Kamal Amrohi
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| Kamal Amrohi | |||||||
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| Born | January 17, 1918 Amroha, Uttar Pradesh  India |
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| Died | February 11, 1993 Mumbai India |
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| Occupation | film director, screenwriter, dialogue writer | ||||||
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Kamal Amrohi or Kamaal Amrohi or Syed Amir Haider Kamal(17 January, 1918 - February 11, 1993) was a prominent Indian film director, screenwriter, and dialogue writer. He was also a well-known Urdu and Hindi poet [1]
He is most known for his Hindi film classic such as Mahal (1949), Pakeezah 1972 and Razia Sultan 1983.
He established Kamal Pictures (Mahal Films) in 1953 and Kamalistan Studio in Bombay in 1958 [2].
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[edit] Biography
Syed Amir Haider Kamal, was born on January 17, 1918, in Amroha, Uttar Pradesh in India and later took on the name Kamal 'Amrohi'.
In 1938, he left Amroha to study in Lahore, where renowned singer K. L. Saigal discovered him and took him to Mumbai (Bombay) to work for Sohrab Modi's Minerva Movietoon, where he started his career working on films like, Jailor (1938), Pukar (1939), Bharosa(1940), Kardar (Shohjeban 1946). He made his debut as a director in 1949, with Mahal, starring Madhubala and Ashok Kumar, which also was a musical hit, with songs by Lata Mangeshkar [3].
In his career he directed only four films, but they include two masterpieces, Mahal (1949) for Bombay Talkies and Pakeezah, (which was conceived in 1958 but was not brought to the screen until 1972).
He wrote scripts for the movies made by Sohrab Modi, Abdul Rashid Kardar and K. Asif [2]. He was one of the four dialogue writers for the latter's famous 1960 movie, Mughal-e-Azam, for which he also won the Filmfare Award.
As a director, he developed a unique style that combined a stylized direction with minimalist performances. This style was quite different from the one with highly expressive acting that was common in much of Indian cinema of his period. Both Mahal and Pakeezah express Amrohi's very personal vision of the world, and it can be said that they are not so much movies as symphonic poems on celluloid [1].
In 1958, he started Kamaal Studios for his banner Mahal Films, though it closed down after three years and later changed hands to become Natraj Studios [4].
Amrohi married three times: His first wife was Bano, (who was a maid to Nargis's mother, Jaddan Bai); she died of asthma. His second wife was Mehmoodie. He met Meena Kumari on a set when she was 19 and he was 34. They fell in love and married in 1952. The marriage ended in 1964. They remarried, but Meena Kumari had become an alcoholic by then. She died on March 31, 1972, and Amrohi died on February 11, 1993 in Mumbai [5], ten years after making his last film, Razia Sultan (1983). He was buried next to Meena Kumari in an Iranian graveyard.
[edit] Personal life
Kamal Amrohi had three children from his second wife Mehmoodie: two sons, Shandaar and Taajdaar, both of whom worked with him in Razia Sultan, and a daughter Rukhsar.
[edit] Filmography
- Chalia 1938 as a dialogue writer
- Pukar 1939 as a dialogue writer
- Mahal (1949)
- Daera 1953 as a director
- Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai 1960 writer
- Mughal E Azam 1960
- Pakeezah 1972 directed
- Razia Sultan 1983 directed
[edit] Awards
[edit] Further Reading
- Ishqacha Zehri Pyala, Biography (Marathi), Anita Padhye. [1]
- Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema by Ashish Rajadhayaksha and Paul Willemen.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Century of Films, Guardian Unlimited Derek Malcolm, Thursday August 5, 1999..
- ^ a b Writer, Poet and Director Profile at webindia123.
- ^ Mahal Review at upperstall.
- ^ I began my career at Natraj: Javed Akhtar Hindustan Times, March 16, 2007.
- ^ You Tube Kamaal Amrohi's death.
[edit] External Links
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