Yash Chopra was conferred the Zenith Asia Honour for his contribution to Indian cinema at a ceremony at the National Film Archive of India held on November 13, 2007. The honour is tied to the Asian Film Festival held in Pune and was announced there earlier at the 5th edition of the Festival.
The award citation praised him as 'Indian cinema's brand ambassador' and commended him for his unique ability to 'strike the right balance between art and commerce.' The citation also highlighted how Yash Raj Films had become the nursery where emerging talents of Indian cinema are being nurtured.
The award was handed over to him by the president of the Asian Film Foundation, Kiran V. Shantaram, and convenor of the 5th Asian Film Festival, Mohan Agashe.
Yash Chopra noted that even after all these years it was still humbling to receive an award. He attributed the credit to his entire team consisting 'technicians, actors and singers', who have created the track record along with him. He observed in his acceptance speech that Indian cinema was going through an interesting phase.
Actor-director Aparna Sen and Iranian director Majid Majidi have received the Zenith Asia Honour so far.