, Aditya Chopra and actress Rani Mukherji were seen standing in front of it.
Shah Rukh Khan, Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, Vidya Balan, Shahid Kapoor, Pankaj Kapoor, Supriya Pathak, Parineeti Chopra, Sridevi with her husband Boney Kapoor, Manoj Kumar, Kajol with mother Tanuja and sister Tannisha, Kabir Khan with his wife Mini Mathur, Prem Chopra, Tabu, Ashutosh Gowarikar, Vipul Shah, Abbas Mastan, Ramesh Sippy, Gulzar, Subhash Ghai, Shyam Benegal, Saroj Khan, David Dhawan, Resul Pukkotty, Imran Khan, Shankar- Ehsaan-Loy, Rishi Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor, Randhir Kapoor, Archana Puran Singh along with her husband Parmeet Sethi, Punit Malhotra and Varun Dhawan went to the studio to pay their tributes to the filmmaker.
Bollywood celebrities including Salman Khan, John Abraham, Manish Malhotra, Priyanka Chopra, Sonu Nigam, Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan went to the studio on Sunday night, reports said.
Large number of fans had also gathered outside the studio on Monday.
Chopra died of multiple organ failure at a Mumbai hospital on Sunday. He was 80 when his death came.
The filmmaker, who had been admitted to Lilavati hospital on Oct 13 with dengue fever, is survived by wife Pamela and sons Aditya and Uday.
Chopra, who was born on Sept 27, 1932, had announced his retirement from directing this year on his 80th birthday.
He made his directorial debut with 'Dhool Ka Phool' in 1959, a melodrama about illegitimacy and followed it with the hard-hitting social drama 'Dharmputra' (1961).
Chopra has charmed Indian audience with films like 'Daag', 'Joshila', 'Silsila', 'Dil To Pagal Hai', 'Veer-Zaara'.
Indian film buffs are eagerly waiting to see 80-year-old Chopra's last directorial venture 'Jab Tak Hai Jaan'.
The film features Bollywood actors Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma in the lead roles.
