Niranjan Pal (17 August 1889 – 9 November 1959) was an Indian playwright, screenwriter, and director in the Indian film industry in the silent and early talkie days. He was a close associate of

Himanshu Rai Himanshu Rai (1892 – 16 May 1940) was an Indian actor and film director. Regarded as one of the pioneers of Indian cinema, he is best known as the founder of the studio in 1934, along with Devika Rani. He was associated with a number of mov ...

and

Franz Osten Franz Osten (23 December 1876 in Munich – 2 December 1956) was a Bavaria, Bavarian filmmaker who along with Himansu Rai was among the first retainers of Bombay Talkies. Osten partnered with Rai on a number of India's earliest blockbuster film ...

, with whom he was a founding member of

Bombay Talkies Bombay Talkies was a movie studio founded in 1934. During its period of operation, Bombay Talkies produced 40 movies in Malad, a suburb of the Indian city of Bombay. The studio was established in 1934 by Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani. Afte ...

Biography

Born on 17 August 1889 in

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

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 ...

, Niranjan Pal was born in an illustrious

Bengali Kayastha Bengali Kayastha is a Bengali Hindu caste that originated from the Bengal region of Indian subcontinent, and is one of the main subgroups of the Kayastha community. The historical caste occupation of Kayasthas throughout India has been that of ...

family, his father was the noted freedom fighter,

Bipin Chandra Pal Bipin Chandra Pal ( ; 7 November 1858 – 20 May 1932) was an Indian nationalist, writer, orator, social reformer and freedom fighter. He was one third of the " Lal Bal Pal" triumvirate. He was one of the main architects of the Swadeshi move ...

, and Niranjan himself as a teenager was briefly involved in the Indian freedom struggle during an association with

Vinayak Damodar Savarkar Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (28 May 1883 – 26 February 1966 ), was an Indian politician, activist and writer. Savarkar developed the Hindu nationalist political ideology of Hindutva while confined at Ratnagiri in 1922. The prefix "Veer" (mea ...

and Madanlal Dhingra in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. By the late 1910s, he started writing and eventually wrote ''The Light of Asia'' and ''Shiraz'', both of which were performed on stage in London. Both were commercially successful and attracted the attention of German filmmaker

, who made screen versions in India.

, then a lawyer, also acted in one of Niranjan Pal's plays ''Goddess'' also performed in

, though some sources suggest that it was

Devika Rani Devika Rani Chaudhuri (30 March 1908 – 9 March 1994), usually known as Devika Rani, was an Indian actress who worked in Hindi films. Widely acknowledged as the First Lady of Indian cinema, Devika Rani is regarded as one of the greatest ...

who first met him, through their common

Brahmo Samaj Brahmo Samaj ( ) is the societal component of Brahmoism, which began as a monotheistic reformist movement during the Bengal Renaissance. It was one of the most influential religious movements in India and made a significant contribution to ...

connections, which paved way for his eventual stake in the creation of

. Following the successes of ''

The Light of Asia ''The Light of Asia'', or ''The Great Renunciation'' (''Mahâbhinishkramana''), is a book by Sir Edwin Arnold. The first edition of the book was published in London in July 1879. In the form of a narrative poem, the book endeavours to descri ...

'' and ''

Shiraz Shiraz (; ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the popu ...

'' 1928, Pal moved back to India with his English wife, Lily, and son Colin Pal, and embarked on a career as the screenplay writer for

. He also started directing films, and made among others ''Needle's Eye'' (1931), ''Pardesia'' (1932), and ''Chitthi'' (1941). His career as a director was however far less successful than his work as a screenwriter, in which role he wrote some of India's earliest blockbusters '' Achhut Kanya'' (1936), '' Janmabhoomi'' (1936), ''

Jeevan Naiya ''Jeevan Naiya'' is a 1936 Indian Hindi film directed by Franz Osten, and produced by Himanshu Rai for his studio Bombay Talkies. It is famous for being the screen debut of early superstar Ashok Kumar. The film is about the ostracism of danc ...

'' (1936) and ''

Jawani Ki Hawa ''Jawani Ki Hawa'' is a 1959 Hindi film directed by M. Sadiq. It stars Pradeep Kumar, Vyjayanthimala, Johnny Walker in the lead roles. Plot In a Bombay bound Mail Train, Lata (Vyjayanthimala) a spirited girl, playing hide and seek with the T ...

'' (1935). Of these Achhut Kanya was the most popular, and continues to be a landmark film as it dealt with the subject of untouchability. He also collaborated with noted dancer,

Uday Shankar Uday Shankar (born Uday Shankar Choudhary; 8 December 1900 – 26 September 1977) was an Indian dancer and choreographer, best known for creating a fusion style of dance, adapting European theatrical techniques to Indian classical dance, imbu ...

to write a libretto for first Indian ballets, performed by

Anna Pavlova Anna Pavlovna Pavlova. (born Anna Matveyevna Pavlova; – 23 January 1931) was a Russian prima ballerina. She was a principal artist of the Imperial Russian Ballet and the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev, but is most recognized for creating ...

and Uday Shankar himself.

Family

Niranjan Pal's family is in the film industry, his son Colin Pal was a prominent journalist, and film historian, who wrote books, 'Shooting Stars' and autobiography "Aye Jibon: Such is life" won a National Award from the Indian Government in 2001. Colin died, on 28 August 2005, after a prolonged illness, in

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 ...

, at the age of 83 Colin Pal Obituary
'' Screen'', 2 September 2005.

Bibliography

* ''"The Goddess;" a Play of Modern India'', 1922.

References

* ''Cinema Vision India'', Published by s.n., 1980, Page 58.

External links

*
Niranjan Pal films at ''Library of Congress''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pal, Niranjan Bengali people Brahmos Film directors from Kolkata Indian male screenwriters 1889 births 1959 deaths Indian silent film directors People from Habiganj Sadar Upazila 20th-century Indian screenwriters 20th-century Indian male writers