V. Shantaram | |
|---|---|
 Shantaram in 1938 | |
| Born | Shantaram Rajaram Vankudre (1901-11-18)18 November 1901 |
| Died | 30 October 1990(1990-10-30) (aged 88) Mumbai,Maharashtra, India |
| Other names | Annasaheb, Shantaram Bapu |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1921–1987[1] |
| Spouses | |
| Awards | Best Director 1957Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje Best Film 1958Do Aankhen Barah Haath Dadasaheb Phalke Award 1985 Padma Vibhushan 1992 |
Shantaram Rajaram Vankudre (18 November 1901 – 30 October 1990), also known asV. Shantaram orShantaram Bapu, was an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and editor known for his work inHindi andMarathi films.[2] He is best known for films such asDr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani (1946),Amar Bhoopali (1951),Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje (1955),Do Aankhen Barah Haath (1957),Navrang (1959),Duniya Na Mane (1937),Pinjara (1972),Chani,Iye Marathiche Nagari andZunj.
V. Shantaram started his film career doing odd jobs in Maharashtra Film Co. owned byBaburao Painter atKolhapur.[3] He went on to debut as an actor in the silent filmSurekha Haran in 1921.[4]
Shantaram, fondly known asAnnasaheb (अण्णासाहेब), had an illustrious career as a filmmaker for almost seven decades. He was one of the early filmmakers to realize the efficacy of the film medium as an instrument of social change and used it successfully to advocate humanism on one hand and expose bigotry and injustice on the other. V. Shantaram had a very keen interest in music. It is said that he "ghost wrote" music for many of his music directors, and took a very active part in the creation of music. Some of his songs had to be rehearsed several times before they were approved by V. Shantaram.[5] He was praised byCharlie Chaplin for his Marathi filmManoos. Chaplin reportedly liked the film to a great extent.[6]
He directed his first filmNetaji Palkar, in 1927.[7] In 1929, he founded thePrabhat Film Company along withVishnupant Damle, K.R. Dhaiber, S. Fatelal and S.B. Kulkarni, which madeAyodhyecha Raja, the firstMarathi language film in 1932 under his direction.[8] He left Prabhat co. in 1942 to form "Rajkamal Kalamandir" inMumbai.[9] In time, "Rajkamal" became one of the most sophisticated studios of the country.[10][11]
Shantaram introduced his daughterRajshree andJeetendra in the 1964 filmGeet Gaya Patharon Ne. He also introduced his third wife Sandhya's nieceRanjana Deshmukh into the Marathi film industry throughChandanachi Choli Ang Ang Jaali, directed by his son Kiran Shantaram in 1975. Ranjana dominated the Marathi silver screen in the '70s and '80s.
TheDadasaheb Phalke Award was conferred on him in 1985.[12] He was posthumously awarded thePadma Vibhushan in 1992.[13]
His autobiographyShantarama was published in Hindi and Marathi.[12][14]
The V. Shantaram Award was constituted by Central Government and Maharashtra State Government. The V. Shantaram Motion Picture Scientific Research and Cultural Foundation, established in 1993, offers various awards to film-makers. The award is presented annually on 18 November.[12] A postage stamp dedicated to Shantaram was released byIndia Post on 17 November 2001.
Shantaram was born as one of five brothers in 1901 atKolhapur to a Marathi Jain father and a hindu mother.[15] Shantaram was maternal cousin of famous Marathi film directorMaster Vinayak,[16] (father of Bollywood actressNanda)[17] as well asBaburao Pendharkar andBhalji Pendharkar. He used to live atPanhala nearKolhapur inMaharashtra state before moving to Pune and then ultimately Bombay.
In 1921, aged 20, he married 12-year-old Vimalabai in a match arranged by their families. They had four children: son Prabhat Kumar (whom Shantaram named afterhis movie company) and daughters Saroj, Madhura and Charusheela. Saroj, the eldest daughter, is married to Soli Engineer, aParsi, and they run the Grand Hotel in Mumbai and the Valley View Grand Resort atPanhala nearKolhapur, built on Shantaram's farmhouse, which was inherited by Saroj. Shantaram's second daughter, author Madhura, is the wife ofPandit Jasraj and mother of music director Shaarang Dev Pandit and of TV personalityDurga Jasraj.[18] Shantaram's third daughter, Charusheela, is the mother of former film actorSiddharth Ray.
In 1941, Shantaram married actress Jayashree (née Kamulkar), with whom he had worked in several films, includingShakuntala (1942). He had three children with Jayashree: a son, the Marathi film director and producerKiran Shantaram,[19][20] and two daughters, the actressRajshree and Tejashree. The couple divorced in 1956.[21]
In 1956, just before the law was changed to prohibit polygamy forHindus, Shantaram married another of his leading ladies, the actressSandhya (née Vijaya Deshmukh), who had starred in his filmsAmar Bhoopali andParchaiyan and would go on to star in many of his future films likeDo Aankhen Barah Haath,Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje,Navrang,Jal Bin Machhli Nritya Bin Bijli andSehra. They did not have any children together.
Shantaram died on 30 October 1990 inMumbai.[22] He was survived by his three wives and seven children.
Vimalabai died in 2008 after being bedridden for four years. Jayashree died peacefully in her sleep in 2003. Sandhya (Vijaya Deshmukh) died in 2025.
V. Shantaram's family moved fromKolhapur to Hubbbali also known asHubli inDharwar district, Bombay stateNow Karnataka in 1917 facing a tough time financially. Shantaram, then a teenager joined the railway workshop at Hubballi as a fitter for a salary of 8 annas (50 paise) per day. Impressed by his hard work his salary was raised to 12 annas per day. In the evenings he worked as a door keeper at NEW Deccan Cinema Theatre at Hubballi. Although he was not paid for this job, he was allowed to watch all movies screened for free. There he watched movies ofDadasaheb Phalke, father of Indian Cinema, and developed a passion for the movies. He learnt photography and sign board painting in Hubballi. He later said that the first time he touched a camera, he instantly connected to it.
Source: IMDB[23]
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