Jagat Murari
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Jagat Murari (5 October 1924 – 13 April 2007) was a distinguished Indian
documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...
filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...
, known well for his contributions to
Indian cinema 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 p ...
as a producer,
director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...
and, above all, educator. He played a pioneering role in a number of key film institutions in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, including the Film & Television Institute of India (FTII), the
National Film Archive of India The National Film Archive of India (NFAI) was established as a media unit of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in February 1964. It was a member of the International Federation of Film Archives. In March 2022, it was merged with th ...
(NFAI), and the
Directorate of Film Festivals The Directorate of Film Festivals in India was an organisation that initiated and presented the International Film Festival of India, the National Film Awards and the Indian Panorama. Although the Directorate helped appoint members of the jury ...
(DFF). Murari is well remembered for nurturing young, talented students as head of FTII,
Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...
between 1962 and 1971, many of whom are now well known names in the
Bollywood 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 ...
industry, including
Jaya Bhaduri Jaya Bachchan (''née'' Bhaduri; born 9 April 1948) is an Indian actress and politician. She is regarded as one of the greatest actresses of Hindi cinema. She is serving as member of the parliament in the Rajya Sabha from the Samajwadi Party ...
,
Shabana Azmi Shabana Azmi (born 18 September 1950) is an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. Her career in the Hindi cinema, Hindi film industry has spanned Shabana Azmi filmography, over 160 films, mostly within independent and neorealist paral ...
,
Adoor Gopalakrishnan Adoor Gopalakrishnan (born 3 July 1941) is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer and is regarded as one of the most notable and renowned filmmakers in India. With the release of his first feature film '' Swayamvaram'' (1972), G ...
and
Subhash Ghai Subhash Ghai (born 24 January 1945) is an Indian film director, producer, actor, lyricist, music director and screenwriter, primarily known for his work in Hindi cinema. He was one of the most prominent Hindi filmmakers in the 1980s and 1990s. ...
.


Life and career


Filmmaker

Murari earned a Masters in
Physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...
at Patna University and then, feeling that his background in physics would be useful in cinema, he obtained a Masters in Cinema in 1947 from the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
,
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. His first Hollywood internship was on Orson Welles' film, ''
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''. He returned to India early the next year and joined the Films Division as a deputy director just a few months after its creation. He then become a director, and then assistant producer. Many of his films won national and international awards and were screened at some of the world's most prestigious film festivals (see Selected filmography below). His landmark film ''Mahabalipuram'' was shown at the International Film Festival in Berlin and at the Second International Art Film Festival in New York in 1952. In 1953, it went to the
Edinburgh Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF), established in 1947, is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all titles are World, international, European or UK Premieres), in al ...
. ''Mahabalipuram'' and ''Cave Temples of India – 1 (Buddhist),'' were shown in China in 1955 for a Festival of Indian Films, which was considered an important step in bringing the people of India and China closer together in friendship. By the time he left the Films Division in 1961, he had written and directed 37 films. Between 1959 and 1961, he produced 43 films.


Educator

Murari joined the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune soon after its creation in 1961 and worked there until 1971. Initially, he was the Professor of Direction, but after Gajanand Jagirdar resigned as Principal in 1961, he took on the role. In the 1960s, the FTII trained actors, directors, cinematographers, and sound technicians, including Jaya Bhaduri,
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,
Rehana Sultan Rehana Sultan is an Indian actress best known for her debut role in the acclaimed 1970 film '' Dastak'' which won her the National Film Award for Best Actress. A graduate of Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, she is also kno ...
,
Adoor Gopalakrishnan Adoor Gopalakrishnan (born 3 July 1941) is an Indian film director, script writer, and producer and is regarded as one of the most notable and renowned filmmakers in India. With the release of his first feature film '' Swayamvaram'' (1972), G ...
,
Mani Kaul Mani Kaul (25 December 1944 – 6 July 2011) was an Indian director of Hindi films and a figure in Indian parallel cinema. He graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) where he was a student of Ritwik Ghatak and later be ...
,
Subhash Ghai Subhash Ghai (born 24 January 1945) is an Indian film director, producer, actor, lyricist, music director and screenwriter, primarily known for his work in Hindi cinema. He was one of the most prominent Hindi filmmakers in the 1980s and 1990s. ...
, and K. K. Mahajan. As an educator, he filled India's prolific but chaotic film industry with a greater degree of professionalism and skill by introducing a stream of highly trained directors, technicians, and actors. Murari taught courses in documentary filmmaking and film direction, among other subjects as teaching Principal. He was very popular for his polite, kind-hearted nature and his dedication to his students. According to
Subhash Ghai Subhash Ghai (born 24 January 1945) is an Indian film director, producer, actor, lyricist, music director and screenwriter, primarily known for his work in Hindi cinema. He was one of the most prominent Hindi filmmakers in the 1980s and 1990s. ...
, he was "a thorough gentleman who cared for his students" and constantly strove to "reinvent teaching methods in filmmaking at FTII." In 1962, the government asked Murari to start the National Film Archives of India (NFAI) in Pune, because the Film Institute needed a good film collection for educational purposes. Murari established the vision for this new organization, shaped its objectives, and secured its funding. Initially a subset of the Film Institute, the Archives formally opened in 1964, with a small office in the Film Institute. It used the Institute's film vaults and hosted screenings in its theaters. He ran the Archives until 1967. In 1972, he returned to the Films Division, where he produced more films. His film ''Homi Bhabha - A Scientist in Action'' won the National Film Award in the Experimental Category in 1973. Another film from this period, ''Lost Child'', based on the story by the well-known Indian writer
Mulk Raj Anand Mulk Raj Anand (12 December 1905 – 28 September 2004) was an Indian writer in the English language, recognised for his depiction of the lives of the poorer class in the traditional Indian society. One of the pioneers of Indo-Anglian fiction, ...
, also won recognition. In 1973, he established the Film Festival Directorate, where he hosted international film festivals as well as the National Film Awards program. He went back to the Film Institute in 1976 and retired three years later. After that, he returned to documentary filmmaking, working as a producer, director and scriptwriter. He made 10 films in those years, some for the Films Division, some for other organisations. He was still behind the camera at the age of 70. He continued to be involved in the film field as an advisor until shortly before his death.


Death

Murari died on 13 April 2007 at the age of 85 after battling
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
. He is survived by his wife Lakshmi Murari, three sons, Ashok, Anoop and Vivek, and a daughter, Radha Chadha.


Selected filmography


Awards

He won the first President's Gold Medal in 1954 for his 1952 documentary film ''Mahabalipuram.'' He also won several other national awards and international acclaim at festivals in
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and
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.


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murari, Jagat 1924 births 2007 deaths Indian documentary filmmakers Artists from Patna USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni Deaths from cancer in India Indian male screenwriters Film directors from Bihar Film producers from Bihar 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Indian male writers 20th-century Indian screenwriters