MercedesPeachey at 21:02, 4 February 2026

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{{Short description|Indian director and screenwriter}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Jag Mundhra
| image = Jag Mundhra.jpg
| birth_date = {{birth date|1948|10|29|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Nagpur]], India
| death_date = {{death date and age|2011|09|04|1948|10|29|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Mumbai]], India
| occupation = Director
| spouse = Chandra Mundhra
| children = [[Smriti Mundhra]]
| awards = [[Zanzibar International Film Festival#Golden Dhow winners|Zanzibar International Film Festival Golden Dhow]] (2001)<br />[[Bollywood Movie Awards]] (2001)<br />Political Film Society, USA (PFS) Award – Peace Category (2004)<br />Audience Choice Award Bermuda International Film Festival (2001)
| alma mater = [[Michigan State University]]<br /> [[IIT Bombay]]
}}
'''Jagmohan '''"'''Jag'''"''' Mundhra''' (29 October 1948 – 4 September 2011) was an Indian director, producer, and screenwriter, best known for his early career as an American [[exploitation film]] writer-director.<ref name="bbc.com">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-14784044|title=India film-maker Jagmohan Mundhra dies at 64|publisher=BBC News|date=5 September 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indiablooms.com/BollywoodDetailsPage/bollywoodDetails040911a.php|title=Indiablooms}}{{dead link|date=February 2018|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

== Family and early life ==
Mundhra was born at [[Nagpur]] and grew up in a Marwari locality in [[Calcutta]] in a conservative family where films were frowned upon. He nevertheless nurtured a secret ambition to become a filmmaker. His childhood, as of other Indians of his generation, was a tough one, counting pennies for the tram that rode to the other, affluent side of the city, and withstanding his family's strict traditions.<ref name=kavita>{{cite web |url=https://www.kavitachhibber.com/2003/11/04/dr-jagmohan-mundra-mr-controversy |title=Dr. Jagmohan Mundra: Mr. Controversy |last=Chhibber |first=Kavita |date=4 November 2003 |website=KavitaChhibber.com |access-date=17 August 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.iitbombay.org/sfbay/ypanels_June_7_bios.htm|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201122328/http://www.iitbombay.org/sfbay/ypanels_June_7_bios.htm|archivedate=1 December 2008|title=IIT Ypanels – June 7 – Panelist Bios}}</ref> According to Mundhra, "The family was very conservative and my grand mother was very strict and we were allowed to see maybe a couple of films a year and that too of the Har Har Mahadev variety. ... Even as a child I never saw myself as a young Marwari boy but a lot beyond that. In those days, the word global citizen was not there, but inside I felt like one".<ref name=kavita/>

A key influence on Mundhra was his admission to the highly competitive and prestigious [[IIT Bombay]]. In his words, "I had studied in a Hindi medium school up to 9th grade and always admired people who spoke English fluently. IIT taught me a lot of humility. In my wing, there were students who were from different states, and as far as English went, this person from Bihar who couldn't speak English to save his life outshone everyone else with his brilliance. I did well, but realized very early on while in IIT that engineering was not for me. I would be very unhappy if I was to live my life being an engineer, but I stuck it out because I didn't want to let my parents down".<ref name="kavita"/> He pursued a [[master's degree]] in electrical engineering but switched to a [[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]] program in motion pictures at [[University of Michigan]], before embarking on his film career.<ref name="bbc.com"/>

== Career ==
After his first dramas, ''[[Suraag (1982 film)|Suraag]]'' (1982), and the socially-relevant film, ''[[Kamla (film)|Kamla]]'' (1984), Mundhra directed, in the late 1980s and the 1990s, a string of [[Horror film|horror]] and [[erotic thriller]] movies for theatrical distribution and [[direct to video]], including ''The Jigsaw Murders'' (1988), ''Hack-O-Lantern'' (1988), ''[[Night Eyes]]'' (1990), ''The Other Women'' (1992), ''L.A. Goddess'' (1993), ''Sexual Malice'' (1994), ''[[Tales of The Kama Sutra: The Perfumed Garden]]'' (2000), and ''[[Tales of The Kama Sutra 2: Monsoon]]'' (2001).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shelfworthy.com/library/people/357830-jag-mundhra/|title=Jag Mundhra|access-date=9 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160921040032/http://www.shelfworthy.com/library/people/357830-jag-mundhra/|archive-date=21 September 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Beginning with ''[[Bawandar]]'' (2000), which he directed under the name Jagmohan, Mundhra was back to issue-oriented films. ''Bawandar'' is about the fight of a poor woman for justice and was based on the story of a Rajasthani woman, [[Bhanwari Devi]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.saafa.org/media_coverage.html|title=South Asian American Films and Arts Association|access-date=9 May 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081025133433/http://www.saafa.org/media_coverage.html|archive-date=25 October 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> After the film's release, [[Ashok Gehlot]], the [[Chief Minister of Rajasthan]], called Mundhra and said, "Aapke bawandar ne bada bawander machaya hai." He gave Rs 50,000 and land to Bhanwari Devi and also money for her son's education. To Mundhra, "It's not a movie about rape, but the empowerment of a woman. This character could be fictitious and yet the story would have had the same powerful message".<ref name="kavita"/> In his own words, ''Kamla'', ''Bawandar'' and ''Provoked'' (2006) are his trilogy of strong female-centric films.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.filmibeat.com/bollywood/interviews/jagmohan-mundhra-provoked-300307.html|title=Jagmohan Mundhra speaks on Provoked|access-date=29 September 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120713004413/http://entertainment.oneindia.in/bollywood/interviews/jagmohan-mundhra-provoked-300307.html|archive-date=13 July 2012}}</ref>

At the time of his death, Mundhra was working on a film based on the life of [[Sonia Gandhi]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110811025437/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-01-16/news-interviews/28138203_1_rasheed-kidwai-jagmohan-mundhra-rahul-and-priyanka-gandhi India Times]</ref> Mundhra was also a life member of the International Film & Television Club of the Asian Academy of Film & Television.

== Filmography ==
* ''[[Suraag (1982 film)|Suraag]]'' (1982)
* ''[[Kamla (film)|Kamla]]'' (1984)
* ''[[Open House (1987_film)|Open House]]'' (1987)
* ''The Jigsaw Murders'' (1988)
* ''Hack-O-Lantern'' (1988)
* ''Eyewitness to Murder'' (1989)
* ''[[Night Eyes]]'' (1990)
* ''[[Legal Tender (film)|Legal Tender]]'' (1991)
*''[[Vishkanya (film)|Vishkanya]]'' (1991)
* ''[[Last Call (1991 film)|Last Call]]'' (1991)
* ''The Other Women'' (1992)
* ''[[Wild Cactus]]'' (1993)
* ''L.A. Goddess'' (1993)
* ''Tropical Heat'' (1993)
* ''Sexual Malice'' (1994)
* [[Improper Conduct (1994 film)|''Improper Conduct'']] (1994)
* ''Irresistible Impulse'' (1996)
* ''Tainted Love'' (1996)
* ''Shades of Gray'' (1997)
* ''Ek Zara Si Wafa'' (1999)
* ''[[Tales of The Kama Sutra: The Perfumed Garden]]'' (2000)
* ''[[Bawandar]]'' (2000)
* ''[[Tales of The Kama Sutra 2: Monsoon]]'' (2001)
*''Private Moments'' (2005)
* ''[[Provoked (film)|Provoked]]'' (2006)
* ''Backwaters'' (2006)
* ''Natasha'' (2007)
* ''[[Shoot on Sight]]'' (2007)
* ''[[Apartment (film)|Apartment]]'' (2010)
* ''[[Chase (2010 film)|Chase]]'' (2010)
* ''[[Naughty @ 40]]'' (2011)

== Personal life ==
Mundhra is the father of [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]]-nominated director/producer [[Smriti Mundhra]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-03-15|title=Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker Smriti Mundhra on how she made St Louis Superman|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/express-sunday-eye/oscar-nominated-documentary-filmmaker-smriti-mundhra-on-how-she-made-st-louis-superman-6312483/|access-date=2020-06-19|website=The Indian Express}}</ref>

== Death ==
Mundhra died in [[Mumbai]] on 4 September 2011, aged 62, from [[pneumonia]] and multiple organ failure.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Director-Jag-Mundhra-passes-away-at-64/articleshow/9866032.cms |title=Director Jag Mundhra passes away at 64 |website=The Times of India |access-date=2 February 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130103115101/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-09-05/india/30114963_1_jagmohan-mundhra-film-nri-director |archive-date=3 January 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{IMDb name|0612730}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mundhra, Jag}}
[[Category:1948 births]]
[[Category:2011 deaths]]
[[Category:IIT Bombay alumni]]
[[Category:Michigan State University alumni]]
[[Category:American film directors of Indian descent]]
[[Category:Indian male screenwriters]]
[[Category:Hindi-language film directors]]
[[Category:Indian emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Indian documentary filmmakers]]
[[Category:American screenwriters of Indian descent]]
[[Category:American businesspeople]]
[[Category:Deaths from pneumonia in India]]
[[Category:Film directors from Maharashtra]]
[[Category:Artists from Nagpur]]
[[Category:Film producers from Maharashtra]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian people]]
[[Category:Marwari people]]
[[Category:American people of Rajasthani descent]]

Jag Mundhra - Revision history

MercedesPeachey at 21:02, 4 February 2026