DaljeetBhutal at 08:54, 24 February 2026

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{{short description|Indian film director}}
{{Distinguish|text = [[Mahesh Kaul]] (1911-1972), Bollywood film director}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Mani Kaul
| image = Mani Kaul.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name = Rabindranath Kaul<ref name=guard/>
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1944|12|25}}
| birth_place = [[Jodhpur]], [[Rajputana Agency]], [[British India]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|2011|07|06|1944|12|25}}
| death_place = [[Gurgaon]], [[Haryana]], India
| other_names =
| known_for = ''[[Uski Roti]]'', ''[[Duvidha]]'', [[Siddheshwari|''Siddeshwari'']]
| occupation = Film director, film academic
}}

'''Mani Kaul''' (25 December 1944 – 6 July 2011) was an Indian director of [[Hindi film]]s and a figure in Indian [[parallel cinema]].<ref name=guard/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://caravanmagazine.in/reviews-essays/mani-kaul-cinema-come|title=Mani Kaul and the cinema to come|last=Mukim|first=Mantra|date=September 2017|website=[[The Caravan]]|language=en|access-date=2019-12-30}}</ref> He graduated from the [[Film and Television Institute of India]] (FTII) where he was a student of [[Ritwik Ghatak]] and later became a teacher. Starting his career with ''[[Uski Roti]]'' (1969), which won him the [[Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie]], he went on to win four of them in all. He won the [[National Film Award for Best Direction]] in 1974 for ''[[Duvidha]]'' and later the National Film Award for his documentary film ''[[Siddheshwari]]'' in 1989.<ref name=cnn>{{cite news |title=Noted filmmaker Mani Kaul dead |url=http://ibnlive.in.com/news/noted-filmmaker-mani-kaul-dead/165336-8-66.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708224902/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/noted-filmmaker-mani-kaul-dead/165336-8-66.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 July 2011 |publisher=[[CNN-IBN]] |date=6 July 2011}}</ref>

==Early life and background==
Born in [[Jodhpur]], [[Rajasthan]] in a [[Kashmiri Pandits|Kashmiri]] family,<ref name=guard>{{cite web| title = Mani Kaul obituary|work= The Guardian|author=Derek Malcolm|author-link=Derek Malcolm|date=14 July 2011|url = https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/jul/14/mani-kaul-obituary| access-date = 8 October 2013}}</ref><ref name=jag>{{cite web| title = Filmmaker Mani Kaul passes away after prolonged illness| url = http://post.jagran.com/filmmaker-mani-kaul-passes-away-after-prolonged-illness-1309944386|publisher=[[Dainik Jagran]], Jagran Post|date=6 July 2011| access-date = 8 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708224526/http://post.jagran.com/filmmaker-mani-kaul-passes-away-after-prolonged-illness-1309944386 |archive-date=8 July 2017}}</ref> Kaul first joined FTII, Pune as an Yearbook photographer and later shifted to the acting course, where noted film director Ritwik Ghatak was a teacher, graduating in 1966.<ref name=upst>{{cite web |title=Profile |date=7 July 2011 |url=http://www.upperstall.com/people/mani-kaul |publisher=upperstall.com}}</ref>{{dubious|date=January 2012}}

He was a nephew of the actor-director [[Mahesh Kaul]], who made films like [[Raj Kapoor]] starrer ''[[Sapno Ka Saudagar]]'' (1968).<ref name=upst/>

==Career==
His first film ''[[Uski Roti]]'' (1969) has been described as "one of the key films of the New Indian Cinema or the Indian New Wave".<ref name=upst/><ref>{{cite web| title = 'Mani Kaul's films didn't come to you, you had to go to them'|publisher=Indian Express| url = http://www.indianexpress.com/news/-Mani-Kaul-s-films-didn-t-come-to-you--you-had-to-go-to-them-/817832/|date=16 July 2011| access-date = 8 October 2013}}</ref> It marked a drastic departure from earlier Indian cinema technique, form and narrative. It was one of the early formal experimental films in Indian cinema.

''[[Ashadh Ka Ek Din]]'' (1971), his next film, was based on a play by [[Mohan Rakesh]].

''[[Duvidha]]'', his third film, was his first in colour. It grew out of a short story by [[Vijaydan Detha]] and tells the story of a merchant's son, who returns with his new bride. When he departs on a business trip, a ghost falls in love with the wife. It was widely shown across Europe. He was awarded the prestigious [[Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship]] in 1974.<ref>{{cite web| title = Official list of Jawaharlal Nehru Fellows (1969-present)|work = [[Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund]] | url = http://www.jnmf.in/flist.html }}</ref>

Kaul was one of the co-founders of the Yukt Film Co-operative (Union of Kinematograph Technicians) in 1976, leading to avant-garde films. Critics<ref name=upst/> opined in "Mani Kaul's cinematic conception, fiction and documentary films have no clear demarcated dividing line." He also taught music in the Netherlands, and was Creative Director of the film house at Osian's Connoisseurs of Art, Mumbai.

In 1971, he was a member of the jury at the [[21st Berlin International Film Festival]].<ref name="berlinale 1971">{{cite web |url=http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1971/04_jury_1971/04_Jury_1971.html |title=Berlinale 1971: Juries |access-date=13 March 2010 |work=berlinale.de}}</ref>

He was a visiting lecturer at [[Harvard University]] for the 2000–2001 school year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=103655|title=The Harvard Crimson:: Indie Film Director to Teach VES Course}}</ref>

==Death==
Mani Kaul died on 6 July 2011 at his home in [[Gurgaon]], near Delhi, after prolonged battle with cancer.<ref name=jag/><ref>{{cite news |title=Filmmaker Mani Kaul dead |url=http://www.thehindu.com/arts/cinema/article2163928.ece |work=The Hindu |location=India |date=6 July 2011}}</ref> He is survived by two sons and two daughters.<ref name=guard/>

==Tribute==
Mani Kaul's significant body of work included both feature films and documentaries. In an interview Mani stated: "The dividing line from my films and documentaries is thin. Some of my films like ''[[Siddheshwari]]'' are like poetic documentaries." Mani Kaul's fellow alumni from [[Film and Television Institute of India|FTII]] intend to put together a collective tribute to Mani Kaul and his work, and interested persons were invited to send in their thoughts on Mani as a film maker, teacher/ mentor, colleague, and as a person.

Indian film critic [[Khalid Mohamed]] commented,<ref name="Deccan Chronicle - 07Jul2011 - Mani Kaul no more">{{cite news|url=http://www.deccanchronicle.com/editorial/dc-comment/determined-outsider-183|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710035847/http://www.deccanchronicle.com/editorial/dc-comment/determined-outsider-183|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 July 2011|title=The determined outsider|date=7 July 2011|work=Deccan Chronicle |location=India|access-date=6 July 2011}}</ref> "As a film director, he discussed the status of women (''[[Uski Roti]]'', ''[[Duvidha]]''), crafted visually seductive documentaries (''Arrival'', ''Before My Eyes'', ''A Desert of a Thousand Lines'') and went through a spell of interpreting [[Fyodor Dostoevsky]]'s masterworks. The Russian writer's short story ''A Gentle Creature'' inspired ''[[Nazar (1991 film)|Nazar]]'', shot in low, chiaroscuro lighting."

Filmmaker [[Sameer Wadhwa]], in his obituary of Mani Kaul published in [[Hindustan Times]] writes: "Mani Kaul had perfected the art of deeply moving his audience cerebrally by meticulous philosophical exposition. His films effortlessly employed temporality to create a deep spatial landscape in which human emotions oscillated with an incendiary provocation. This cinematic gesture was so subtle that if one were not attentive the meaning would be lost."<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/kaul-delved-into-world-of-traditional-philosophy/story-Mpd7BVgkd0hgcZb0RhYS7M.html|title= Kaul delved into world of traditional philosophy|date=7 July 2011|publisher=Hindustan Times}}</ref>

==Filmography==
*''Yatrik'' (1966) - Student diploma film<ref>{{Cite news|title = Yatrik (1966) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vPpUBuXNP0|publisher=FTII Official | date = 27 March 2025}}</ref>
*''[[Uski Roti]]'' (1969)
*''[[Sara Aakash]]'' (1969) - as actor
*''[[Ashadh Ka Ek Din (1971 film)|Ashadh Ka Ek Din]]'' (1971)
*''[[Duvidha]]'' (1973)
*''Puppeteers of Rajasthan'' (Documentary) (1974)
*''A Historical Sketch of Indian Women'' (Documentary) (1975)
*''[[Ghashiram Kotwal (film)|Ghashiram Kotwal]]'' (1976)
*''Chitrakathi'' (Documentary) (1977)
*''Arrival'' (Documentary) (1980)
*''[[Satah Se Uthata Admi]]'' (1980)<ref>[http://www.festival-cannes.fr/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/1768/year/1981.html Satah Se Uthata Admi at Cannes] [[Cannes Film Festival]]</ref>
*''[[Dhrupad (film)|Dhrupad]]'' (1982)
*''[[Mati Manas]]'' (Documentary) (1984)
*''A Desert of a Thousand Lines'' (Documentary) (1986)
*''Before My Eyes'' (Documentary)(1989)
*''[[Siddheshwari]]'' (Documentary) (1989)
*''[[Nazar (1991 film)|Nazar]]'' (1991)
*''[[Idiot (1992 film)|Idiot]]'' (1992)
*''[[The Cloud Door]]'' (1995)
*''[[Naukar Ki Kameez]]'' (The Servant's Shirt) (1999)<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090906003604/http://movies.nytimes.com/person/191072/Mani-Kaul/filmography Mani Kaul Filmography] [[New York Times]].</ref>
*''[[Bojh]]'' (Burden) (2000)
*''[[Ik Ben Geen Ander]]'' (I Am No Other) (Netherlands) (2002)
*''A Monkey's Raincoat'' (Netherlands) (2005)
*''Signature Film'' (for [[Osian's Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema]]) (2006)

==Awards==

===National Film Awards===
* 1974: [[National Film Award for Best Direction|Best Direction]]: ''[[Duvidha]]''
* 1989: [[National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film|Best Documentary Film]]: [[Siddheshwari]]<ref>[http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1310/is_1995_July-August/ai_17382423 Interview with Mani Kaul] UNESCO Courier, July–August 1995.</ref>

===Filmfare Awards===
Mani Kaul won [[Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie]] four times.

* 1971: ''[[Uski Roti]]'' (1970)
* 1972: ''[[Ashadh Ka Ek Din (film)|Ashad Ka Ek Din]]'' (1971)
* 1974: ''[[Duvidha]]'' (1973)
* 1993: ''[[Idiot (1992 film)|Idiot]]'' (1992)

==References==
{{reflist|40em}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|0002411}}
* [https://www.csfd.cz/tvurce/45753-mani-kaul/oceneni/ Mani Kaul] at {{ill|ČSFD|cs}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110713012027/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-07-06/news-interviews/29742602_1_indian-cinema-original-filmmaker-impatience-with-conventional-narrative Avijit Ghosh, "He was, by far, our most original filmmaker"] ''The Times of India''.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110707053929/http://www.indianauteur.com/?p=550 Mani Kaul on Cinematography and Time] at ''Indian Auteur''
* [http://theseventhart.info/2011/06/19/the-films-of-mani-kaul/ The Films of Mani Kaul]

{{Mani Kaul}}
{{NationalFilmAwardBestDirection}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaul, Mani}}
[[Category:Film directors from Rajasthan]]
[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:2011 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Jodhpur]]
[[Category:Kashmiri people]]
[[Category:Kashmiri Pandits]]
[[Category:Hindi-language film directors]]
[[Category:Film and Television Institute of India alumni]]
[[Category:Indian documentary filmmakers]]
[[Category:Filmfare Awards winners]]
[[Category:Best Director National Film Award winners]]
[[Category:Indian film educators]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in India]]
[[Category:Jawaharlal Nehru Fellows]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian people]]

Mani Kaul - Revision history

DaljeetBhutal at 08:54, 24 February 2026