Govind Nihalani
Age: 83
Birthplace: Karachi, British India
Govind Nihalani (born 19 December 1940 in Karachi) is an Indian film director, cinematographer, screenwriter and producer, known for his works in Hindi cinema. He has been the recipient of six National Film Awards (India), and five Bollywood Filmfare Awards. In 1996, his script for Drohkaal was adapted by Kamal Hassan for its Tamil remake, Kuruthipunal which subsequently became India's official entry for the 68th Academy Awards Best Foreign Language Film category.
His first directorial venture was Aakrosh starring Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, the late Smita Patil and the late Amrish Puri. The film is scripted by Marathi playwright Vijay Tendulkar. The film shared the Golden Peacock for best film at the International Film Festival of India held in New Delhi in 1981. He then directed Ardh Satya, based on a story by S. D. Panwalkar. the film has received critical reception for depicting the police-politician-criminal nexus. In 1997, he adapted Bengali novelist, Mahasweta Devi's acclaimed novel by the same name to Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa.
Early life and career
Nihalani was born on 19 December 1940 in Karachi, 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(the present Government Film and Television Institute) 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.
Literary works
- Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema, by Govind Nihalani, Saibal Chatterjee, Gulzar. Popular Prakashan, 2003.
Awards
- Civilian honor
- Padma Shri (2002)
- National Film Awards (India)
- National Film Award for Best Cinematography - Junoon (1979)
- National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi (director) - Aakrosh (1980)
- National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi (director) - Ardh Satya (1983)
- National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi (director) - Drishti (1990)
- National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi (director) - Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa (1998)
- Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration - Tamas (1988)
- Filmfare Awards
- Filmfare Best Cinematographer Award- Junoon (1980)
- Filmfare Best Director Award - Aakrosh (1981)
- Filmfare Best Movie Award - Ardh Satya (1984)
- Filmfare Best Director Award - Ardh Satya (1984)
- Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie - Dev (2004)
Filmography
- Aakrosh (1980) - Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, Smita Patil, Amrish Puri.
- Vijeta (1982) - Kunal Kapoor, Supriya Pathak, Shashi Kapoor, Rekha, Amrish Puri, Raja Bundela.
- Ardh Satya (1983) - Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, Smita Patil, Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Amrish Puri, Shafi Inamdar.
- Party (1984) - Rohini Hattangadi, Manohar Singh, Vijaya Metha, Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah.
- Aghaat (1985) - Om Puri, Gopi, Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Kapoor.
- Tamas (1987) - TV serial based on a novel by Bhisham Sahni. Cinematography by V.K.Murthy.
- Drishti (1990) - Shekar Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia, Irfan Khan.
- Pita (1991)
- Rukmavati Ki Haveli (1991)
- Jazeere (TV series) (1991)
- Drohkaal (1994) - Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, Mita Vashishta, Annu Kapoor, Ashish Vidyarthi.
- Sanshodhan (1996)
- Kuruthipunal (Tamil) (1996) Remake of Drohkaal.
- Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa (1997) - Jaya Bachchan, Anupam Kher, Joy Sengupta, Nandita Sen, Seema Biswas, Milind Gunaji.
- Thakshak (2000) - Ajay Devgan, Rahul Bose, Tabu, Amrish Puri, Govind Namdeo, Nethra Raghuraman.
- Deham (2001) - Joy Sengupta, Kitu Gidwani, Surekha Sikri, Aly Khan.
- Dev (2004) - Amitabh Bachchan, Om Puri, Fardeen Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Rati Agnihotri.
- Kamlu Happy Happy- ( 3D Animated Feature Film ) Under Production