>Tom.Reding at 17:18, 18 December 2020

2020-12-18T17:18:20Z

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{{EngvarB|date=July 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Jayant Desai
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name = Jayantilal Jhinabhai Desai
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1909|02|28|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Surat]], [[Gujarat]], [[India]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1976|04|19|1909|02|28|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Mumbai]], India
| other_names =
| occupation = Film director
| known_for =
}}
'''Jayant Desai''' (born '''Jayantilal Jhinabhai Desai''', 28 February 1909 – 19 April 1976) was an Indian film director and producer.<ref name="RajadhyakshaWillemen2014">{{cite book|author1=Ashish Rajadhyaksha|author2=Paul Willemen|author3=Professor of Critical Studies Paul Willemen|title=Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SLkABAAAQBAJ&pg=PA84|accessdate=6 April 2015|date=10 July 2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-94318-9|pages=84–}}</ref> After graduating from the University of Bombay Desai joined [[Ranjit Studios]] in 1929 where he directed numerous films including ''Toofani Toli'' (1937), ''[[Tansen (film)|Tansen]]'' (1943), ''[[Har Har Mahadev]] (1950)'' and ''[[Amber (film)|Amber]]'' (1952). ''Tansen'' was the second highest grossing Indian film of [[List of Bollywood films of 1943|1943]]. Besides film direction he also acted in several films. In 1943 he left Ranjit Studios to found his own production company, Jayant Desai Productions. In 1960s he founded Jupiter Films and Hemlata Pictures.

== Biography ==

Desai was born in [[Surat]] on 28 February 1909. He had graduated from [[University of Bombay]].<ref name="Narwekar2012">{{cite book|author=Sanjit Narwekar|author-link=Sanjit Narwekar|title=Eena Meena Deeka: The Story of Hindi Film Comedy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KbSbAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT62|date=2012|publisher=Rupa Publications|isbn=978-81-291-2625-2|pages=61–64}}</ref>

=== Ranjit film company ===

In 1929 Desai joined Ranjit Film Company, where he initially worked as an assistant director for [[Chandulal Shah]]'s ''Rajputani'' and Nandlal Jaswantlal's ''Pahadi Kanya''. His first independent directorial work was the 1930 film ''Noor-e-Watan'' (Translation: Glory of the nation). A few films he had directed while working as an assistant director at Ranjit Film company were ''Do Badmash'' (1932), ''Char Chakram'' (1932) and ''Bhutio Mahal'' (1932) featuring [[Ghory and Dixit]] who were called the Indian [[Laurel and Hardy]].<ref name="Narwekar2012" /> One of his films ''Toofani Toli'' (1937) was a commercial success and earned him reputation as a director of comedy films. His 1938 film ''Billi'' was loosely based on ''Damsel in Distress''.<ref name="Narwekar2012" /> He had directed the 1943 historical film ''[[Tansen (film)|Tansen]]'' based on the life of classical musician [[Tansen]]<ref>{{cite web|last1=Singh |first1=Prashant |title=Vivek & Ash won't team up for Tansen |url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/Vivek+&+Ash+won%E2%AC%22t+team+up+for+Tansen/1/39732.html |work=[[India Today]] |accessdate=16 July 2014 |date=1 May 2009 |df= }}{{dead link|date=April 2017|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> who was one of the [[navratna]]s in the court of Mughal emperor [[Akbar]]. The film was the second highest grossing Indian film of that year.<ref>{{cite web|title=Top Earners – 1943 |url=http://www.boxofficeindia.com/showProd.php?itemCat=148&catName=MTk0Mw== |publisher=[[Box Office India]] |accessdate=14 July 2014 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131016213838/http://www.boxofficeindia.com/showProd.php?itemCat=148&catName=MTk0Mw%3D%3D |archivedate=16 October 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== Later career ===

By 1943, Desai was one of the leading directors of Ranjit Studios and had starred in many mythological films like ''Veer Babruwahan'' (1934) with Eddie Bilimoria in the lead role. In the same year he left Ranjit studios and started his own production company; Jayant Desai Productions.<ref name="Narwekar1994">{{cite book|author=Sanjit Narwekar|author-link=Sanjit Narwekar|title=Directory of Indian film-makers and films|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UYUjAQAAIAAJ|year=1994|publisher=Flicks Books|page=86}}</ref> The 1944 film ''Manorama'' was his first film under his own production banner.<ref name="Narwekar2012" /> He had directed the 1952 [[Raj Kapoor]] and [[Nargis]] starrer film ''[[Amber (film)|Amber]]''.<ref name="Nanda2002">{{cite book|author=Ritu Nanda|title=Raj Kapoor: Speaks|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FnyaW9L6cKYC&pg=PT13|year=2002|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-670-04952-3|page=13}}</ref> and the 1950 Hindu mythological film ''[[Har Har Mahadev]]'' featuring [[Nirupa Roy]].<ref name="GulazāraNihalani2003">{{cite book|author1=Gulazāra|author2=Govind Nihalani|author3=Saibal Chatterjee|title=Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8y8vN9A14nkC&pg=PT187|year=2003|publisher=Popular Prakashan|isbn=978-81-7991-066-5|page=187}}</ref> In the film ''Ambar'', [[Tanuja]] played the role of Nargis' character's childhood.<ref name="States">{{cite web|last1=Vijayakar|first1=Rajiv|title=2 States of stardom – When child stars grow up!|url=http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movies/features/type/view/id/6443|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140418105947/http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movies/features/type/view/id/6443|archivedate=18 April 2014|publisher=[[Bollywood Hungama]]|accessdate=6 July 2014|date=17 April 2014}}</ref> During the shooting of one of his films ''[[Bansuri]]'', singer Mukesh met Raj Kapoor, who was the film's assistant director. This meeting helped establish the career of Mukesh.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Sethi|first1=Patanjali|title=The 'One-Show' Chance Paid Off|url=http://www.singermukesh.com/articles_files/sethi.htm|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101029180754/http://www.singermukesh.com/articles_files/sethi.htm|archivedate=29 October 2010|accessdate=2 July 2014}}</ref> Desai had directed the 1940 film ''[[Diwali (1940 film)|Diwali]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Diwali stops crackling in Hindi movies?|url=http://zeenews.india.com/entertainment/bollywood/diwali-stops-crackling-in-hindi-movies_99030.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140707073159/http://zeenews.india.com/entertainment/bollywood/diwali-stops-crackling-in-hindi-movies_99030.html|archivedate=7 July 2014|publisher=Zee News|accessdate=2 July 2014|date=25 October 2011}}</ref> As an independent producer, he founded Jupiter Films and Hemlata Pictures in the early 1960s. He had directed the 1945 historical film ''Samrat Chandragupta'' (translation:Emperor Chandragupta) based on the life of [[Chandragupta Maurya]], the founder of the Mauryan Empire,<ref name="Vasudevan2011">{{cite book|author=Ravi Vasudevan|title=The Melodramatic Public: Film Form and Spectatorship in Indian Cinema|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kXfFAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA145|date=2011|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-0-230-11812-6|pages=145–}}</ref> and the [[Kundan Lal Saigal]] musical film ''Tadbir'' (1945) in which [[Shashi Kapoor]] (then 7 years old) acted as a child artist.<ref name="States" /> He had directed the 1935 film ''College Girl''.<ref name="SenBasu2013">{{cite book|author1=Meheli Sen|author2=Anustup Basu|title=Figurations in Indian Film|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gadEAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA140|date=2013|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-1-137-34978-1|pages=140–}}</ref>

==Filmography==
As Director
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* ''Noor-E-Watan'' (1930)
* ''Jawan Mard'' (1930)
* ''Joban Na Jadu'' (1930)
* ''Vilasi Atma'' (1931)
* ''Vijay Lakshmi'' (1931)
* ''Mukti Sangram'' (1931)
* ''Katil Katari'' (1931)
* ''Banke Sawariya'' (1931)
* ''Sipahsalar'' (1932)
* ''Lal Swar'' (1932)
* ''Fauladi Pahelwan'' (1932)
* ''Do Badmash'' (1932)
* ''Char Chakram'' (1932)
* ''Bhutio Mahal'' (1932)
* ''Krishna Sudama'' (1933)
* ''Bhool Bhulaiyan'' (1933)
* ''Bhola Shikar'' (1933)
* ''Veer Babruwahan'' (1934)
* ''[[Toofan Mail (film)|Toofan Mail]]'' (1934)
* ''Sitamgarh'' (1934)
* ''Nadira'' (1934)
* ''Noor-E-Watan'' (1935)
* ''College Kanya'' (1935)
* ''Rangila Raja'' (1936)
* ''Raj Ramani'' (1936)
* ''Matlabi Duniya'' (1936)
* ''Laheri Lala'' (1936)
* ''Zameen Ka Chand'' (1937)
* ''Toofani Toli'' (1937)
* ''Mitti Ka Putla'' (1937)
* ''Prithvi Putra'' (1938)
* ''Billi'' (The Cat) (1938)
* ''Ban Ki Chidiya'' (1938)
* ''Sant Tulsidas'' (1939)
* ''Diwali'' (1940)
* ''[[Aaj Ka Hindustan]]'' (1940)
* ''[[Shaadi (1941 film)|Shaadi]]'' (1941)
* ''Beti'' (1941)
* ''[[Fariyaad]]'' (1942)
* ''[[Chandni (1942 film)|Chandni]]'' (1942)
* ''Zaban'' (1943)
* ''[[Tansen (film)|Tansen]]'' (1943)
* ''[[Bhaktaraj]]'' (1943)
* ''[[Bansari (1943 film)|Bansari]]'' (1943)
* ''[[Manorama (1944 film)|Manorama]]'' (1944)
* ''[[Lalkar (1944 film)|Lalkar]] (1944)
* ''[[Tadbir]]'' (1945)
* ''[[Samrat Chandragupta (film)|Samrat Chandragupta]]'' (1945)
* ''Maharana Pratap'' (1946)
* ''Veer Bhimsen (film)|Veer Bhimsen'' (1950)
* ''[[Shaan (1950 film)|Shaan]]'' (1950)
* ''[[Har Har Mahadev]]'' (1950)
* ''Shri Ganesh Janma'' (1951)
* ''Dasavtaar'' (1951)
* ''[[Shiv Shakti (1952 film)|Shiv Shakti]]'' (1952)
* ''Nishan Danka'' (1952)
* ''[[Amber (film)|Amber]]'' (1952)
* ''[[Naya Raasta (1953 film)|Naya Raasta]]'' (1953)
* ''[[Manchala (film)|Manchala]]'' (1953)
* ''[[Hazaar Raaten]]'' (1953)
* ''[[Shiv Ratri]]'' (1954)
* ''Miss Mala'' (1954)
* ''Sati Madalasa'' (1955)
* ''[[Hamara Watan]]'' (1956)
* ''[[Basant Panchami (film)|Basant Panchami]]'' (1956)
* ''[[Lakshmi Pooja (film)|Lakshmi Pooja]]'' (1957)
* ''Zamana Badal Gaya'' (1961)
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|0220820}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Desai, Jayant}}
[[Category:1909 births]]
[[Category:1976 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian film directors]]
[[Category:Film producers from Gujarat]]
[[Category:People from Surat]]
[[Category:Hindi-language film directors]]
[[Category:Film directors from Gujarat]]

Jayant Desai - Revision history

>Tom.Reding at 17:18, 18 December 2020