Kumar Shahani was an Indian film director and screenwriter, who breathed his last on February 24 at the age of 83 in Kolkata. While he is no more with us, his work has left an impact and has served as an inspiration for many filmmakers to follow.
Born on December 7, 1940, in Larkana, Sindh (now in Pakistan), the late director pursued advanced direction and screenplay writing at the renowned Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. Later, he continued his studies at the Institut des hautes études cinématographiques (IDHEC), Paris. Since then, he has given the Indian cinema some prominent films and is a familiar name to India's Parallel Cinema movement. Let's have a look at some of his best works.
'Maya Darpan' is a film directed in 1972, and is now regarded as a landmark movie in Indian cinema. It is based on the post-independence period of the country and explores the challenges and complexities India faced during that time.
'Kasba' is a film directed in 1991, for which Shahani penned the script too. The film is an adaptation of the short story 'In the Ravine' by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Considered to be a major work in the Indian Parallel Cinema movement, the film got the director a Filmfare Award.
'Char Adhyay' is a film directed in 1997, and is an adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore's final novel of the same name. The narrative is based during the Bengali Renaissance of the 1930s and 1940s, shedding light on a few intellectuals and revolutionaries who took part in the Indian independence movement.
'Khayal Gatha' is a film directed in 1989 and was the late director's first project to garner international acclaim, and even won him a prize at the Rotterdam Film Festival. The film was highly praised as it promoted Indian culture by diving into the history of the Khayal genre in Indian classical singing.
'Tarang' is a film directed in 1984 and boasts a star-studded cast including Amol Palekar, Smita Patil, Girish Karnad, Om Puri, and Shreeram Lagoo. The film, at the time of its release, was considered to be different than the type of films he'd usually make.
These five films stand as some of his best works, yet Kumar Shahani has, without a doubt, left behind a lasting legacy and has helped shape Indian cinema into what it is today.
