film director and screenwriter
1930s–1956
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) and Kismet (1943).
Early life
Mukherjee was born on 30 September 1909 in Benares, 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).[1]
1943—1956
In 1943, he reused the formula of Geeta to direct the biggest hit of his career, Kismet (1943), which also add another formula of "lost-and-found", which remained popular for several decades in Hindi films.[1] 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,[2][3] and went on to run at Roxy Cinema in Calcutta for 3 years and 8 months.[4][5][6] Subhash K. Jha has called Kismet as one of the most influential films of all times" in Indian cinema.[7]
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,[8] 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.[9][10] 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.[1]
While working at Bombay Talkies, auteur Guru Dutt trained under him, though he also assisted Amiya Chakravarty, Dutt emulated Mukherjee's formula-based film style in his early films and eventually dedicated his classic, Pyaasa (1957) to Mukherjee,[1][6] Another noted director, who assisted him at Bombay Talkies, was Shakti Samanta, who later made Aradhana (1969) and Amar Prem (1972).[11]
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.[12]
Filmography
| Year | Film | Work | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direction | Screenplay | ||
| 1940 | Geeta | Template:Yes | |
| Bandhan | Template:Yes | ||
| 1941 | Jhoola | Template:Yes | Template:Yes |
| Naya Sansar | Template:Yes | ||
| 1943 | Kismet | Template:Yes | |
| 1944 | Chal Chal Re Naujawan | Template:Yes | |
| 1950 | Sangram | Template:Yes | Template:Yes |
| 1953 | Shamsheer | Template:Yes | |
| 1955 | Sardar | Template:Yes | |
| 1956 | Shatranj (1956 film) | Template:Yes | |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Hindi Film Song: Music Beyond Boundaries{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Bibliophile South Asia(1 January 2006). ISBN 978-81-85002-64-4
- ↑ Cinema at the End of Empire: A Politics of Transition in Britain and India{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Duke University Press(3 May 2006). ISBN 978-0-8223-3793-5
- ↑ Blast From The Past: Kismet (1943)(20 October 2011). Retrieved 19 June 2013.
- ↑ Encyclopaedia of Indian Events & Dates{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd(1 May 2009). ISBN 978-81-207-4074-7
- ↑ Gulzar, p. 5
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Ten Years With Guru Dutt: Abrar Alvi's Journey{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Penguin Books India(2008). ISBN 978-0-670-08221-6
- ↑ The ones who dared. Sify.com, Movies(20 April 2005). Retrieved 19 June 2013.
- ↑ Father of music composer Madan Mohan.
- ↑ Gulzar, p. 593
- ↑ Kabir, p. 29
- ↑ Veteran film-maker S Samanta passes away(10 April 2009). Retrieved 17 June 2013.
- ↑ World Film Locations: Mumbai{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Intellect Books(2012). ISBN 978-1-84150-632-6
Bibliography
- Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Popular Prakashan(2003). ISBN 978-81-7991-066-5
- Guru Dutt: a life in cinema{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Oxford University Press(2005). ISBN 978-0-19-567233-6