I knew Yash Chopra personally: Mamata Banerjee

KOLKATA: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today condoled the death of filmmaker Yash Chopra saying that she knew him personally.

"I feel very sad to know about the sudden death of Yash Chopra, internationally famous film personality. I used to know him personally," Banerjee said in a message.

"At this moment those thoughts of our meeting and interaction come to my memory. It is no doubt a great loss to the film world," she said.

Three years ago, they were introduced at International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa, where she had dragged the 'King of Bollywood romance' out of a dinner party and asked him to explain in detail the problems of the film industry.

"My heartfelt condolences are with the bereaved family members. May the Almighty give them enough strength to bear this loss," Banerjee said.

At a FICCI FRAMES session on media and entertainment industry in Kolkata last year, Chopra had thanked Banerjee publicly for writing a personal letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to inform him of the issues facing the industry.