Today is Sri Shantaram's 116 birth aniversary, we honour this great versatile film personality.
18/11/2017
Today is Sri Shantaram's 116 birth aniversary, we honour this great versatile film personality.
V. Shantaram : Indian filmmaker
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1. Profile :
Shantaram Rajaram Vankudre, referred to as V. Shantaram or Shantaram Bapu, was an Indian filmmaker, film producer and actor. a
Born: 18 November 1901, Kolhapur
Died: 30 October 1990, Mumbai
Spouse: Sandhya Shantaram (m. ?–1990), Jayashree
Awards: Padma Vibhushan, Dadasaheb Phalke Award,
V. ShantaramAwards :
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1. Padma Vibhushan
1992
2. Dadasaheb Phalke Award
1986
3. Filmfare Award for Best Director
1957 · Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje
4. Filmfare Award for Best Film
1957 · Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje
5. National Film Award for Best Feature Film
1958 · Do Ankhen Barah Haath
6. National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi
1958, 1956 · Do Ankhen Barah Haath, Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje
7. National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Marathi
1973 · Pinjra
8. Certificate of Merit (Feature Film)
1956 · Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje
Children: Rajshree, Kiran Shantaram, Tejasri Shantaram,
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V. ShantaramChildren
Rajshree
Daughter
Kiran Shantaram
Son
Tejasri Shantaram
Daughter
Madhura Pandit
Daughter
Charushila Shantaram
Daughter
Prabhat Kumar Shantaram
Son
Sarajini Shantaram
Daughter
2. Introduction :
Shantaram Rajaram Vankudre (18 November 1901 – 30 October 1990), referred to as V. Shantaram or Shantaram Bapu, was an Indian filmmaker, film producer and actor. He is most known for films such as Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani (1946), Amar Bhoopali (1951), Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje (1955), Do Aankhen Barah Haath (1957), Navrang (1959), Duniya Na Mane (1937), Pinjra (1972), Chani, Iye Marathiche Nagari and Zunj.
He directed his first film Netaji Palkar, in 1927. In 1929, he founded the Prabhat Film Company along with Vishnupant Damle, K.R. Dhaiber, S. Fatelal and S.B. Kulkarni, which made Ayodhyecha Raja, the first Marathi language film in 1932 under his direction. He left Prabhat co. in 1942 to form "Rajkamal Kalamandir" in Mumbai. In time, "Rajkamal" became one of the most sophisticated studios of the country.
He was praised by Charlie Chaplin for his Marathi film Manoos. Chaplin reportedly liked the film very much.
3. Personal life :-
Shantaram was born in Kolhapur to a Marathi Jain family and he married thrice. His first marriage was to Vimla, with whom he has three children, son Prabhat Kumar, daughters Saroj and Charusheela, mother of actor Sushant Ray a.k.a. Siddharth Ray.
Shantaram then married actress Jayashree (née Kamulkar), with whom he had three children - Marathi film director and producer Kiran, actress Rajshree and Tejashree.
His third wife, actress Sandhya (née Vijaya Deshmukh), was his co-star in Do Aankhen Barah Haath as well as the heroine of his films such as Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje, Navrang, Jal Bin Machhli Nritya Bin Bijli and Sehra. Daughter Madhura (from his first marriage with Vimla) is married to Pandit Jasraj and is the mother of music director Shaarang Dev Pandit and TV presenter Durga Jasraj.
He introduced Rajshree and Jeetendra in the 1964 film Geet Gaya Patharon Ne. He also introduced his second wife Sandhya's niece Ranjana Deshmukh into the Marathi film industry through Chandanachi Choli Ang Ang Jaali, directed by Kiran Shantaram in 1975. Ranjana dominated the Marathi silver screen in the 70s and 80s.
Shantaram used to live at Panhala. His daughter Saroj has maintained his house and has converted it into a hotel named Valley View.
4. Filmography :-
i. As Actor :-
Sinhagad (1923)
Savkari Pash (1925)
Stri (1961)
Parchhain (1952)
Do Ankhen Barah Haath (1957)
ii. As Producer :-
Banwasi (1948)
Sehra (1963)
Geet Gaya Patharon Ne (1964)
Ladki Sahyadri Ki (1966)
Jal Bin Machhli Nritya Bin Bijli (1971)
Raja Rani Ko Chahiye Pasina (1978)
Jhanjhaar (1987)
iii. As Director :-
a). Maharashtra Film Company :-
Netaji Palkar (1927)
b). Prabhat Film Company :-
Gopal Krishna (1929)
Udaykal (1930)
Rani Saheba (1930)
Khooni Khanjar (1930)
Chandrasena (1931)
Maya Machindra (1932)
Agnikankan (1932)
Ayodhyecha Raja (1932)
Sinhagad (1933)
Sairandhri (1933)
Amrit Manthan (1934)
Dharmatma (1935)
Chandrasena (1935)
Amar Jyoti (1936)
Duniya Na Mane (1937)
Kunku (1937)
Manoos (1939)
Aadmi (1939)
Padosi (1941)
c). Rajkamal Kalamandir :-
Shakuntala (1943)
Parbat Pe Apna Dera (1944)
Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani (1946)
Lokshahir Ram Joshi (1947)
Apna Desh (1949)
Dahej (1950)
Amar Bhoopali (1951)
Parchhain (1952)
Teen Batti Char Raasta (1953)
Surang (1953)
Subah Ka Tara (1954)
Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje (1955)
Toofan Aur Diya (1956)
Do Aankhen Barah Haath (1957)
Navrang (1959)
Stree (1961)
Sehra (1963)
Geet Gaya Patharon Ne (1964)
Ladki Sahyadri Ki (1966)
Boond Jo Ban Gayee Moti (1967)
Jal Bin Machhli Nritya Bin Bijli (1971)
Pinjra (1973)
Jhanjhaar (1987)
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2.
50 years of a Shantaram classic :-
The Times of India
Close on the heels of the success of Lage Raho Munna Bhai, comes the 50th anniversary of V Shantaram's Do Ankhein
Bara Haath which resonates with the Mahatma's philosophy of love and compassion.
Rajkamal Kala Mandir, V Shantaram's production house, has planned several events to commemorate the Bollywood classic that mirrored the Nehruvian innocence of the '50s.
On Tuesday, Kiran Shantaram, former Mumbai sheriff and son of the late filmmaker, presided over a function at Kolhapur, where a chunk of the film was shot and unspooled memories of the bygone era of Hindi cinema.
"We will have more such programmes in Mumbai, Thane and Pune in collaboration with local film societies," said Chandrakant Patil of Rajkamal Kala Mandir.
Do Ankhein Bara Haath was inspired by the 'open-prison' experiment in the princely state of Oundh near Pune. The progressive rulers carried out prison reforms, along with an Irish psychiatrist, it is said.
Litterateur-lyricist G D Madgulkar recounted the story to Shantaram. Seized with the idea, the film-maker weathered opposition from his colleagues and Madgulkar and decided to go ahead with the film.
However, Do Ankhein ...' lacked the colour and grandeur of Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje , Shantaram's earlier venture, a smashing hit.
In his autobiography, Shantaram recalls the cold response from Bollywood bigwigs after a pre-release screening at Rajkamal studios.
"None of them stayed behind to congratulate me. Only Vijaybhai Bhatt (of Prakash Pictures) said I had offered 'something new' to the film industry".
After a dull start, the film picked up tempo and cash registers at Mumbai's Opera House were jingling for 65 weeks. Aye maalik tere bande hum , Lata Mangeshkar's prayer song, blazed across the country, and in neighbouring Pakistan too.
" Do Ankhein Bara Haath touched the nation's chord as it revolved round the universal concepts of love and brotherhood," said Usha Prabhatkumar, Shantaram's daughter-in-law.
Moreover, the film meshed with the lyrical humanism and deep idealism which marked the works of stalwarts such as Bimal Roy, Mehboob Khan and Guru Dutt.
Commercial success was followed by critical acclaim. Do Ankhein Bara Haath bagged the Golden Bear at the 1957 Berlin film festival (for its "profound and poetic symbolism and strong human appeal") and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's Samuel Goldwyn award.
In India, V Shantaram won a clutch of awards, including best national film and best director. In a classic example of life imitating art, the film triggered reforms in many prisons across the country.
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3.
A navrang of Shantaram's films : -
THE HINDU
Suchitra Film Society is holding a Shantaram retrospective from May 4. SUGANDHI RAVINDRANATHAN does a second take on the pioneer's career.
THOSE WHO have seen V. Shantaram's Do Ankhen Barah Haath can never forget the moving scene of prisoners singing the bhajan, Ai malik tere bande hum, written by Bharat Vyas and set to music by that genius, Vasant Desai.
And who can forget the sexy, sinuous, gravity-defying dances of Sandhya in Navrang and Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje? And Aadmi, the remake of what is arguably his finest film, Manoos, where he used nights and shadows to enhance the narration, a pioneering technique at the time.
In fact, this 1939 film even had the gumption to spoof Ashok Kumar and Devika Rani in Achoot Kanya, made three years earlier!
Technique played a big part in Shantaram's films and he was one of the earliest filmmakers to realise the potential of the medium as an instrument of social comment.
Among the firsts to his credit are the first children's film (Ranisahiba, 1930), first use of the trolley (Chandrasena, 1931), first colour film (Sairandhri, 1933), first to use telephoto lens (Amrit Manthan, 1934), first to use animation (Jambukaka, 1935), first to use back projection (Amar Jyoti, 1936), and the first films to be shown abroad were his (Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani and Shakuntala).
Not bad for someone who had no formal education, started his career at 12 as an apprentice in a railway workshop and then as a curtain puller at the legendary Bal Gandharva's Gandharva Natak Mandali.
Rajaram Vankurde Shantaram was born in Kolhapur in 1901. His first brush with cinema was with Baburao Painter's Maharashtra Film Company. It was Baburao who taught him the basics and cast him in his Savkari Pash (1925) as a young farmer.
A couple of years later, Shantaram had picked up enough to direct his first film, Netaji Palkar.
He then moved on to found the Prabhat Film Company along with V.G. Damle, K.R. Dhaiber, S. Fatelal and S.B. Kulkarni.
Initially, Shantaram, like his mentor Baburao, stuck to lumbering mythological and historical sagas.
However, a visit to Germany opened his cinematic eye and he came up with Amrit Manthan (1934).
The film had a Buddhist theme and its most famous shot was a close-up of a priest's right eye, something that staggered audiences back then.
It was at Prabhat that Shantaram made three of his most famous films - Kunku (Duniya Na Maane in Hindi) in 1937, Manoos (Aadmi in Hindi, 1939) and Shejari (Padosi in Hindi, 1941).
The first is a starkly realistic film about a young woman refusing to come to terms with her marriage to a much older man.
Shantaram did away with non-essentials, including background music, and showed great economy in the narrative. Aadmi, probably his finest film, is a love story between a cop and a whore.
Here again, Shantaram used film technique effectively to convey the characters' state of mind. Padosi promoted communal harmony with a Muslim character playing a Hindu and vice versa!
After this trilogy, Shantaram left Prabhat to found Rajkamal Studios in 1942, where his maiden venture was Shakuntala which was screened at the Canadian National Exhibition in 1947.
Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani is the strange but true story of a patriotic doctor who was a member of a goodwill mission to China, sponsored by the Indian National Congress.
The group, comprising four others, left India in 1938. The film recorded the trials and tribulations of the valiant doctor who gave up his life in what was to be his adopted homeland, to uphold liberty.
Shantaram's Amar Bhoopali is a cult film in Marathi and is a biopic of Honaji Bala.
The Lavani dances and the song Ghanshyam Sundara Shirdara are still remembered by generations of fans.
Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje, a technicolour confection that lurches from one melodramatic scene to another, was a smash hit.
Though its cinematic value was debatable, the audiences lapped up the music and dances.
As if in atonement, two years later, in 1957, came Do Ankhen Barah Haath and Shantaram was on familiar ground, returning to his pet social concerns.
His characteristic imagery and imaginative use of black-and-white photography, apart from the story of a courageous jailor who reforms a bunch of convicts, won the film the President's Gold Medal for the Best Feature Film, the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival and the Samuel Goldwyn Award for the Best Foreign Film.
From sublime to the ridiculous was Navrang, his next film.
Critics trashed the kitschy and convoluted tale, but audiences loved it. Moreover, the dances and the music were superlative.
His last significant film was Pinjara, based on Josef von Sternberg's 1930 classic, The Blue Angel (where the sultry Marlene Dietrich, as the cabaret entertainer Lola-Lola, destroys an uptight professor played by Emil Jannings). Shantaram substituted cabaret with the Tamasha, the robust Marathi folk theatre.
His last film was Jhanjaar, in 1986. It bombed, spelling an end to a career that had spanned nearly seven decades.
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