Govind Nihalani
Encyclopedia
Govind Nihalani is an Indian director, cinematographer, and also a screenwriter and film producer. He has been directing Hindi
films since the late seventies, and worked in the television medium.
, Sindh
province (now in Pakistan
) and his family migrated to India during the partition of 1947
. He started out as a cinematographer
, graduating in cinematography from the Shree Jaya Chamrajendra polytechnic in Bangalore in 1962. He was an Assistant Cinematographer to the legendary V. K. Murthy
.He was associated with all the earlier films of Shyam Benegal
and with the cinematography of Richard Attenborough
's Oscar-winning epic Gandhi
. Nihalani and Benegal are well known for their socially relevant films.
His first directorial venture was Aakrosh
starring Om Puri
, Naseeruddin Shah
, the late Smita Patil
and the late Amrish Puri
. This was based on a real story which was converted into a film script by the eminent Marathi playwright Vijay Tendulkar
and it made a huge impact on audiences all over India. It shared the Golden Peacock for best film at the International Film Festival of India held in New Delhi in 1981. His film Ardh Satya
, based on a story by S.D. Panwalkar, is still remembered by film lovers. It changed forever the way in which Indian cinema portrayed the police and it exposed in stark detail the police-politician-criminal nexus. Come 1997, and he adapted Bengali novelist, Mahasweta Devi
's acclaimed novel by the same name to Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa
Over the years he has directed many films which are known for the manner in which they grab the viewer's attention, and his most recent work is the 2004 film Dev
.
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
films since the late seventies, and worked in the television medium.
Biography
Nihalani was born on 19 August 1940 in KarachiKarachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
, Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
province (now in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
) and his family migrated to India during the partition of 1947
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
. He started out as a cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
, graduating in cinematography from the Shree Jaya Chamrajendra polytechnic in Bangalore in 1962. He was an Assistant Cinematographer to the legendary V. K. Murthy
V. K. Murthy
V. K. Murthy is an Indian cinematographer. Murthy, a one-time violinist and jailed freedom fighter, was Guru Dutt's regular cameraman on his movies. He provided some of Indian cinema's most breathtaking images in starkly contrasted black and white. He also shot India's first cinemascope movie,...
.He was associated with all the earlier films of Shyam Benegal
Shyam Benegal
Shyam Benegal is a prolific Indian director and screenwriter. With his first four feature films Ankur , Nishant Manthan and Bhumika he created a new genre, which has now come to be called the "middle cinema" in India although he himself has expressed dislike in the term preferring his work to...
and with the cinematography of Richard Attenborough
Richard Attenborough
Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough , CBE is a British actor, director, producer and entrepreneur. As director and producer he won two Academy Awards for the 1982 film Gandhi...
's Oscar-winning epic Gandhi
Gandhi (film)
Gandhi is a 1982 biographical film based on the life of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who led the nonviolent resistance movement against British colonial rule in India during the first half of the 20th century. The film was directed by Richard Attenborough and stars Ben Kingsley as Gandhi. They both...
. Nihalani and Benegal are well known for their socially relevant films.
His first directorial venture was Aakrosh
Aakrosh (1980 film)
Aakrosh is a 1980 Hindi arthouse film directed by auteur Govind Nihalani and written by renowned Marathi playwright Vijay Tendulkar.The film starred Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri and Amrish Puri in lead roles and went to win 1980 National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi and several Filmfare...
starring Om Puri
Om Puri
Om Puri is an Indian actor who has appeared in both mainstream Indian films and art films. His credits also include appearances in British and American films. He has received an honorary OBE.-Early life:...
, Naseeruddin Shah
Naseeruddin Shah
Naseeruddin Shah is an Indian / Bollywood film actor and director. He is considered to be one of the finest actors of Indian cinema. In 2003, the Government of India honored him with the Padma Bhushan for his contributions towards Indian cinema.-Early life:...
, the late Smita Patil
Smita Patil
Smita Patil was an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. Regarded among the finest stage and film actresses of her times, Patil appeared in over 75 Hindi and Marathi films in a career that spanned just over a decade. During her career, she received two National Film Awards and a...
and the late Amrish Puri
Amrish Puri
Amrish Singh Puri , ; 22 June 1932 – 12 January 2005 was an iconic theater and film actor from India, who was a key player in the Indian theater movement that picked up steam in the 1960s. He worked with notable playwrights of the time, such as Satyadev Dubey and Girish Karnad...
. This was based on a real story which was converted into a film script by the eminent Marathi playwright Vijay Tendulkar
Vijay Tendulkar
Vijay Tendulkar was a leading Indian playwright, movie and television writer, literary essayist, political journalist, and social commentator primarily in Marāthi...
and it made a huge impact on audiences all over India. It shared the Golden Peacock for best film at the International Film Festival of India held in New Delhi in 1981. His film Ardh Satya
Ardh Satya
Ardh Satya is a 1983 film directed by Govind Nihalani, his second offering after another angst-ridden movie Aakrosh . The screenplay of both movies was by Vijay Tendulkar, the noted Marathi playwright; this one was based on the short story, 'Surya', by D.A...
, based on a story by S.D. Panwalkar, is still remembered by film lovers. It changed forever the way in which Indian cinema portrayed the police and it exposed in stark detail the police-politician-criminal nexus. Come 1997, and he adapted Bengali novelist, Mahasweta Devi
Mahasweta Devi
Mahasweta Devi is an Indian social activist and writer.- Biography :Mahasweta Devi was born in 1926 in Dhaka, to literary parents in a Hindu Brahmin family. Her father Manish Ghatak was a well known poet and novelist of the Kallol era, who used the pseudonym Jubanashwa...
's acclaimed novel by the same name to Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa
Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa
Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa is an Indian feature film that deals with the life of a woman who loses her son, a Naxalite, to the violence that is a result of his adopted ideology....
Over the years he has directed many films which are known for the manner in which they grab the viewer's attention, and his most recent work is the 2004 film Dev
Dev (film)
Dev is a 2004 Hindi movie, directed by Govind Nihalani-Plot:Joint Commissioner of Police Dev Pratap Singh, a duty-bound, self-righteous officer, and Special Commissioner Tejinder Khosla, the balancing force between the political interests of Chief Minister Bhandarker and Dev's commitment to the...
.
Filmography
- AakroshAakrosh (1980 film)Aakrosh is a 1980 Hindi arthouse film directed by auteur Govind Nihalani and written by renowned Marathi playwright Vijay Tendulkar.The film starred Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri and Amrish Puri in lead roles and went to win 1980 National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi and several Filmfare...
(1980) - Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, Smita Patil, Amrish Puri. - VijetaVijetaVijeta is a 1982 Hindi film produced by Shashi Kapoor and directed by Govind Nihalani. It stars Shashi Kapoor, Rekha, Kunal Kapoor and Amrish Puri.-Plot:Vijeta is the coming of age story of Angad...
(1982) - Kunal Kapoor, Supriya Pathak, Shashi Kapoor, Rekha, Amrish Puri, Raja Bundela. - Ardh SatyaArdh SatyaArdh Satya is a 1983 film directed by Govind Nihalani, his second offering after another angst-ridden movie Aakrosh . The screenplay of both movies was by Vijay Tendulkar, the noted Marathi playwright; this one was based on the short story, 'Surya', by D.A...
(1983) - Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, Smita Patil, Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Amrish Puri, Shafi Inamdar. - PartyParty (1984 film)Party is a 1984 Hindi film directed by Govind Nihalani. The film boasted an ensemble cast of leading art cinema actors of Parallel Cinema, including Vijaya Mehta, Manohar Singh, Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, and Rohini Hattangadi...
(1984) - Rohini Hattangadi, Manohar Singh, Vijaya Metha, Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah. - Aaghat (1985) - Om Puri, Gopi, Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapoor.
- Tamas (1987) - TV serial based on a novel by Bhisham SahniBhisham SahniBhisham Sahni भीष्म साहनी was a Hindi writer, playwright, and actor, most famous for his novel and television screenplay Tamas , a powerful and passionate account of the Partition of India...
. Cinematography by V.K.Murthy. - DrishtiDrishti (film)Drishti is a 1990 Hindi film directed by Govind Nihalani, and stars Dimple Kapadia , Shekhar Kapur and Irrfan Khan. The film is one of the rare film to have music direction by noted classical singer, Kishori Amonkar....
(1990) - Shekar Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, Irfan Khan. - Pita (1991)
- Rukmavati Ki Haweli (1991)
- Jazeere (TV series) (1991)
- Karm Yoddha (1992)
- DrohkaalDrohkaalDrohkaal is a 1994 Indian film directed and produced by Govind Nihalani which deals with India's fight against terrorism. The film examines the mental and psychological trauma that honest police officers go through in their fight against a group of ruthless terrorists. This movie was remade into...
(1994) - Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, Mita Vashishta, Annu Kapoor, Ashish VidyarthiAshish VidyarthiAshish Vidyarthi is an Indian actor who worked predominantly in Hindi films and lately in South Indian films. He has won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for film Drohkaal in 1995....
. - Sanshodhan (1996)
- KuruthipunalKuruthipunalKuruthipunal is a 1995 Tamil drama and action film directed by veteran cinematographer P. C. Sriram. The film stars Kamal Haasan and Arjun in the lead roles, with Nassar playing a pivotal role. Upon release, the film met with a strong critical reception, and is recognized by some to have set high...
(Tamil) (1996) (story) - Hazaar Chaurasi Ki MaaHazaar Chaurasi Ki MaaHazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa is an Indian feature film that deals with the life of a woman who loses her son, a Naxalite, to the violence that is a result of his adopted ideology....
(1997) - Jaya Bachchan, Anupam Kher, Joy Sengupta, Nandita Sen, Seema Biswas, Milind Gunaji. - ThakshakThakshakThakshak is a 1999 action-drama Hindi film written and directed by director Govind Nihalani. Touted as Nihalani's attempt at popular cinema, this film starred Ajay Devgan, Tabu and Rahul Bose in the lead roles. The soundtrack was composed by A. R...
(2000) - Ajay Devgan, Rahul Bose, Tabu, Amrish Puri, Govind Namdeo, Nethra Raghuraman. - Deham (2001) - Joy Sengupta, Kitu Gidwani, Surekha Sikri, Aly Khan.
- DevDev (film)Dev is a 2004 Hindi movie, directed by Govind Nihalani-Plot:Joint Commissioner of Police Dev Pratap Singh, a duty-bound, self-righteous officer, and Special Commissioner Tejinder Khosla, the balancing force between the political interests of Chief Minister Bhandarker and Dev's commitment to the...
(2004) - Amitabh Bachchan, Om Puri, Fardeen Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Rati Agnihotri.
Books
- Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema, by Govind Nihalani, Saibal Chatterjee, Gulzar. Popular Prakashan, 2003. https://www.vedamsbooks.com/no31144.htm
External links
- Nihalani's official site.
- A discussion between Nihalani and Rakesh Sharma (September 2005)
- Nihalani speaks on Dev. Interview by Taran Adarsh in indiafm.com (9 June 2004)
- Nihalani interviewed by Saibal Chatterjee in The Hindustan Times
- Zafar Anjum interviews Nihalani at Chowk.com (16 February 2003)
- Piroj Wadia interviews Nihalani for Screen (3 May 2002)
- Manjulaa Negi profiles Nihalani in The Hindustan Times
- Dhira Singh poses 10 questions to Nihalani in Outlook (12 March 2001)
- Sharmila Taliculam interviews Nihalani for rediff.com (1 December 1999)