https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Kamal_SwaroopKamal Swaroop - Revision history2026-07-31T01:43:07ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Kamal_Swaroop&diff=464600&oldid=prevSvetlsgx at 23:20, 7 February 20262026-02-07T23:20:31Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Indian film director}}<br />
{{Multiple issues|<br />
{{tone|date=May 2010}}<br />
{{BLP sources|date=May 2010}}<br />
}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}<br />
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2016}}<br />
{{Infobox person<br />
| name = Kamal Swaroop<br />
| image = {{CSS image crop<br />
|Image = The Director of the Film PUSHKAR PURAN, Shri Kamal Swaroop, the Director of the Film PIHU, Shri Vinod Kapri and Child Artist, Myra Vishwakarma, at a press conference.jpg<br />
|bSize = 1000<br />
|cWidth = 220<br />
|cHeight = 220<br />
|oTop = 350<br />
|oLeft = 800<br />
|Location=center}}<br />
| caption = Kamal Swaroop, [[International Film Festival of India|IFFI]] ([[48th International Film Festival of India|2017]])<br />
| birth_name = <!-- only use if different from name --><br />
| birth_date = <!-- {{Birth date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} for living people supply only the year with {{Birth year and age|YYYY}} unless the exact date is already widely published, as per [[WP:DOB]]. For people who have died, use {{Birth date|YYYY|MM|DD}}. --><br />
| birth_place = [[Kashmir]], India<br />
| other_names = <br />
| occupation = Film, television and radio director, screenwriter<br />
| years_active = <br />
| known_for = <br />
| notable_works = [[Om-Dar-Ba-Dar|''Om-Dar-Ba-Dar'' (1988)]], ''Rangbhoomi''<br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''Kamal Swaroop''' is an [[Indian people|Indian]] [[screenwriter]] and [[Film director|director]] of [[film]], [[television]], and [[radio]]. He is best known for his work in [[Om-Dar-Ba-Dar|''Om-Dar-Ba-Dar'' (1988)]] and ''[[Rangbhoomi (2013 film)|Rangbhoomi]]'', for which he has received several awards.<br />
<br />
==Filmography==<br />
===Directing===<br />
Swaroop is best known for directing [[Om-Dar-Ba-Dar|''Om-Dar-Ba-Dar'' (1988)]] and ''Rangbhoomi'', for which he has received several awards. The restored version of ''Om-Dar-Ba-Dar'' was released on 17 January 2014.<br />
<br />
==Early life==<br />
Swaroop was born in [[Kashmir]], [[India]]. His father was a teacher and [[palmist]], and his mother was a homemaker. The family moved to [[Ajmer]] in the [[Rajasthan state]]. There he studied biology before moving to [[Pune]] in the [[Maharashtra state]], where he studied film directing. He had a brief stint at the [[Indian Space Research Organisation]], where he used [[Russia]]n [[Fairy tale|fairytales]] to teach science to children. Following this, he attended filmmaking classes in a remote village in Maharashtra.<ref name="indiatimes">{{cite web|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2014-01-17/news-interviews/46300840_1_film-direction-kamal-swaroop-nfdc|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140118092104/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2014-01-17/news-interviews/46300840_1_film-direction-kamal-swaroop-nfdc|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 January 2014|work=[[The Times of India]]|title=Richard Attenborough: 'I never wanted to make an Amitabh Bachchan-starrer'|accessdate=24 February 2017}}</ref><br />
<br />
In 1974, Swaroop graduated from the [[Film and Television Institute of India]]. His student work met with unusual international acclaim. He continued with postgraduate studies at the institute.<br />
<br />
Swaroop assisted the director [[Richard Attenborough]] in the filming of ''[[Gandhi (film)|Gandhi]]'' (1982).<br />
<br />
==Career==<br />
===Rangbhoomi===<br />
<br />
On a grant from the [[India Foundation for the Arts]] (IFA), Swaroop began tracing the life of [[Dadasaheb Phalke]] through workshops all over India. One such workshop in [[Benaras]] was the foundation for his documentary film ''Rangbhoomi'', produced by [[Films Division of India|Films Division]], a re-telling of the story of Phalke's life in Benaras.<br />
<br />
''Rangbhoomi'' premiered at the 2013 [[Rome Film Festival]] in the official competition section. It later won the [[National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film|National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film (Golden Lotus)]], the second national award won by Swaroop.<br />
<br />
===Om-Dar-Ba-Dar===<br />
The idea for ''Om Dar-Ba-Dar'' occurred to Swaroop on the set of ''Gandhi''. Commenting, he said, "I managed the crowds and told stories to keep them entertained. One of them was about a boy who skipped school and ran away from home when the results were due. He then discovers that he can make a living by holding his breath for a really long time, just like the frogs".<ref name="indiatimes"/><br />
<br />
''Om Dar-Ba-Dar'' is set in a [[myth]]ical small town in [[Rajasthan]] and tells the tale of the boy, Om, growing into [[adolescence]]. Son of a [[fortune teller]], Om's major problem is that, riddled with guilt about his [[voyeurism]], he believes himself to be responsible for everything that happens around him. Meanwhile, his elder sister, Gayatri, who is being courted by Jagdish, dreams of a future in which she can ride a bicycle or sit in the men's section of a movie theatre.<br />
<br />
Many of Om's fantasies about [[sexuality]] and death are graphically realized in remarkable song sequences: the science teacher [[Dissection|dissecting]] a frog expands into a [[Federico Fellini]]-inspired "Rana Tigrina" number, or the [[Moonwalk (dance)|moonwalk]] on a terrace on the night that [[Neil Armstrong]] lands on the moon. This double-edged [[satire]] acquires a further dimension with the entry of Phoolkumari, whose sexuality sends out a beguiling yet horrifying message. War is declared as [[Diwali]] firecrackers become real explosions. His father's diamonds, hoarded for the [[black market]], are swallowed by frogs. In the end, Om atones by enacting the traditional legend of [[Brahma]]'s descent to Earth.<br />
<br />
Made in 1988 with the help of the [[National Film Development Corporation of India]], ''Om Dar-Ba-Dar'' made it to the [[Film festival|festival]] circuit and then shuffled out into obscurity.<ref name="thehindu">{{cite web|url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/cinema-columns/rushes-pink-wink/article5586391.ece|work=The Hindu|title=Rushes: Pink wink|accessdate=24 February 2017}}</ref> This film was a major attraction in the festival circuit and premiered at the [[Berlin International Film Festival|Berlin Film Festival]], but it never got a theatrical release in the country.<ref name="dearcinema">{{cite web|url=http://dearcinema.com/news/pvr-release-om-dar-ba-dar/3004|publisher=dearcinema.com|title=dearcinema.com/news/pvr-release-om-dar-ba-dar/3004|accessdate=24 February 2017|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140116154158/http://dearcinema.com/news/pvr-release-om-dar-ba-dar/3004|archivedate=16 January 2014}}</ref><br />
<br />
'''<big>As director</big>'''<br />
* ''Pushkar Puran'' (2017)<br />
* ''Battle For Benaras'' (2014)<br />
* ''[[Rangbhoomi (2013 film)|Rangbhoomi]]'' (2013)<br />
* ''Bandish'' (2007)<br />
* ''When the Image Meets the Shadow'' (2004)<br />
* ''[[Om-Dar-B-Dar]]'' (1988)<br />
* ''[[Ghashiram Kotwal (film)|Ghashiram Kotwal]]'' (1976)<br />
* ''Dorothy'' (1974)<br />
<br />
=== As writer ===<br />
* ''Tracing Phalke'' (2013) [http://filmsdivision.org/the-fd-zone/tracing-phalke.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130906183041/http://filmsdivision.org/the-fd-zone/tracing-phalke.html |date=6 September 2013 }}<br />
* ''Private Detective: Two Plus Two Plus One'' (1997) (dialogues)<br />
* ''[[Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro]]'' (1989) (researcher, script consultant)<br />
* ''[[Salaam Bombay!|Salaam Bombay]]'' (dialogues)<br />
<br />
===As production designer===<br />
* ''Siddeshwari'' (1989)<br />
<br />
===As assistant director===<br />
* ''Gandhi'' (1982)<br />
<br />
==References==<br />
{{Reflist|<br />
<ref name="imdb">{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0841919/|publisher=imdb.com|title=Kamal Swaroop - IMDb |accessdate=24 February 2017}}</ref><br />
<ref name="hindu">{{cite web|url=http://www.hindu.com/mp/2004/11/16/stories/2004111601050300.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041123051720/http://www.hindu.com/mp/2004/11/16/stories/2004111601050300.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 November 2004|author=bgsug|work=[[The Hindu]]|title=Metro Plus Bangalore / Entertainment : Subversion on the screen – Kamal Swaroop interview |date=2004-11-16|accessdate=24 February 2017}}</ref><br />
<ref name="indianauteur">{{cite web|url=http://www.indianauteur.com/?p=965/|publisher=indianauteur.com|title= Kamal Swaroop interview |accessdate=24 February 2017}}</ref><br />
}}<br />
<br />
{{authority control}}<br />
<br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swaroop, Kamal}}<br />
[[Category:Living people]]<br />
[[Category:Film directors from Jammu and Kashmir]]<br />
[[Category:Indian male screenwriters]]<br />
[[Category:Place of birth missing (living people)]]<br />
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]</div>Svetlsgx