In 1970, YRF was founded by
Yash Raj Chopra, a veteran director and producer in the
Indian film industry.
YRF Studios In 2005, Chopra built YRF Studios in
Mumbai. In 2006, the first film shot at YRF Studios was the romantic thriller
Fanaa. Since then, several notable films have been shot at YRF Studios, including
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006),
Partner (2007),
Taare Zameen Par (2007),
Dostana (2008),
Wanted (2009),
3 Idiots (2009),
Dabangg (2010),
Bodyguard (2011),
Ra.One (2011),
Agneepath (2012),
Chennai Express (2013),
Jai Ho (2014), and
PK (2014). The studio consists of six floors and spans 20 acres. YRF Studios has also been rented out for other film and television productions, including
10 Ka Dum and
Kaun Banega Crorepati for
Sony Entertainment Television, as well as
Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain?,
Koffee With Karan, and
Satyamev Jayate for
STAR India.
YRF Distributors YRF since launching their distribution arm, has not just distributed films produced by them but also several films made by other production companies, within India as well as overseas, which includes a variety of
independent films and
Parallel Cinema productions such as
Godmother (1999),
Zubeidaa (2001),
Maqbool (2004), and
Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities (2004) among others. In recent years, YRF has distributed successful films like
Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar (2023),
Laapataa Ladies (2024), and
Chhaava (2025). While they mostly distribute Hindi films, they have also distributed a few regional films in various languages. In 2013, the company's distribution team sold the satellite rights of its venture
Dhoom 3 for to Sony Entertainment Television.
YRF Home Entertainment YRF Home Entertainment division produces and releases Audio CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray Discs & VCDs. While these include films from YRF's own film catalogue, the division also selectively acquires films from outside banners for releasing them across Home Video formats. YRF Home Entertainment Forever Classics Collection includes many of their own classic films, directed by the company's founder,
Yash Chopra and his son
Aditya Chopra, besides several popular films from
Raj Kapoor Films and B.R. Films, among others.
YRF Music The company impacted the music industry through chartbuster soundtracks in their filmography such as
Darr (1993),
Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995), and
Dil To Pagal Hai (1997).
2009 Disney buyout-refusal In 2007,
The Walt Disney Company entered Indian entertainment through a three-film co-production agreement with YRF,
Ta Ra Rum Pum,
Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic, and
Roadside Romeo. Disney's move was seen as a bid to increase its global recognition and finally enter the increasingly lucrative
Indian cinema arena. In 2009, Disney offered a 49% acquisition of YRF for (unadjusted for inflation), which took the valuation of the Indian entertainment company to . The acquisition proposal did not materialise, as Yash Raj Films chose not to proceed with Disney’s offer and continued to operate independently till date.
Aditya Chopra (2007 - present) Aditya Chopra as Vice-Chairman From 2007 to 2010, the company saw an all-time low, with several of their high-budgeted films failing at the box office, and thereby suffering losses amounting to millions. The films broke YRF's perfect success ratio and were oddly released one after another. Some of the most unsuccessful films produced under the banner were
Jhoom Barabar Jhoom,
Laaga Chunari Mein Daag,
Aaja Nachle,
Tashan,
Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic,
Roadside Romeo, Dil Bole Hadippa!, Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year and
Pyaar Impossible.
Aditya Chopra then took over as the vice-chairman of Yash Raj Films in 2010, soon after the release of the film
Badmaash Company under the same banner. In 2011, the company went into production of three individual films with
Aamir Khan for
Dhoom 3,
Shah Rukh Khan for
Jab Tak Hai Jaan and with
Salman Khan for
Ek Tha Tiger, the first installment in the
YRF Spy Universe. The three films would become the most expensive productions ever undertaken by YRF;
Ek Tha Tiger was produced at ,
Jab Tak Hai Jaan was produced at and
Dhoom 3 was produced at . All three of these films broke
box office records in India and went on to become some of the highest-grossing films of their time.
Ek Tha Tiger, and became the fifteenth highest-grossing film in India.
Dhoom 3 released in (Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Arabic) on the Christmas week of 2013 and grossed approximately , in the worldwide market and went on to become the twelfth highest-grossing film of Indian cinema, .
Aditya Chopra as Chairman After the death of Yash Chopra in October 2012, Aditya Chopra was elevated to the position of chairman and Chief Executive of the company's studio wing. Facing overwhelming pressure by the
Indian bourses to be publicly listed around the same period, the company went for a
soft-launch on 3 January 2013. The company received angel investment by institutional fund-raisers such as
LIC of India,
RNT Associates,
PremjiInvest,
Catamaran Ventures,
Maruti Udyog and
Unilazer Ventures. YRF was made open to Indian enterprises only, and no
FDI was accepted. Venture capitalists also showed interest in
Adi Godrej,
Y. C. Deveshwar,
Kumar Birla,
Arundhati Bhattacharya,
Anand Mahindra,
Chanda Kochhar,
Sunil Mittal,
Shikha Sharma and
Uday Kotak investing undisclosed sums. YRF produced more films under the chairmanship of Chopra and the new management. == Produced and distributed films ==