ErnestLithgow16 at 06:46, 11 March 2026

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{{Short description|Indian film director and screenwriter}}
{{use Indian English|date=June 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Gyan Mukherjee
| image = Gyan Mukherji.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Mukherjee in November 1945
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1909|09|30}}
| birth_place = [[Benares]], [[United Provinces of Agra and Oudh|United Provinces]], [[British India]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1956|11|13|1909|09|30}}
| death_place = [[Calcutta]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]]
| other_names =
| years_active = 1930s–1956
| occupation = film director and screenwriter
| known_for =
}}

'''Gyan Mukherjee''' (30 September 1909 – 13 November 1956) was an Indian film director and screenwriter, who worked in [[Hindi cinema]], best known for the hits ''[[Jhoola (1941 film)|Jhoola]]'' (1941) and ''[[Kismet (1943 film)|Kismet]]'' (1943).

== Early life ==
Mukherjee was born on 30 September 1909 in [[Varanasi|Benares]], [[United Provinces of British India|United Provinces]] (now [[Uttar Pradesh]]), [[British India]].

==Career==

=== Early career ===
Mukherjee started his career with [[New Theatres]] in [[Calcutta]] (now Kolkata), and subsequently joined [[Bombay Talkies]] as a supervising technician. Soon became a trendsetter of "formula film" starting with first directorial venture ''Geeta'' (1940) based on the theme, "Crime-doesn't-pay", "Boy meets girl" was used in ''[[Jhoola (1941 film)|Jhoola]]'' (1941).<ref name=Ranade2006 />

=== 1943—1956 ===
In 1943, he reused the formula of ''Geeta'' to direct the biggest hit of his career, ''[[Kismet (1943 film)|Kismet]]'' (1943), which also add another formula of "lost-and-found", which remained popular for several decades in Hindi films.<ref name="Ranade2006">{{cite book|author=Ashoka Da Ranade|title=Hindi Film Song: Music Beyond Boundaries|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZI1wqkWsIjYC&pg=PA95|access-date=17 June 2013|date=1 January 2006|publisher=Bibliophile South Asia|isbn=978-81-85002-64-4|page=95}}</ref> The film had [[Ashok Kumar]], the leading star of the era, playing an [[anti-hero]] and also appearing in a double role. The film had a strong-anti British sentiment and also featured the noted patriotic song, "Door hato O Duniya walon, Hindustan Hamara Hai" (Leave People of World, India is Ours) by [[Kavi Pradeep]],<ref name="Jaikumar2006">{{cite book|author=Priya Jaikumar|title=Cinema at the End of Empire: A Politics of Transition in Britain and India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pq_kryQIkQkC&pg=PA236|access-date=17 June 2013|date=3 May 2006|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=978-0-8223-3793-5|page=236}}</ref><ref name="hindu11">{{Cite web |title = Blast From The Past: Kismet (1943) | url = http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/article2555738.ece | work = The Hindu | date =20 October 2011 | access-date = 19 June 2013 }}</ref> and went on to run at [[Roxy Cinema (Kolkata)|Roxy Cinema]] in Calcutta for 3 years and 8 months.<ref name="Bhattacherje2009">{{cite book|author=S. B. Bhattacherje|title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Events & Dates|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oGVSvXuCsyUC&pg=SL1-PA207|access-date=18 June 2013|date=1 May 2009|publisher=Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd|isbn=978-81-207-4074-7|page=1}}</ref><ref name="Gulzar5">[[#Gu|Gulzar, p. 5]]</ref><ref name="SaranAlvi2008"/> Subhash K. Jha has called ''Kismet'' as one of the most influential films of all times" in [[Indian cinema]].<ref>{{Cite web |author = Subhash K. Jha |author-link =Subhash K. Jha | title = The ones who dared | url = http://www.sify.com/movies/the-ones-who-dared-news-bollywood-kkfv51dacba.html | archive-url = https://archive.today/20130620041953/http://www.sify.com/movies/the-ones-who-dared-news-bollywood-kkfv51dacba.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = 20 June 2013 | website = Sify.com, Movies | date = 20 April 2005 | access-date = 19 June 2013 }}</ref>

After death of [[Himanshu Rai]], founder of [[Bombay Talkies]] Studio in 1940, a group led by producer [[Sashadhar Mukherjee]] along with production controller Rai Bahadur Chunilal,<ref>Father of music composer Madan Mohan.</ref> actor [[Ashok Kumar]] and Mukherjee, broke away to establish the [[Filmistan]] studio in March 1943 at the premises of old Sharada Movietone studios in [[Goregaon]], Mumbai.<ref name="Gulzar593">[[#Gu|Gulzar, p. 593]]</ref><ref>[[#Ka|Kabir, p. 29]]</ref> He retouched the concept of anti-hero in ''Sangram'' (1950), today his works are seen as early depictions of the underworld and the anti-hero in Indian cinema.<ref name="Ranade2006"/>

While working at Bombay Talkies, auteur [[Guru Dutt]] trained under him, though he also assisted [[Amiya Chakravarty (director)|Amiya Chakravarty]], Dutt emulated Mukherjee's formula-based film style in his early films and eventually dedicated his classic, ''[[Pyaasa]]'' (1957) to Mukherjee,<ref name="Ranade2006"/><ref name="SaranAlvi2008">{{cite book|author1=Santhya Saran|author2=Abrar Alvi|title=Ten Years With Guru Dutt: Abrar Alvi's Journey|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JVD7dajMt3YC&pg=PA37|access-date=17 June 2013|year=2008|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-670-08221-6|page=37}}</ref> Another noted director, who assisted him at Bombay Talkies, was [[Shakti Samanta]], who later made ''[[Aradhana (1969 film)|Aradhana]]'' (1969) and ''[[Amar Prem]]'' (1972).<ref name="timesofindia">{{Cite web | title = Veteran film-maker S Samanta passes away | url = http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-04-10/mumbai/28044642_1_hindi-films-amar-prem-kati-patang | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121023165914/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2009-04-10/mumbai/28044642_1_hindi-films-amar-prem-kati-patang | url-status = dead | archive-date = 23 October 2012 | date =10 April 2009 | work = [[The Times of India]] | access-date = 17 June 2013 }}</ref>

== Death ==
Mujherjee died on 13 November 1956 in Calcutta (now Kolkata), at the age of 47. Guru Dutt's ''[[Kaagaz Ke Phool]]'' (1959) is considered to be a homage to Mukherjee.<ref name="Miguel2012">{{cite book|author=Helio San Miguel|title=World Film Locations: Mumbai|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q0_v3jr6TCAC&pg=PA22|year= 2012|publisher=Intellect Books|isbn=978-1-84150-632-6|pages=22}}</ref>

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year !! rowspan="2"|Film !! colspan="2"|Work
|-
! Direction !! Screenplay
|-
| rowspan="2"|1940 || ''Geeta'' || {{Yes}} ||
|-
| ''[[Bandhan (1940 film)|Bandhan]]'' ||  || {{Yes}}
|-
| rowspan="2"|1941 || ''[[Jhoola (1941 film)|Jhoola]]'' || {{Yes}} || {{Yes}}
|-
| ''[[Naya Sansar (1941 film)|Naya Sansar]]'' ||  || {{Yes}}
|-
| 1943 || ''[[Kismet (1943 film)|Kismet]]'' || {{Yes}} ||
|-
| 1944 || ''[[Chal Chal Re Naujawan]]'' || {{Yes}} ||
|-
| 1950 || ''[[Sangram (1950 film)|Sangram]]'' || {{Yes}} || {{Yes}}
|-
| 1953 || ''Shamsheer '' || {{Yes}} ||
|-
| 1955 || ''[[Sardar (1955 film)|Sardar]]'' || {{Yes}} ||
|-
| 1956 || ''Shatranj (1956 film) '' || {{Yes}} ||
|}

== References ==

{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book|author1=Gulzar|author2=Govind Nihalani|author3=Saibal Chatterjee|title=Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8y8vN9A14nkC&pg=PT617|year=2003|publisher=Popular Prakashan|isbn=978-81-7991-066-5|ref= Gu}}
* {{cite book|author=Nasreen Munni Kabir|title=Guru Dutt: a life in cinema|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zit2BHnq_f4C|year=2005|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-567233-6|ref=Ka}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|0611527}}
* {{Bollywood Hungama person|22295}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mukherjee, Gyan}}
[[Category:Film directors from Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:1909 births]]
[[Category:1956 deaths]]
[[Category:Artists from Varanasi]]
[[Category:Bengali people]]
[[Category:Hindi-language film directors]]
[[Category:Indian male screenwriters]]
[[Category:Screenwriters from Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:Hindi-language screenwriters]]
[[Category:Hindi-language Indian writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian screenwriters]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian male writers]]

Gyan Mukherjee - Revision history

ErnestLithgow16 at 06:46, 11 March 2026