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{{Use Indian English|date= | {{Use Indian English|date=February 2016}} | ||
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{{Infobox person | {{Infobox person | ||
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| spouse = [[Mehtab (actress)|Mehtab | | spouse = {{marriage|[[Mehtab (actress)|Mehtab]]|1946|1984|reason=his death}} | ||
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'''Sohrab Merwanji Modi''' (2 November 1897 – 28 January 1984) was an [[India]]n stage and film actor, director and producer.<ref name="GulazāraNihalani2003">{{cite book|author1=Gulazāra|author2=Govind Nihalani|author3=Saibal Chatterjee|title=Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8y8vN9A14nkC&pg=PT614|year=2003|publisher=Popular Prakashan|isbn=978-81-7991-066-5|pages=614–|access-date=16 October 2016|archive-date=11 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201011211242/https://books.google.com/books?id=8y8vN9A14nkC&pg=PT614|url-status=live}}</ref> His films include ''[[Khoon Ka Khoon]]'' (1935), a version of Shakespeare's ''[[Hamlet]]'', ''[[Sikandar (1941 film)|Sikandar]]'', ''Pukar'', ''[[Prithvi Vallabh]]'', ''[[Jhansi Ki Rani (1953 film)|Jhansi ki Rani]]'', ''[[Mirza Ghalib (film)|Mirza Ghalib]]'', Jailor and ''[[Nausherwan-E-Adil]]'' (1957). His films always carried a message of strong commitment to social and national issues.<ref name=upperstall>{{cite web|url=https://upperstall.com/profile/sohrab-modi/|title=Sohrab Modi profile|website=Upperstall.com website|author=Karan Bali| | '''Sohrab Merwanji Modi''' (2 November 1897 – 28 January 1984) was an [[India]]n stage and film actor, director and producer.<ref name="GulazāraNihalani2003">{{cite book|author1=Gulazāra|author2=Govind Nihalani|author3=Saibal Chatterjee|title=Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8y8vN9A14nkC&pg=PT614|year=2003|publisher=Popular Prakashan|isbn=978-81-7991-066-5|pages=614–|access-date=16 October 2016|archive-date=11 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201011211242/https://books.google.com/books?id=8y8vN9A14nkC&pg=PT614|url-status=live}}</ref> His films include ''[[Khoon Ka Khoon]]'' (1935), a version of Shakespeare's ''[[Hamlet]]'', ''[[Sikandar (1941 film)|Sikandar]]'', ''Pukar'', ''[[Prithvi Vallabh]]'', ''[[Jhansi Ki Rani (1953 film)|Jhansi ki Rani]]'', ''[[Mirza Ghalib (film)|Mirza Ghalib]]'', Jailor and ''[[Nausherwan-E-Adil]]'' (1957). His films always carried a message of strong commitment to social and national issues.<ref name=upperstall>{{cite web|url=https://upperstall.com/profile/sohrab-modi/|title=Sohrab Modi profile|website=Upperstall.com website|author=Karan Bali|access-date=27 November 2019|archive-date=27 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191127191427/https://upperstall.com/profile/sohrab-modi/|url-status=live}}</ref> | ||
==Early life== | ==Early life== | ||
[[File:Sikandar, 1941, Sohrab Modi.jpg | [[File:Sikandar, 1941, Sohrab Modi.jpg|thumb|Sohrab Modi in film ''[[Sikandar (1941 film)|Sikandar]]'' (1941).|300x300px]] | ||
Sohrab Merwanji Modi was born 2 November 1897 in Bombay.<ref name=upperstall/> After finishing school, he became travelling exhibitor in Gwalior with his brother Keki Modi. At 16 he used project films in Gwalior's Town Hall and at 26 set up his Arya Subhodh Theatrical Company.<ref>{{cite book|last= | Sohrab Merwanji Modi was born 2 November 1897 in Bombay.<ref name=upperstall/> After finishing school, he became travelling exhibitor in Gwalior with his brother Keki Modi. At 16 he used project films in Gwalior's Town Hall and at 26 set up his Arya Subhodh Theatrical Company.<ref>{{cite book|last=Gangar|first=Amrit|author-link=Amrit Gangar|title=The Legends of Indian Cinema – Sohrab Modi|year=2008|publisher=Wisdom Tree|location=New Delhi|isbn=978-81-8328-108-9|page=6}}</ref> | ||
Sohrab began as a [[Parsi theatre]] actor with some experience in silent films. He earned quite a reputation as a Shakespearean actor, travelling throughout India with his brother's theatrical company and enjoying the tremendous sense of fulfillment every time the curtain came down and the audience applauded. However, with the advent of the sound film in 1931, theatre was declining. To rescue this dying art, Modi set up the Stage Film Company in 1935. His first two films were filmed versions of plays. ''[[Khoon Ka Khoon]]'' (1935) was an adaptation of ''Hamlet'' and marked Naseem Bano's acting debut. The second, ''[[Said-e-Havas]]'' (1936) was based on Shakespeare's ''[[The Life and Death of King John|King John]]''. Both films failed at the box office.<ref name=upperstall/> | Sohrab began as a [[Parsi theatre]] actor with some experience in silent films. He earned quite a reputation as a Shakespearean actor, travelling throughout India with his brother's theatrical company and enjoying the tremendous sense of fulfillment every time the curtain came down and the audience applauded. However, with the advent of the sound film in 1931, theatre was declining. To rescue this dying art, Modi set up the Stage Film Company in 1935. His first two films were filmed versions of plays. ''[[Khoon Ka Khoon]]'' (1935) was an adaptation of ''Hamlet'' and marked Naseem Bano's acting debut. The second, ''[[Said-e-Havas]]'' (1936) was based on Shakespeare's ''[[The Life and Death of King John|King John]]''. Both films failed at the box office.<ref name=upperstall/> | ||
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Sohrab Modi was born into a [[Parsis|Parsi]] family on 2 November 1897. His father was an [[Indian civil servant]]. He spent his childhood in [[Rampur, Uttar Pradesh|Rampur]], [[Uttar Pradesh]] where he developed a liking for [[Hindi]] and [[Urdu]] languages.<ref name=cineplot/> | Sohrab Modi was born into a [[Parsis|Parsi]] family on 2 November 1897. His father was an [[Indian civil servant]]. He spent his childhood in [[Rampur, Uttar Pradesh|Rampur]], [[Uttar Pradesh]] where he developed a liking for [[Hindi]] and [[Urdu]] languages.<ref name=cineplot/> | ||
Sohrab Modi was married to [[Mehtab (actress)|Mehtab]] Modi,<ref name=upperstall/> an actress born into an aristocratic [[Gujarati Muslim|Muslim]] family from [[Gujarat]], who began her career in his movie Parakh (1944). They married on her birthday on 28 April 1946. They had a son, Mehelli, from this marriage<ref name=r1>[http://cineplot.com/yesteryear-actress-mehtab-remembers-her-husband-sohrab-modi/ Yesteryear actress Mehtab remembers her husband Sohrab Modi] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141223030130/http://cineplot.com/yesteryear-actress-mehtab-remembers-her-husband-sohrab-modi/ |date=23 December 2014 }} Cineplot.com website (14 September 2013), Retrieved 27 November 2019</ref> who settled in the UK in 1967, where he would later found the British arthouse DVD label Second Run.<ref>[https://scroll.in/reel/873687/how-an-indian-film-distributor-in-london-is-helping-rescue-forgotten-classics-from-obscurity London’s Second Run DVD is rescuing rare arthouse films from obscurity] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180801190159/https://scroll.in/reel/873687/how-an-indian-film-distributor-in-london-is-helping-rescue-forgotten-classics-from-obscurity |date=1 August 2018 }}. Scroll.in (29 March 2018). Retrieved on 2018-11-09.</ref> Mehtab had a son, Ismail from her first marriage, who lived with them.<ref name= | Sohrab Modi was married to [[Mehtab (actress)|Mehtab]] Modi,<ref name=upperstall/> an actress born into an aristocratic [[Gujarati Muslim|Muslim]] family from [[Gujarat]], who began her career in his movie Parakh (1944). They married on her birthday on 28 April 1946. They had a son, Mehelli, from this marriage<ref name=r1>[http://cineplot.com/yesteryear-actress-mehtab-remembers-her-husband-sohrab-modi/ Yesteryear actress Mehtab remembers her husband Sohrab Modi] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141223030130/http://cineplot.com/yesteryear-actress-mehtab-remembers-her-husband-sohrab-modi/ |date=23 December 2014 }} Cineplot.com website (14 September 2013), Retrieved 27 November 2019</ref> who settled in the UK in 1967, where he would later found the British arthouse DVD label Second Run.<ref>[https://scroll.in/reel/873687/how-an-indian-film-distributor-in-london-is-helping-rescue-forgotten-classics-from-obscurity London’s Second Run DVD is rescuing rare arthouse films from obscurity] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180801190159/https://scroll.in/reel/873687/how-an-indian-film-distributor-in-london-is-helping-rescue-forgotten-classics-from-obscurity |date=1 August 2018 }}. Scroll.in (29 March 2018). Retrieved on 2018-11-09.</ref> Mehtab had a son, Ismail from her first marriage, who lived with them.<ref name=r1/><ref name=cineplot/> | ||
There is an incident about Sohrab Modi's visit to Kolkata. Here he met with the Holy Mother [[Sarada Devi]]. Sohrab went to her for diksha but was denied permission. He reportedly asked to holy mother, "Maiji kuchh kijiye jisse khuda pehchana jaye". The incident of their meeting was not less than surprising. During her last days, none was permitted to come near the Holy Mother. But the day Sohrab had come for diksha, Maa Sarada could feel that someone has came for diksha from her saintly powers without anyone telling about him to the holy mother. She asked to send Sohrab to her and gave her many lessons which would be later helpful in his life. | There is an incident about Sohrab Modi's visit to Kolkata. Here he met with the Holy Mother [[Sarada Devi]]. Sohrab went to her for diksha but was denied permission. He reportedly asked to holy mother, "Maiji kuchh kijiye jisse khuda pehchana jaye". The incident of their meeting was not less than surprising. During her last days, none was permitted to come near the Holy Mother. But the day Sohrab had come for diksha, Maa Sarada could feel that someone has came for diksha from her saintly powers without anyone telling about him to the holy mother. She asked to send Sohrab to her and gave her many lessons which would be later helpful in his life. | ||
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Modi however bounced back with [[Mirza Ghalib (film)|Mirza Ghalib]] (1954). The film, based on the life of the great Indian poet who lived during the reign of [[Bahadur Shah Zafar]], the last of the Mughal Emperors, won the President's Gold Medal for Best Feature Film of 1954. The film beautifully captured the mood of the period, its hedonistic pursuits and the fading magnificence of the court of the last Mughal, where poets like [[Zauq]], [[Momin Khan Momin|Momin]], Tishna, Shefta and [[Ghalib]] assembled to recite their verse. ''Mirza Ghalib'' also saw [[Suraiya]]'s finest dramatic performance as she embodied the role of the married Ghalib's lover, a courtesan. ''Ghalib'' also saw some of her finest singing – "Aah ko Chaihiye Ek Umar," "Nuktacheen Hai Gham-e-Dil," "Dil-e-Nadaan Tujhe Hua Kya Hai," "Yeh Na Thi Humari Kismet,". Her singing is to date regarded as the definitive portrayal of ''Ghalib''. In fact India's then Prime Minister [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] paid her the ultimate compliment by telling her she had brought [[Mirza Ghalib]] to life. ("Tumne Mirza Ghalib ki Rooh ko Zinda Kar Diya").<ref name=upperstall/> | Modi however bounced back with [[Mirza Ghalib (film)|Mirza Ghalib]] (1954). The film, based on the life of the great Indian poet who lived during the reign of [[Bahadur Shah Zafar]], the last of the Mughal Emperors, won the President's Gold Medal for Best Feature Film of 1954. The film beautifully captured the mood of the period, its hedonistic pursuits and the fading magnificence of the court of the last Mughal, where poets like [[Zauq]], [[Momin Khan Momin|Momin]], Tishna, Shefta and [[Ghalib]] assembled to recite their verse. ''Mirza Ghalib'' also saw [[Suraiya]]'s finest dramatic performance as she embodied the role of the married Ghalib's lover, a courtesan. ''Ghalib'' also saw some of her finest singing – "Aah ko Chaihiye Ek Umar," "Nuktacheen Hai Gham-e-Dil," "Dil-e-Nadaan Tujhe Hua Kya Hai," "Yeh Na Thi Humari Kismet,". Her singing is to date regarded as the definitive portrayal of ''Ghalib''. In fact India's then Prime Minister [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] paid her the ultimate compliment by telling her she had brought [[Mirza Ghalib]] to life. ("Tumne Mirza Ghalib ki Rooh ko Zinda Kar Diya").<ref name=upperstall/> | ||
Though | Though ''Nausherwan-e-Adil'' and ''Samay Bada Balwan'' (1969) had their moments it is said that Modi's later films did not reach the heights of his earlier work.<ref name=upperstall/> In Jailor (1958) Modi gave a chilling portrayal of a rational man turned into a tyrant. His last few hits included Kundan(1955) , Raj Hath (1956) and Meri Biwi Mere Bachche (1960). | ||
==Death and later life== | ==Death and later life== | ||
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==Trivia== | ==Trivia== | ||
[[File:Sohrab Modi 2013 stamp of India.jpg|thumb | [[File:Sohrab Modi 2013 stamp of India.jpg|thumb|Sohrab Modi on a 2013 stamp of India|300x300px]] | ||
* In 1960 he was a member of the jury at the [[10th Berlin International Film Festival]].<ref name="Berlinale 1960">{{cite web |url=https://www.berlinale.de/en/search.html?query=Sohrab+Modi |title=10th Berlin International Film Festival: Juries | | * In 1960 he was a member of the jury at the [[10th Berlin International Film Festival]].<ref name="Berlinale 1960">{{cite web |url=https://www.berlinale.de/en/search.html?query=Sohrab+Modi |title=10th Berlin International Film Festival: Juries |access-date=27 November 2019 |work=berlinale.de}}</ref> | ||
* In 2005, the Phalke medallion and some ceramic pieces from Modi's [[Cuffe Parade]] home were sold to Mumbai's most resourceful and notorious antiques market, [[Chor Bazaar]]. | * In 2005, the Phalke medallion and some ceramic pieces from Modi's [[Cuffe Parade]] home were sold to Mumbai's most resourceful and notorious antiques market, [[Chor Bazaar]]. | ||
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* ''[[Daulat (1949 film)|Daulat]]'' (1949) | * ''[[Daulat (1949 film)|Daulat]]'' (1949) | ||
* ''[[Sheesh Mahal (1950 film)|Sheesh Mahal]]'' (1950)<ref name=upperstall/> | * ''[[Sheesh Mahal (1950 film)|Sheesh Mahal]]'' (1950)<ref name=upperstall/> | ||
* ''[[Jhansi Ki Rani (1953 film)|Jhansi Ki Rani]]'' (1953)<ref name=upperstall/><ref name= | * ''[[Jhansi Ki Rani (1953 film)|Jhansi Ki Rani]]'' (1953)<ref name=upperstall/><ref name=r1/><ref name=cineplot/> | ||
* ''[[Mirza Ghalib (film)|Mirza Ghalib]]'' (1954)<ref name=upperstall/><ref name=cineplot/> | * ''[[Mirza Ghalib (film)|Mirza Ghalib]]'' (1954)<ref name=upperstall/><ref name=cineplot/> | ||
* ''[[Kundan (film)|Kundan]]'' (1955) | * ''[[Kundan (film)|Kundan]]'' (1955) | ||