| Chetan Anand | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 3, 1915 Lahore, British India [1] |
| Died | July 6, 1997 (aged 82) Mumbai, Maharastra, India |
| Occupation | producer, director, Actor, Screenwriter |
| Years active | 1944-1994 |
| Awards | Cannes Film Festival: Palme d'Or (Best Film): Neecha Nagar (1946) |
Chetan Anand (Hindi: चेतन आनंद, Punjabi: ਚੇਤਨ ਆਨੰਦ) (3 January 1915 – 6 July 1997) was an acclaimed Hindi film producer, screenwriter and director from India, whose debut film, Neecha Nagar, bagged the Palme d'Or (Best Film) award, at the first ever Cannes Film Festival in 1946. Later he co-founded Navketan Films with his younger brother Dev Anand in 1949.[2]
He is the eldest brother of the Anand family as he is the elder brother to Hindi film actor-directors, Dev Anand and Vijay Anand. His younger sister, Sheel Kanta Kapur, is the mother of renowned Hindi and English film director Shekhar Kapur.
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Chetan Anand was born on 3 January 1915, in Lahore, British India to well-to-do advocate Pishori Lal Anand. After graduating from Government College Lahore, he also remained a member of Indian National Congress in the 1930s, subsequently worked for the BBC and taught at the Doon School, Dehradun for a while, before coming down to Mumbai to sell a film script.[3][4]
In the early 1940s, while he was teaching History, he wrote a film script on king Ashoka, which he went on to show to director, Phani Majumdar in Mumbai, but not before his failed attempt to qualify, the Indian Civil Service (ICS) exams, in London. As luck would have it, Phani Majumdar, instead cast him, as a lead in his Hindi film, Rajkumar, released in 1944. He also became associated with Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) in Mumbai.
He soon took to film direction with the well-acclaimed movie, Neecha Nagar which bagged the Palme d'Or (Best Film) award, then known as 'Grand Prix', at the Cannes Film Festival in 1946.[5][6] This film was also the debut film for Kamini Kaushal, and became the first Indian film to gain international recognition [7] and also debut of Pandit Ravi Shankar.[8]
By early 50s, he and his younger brother Dev Anand had set up `Navketan Productions' in Mumbai, and Afsar, starring Dev Anand and Suraiya, was the first film made by Navketan, which turned out to be a moderate success, it was followed by Taxi Driver and Andhiyan, both of which he directed for Navketan banner.
Later on Chetan Anand started his own production banner called Himalaya films and teamed up with photographer Jal Mistry, music director Madan Mohan, lyrics writer, Kaifi Azmi and actress, Priya Rajvansh. Together they gave some of most memorable and unique films in Hindi cinema like Haqeeqat, Heer Raanjha, Hanste Zakhm, Kudrat and Hindustan Ki Kasam.
Apart from 17 feature films he is also known for the acclaimed television serial, Param Vir Chakra, which was aired Doordarshan in 1988.
After separation from his wife he had a long time relationship with the actress Priya Rajvansh, she was the heroine of his film Haqeeqat and all films after that. He had a relationship with her till his death.[9]
He died on 6 July 1997, at the age of 82 in Mumbai.[3] On 27 March 2000, Priya was murdered in her Juhu home, and in 2002, Chetan Anand's sons Ketan Anand and Vivek Anand along with their employees Mala Choudhary and Ashok Chinnaswamy, were given life imprisonment for her murder [10]
'Chetan Anand: The Poetics of Film', a book written by Chetan Anand's wife Uma Anand and son Ketan Anand (Himalaya Films Media Entertainment) was released in 2006,[11][12] also a documentary by the same name made by Ketan Anand, was released in 2008.[13]
A retrospective of his film was held at Struttgart Film Festival, and at India International Centre, New Delhi in 2007.[14]
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