Bishwanath Prasad Shahabadi, (also spelled as Vishwanath Prasad Shahabadi), also known as B.P. Shahabadi, was an Indian film producer and

businessperson A businessperson, also referred to as a businessman or businesswoman, is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial ...

known for producing

Bhojpuri Bhojpuri may refer to: * Bhojpuri language, an Indo-Aryan language of India and Nepal * Bhojpuri grammar, grammatical rules of the language * Bhojpuri nouns, nouns of the language * Bhojpuri people, people who speak the language * Bhojpuri region ...

and

Hindi films Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Hollywood". The industry, producing films in th ...

. He is known as the father of

Bhojpuri cinema Bhojpuri cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Bhojpuri language widely spoken in Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh. Its major production centres are Patna. Bhojpuri cinema has grown in rece ...

. He is known for producing the first black-and-white

Bhojpuri film Bhojpuri cinema is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Bhojpuri language widely spoken in Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh. Its major production centres are Patna. Bhojpuri cinema has grown in rece ...

, '' Ganga Maiyya Tohe Piyari Chadhaibo'', in 1962. His works include ''Solaho Singar Kare Dulhaniya'' (Bhojpuri) and Hindi films like ''

Rootha Na Karo ''Rootha Na Karo'' is a 1970 Bollywood drama directed by Sunder Dar and produced by Bishwanath Prasad Shahabadi. The film stars Shashi Kapoor and Nanda in lead roles. Plot Neeta (Nanda) lives along with her widowed mother (Sulochana Latkar ...

'', ''Ganga Dham'', ''Geet Ganga'', '' Sasural'' and ''Tulsi'' and ''Ghar Jamai''. He died on 13 July 2000.

Biography

He was born on 24 January 1912, in Bandhuchhapra village in

Arrah Arrah (also transliterated as Ara) is a city and a municipal corporation in Bhojpur district, India, Bhojpur district (formerly known as Shahabad district) in the Indian state of Bihar. It is the headquarters of Bhojpur district, India, Bhojpur ...

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

. Shahabadi owned

mica Micas ( ) are a group of silicate minerals whose outstanding physical characteristic is that individual mica crystals can easily be split into fragile elastic plates. This characteristic is described as ''perfect basal cleavage''. Mica is co ...

and

coal mines Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

, along with a liquor contract business. Shahabadi owned movie theaters in

Dhanbad Dhanbad is the second-most populated city in the Indian state of Jharkhand after Jamshedpur and a major financial hub of Jharkhand. In terms of economy, Dhanbad has the largest economy in the state of Jharkhand and it is often referred to as th ...

and

Giridih Giridih is headquarters of the Giridih district of Jharkhand state, India. The city of Giridih is known for its industrial and health sectors, as well as its scenery. Giridih houses the Giridih Coalfield which is one of the oldest coalfields to ...

. In 1938, he contributed to the freedom cause by purchasing six yards of

khadi Khadi (, ), derived from khaddar, is a hand-spun and woven natural fibre cloth promoted by Mahatma Gandhi, Gandhi as Swadeshi movement, ''swadeshi (of homeland)'' for the freedom struggle of India and the term is used throughout the Indian sub ...

from

Rajendra Prasad Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963) was an Indian politician, lawyer, journalist and scholar who served as the first president of India from 1950 to 1962. He joined the Indian National Congress during the Indian independen ...

in a special auction for Rs 15,000. In the 1960s, the first

President of India The president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...

, asked Bishwanath to make a Bhojpuri film. He produced the film '' Ganga Maiyya Tohe Piyari Chadhaibo'' in 1963, marking the first Bhojpuri language film, which was well received. The film was produced by Shahabadi under Nirmal Pictures and directed by Kundan Kumar. He wrote the story for the 1980 film ''Ganga Dham''. He worked on ''Geet Ganga Ke'', a flop at box office. In 1983, he produced ''Hamaar Bhauji'', a big hit. It was inspired by a famous South Indian film called "Bhabhi" (1957).

Filmography

Personal life

He was the youngest among the five children of father Uttamchand Shah. Bishwanath Prasad Shahabadi was married to Swarnmani Devi. He died at the age of 89 on 13 July 2000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shahabadi, Bishwanath Prasad Film producers from Bihar 20th-century Indian people Hindi film producers 1912 births 2000 deaths Film producers from Maharashtra Bhojpuri cinema Businesspeople from Bihar

Biography

Filmography

Personal life

See also

References