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{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Raj Khosla
| image =Raj Khosla 2013 stamp of India.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| caption =Khosla on a 2013 stamp of India
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1925|05|31}}
| birth_place = [[Rahon]], [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]], [[British India]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1991|06|09|1925|05|31}}
| death_place = [[Mumbai|Bombay]], [[Maharashtra]], [[India]]
| nationality =
| other_names =
| known_for =
|years_active=
| occupation = film director, film producer, screenwriter
|children = Sunita Khosla Bhalla, Reena Khosla Kataria
}}

'''Raj Khosla''' ({{lang-hi|राज खोसला}}; 31 May 1925 – 9 June 1991) was one of the top directors, producers and screenwriters in [[Hindi]] films from the 1950s to the 1980s. He was known for bringing in "[[neo-noir]]" and style in [[Indian cinema]] since black and white times, and also as a "women's director" because he showcased actresses at their best. He is often credited for the success of actors such as [[Dev Anand]]. Starting his career under [[Guru Dutt]], he went on make hit films like, ''[[C.I.D. (1956 film)|C.I.D.]]'' (1956), ''[[Woh Kaun Thi?]]'' (1964), ''[[Mera Saaya]]'' (1966), Mera Gaon Mera Desh(1971),''[[Dostana (1980 film)|Dostana]]'' (1980) and ''[[Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki]]'' (1978), which won the [[Filmfare Best Movie Award]].<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0451846/awards Awards] [[IMDb]]</ref> His early background in classical music ensured that most of his films excelled in music.<ref>{{cite web |title=The musical genius of Raj Khosla |url=http://www.screenindia.com/old/jun09/music1.htm |date=June 2009 |publisher=[[Screen (magazine)|Screen]] }}</ref>

==Early life==
Born in Ludhiana, [[Punjab, India|Punjab]], he was trained to be a classical singer. He came to Bombay to look for work as a singer while working in [[All India Radio]] for while as a music staff.<ref>{{cite news |title=Blast From Past: C.I.D (1956)|publisher=The Hindu |date=14 August 2009 }}</ref>

==Film career==
Soon [[Dev Anand]] felt he had other talents and hired him to be [[Guru Dutt]]'s assistant on films, and eventually he became director. His most famous films are ''[[C.I.D. (1956 film)|C.I.D.]]'' (1956) (which introduced [[Waheeda Rehman]] to Hindi audiences and made her a star<ref>{{cite news |title= Waheeda's first break |url=http://www.thehindu.com/arts/cinema/article77139.ece |publisher=[[The Hindu]] |date=7 January 2010}}</ref>), ''[[Woh Kaun Thi?]]'' (1964) (which gave [[Sadhana Shivdasani|Sadhana]] her signature role of the "mystery girl"), ''[[Do Badan]]'' (1966) (which made [[Asha Parekh]] into a serious actress and won [[Simi Garewal]] the [[Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award]]), ''[[Do Raaste]]'' (1969) (which made [[Mumtaz (actress)|Mumtaz]] into a household name), ''[[Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki]]'' (1978) (which won [[Nutan]] the [[Filmfare Best Actress Award]] at a mature age).

On Dev Anand's advice to take up direction, he became Guru Dutt's assistant. His directorial debut ''[[Milap (1955 film)|Milap]]'' (starring Dev Anand and Geeta Bali) in 1954 didn't click at the box office. But his second film, ''C.I.D.'', released in 1956 set the ball rolling and the young director never looked back.

He was known for his excellent song picturizations, probably stemming from his musical background. Raj Khosla initially entered the Film Industry with hopes of making it as a playback singer. In most of his films he would have at least a song based on folk tune e.g. ''C.I.D.'', ''Bambai Ka Babu'', ''Solva Saal'', ''Mera Saaya'', ''Do Raaste'', ''Mera Gaon Mera Desh'' to name a few.

He assisted Guru Dutt and in 1954 got a break with ''[[Milap (1955 film)|Milap]]'', starring [[Dev Anand]] and [[Geeta Bali]]. In this film, not only Raj Khosla made a debut as a Director, but a new Music Director, N. Dutta gave debut music. Despite excellent music, the film failed to create waves. Fortunately, Khosla's second film produced for him by mentor [[Guru Dutt]], ''[[C.I.D. (1956 film)|C.I.D.]]'' (1956) propelled him into the big league. C.I.D. was a slick crime thriller that highlighted Khosla's stylish shot taking and innovative song picturization, something passed down from Guru Dutt.<ref>{{cite news |title=Blast From Past: C.I.D (1956)|url=http://www.hindu.com/mp/2009/08/15/stories/2009081552011100.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313194536/http://www.hindu.com/mp/2009/08/15/stories/2009081552011100.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 March 2014 |date=15 August 2009 |work=[[The Hindu]]| access-date = 13 March 2014 }}</ref>

From here onwards even as he continued to make films, Khosla ricocheted from style to style while adding his own touch to each genre. Never wanting to play safe Khosla made some films, which were startlingly different in those times. ''[[Solva Saal]]'' (1958) was a story of a single night wherein a girl elopes with her lover who dupes her and is helped back home by a journalist before her father wakes up and realizes what the girl has done. ''[[Bambai Ka Babu (1960 film)|Bambai Ka Babu]]'' (1960) had the hero, a killer, entering the family of the man he has killed as their long lost son and falling in love with his "sister".

Khosla explored a variety of styles be it crime thrillers (''[[C.I.D. (1956 film)|C.I.D.]]'', ''[[Kala Pani (1958 film)|Kala Pani]]'' (1958)), musicals (''[[Ek Musafir Ek Hasina]]'' (1962) – whose starting point was seven songs composed by [[O. P. Nayyar]]), suspense thrillers (''[[Woh Kaun Thi?]]'' (1964), ''[[Mera Saaya]]'' (1966), ''[[Anita (1967 film)|Anita]]'' (1967) – his mystery trilogy with actress [[Sadhana Shivdasani|Sadhana]]), melodramas (''[[Do Badan]]'' (1966), ''[[Do Raaste]]'' (1969)) or dacoit dramas (''[[Mera Gaon Mera Desh]]'' (1971) – which inspired ''[[Sholay]]'' (1975)).

He made films after ''[[Mera Gaon Mera Desh]]'' and had hits like ''[[Prem Kahani (1975 film)|Prem Kahani]]'' (1975) starring the then hottest pair of the day [[Rajesh Khanna]] and [[Mumtaz (actress)|Mumtaz]], ''[[Nehle Pe Dehla]]'' (1976) and ''[[Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki]]'' (1978)

In ''Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki'', he evoked sympathy for the mistress even as he told the story from the wife's point of view. Khosla was a director who understood women and was known as a women's director much like [[George Cukor]] in Hollywood.

After enjoying big hits like ''Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki'' (1978) and ''[[Dostana (1980 film)|Dostana]]'' (1980) with [[Amitabh Bachchan]], [[Zeenat Aman]] and [[Shatrughan Sinha]], Khosla ran into some rough weather as his other films started flopping. A dispirited Khosla took refuge in alcohol and died in [[Mumbai|Bombay]] on 9 June 1991, totally disillusioned with the film industry.<ref>[http://www.upperstall.com/people/raj-khosla Raj Khosla] [[Upperstall]]</ref>

==Legacy==
After his death "The Raj Khosla Foundation" was established by his daughter Sunita Khosla Bhalla, with [[Shatrughan Sinha]], as its chairman, and members like Manoj Kumar, Moushumi Chatterjee, Kabir Bedi, Mahesh Bhatt, Amit Khanna and Johny Bakshi.<ref>{{cite news |title=In fond memory of Raj Khosla|url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/In-fond-memory-of-Raj-Khosla/Article1-646986.aspx |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130125061509/http://www.hindustantimes.com/In-fond-memory-of-Raj-Khosla/Article1-646986.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 January 2013 |publisher=Hindustan Times |date=6 January 2011 }}</ref>

==Awards and nominations==
*[[Filmfare]] Nomination as Best Director – [[Do Raaste]] (1970)
*[[Filmfare]] Nomination as Best Director – [[Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki]] (1978)
*[[Filmfare Best Movie Award]] – [[Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki]] (1978)

==Government recognition==
A postage stamp, bearing his face, was released by [[India Post]] to honour him on 3 May 2013.

==Filmography==
; Director
* ''[[Milap (1955 film)|Milap]]'' (1954)
* ''[[C.I.D. (1956 film)|C.I.D.]]'' (1956)
* ''[[Kala Pani (1958 film)|Kala Pani]]'' (1958)
* ''[[Solva Saal]]'' (1958)
* ''[[Bombai Ka Baboo]]'' (1960)
* ''[[Ek Musafir Ek Hasina]]'' (1962)
* ''[[Woh Kaun Thi?]]'' (1964)
* ''[[Mera Saaya]]'' (1966)
* ''[[Do Badan]]'' (1966)
* ''[[Anita (1967 film)|Anita]]'' (1967)
* ''[[Chirag]]'' (1969)
* ''[[Do Raaste]]'' (1969)
* ''[[Mera Gaon Mera Desh]]'' (1971)
* ''[[Shareef Budmaash]]'' (1973)
* ''[[Kuchhe Dhaage]]'' (1973)
* ''[[Prem Kahani (1975 film)|Prem Kahani]]'' (1975)
* ''[[Nehle Pe Dehla]]'' (1976)
* ''[[Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki]]'' (1978)
* ''[[Do Premee (1980 film)|Do Premee]]'' (1980)
* ''[[Dostana (1980 film)|Dostana]]'' (1980)
*Daasi (1981)
* ''[[Teri Maang sitaron se bhar doon]]'' (1982)
* ''[[Maati Maange Khoon ]]'' (1983)
* ''[[Sunny (1984 film)|Sunny]]'' (1984)
*Mera Dost Mera Dushman (1984)
*Naqaab (1989)

;Producer
* ''[[Do Chor]]'' (1972)

== References ==
<references />

==External links==
* {{IMDb name|0451846}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khosla, Raj}}
[[Category:Film directors from Punjab, India]]
[[Category:1925 births]]
[[Category:1991 deaths]]
[[Category:Hindi-language film directors]]
[[Category:Artists from Ludhiana]]
[[Category:Hindi film producers]]
[[Category:Indian male screenwriters]]
[[Category:Filmfare Awards winners]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian film directors]]
[[Category:Film producers from Punjab, India]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian screenwriters]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian male writers]]

Raj Khosla - Revision history

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