Gyan Mukherjee | |
|---|---|
 Mukherjee in November 1945 | |
| Born | 30 September 1909 |
| Died | 13 November 1956 (aged 47) |
| Occupation | film director and screenwriter |
| Years active | 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[edit | edit source]
Mukherjee was born on 30 September 1909 in Benares, United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh), British India.
Career[edit | edit source]
Early career[edit | edit source]
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[edit | edit source]
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[edit | edit source]
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[edit | edit source]
| Year | Film | Work | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direction | Screenplay | ||
| 1940 | Geeta | Yes | |
| Bandhan | Yes | ||
| 1941 | Jhoola | Yes | Yes |
| Naya Sansar | Yes | ||
| 1943 | Kismet | Yes | |
| 1944 | Chal Chal Re Naujawan | Yes | |
| 1950 | Sangram | Yes | Yes |
| 1953 | Shamsheer | Yes | |
| 1955 | Sardar | Yes | |
| 1956 | Shatranj (1956 film) | Yes | |
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Ashoka Da Ranade (1 January 2006). Hindi Film Song: Music Beyond Boundaries. Bibliophile South Asia. p. 95. ISBN 978-81-85002-64-4. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
- ↑ Priya Jaikumar (3 May 2006). Cinema at the End of Empire: A Politics of Transition in Britain and India. Duke University Press. p. 236. ISBN 978-0-8223-3793-5. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
- ↑ "Blast From The Past: Kismet (1943)". The Hindu. 20 October 2011. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
- ↑ S. B. Bhattacherje (1 May 2009). Encyclopaedia of Indian Events & Dates. Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. p. 1. ISBN 978-81-207-4074-7. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
- ↑ Gulzar, p. 5
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Santhya Saran; Abrar Alvi (2008). Ten Years With Guru Dutt: Abrar Alvi's Journey. Penguin Books India. p. 37. ISBN 978-0-670-08221-6. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
- ↑ Subhash K. Jha (20 April 2005). "The ones who dared". Sify.com, Movies. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ Father of music composer Madan Mohan.
- ↑ Gulzar, p. 593
- ↑ Kabir, p. 29
- ↑ "Veteran film-maker S Samanta passes away". The Times of India. 10 April 2009. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
- ↑ Helio San Miguel (2012). World Film Locations: Mumbai. Intellect Books. p. 22. ISBN 978-1-84150-632-6.
Bibliography[edit | edit source]
- Gulzar; Govind Nihalani; Saibal Chatterjee (2003). Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema. Popular Prakashan. ISBN 978-81-7991-066-5.
- Nasreen Munni Kabir (2005). Guru Dutt: a life in cinema. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-567233-6.