The story
Founded by Yash Chopra in 1970, in Mumbai.1
In 1970, YRF was founded by Yash Raj Chopra, a veteran director and producer in the Indian film industry. It has produced the following films:
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 ₹75 crore (US$7.8 million) 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), Dil To Pagal Hai (1997) and Saiyaara (2025).
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 ₹2,500 crore (US$260 million) (unadjusted for inflation), which took the valuation of the Indian entertainment company to ₹5,000 crore (equivalent to ₹140 billion or US$1.4 billion in 2026). 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.
Read the full text
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 ₹75 crore (US$7.8 million), Jab Tak Hai Jaan was produced at ₹60 crore (US$6.2 million) and Dhoom 3 was produced at ₹150 crore (US$16 million).
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, which released on the 66th Independence Day of India, earned approximately ₹320 crore (US$33 million) and became the eleventh highest-grossing film of Indian cinema. Jab Tak Hai Jaan opened worldwide on the Diwali day of 2012 and went on to earn ₹241 crore (US$25 million) 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 ₹542 crore (US$56 million), in the worldwide market and went on to become the twelfth highest-grossing film of Indian cinema, as of January 2022.
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.
From Wikipedia’s article on Yash Raj Films, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4