Kumar Shahani (7 December 1940 – 24 February 2024) was an Indian film director and screenwriter, best known for his

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, ...

films '' Maya Darpan'' (1972), '' Tarang'' (1984), '' Khayal Gatha'' (1989) and '' Kasba'' (1990). His films won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Film in 1972, 1990 and 1991. Due to his dedication to formalism, and with the reputation of his first feature—'' Maya Darpan'' being considered among

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 ...

's first formalist films—critics and film enthusiasts often associated him with filmmakers such as

Pier Paolo Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, film director, writer, actor and playwright. He is considered one of the defining public intellectuals in 20th-century Italian history, influential both as an artist ...

, Andrei Tarkovsky and

Jacques Rivette Jacques Rivette (; 1 March 1928 – 29 January 2016) was a French film director and film critic most commonly associated with the French New Wave and the film magazine '' Cahiers du Cinéma''. He made twenty-nine films, including '' L'Amour fo ...

.Winds From the East
"Interview With Kumar Shahani"
Retrieved on 17 June 2014. He was also known as a teacher at his ''alma mater'', the

Film and Television Institute of India The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) is a film institute under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India and aided by the Central Government of India. ...

, and as a theorist of cinema. His book of 51 essays ''Kumar Shahani: The Shock of Desire and Other Essays,'' was edited by Ashish Rajadhyaksha and published by Tulika Books in 2015.

Early life

Shahani was born on 7 December 1940, in Larkana,

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 ...

(now in Pakistan). After the

partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

in 1947, Shahani's family shifted to the city of Bombay (now

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

). He attended the

University of Bombay University of Mumbai is a public university, public List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, state university in Mumbai. It is one of the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, largest univ ...

to obtain an undergraduate degree in political science and history, and studied advanced direction and screenplay writing at the

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 ...

, where he was a student of

Ritwik Ghatak Ritwik Kumar Ghatak (; 4 November 19256 February 1976) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, actor and playwright. Widely considered as one of the greatest film makers of all time, his works remained largely underrated and ignored during hi ...

. He also studied with Damodar Dharmananda Kosambi. On a French government scholarship, he moved to France to further his studies at the Institut des hautes études cinématographiques (IDHEC) and assisted

Robert Bresson Robert Bresson (; 25 September 1901 – 18 December 1999) was a French film director. Known for his ascetic approach, Bresson made a notable contribution to the art of cinema; his non-professional actors, Ellipsis (narrative device), ellipses, an ...

on '' Une Femme Douce''.

Career

After returning to India, Shahani made his first feature film '' Maya Darpan'' in 1972. He received funding twelve years later to make his next full-length feature film, '' Tarang'', in 1984. His other landmark films included the 1989 film '' Khayal Gatha'' and the 1990 film '' Kasba''. He also made the short films ''Rails for the World'', ''Fire in the Belly'', ''Our Universe'' and ''Var Var Vari'', the documentary ''Bhavantarana'' and '' Char Adhyay''. His films won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Film in 1972, 1990 and 1991. ''Maya Darpan'' won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi in 1972. His films often appeared at the

International Film Festival Rotterdam International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, focused on independent and experimental films. The inaugural festival took place in June 1972, ...

. ''Khayal Gatha'' won the FIPRESCI Prize at Rotterdam in 1990. He received the Prince Claus Award in 1998. From 1976 to 1978, he held a Homi Bhabha Fellowship to study the epic tradition of the ''

Mahābhārata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kurukshetra War, a war of succe ...

'',

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

iconography,

Indian classical music Indian classical music is the art music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It is generally described using terms like ''Shastriya Sangeet'' and ''Marg Sangeet''. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as ...

and the

Bhakti movement The Bhakti movement was a significant religious movement in medieval Hinduism that sought to bring religious reforms to all strata of society by adopting the method of Bhakti, devotion to achieve salvation. Originating in Tamilakam during 6t ...

. Shahani was also involved with India's archiving and restoration initiative, the Film Heritage Foundation. He taught at the Film and Television Institute of India. His book of 51 essays, ''Kumar Shahani: The Shock of Desire and Other Essays'', was published by Tulika Books in 2015. The essays were written over a 40-year period.

Influences

Shahani considered

Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and producer. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such a ...

and

as major influences on his work and those from whom he learned the most. When comparing the two, he stated: For his film ''Tarang'', which dealt with labour issues, Shahani mentioned that he consciously tried to avoid 'repeating' or 'imitating' one of his favourite films:

Sergei Eisenstein Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein; (11 February 1948) was a Soviet film director, screenwriter, film editor and film theorist. Considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, he was a pioneer in the theory and practice of montage. He is no ...

's '' Battleship Potemkin''. Shahani stated: Shahani was also influenced by

Death

Shahani died in

Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

on 24 February 2024, at the age of 83. He was survived by his wife and daughters Uttara and Rewati and his partner Rimli Bhattacharya.

Filmography

Sources:Kumar Shahani
''The Hindu''

Awards

Source:"The 5th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art"
(), Retrieved on 2 March 2009. * National Award (1972, 1984, 1991) * Filmfare Critics Awards – Best Film (1972, 1990, 1991) * The International Film Festival of Rotterdam –

FIPRESCI The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for ''Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique'') is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the wor ...

Award (1990) * Prince Claus Award (1998)

References

External links

Kumar Shahani – The Shock of Desire and Other Essays ed. Ashish Rajadhyakhsha

Laleen Jayamanne The Epic Cinema of Kumar Shahani

Jacques Kermabon & Kumar Shahani Cinema and Television: Fifty Years of Reflection in France
*
The museum as a refuge for film: the case for Kumar Shahini's epic cinema at Indian Auteur
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shahani, Kumar 1940 births 2024 deaths Hindi-language film directors People from Larkana District Film directors from Mumbai Sindhi people University of Mumbai alumni Film and Television Institute of India alumni 20th-century Indian people Indian male screenwriters Indian documentary filmmakers Special Mention (feature film) National Film Award winners Institut des hautes études cinématographiques alumni