The Yash Chopra Foundation (YCF), the philanthropic arm of Yash Raj Films, constantly tries to take forward the vision of legendary filmmaker Yash Chopra by giving back to the industry that has given abundant love to YRF for over 50 years.
Through its YCF Scholarship Program that was launched on Yash Chopra’s 92nd birth anniversary last year, this foundation is now providing scholarships in media to the children of daily wage earners of the Hindi film industry. This will enable them to pursue higher education in film, media and communication studies.
The program offers financial assistance of up to ₹5 lakhs per student for undergraduate and postgraduate courses across disciplines such as Mass Communication, Filmmaking, Production & Direction, Visual Arts, Cinematography, and Animation.
This year, the below five talented students have been selected after a rigorous multi-round screening process:
- Vipul Kumar Prajapati – B.A. in Film, Television & New Media Production, Atharva College, Mumbai
- Priti Yadav – B.A. in Multimedia and Mass Communication (BAMMC), MVLU College, Mumbai
- Bhumika Gupta – B.A. in Multimedia and Mass Communication (BAMMC), St. Paul’s College for Women
- Aditya Arjun Yadav – B.Sc. in Animation and VFX, Thakur College of Science & Commerce, Mumbai
- Raghujeet Gupta – M.A. in Mass Communication – Film, Television & New Media, Deviprasad Goenka Management College of Media Studies
Through this initiative, YCF pays tribute to the unsung heroes of the industry — light men, spot boys, technicians, editors — and their families by supporting their children’s academic dreams and careers in media.
Akshaye Widhani, CEO Yash Raj Films, shared, “Yash ji always encouraged the company to give back to the Hindi film industry and we look to honour his vision year on year. The YCF Scholarship Program is a shot in the arm for deserving students to get the benefit of important financial aid and invaluable mentorship thus enabling them to pursue careers in media and cinema. We hope, through this initiative, we are able to encourage more such aspiring and talented young children from our film fraternity to chase their dreams.”
Applications for the next round of scholarships will reopen in early 2026. Eligible students from the Hindi film fraternity are encouraged to apply and take their first step toward shaping the future of Indian media and entertainment.