During 2004, when many in the Hindi film industry learnt the science of filmmaking but forgot the art of entertainment, the one man who continued to hold sway and emerge stronger than ever before was Yash Chopra.

The 72-year-old longest lasting and most successful Hindi filmmaker gave Bollywood many reasons to rejoice this year including blockbusters like "Dhoom" and "Hum Tum;" smashing music records like "Meenaxi: Tale of 3 Cities" and "Maqbool" and "Kal Ho Naa Ho", which were wholly or partly distributed under the Yash Raj Films banner, and ending a remarkable run with cross-border love legend "Veer Zaara".

Having created a stir at the global box-office and after selling over a million albums, the Shah Rukh Khan-Preity Zinta-Rani Mukherjee-starrer has been selected for screening at the 55th Berlin International Film Festival in the "International Forum of New Cinema" section. Clearly, we have not heard the last word been spoken about this film.

Yash Chopra and his merchandise have defined mainstream Hindi cinema since the 1950s and his dominance of the trade this year has proved he has much more up his sleeve.

While the chaotic and unorganised world of Hindi filmdom learnt many new tricks this year with conversation getting peppered with words like corporatisation, packaging and positioning, Yash managed to stay ahead of all others without changing much.

Beginning with socially conscious, path-breaking films like "Dhool Ka Phool" and "Dharamputra" early in his career, he skipped genres quite effectively to make sophisticated entertainers like "Waqt" and "Aadmi Aur Insaan" in the 1960s and out-and-out romantic musicals like "Chandni", "Lamhe" and "Dil Toh Pagal Hai" in the 1990s.

Son Aditya helmed the two blockbusters that followed - "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge" and "Mohabbatein" (a commercially successful though mediocre film). The Yash Raj Films banner, founded in 1973 when Yash Chopra broke away from his brother, the illustrious B. R. Chopra, became synonymous with romance and like it or not, continues till date.

Chopra is also credited for giving break to a series of aspiring directors.

Three of Yash Raj Films' recent productions where directed by fresh talent: Kunal Kohli's "Mujhse Dosti Karoge," Muzaffar Ali's son Shaad Ali's "Saathiya" (the Hindi remake of Mani Rathnam's "Alai Payuthey"), and Sanjay Gadhvi's "Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai".

A recipient of the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke award, Yash Chopra was honoured with 2004 CineAsia "Lifetime Achievement Award" (a first for any Indian) at a convention in Bangkok, and will most certainly dominate all award ceremonies in the months ahead.