I. S. Johar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Indra Sen Johar (1920-02-16)16 February 1920 |
| Died | 10 March 1984(1984-03-10) (aged 64) |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, director, producer, writer |
| Years active | 1931–1984 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2 |
Indra Sen Johar (16 February 1920 – 10 March 1984)[1][2] was an Indian actor, writer, producer and director, who excelled in comedic roles and is best known to international audiences for portraying Gasim in the epic film classicLawrence of Arabia.
Indra Sen Johar was born on 16 February 1920 inTalagang City,Talagang Tehsil,Jhelum District,Punjab,British India (now within modern-dayTalagang District,Punjab, Pakistan). He did an MA degree in Economics and Politics before completing hisLLB.[1] In August 1947, during thePartition of India, Johar was visitingPatiala with his family for a wedding when serious rioting broke out inLahore, resulting in the Shah Alami Bazaar, once the largelyHindu quarter of theWalled City, being entirely burnt down.[3]
Johar never returned to Lahore. For a period he worked inJalandhar while his family remained inDelhi,[4] before he eventually moved to Bombay, where he made his acting debut in the 1949 Hindi comedy action filmEk Thi Ladki.[5]
Johar acted in numerousHindi films from the 1950s through to the early 1980s and appeared in international films such asHarry Black (1958),North West Frontier (1959),Lawrence of Arabia (1962)[6] andDeath on the Nile (1978), besides acting inMaya (1967), a US TV series. He also appeared in Punjabi films, includingChaddian Di Doli (1966),Nanak Nam Jahaz Hai (1969) withPrithviraj Kapoor, andYamla Jatt withHelen.[7]
I. S. Johar also wrote and directed films, including the partition-based Hindi movieNastik (1954),Johar Mehmood in Goa andJohar Mehmood in Hong Kong, in which he co-starred with comedianMehmood. These were inspired by comedy films of theBob Hope-Bing Crosby styleRoad to... series.[8] Johar was a unique and idiosyncratic individual, a lifelong liberal who poked fun at institutionalised self-satisfied smugness – an attitude which did not endear him to the essentially hierarchical and conservative Indian establishment, and led to difficulties finding finance for his unconventional screenplays. In many of his films, both those he directed and those he acted in, Sonia Sahni was theleading lady, most notably inJohar Mehmood in Goa, 1964.
He also starred in films with his own surname in the title such asMera Naam Johar,[9]Johar in Kashmir andJohar in Bombay, which is a testament both to his immense egotism, as well as his popularity with the common masses – for whom a movie with the Johar name was a guarantee of easy laughs, as well as subtle ironic or frankly sarcastic jibes at Indian customs, mores, superstitions and institutions. His filmNasbandi (Vasectomy) was a spoof on Prime MinisterIndira Gandhi's failed policy of population control by coerced vasectomies during the period of Emergency and was "banned" when it was first released. In the plays written by him too, Johar attacks those in power. In a play on Bhutto, he writes about Pakistan's Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto as well as Gen Mohammed Zia-ul-Haq.[10]Yash Chopra started his film career as an assistant director with I. S. Johar.[11]
In 1963 he starred as "Gopal" in two Italian films directed byMario Camerini:Kali Yug, la dea della vendetta (Kali Yug, Goddess of vengeance) andIl Mistero del tempio indiano (The secret of the Hindu temple).
Johar married Ramma Hoon in 1943 in Lahore. The couple became parents to two children, a son named Anil and a daughter named Neelam, who adopted the stage name Ambika Johar.[4] Both his children worked in a handful of films in the late 1970s, includingNasbandi (1978) and5 Rifles. Ramma herself acted in small roles in a couple of films, most notably as Balraj Sahni's cunning sister inGaram Hawa.
Johar and Ramma were divorced; theirs was one of the earliest legal divorces in the country.[12] After this divorce, Johar married and divorced no less than four more women (five marriages in all, and as many divorces). One of his later wives was the actressSonia Sahni, who had made her film debut in Johar's productionJohar-Mehmood in Goa (1965). None of Johar's later marriages resulted in children.
He died in Bombay, on 10 March 1984.[1]
| Year | Award | Category | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | British Academy Film Awards | Best British Actor | Harry Black | Nominated |
| 1971 | Filmfare Awards | Best Performance in a Comic Role | Johny Mera Naam | Won |
| 1974 | Aaj Ki Taaza Khabar | Nominated |
| Director | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Producer | Story | Screenplay | Dialogue | Note | |
| 1952 | Shrimati Ji | Self | Self | ||||
| 1954 | Nastik | Self | Self | ||||
| 1955 | Shri Nagad Narayan | ||||||
| 1956 | Ham Sab Chor Hain | Self | |||||
| 1957 | Kitna Badal Gaya Insaan | Self | |||||
| 1957 | Miss India | Self | Self | Self | |||
| 1960 | Bewaqoof | Self | Self | Self | Self | ||
| 1965 | Johar-Mehmood in Goa | Self | |||||
| 1966 | Johar in Kashmir | Self | Self | Self. | Self. | ||
| 1971 | Jai Bangladesh | Self | Self | Self. | Self. | ||
| 1974 | 5 Rifles | Self | Self | Self. | Self. | ||
| 1978 | Nasbandi | Self | Self | Self. | Self. | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
