V Shantaram: The man who changed bollywood

-


Rarely has the cinema – Indian or international – seen a filmmaker as complete as V Shantaram. A consummate actor, an innovative editor, an insightful director and a producer. He was a filmmaker of many talents and evolved a new style of filmmaking and grammar. As an actor he played the lead in at least of two of India's landmark films, which he also directed. As a producer his films dealt with the social, economic and political problems of a society struggling under colonial rule and then as a country trying to establish its place as a nation.
He made his directorial debut during the silent cinema, established his reputation during the early talkie era and became a legend in his own lifetime. Over the decades he produced 92 films, directed 55 films and acted in 25 films.

One of India’s most respected and eminent filmmakers, V Shantaram was an institution in himself. Shantaram stands out as a colossus in Indian cinema. As one of the pioneers in this field, he honed his skills not only as a producer and director but also as an actor, writer, cameraman, technician and editor.
He is known for using cinema as a medium of social change. Many of his films tackled social issues and were also commercially successful.
Among Shantaram’s prominent creations are Ayodhya Ka Raja (1932), Sairandhari (1933; India’s first colour film), Amrit Manthan (1934), Duniya Na Maane (1937), Aadmi (1939), Padosi (1941), Dr Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani (1946), Dahej (1950), Janak Janak Pyal Baaje (1955), Do Aankhen Barah Haath (1957), Navrang (1959), Sehra (1963), Geet Gaya Pattharon Ne (1964) and Pinjra (1972).
Shantaram received many awards throughout his career including 4 National Film Awards, 1 Filmfare Wards and many nominations.He has also received awards from International festivals where his films competed with the best of the world.

The prestigious Cannes film Festival had nominated him for Amar Bhopali in 1951.
The Government of India honoured him with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest award for cinema in India in 1985. V. Shantaram was also the posthumous recipient of the Padma Vibhushan in 1992.
Shantaram passed away in Mumbai on 30th October, 1990.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Helen, a great beauty and a fabulous dancer of Bollywood.

-
Image
Helen was born in Burma to an Anglo Indian father named George Desmier and a Burmese mother named Marlene. Her father went missing during the Second World War. Her family migrated to India in 1942 as refugees in order to escape from the Japanese invasion of Burma. Helen was introduced to Bollywood in 1953 by the famous dancer Cuckoo. She got her break in 1958 when she performed the song 'Mera Naam Chin Chin Choo' in the movie Howrah Bridge. Helen rarely got roles as the lead heroine in movies. So, she opted dancing which proved to be her fortune. Throughout the 1960's and 1970's, she danced in more than 700 movies establishing herself as a prolific dancer. She was known for wearing different colors of wigs, contact lenses and skimpy outfits in her movies. In the late 1970's, her demand started diminishing because of her age along with the entry of younger dancers like Padma Khanna, Jayshree T, Bindu, Aruna Irani and Kalpana Iyer. In 1979, she won the best suppo...
Read more

Remembering Mohammad Rafi: The Legendary Singer With The Golden Voice

-
Image
December 24 marks the 93rd birth anniversary of Mohamnmed Rafi, one of the greatest singers in Indian film music industry ever, who gave Indian cinema 40 golden years of haunting melodies. One of the greatest playback singers born in India, Mohammed Rafi is considered no less than a genius when it comes to varied styles of music. This great singer had the perfect blend of melody, emotions and energy, which resulted into thousands of soulful songs. Born in 1924 at Kotla Sultan Singh, a village near Amritsar, Mohammed Rafi, nicknamed ‘Pheeko’, the second youngest of Hajji Ali Mohammed and Allah Rakhi’s six sons, started singing early, deeply inspired by the songs of a wandering fakir in the village. In the 1920s, circumstances compelled Rafi’s father to move to Lahore where he opened a small dhaba. Rafi’s elder brother, Mohammed Deen started a barber shop in Noor Mohalla, Bhatti Gate in the same city, with Rafi lending him a helping hand. Meanwhile, Mohammed Deen’s frien...
Read more

Remembering Shahzad Khalil: One of the best directors Pakistan media industry has ever produced.

-
Image
Shahzad Khalil began his career as a director producing music videos in 1970, and then moved to making television drama serials. After a few projects he moved from PTV in Lahore to its Karachi Center. The Government of Pakistan gave Khali the Pride of Performance Award in 1986 and named a Karachi street after him. Khali's wife Badar Khalil is a veteran Pakistani Actress. They have two children, Ibrahim and Umar. Khalil was not only an intelligent TV director but he had a great personality. He gained fame in a very short period of time as a result of the dramas he directed for Pakistan television. He was first recognised as a director for his TV serial Teesra Kinara in 1980 in which several legendary actors including Sahira Kazmi, Usman Peerzada, Rahat Kazmi, Shafi Mohammad, and Jamil Fakhri starred. Khalil met Badar Khalil when she played the title role in the drama Bi Jamalo which he directed. They later married and have two children. Shahzad Khalil's classic drama Tan...
Read more