V. Shantaram: The Man Who Changed Indian Cinema

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Author: Madhura Pandit Jasraj Category: Biography & Memoir ISBN: 9789384544409 Binding: Hardback Dimensions: 230 x 150 mm Number of Pages: 324

An authentic, heartfelt, insightful and comprehensive account of one of India’s most respected and eminent filmmakers, who was an institution in himself

V. Shantaram (1901–90) stands out as a colossus in Indian cinema. As one of the pioneers in the field, he honed his skills not only as a producer and director but also as an actor, writer, cameraman, technician and editor. He effectively used the medium of cinema – in the right mix of idealism and realism – as a vehicle for creating awareness about the freedom movement and also about numerous social problems and injustices (such as communalism, dowry and the cycle of debt and poverty). He did so by sometimes bringing in subtle allegorical depictions based on mythological or historical events and characters.

This riveting biography – penned by his daughter – brings alive the life and times of Shantaram and his contemporaries, while simultaneously throwing light on a bygone era marked by struggles, uncertainties and difficulties but yet infused with hope, perseverance and determination. It was the early ‘adventurers’ who laid the artistic and technical foundations of the Indian film industry.
While many of his films – for example, Dr Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani (1946) and Do Aankhen Barah Haath (1957) – have bagged national and international recognition, Shantaram himself has several prestigious awards to his credit, including the Dadasaheb Phalke Award (1985) and the Padma Vibhushan (1992).

Here is a chronicle that records an epoch-making era in the history of Indian cinema.