K. Amarnath
| K.AMARNATH | |
|---|---|
 Amarnath in 1978 | |
| Born |
1 December 1914 Mianwali, Punjab, British India now Pakistan |
| Died |
14 May 1983 Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Occupation | Indian Film Producer/Director |
K. Amarnath (1 Dec 1914 – 14 May 1983) was an Indian film producer and director whose career spanned over four decades in the film industry.
Early life
Amarnath Gelaram Khetarpal was born in Mianwali, Punjab, British India. He spent his childhood in Mianwali and college years in Lahore. Inspired by Hollywood and British movies, Amarnath left home at a young age of 18 to join the film industry to become an actor.
Career
Initially K.Amarnath worked as a character/stunt actor for 4 years, first in Calcutta and then in Mumbai.
Realising K.Amarnath's great passion and knowledge of movie-making, Ramaniklal & Mohanlal Shah, founders of Mohan Studios, Mumbai, gave him his first big break when they offered him the opportunity to direct "Matwali Jogan"[1] in 1936.
In 1936, K.Amarnath was only 22 years old when he directed his first movie.
He also directed 4 Tamil movies for Mohan Studios; and one of them, "Minnalkodi" - 1937 was a big hit.[2]
K.Amarnath produced/directed more than 30 movies.
From 1936 to 1953, he produced/directed 22 Hindi & Tamil movies within a span of 17 years.
In 1953, K.Amarnath created his own production company, "K.Amarnath Productions" with "Alif-Laila" and produced and directed about 11 Hindi movies till 1971.
His office was located at Ranjit Studios, Dadar, Mumbai.
K.Amarnath was a very versatile man. He not only produced and directed movies, but also wrote the story & screenplay of many of his movies. Over the course of his career, the genres of the movies he directed ranged from action/suspense thrillers to family/social drama, legendary romantic tragedies, semi-musicals, costume drama to magical/fantasy movies. (See Filmography below).
Many well-known artistes and music directors, worked in movies produced/directed by K.Amarnath. Some of them were - Ajit, Jayant (father of Amjad Khan), Murad, Pran (actor), Yakub, Gope, Mukri, Sajjan, Kishore Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Joy Mukherjee, Sanjay Khan, Bharat Bhushan, Mehmood, Madhubala, Geeta Bali, Meena Kumari, Vyjayantimala, Nutan, Nimmi, Nalini Jaywant, Nanda, Nigar Sultana, Noor Jehan, Kum Kum, Kamini Kaushal, Shakila, Helen, Cuckoo, Indurani and also K.T.Rukmini & B.Shrinavasa Rao in the Tamil movies directed by him. Some of the music directors who gave their most memorable music in his movies were Nashad, Chitragupta (composer), O.P.Nayyar, Shyam Sundar, Kalyanji-Anandji, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Ghulam Mohammed, Sardar Malik, and the brothers, Pt.Amarnath, Husnlal & Bhagatram.
Ajit (Ajit Khan) acted as a hero in 7 of the movies directed by K.Amarnath – Beqasoor, Meharbani, Sarkaar, Bara-Dari, Bada Bhai, Baraat and Kabli Khan. In fact it was K.Amarnath who had suggested that he change his long name of "Hamid Ali Khan" to a shorter name. The first movie with his name changed to Ajit was "Beqasoor" -1950.[3]
Shyam Sundar composed many unforgettable melodious songs in 3 of the hit movies directed by K.Amarnath – "Gaon ki Gori"- 1945, "Bazaar" - 1949 and "Alif-Laila" 1953.[4]
Mohammed Rafi always "considered" the song "aji dil ho kaaboo mein to dildaar ki aisi taisi" with G. M. Durrani and chorus in "Gaon ki Gori" to be his first Hindi Film Song.[5]
Noor Jehan was the heroine of 2 of the movies directed by K.Amarnath – “Gaon ki Gori “– 1945 and “Mirza Sahiban” – 1947. Both of them were super hits. Mirza Sahiban was her last movie in India before she moved to Pakistan.[6]
K.Amarnath was well known for promoting aspiring young individuals. He introduced Salim Khan to the movies. (Salim of Salim-Javed fame and father of Bollywood superstar, Salman Khan).[7]
The first movie Salim acted in was K.Amarnath’s " Baraat" – 1960.
Helen (actress) [8] got her first break as a main/solo dancer in K. Amarnath's "Alif-Laila" - 1953.[9]
Also, Minoo Mumtaz, sister of the famous Bollywood comedian Mehmood,[10] made her film debut in K.Amarnath’s "Bara-Dari" - 1955.[11]
Three of the Hindi movies directed by K.Amarnath: Village Girl-Gaon Ki Gori - 1945 [12] Mirza Sahibaan - 1947 and Bara-Dari - 1955 (List of Bollywood films of 1955) were among the top grossing films of those years.
Family
K.Amarnath lived in Shivaji Park, Mumbai, was married and had 4 children – 2 sons and 2 daughters.[13]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Genre | Credit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1936 | Matwali Jogan | Director | |
| 1937 | Pucca Rowdy (Tamil) | Action/Stunt Thriller | Director |
| 1937 | Minnalkodi (Tamil) | Action/Stunt/Suspense Thriller | Director |
| 1937 | Veer Ramani - (Tamil) (Veera Ramani) | Action/Stunt Thriller | Director |
| 1938 | Bhagya Leela (Tamil) | Director | |
| 1939 | Midnight Mail | Director | |
| 1939 | Bahadur Ramesh (a.k.a. Volunteer) | Director | |
| 1939 | Chasmawali | Director | |
| 1940 | Tatar Ka Chor (a.k.a. Thief of Tatar) | Action/Stunt Thriller | Director |
| 1940 | Captain Kishori | Director | |
| 1941 | Bulbule Baghdad | Action/Stunt Thriller | Director |
| 1942 | Zevar | Director | |
| 1943 | Chhed Chhad | Director | |
| 1944 | Bandukwali | Action/Stunt Thriller | Director |
| 1945 | Gaon Ki Gori (a.k.a. Village Girl) | Romantic/Family-Social Drama | Director/Story & Scenario |
| 1947 | Roop Nagar | Director | |
| 1947 | Mirza Sahiban - (Mirza Sahibaan) | Legendary Romantic Tragedy | Director/Story & Scenario |
| 1949 | Bazar - (Bazaar (1949 film)) | Semi-Musical | Director/Story & Scenario |
| 1949 | Shoharat | Director | |
| 1950 | Beqasoor | Family-Social Drama | Director/Story |
| 1950 | Meharbani | Director | |
| 1951 | Sarkaar | Director | |
| 1953 | Laila Majnu | Legendary Romantic Tragedy | Director |
| 1953 | Alif-Laila | Magical/Fantasy | Producer/Director |
| 1954 | Mehbooba | Costume Drama | Producer/Director |
| 1955 | Bara-Dari | Romantic-Costume Drama | Producer/Director |
| 1956 | Naya Andaz | Semi-Musical | Producer/Director/Story & Screenplay |
| 1957 | Bada Bhai | Family-Social Drama | Producer/Director |
| 1959 | Kal Hamara Hai | Social Drama | Producer |
| 1960 | Baraat | Romantic/Family-Social Drama | Producer/Director |
| 1961 | Bada Admi | Social Drama | Producer |
| 1963 | Kabli Khan | Costume Drama | Producer/Director |
| 1964 | Ishaara | Romantic/Family-Social Drama | Producer/Director |
| 1971 | Woh Din Yaad Karo | Romantic/Family-Social Drama | Producer/Director/Story & Screenplay |
References
- ↑ Ashish Rajadhyaksha; Paul Willemen; Professor of Critical Studies Paul Willemen (10 July 2014). Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema. Routledge. pp. 42–. ISBN 978-1-135-94318-9.
- ↑ http://www.jmionline.org/articles/2010/the_advent_of_sound_in_indian_cinema_theatre_orientalism_action_magic.pdf
- ↑ Renu Saran (25 February 2014). Encyclopedia of Bollywood–Film Actors. Diamond Pocket Books Pvt Ltd. pp. 14–. ISBN 978-93-5083-690-3.
- ↑ https://apnaarchive.wordpress.com/2012/10/29/shyam-sundar-a-genius-composer/
- ↑ http://www.sangeetmahal.com/hof/Singers_Rafi.asp
- ↑ http://www.sangeetmahal.com/hof/Singers_Noor_Jehan.asp
- ↑ Anupama Chopra (2000). Sholay, the Making of a Classic. Penguin Books India. pp. 15–. ISBN 978-0-14-029970-0.
- ↑ Jerry Pinto (2006). Helen: The Life and Times of an H-bomb. Penguin Books India. pp. 223–. ISBN 978-0-14-303124-6.
- ↑ http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-fridayreview/helen-of-bollywood/article3217800.ece
- ↑ Tilak Rishi (5 June 2012). Bless You Bollywood!: A tribute to Hindi Cinema on completing 100 years. Trafford Publishing. pp. 107–. ISBN 978-1-4669-3962-2.
- ↑ http://www.filmibeat.com/bollywood/features/2006/raksha-bandhan-090806.html
- ↑ http://moviesb.com/m-gaon-ki-gori-74361
- ↑ http://k-amarnath-movie-producer-director.com/