Govind Nihalani (born 19 December 1940) is an

Indian film The cinema of India, consisting of motion pictures made by the Indian film industry, has had a large effect on world cinema since the second half of the 20th century. Indian cinema is made up of various film industries, each focused on pr ...

director, cinematographer, screenwriter and producer, known for his works in

Hindi cinema 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 "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

, particularly the movement of

parallel cinema Parallel cinema, or New Indian Cinema, is a film movement in Cinema of India, Indian cinema that originated in the state of West Bengal in the 1950s as an alternative to the mainstream commercial Indian cinema. Inspired by Italian Neorealism, ...

. He has been the recipient of six

National Film Awards The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India ...

, and five

Filmfare Awards The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Indian cinema.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were introduced by Filmfare magazine of The Times G ...

Early life

Nihalani was born on 19 December 1940 in

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

province (now in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

) and his family migrated to India during the partition of 1947. He graduated in cinematography from the Shree Jaya Chamrajendra polytechnic (the present

Government Film and Television Institute The Government Film & Television Institute, Bangalore (formerly a part of S.J.Polytechnic) is believed to be the first government institute in India to offer technical courses related to films. It is one of the few government film institutes in ...

) in Bangalore in 1962.

Career

He started his career as an assistant cinematographer to V. K. Murthy, post which he made his debut as a

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

. He was associated with all the earlier films of

Shyam Benegal Shyam Benegal (14 December 1934 – 23 December 2024) was an Indian film director, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker. Often regarded as the pioneer of parallel cinema, he is widely considered as one of the greatest filmmakers post 1970s. H ...

and with the cinematography of

Richard Attenborough Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough (; 29 August 192324 August 2014) was an English actor, film director, and Film producer, producer. Attenborough was the president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the British Acade ...

's Oscar-winning period biographical drama ''Gandhi'' (1982). Nihalani and Benegal are well known for their socially relevant films. His first directorial venture was the legal drama ''Aakrosh'', starring

Om Puri Om Prakash Puri, (18 October 1950 – 6 January 2017) was an Indian actor who appeared in mainstream commercial Hindi films as well as Urdu, Malayalam, Bengali, Kannada, English, Punjabi, Gujarati, Telugu, and Marathi films, as well as ind ...

Naseeruddin Shah Naseeruddin Shah (born 20 July 1950) is an Indian actor. He was notable in Indian parallel cinema and has starred in various international productions. He has won numerous awards in his career, including three National Film Awards, three Filmfa ...

Smita Patil Smita Patil (17 October 1955 – 13 December 1986) was an Indian actress who primarily worked in Hindi and Marathi language, Marathi films. Regarded among the greatest and finest actresses in the history of Indian cinema, she was known for her ...

and

Amrish Puri Amrish Puri (22 June 1932 – 12 January 2005) was an Indian actor, who was one of the most notable and important figures in Cinema of India, Indian cinema and Theatre of India, theatre. He acted in more than 450 films, established himsel ...

in lead roles. The film was scripted by noted Marathi playwright

Vijay Tendulkar Vijay Dhondopant Tendulkar (6 January 1928 – 19 May 2008) was an Indian playwright, movie and television writer, literary essayist, political journalist, and social commentator primarily in Marathi. His Marathi plays established him as a writ ...

. The film won the Golden Peacock for best film at the

International Film Festival of India The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is an annual film festival currently held in Goa, on the western coast of India. The festival aims at providing a common platform for the cinemas of the world to project the excel ...

held in New Delhi in 1981. He then directed , a 1983 film based on a story by S. D. Panwalkar. In 1996, his script for ''

Drohkaal ''Drohkaal'' () is a 1994 Indian Hindi-language action drama 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 th ...

'' was adapted by

Kamal Haasan Parthasarathy Srinivasan (born 7 November 1954), known professionally as Kamal Haasan, is an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Considered as one of the most accomplished actors of Indian Cinema, Haas ...

for its

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

remake, '' Kuruthipunal'', which subsequently became India's official entry for the

68th Academy Awards The 68th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 1995 in the United States and took place on March 25, 1996, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beg ...

Best Foreign Language Film The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Bes ...

category. In 1997, he adapted Bengali novelist

Mahasweta Devi Mahasweta Devi (14 January 1926 – 28 July 2016)
''

's acclaimed novel by the same name to ''

Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa ''Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa'' () is a 1998 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. The film is directed produced by Govind Nihalani and is bas ...

''.

Literary works

* ''Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema'', by Govind Nihalani, Saibal Chatterjee, Gulzar. Popular Prakashan, 2003.

Awards

;Civilian honor *

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

(2002) ;

National Film Award for Best Cinematography The National Film Award for Best Cinematography is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India. It is one of several awards presented for feature films and awarded with Rajat Kamal (S ...

- Junoon (1979) *

National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi The National Film Award for Best Hindi Feature Film is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India. It is one of several awards presented for feature films and awarded with Rajat Kama ...

(director) - Aakrosh (1980) *National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi (director) -

Ardh Satya () is a 1983 film directed by Govind Nihalani and screenplay by Vijay Tendulkar. The film was based on the short story, ''Surya'' by S. D. Panvalkar, and featured dialogues by Vasant Dev. In this acclaimed cop-drama, Anant Velankar, played by ...

(1983) *National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi (director) - Drishti (1990) *National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi (director) -

(1998) *

Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration The Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration was one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organization set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry ...

- Tamas (1988) ;

Filmfare Best Cinematographer Award The Filmfare Best Cinematography Award is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films. The category was first awarded in 1954. Superlatives Kamal Bose, Radhu Karmakar, Fali Mistry & Jaywant Pathare ...

- Junoon (1979) *

- Vijeta (1983) *

Filmfare Best Director Award The Filmfare Best Director Award is one of the main awards presented given by the annual Filmfare Awards to recognise directors working in Hindi cinema. It was first presented in 1954 in the inaugural year. Superlatives Bimal Roy has the re ...

- Aakrosh (1981) *

Filmfare Best Movie Award The Filmfare Award for Best Film is given by the '' Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films. The award was first given in 1954. Here is a list of the award winners and the nominees of the respective years. E ...

(1984) *Filmfare Best Director Award -

(1984) *

Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie The Filmfare Critics Award for Best Film is awarded during annual Filmfare Awards, given by the Filmfare magazine. The awards are the oldest and most prominent film awards given for Hindi films in India. The yearly awards started in 1954. M ...

- Dev (2004)

Filmography

References

External links

Nihalani's official site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nihalani, Govind 1940 births Living people Filmfare Awards winners Hindi-language film directors Hindi film producers Hindi film cinematographers Indian television directors Best Cinematography National Film Award winners Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Film directors from Karachi Indian Sindhi people Sindhi filmmakers 20th-century Indian people Indian male screenwriters Directors who won the Best Film on National Integration National Film Award Sindhi male writers