Priyanka Chopra’s ailing
father Dr Ashok Chopra passed away at noon on Monday 10th. Jun. 2013. He
had been ill for some time. A trained doctor and an avid singer, Dr Chopra,
was known across the film industry for being affable and kind even to strangers.
Recalling the earliest
memories of her father, Priyanka, in an interview some years ago to this
writer, said,“My dad is really tall. And I was just 2 or 3. I’d always
try to pass through his legs and he’d clamp my neck
as I did so. My earliest memory is of me howling because
my dad wouldn’t let me pass through his legs. He had a bike
which I loved to take rides on.
Bollywood biggies including
Shah Rukh Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Shahid Kapoor, Deepika Padukone
and Karan Johar were among the several celebrities who turned up to offer
moral support to Priyanka Chopra at her father Ashok Chopra's funeral on
Monday.
Priyanka's father was
battling cancer since 2008 before breathing his last at Kokilaben Ambani
Hospital on Monday.
The mortal remains were
taken to Oshiwara Crematorium where the last rites were performed by Priyanka's
brother Siddharth
.
A prayer meeting was
organised for Priyanka Chopra's father Ashok Chopra, who died in a Mumbai
hospital battling cancer.
Ashok Chopra, who was
hospitalised at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital two weeks ago,
passed away on 10 June,2013. His prayer meeting took place at J.W. Mariott
in Juhu.
Those who attended the
meet from the film industry were Kareena Kapoor, Vidya Balan, Shilpa Shetty,
Karishma Kapoor, Abbas-Mustan, Dia Mirza, Nikhil Adwani, Rani Mukerji,
Lara Dutta, Malaika Arora Khan, Isha Koppikar, Arpita, Alka Yagnik, Riteish
Deshmukh, Genelia D'Souza, Madhur Bhandarkar, Prabhudheva, Imran Khan,
Uday Chopra, Rohit Shetty, Zoya Akhtar, Rishi Kapoor, Neetu Singh among
others
Priyanka: As a child, I loved
reading. I just loved sitting on the window and reading and watching down
on the streets. My dad was in the army so we were always on the move. He
taught me to drive at 13 when he’d take me to school. I was very scared
of driving… My dad used to be a doctor in the army until he took voluntary
retirement in 1997. He’ s a trained artiste, painter and singer. He used
to be called the singing surgeon. He used to do shows for the army. My
dad sings, though not professionally. I’m a big fan of my father’s singing.
I love singing. Ever since I was a child, I dreamt of getting in a white
gown to sing on stage like Whitney Houston. I’ve been trained in Western
classical singing. I used to sing soprano in a choir.” One of my earliest
memories — when I was three — is of my dad on stage looking at me and singing.
If he didn’t look at me while singing I’d get extremely miffed. Sometimes
he used to call me on the stage to sing an African song that I knew