Prakash Jha (born 27 February 1952) is an Indian film producer, actor, director and screenwriter, mostly known for his political and socio-political films such as '' Hip Hip Hurray'' (1984), '' Damul'' (1984), '' Mrityudand'' (1997), '' Gangaajal'' (2003), '' Apaharan'' (2005), and his multi-starrer films, '' Raajneeti'' (2010), '' Aarakshan'' (2011), '' Chakravyuh'' (2012), and ''

Satyagraha Satyāgraha (from ; ''satya'': "truth", ''āgraha'': "insistence" or "holding firmly to"), or "holding firmly to truth",' or "truth force", is a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. Someone who practises satyagraha is ...

'' (2013). He is also the maker of

National Film Award 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 ...

winning documentaries like ''Faces After The Storm'' (1984) and ''Sonal'' (2002). He runs a production company, Prakash Jha Productions. He also owns the P&M Mall in

Patna Patna (; , ISO 15919, ISO: ''Paṭanā''), historically known as Pataliputra, Pāṭaliputra, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, ...

and the P&M Hi-Tech City Centre Mall in

Jamshedpur Jamshedpur (; ), also known as Tatanagar, is a major industrial city in eastern India. It is the List of cities in Jharkhand by population, largest city in the state of Jharkhand. With a population of 629,658 in the city limits and 1.3 million ...

Biography

Early life and education

Prakash Jha was raised at his family's farm in Barharwa, Bettiah, West Champaran, Bihar, India. His father's name is Shri Tej Nath Jha. He did his schooling from Sainik School Tilaya,

Koderma district Koderma district is one of the twenty-four districts of Jharkhand States and territories of India, state, India and Koderma is the administrative headquarters of this district. Jhumri Telaiya is the most populus town of koderma district. It shar ...

and

Kendriya Vidyalaya The Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan () is a system of Government of India, central government schools in India. Governed by the Ministry of Education (India), Ministry of Education, Government of India. , it has a total of 1,257 schools in India, ...

No. 1,

Bokaro Steel City Bokaro, officially known as Bokaro Steel City (), is a large and Planned community, planned city in Jharkhand, India. It is the List of cities in Jharkhand by population, fourth most populous city in the state and one of the first planned cities ...

Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...

. Later, he joined Ramjas College,

Delhi University The Delhi University (DU, ISO 15919, ISO: ), also and officially known as the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate research university, research Central university (India), central university located in Delhi, India. It ...

to do BSc (Hons) in Physics, though he left his studies after one year, and decided to go to Bombay (present-day Mumbai) and become a painter. While he was preparing for J.J. School of Arts, he happened to witness the shooting of the film ''

Dharma Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...

'' and got hooked on filmmaking. He graduated from KC College,

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 joined 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. ...

(FTII), Pune in 1973, to do a course in editing. Midway through it, the institution was closed for while due to student agitation, so he came to Bombay, started working, and never went back to complete the course.Prakash Jha
''The Cinemas of India'', by Yves Thoraval. Macmillan India, 2000. , . ''Page 191-192.''

Personal life

Prakash was married to actress Deepti Naval with whom he has an adopted daughter Disha Jha.

Career

While still midway through his course, he started working on films independently in 1974. He made his first documentary, ''Under the Blue'', in 1975, and continued to do so for the next eight years. During this period he made some highly politically charged documentaries, like that on the Bihar Sharif riot, titled, ''Faces After Storm'' (1984). It received considerable attention, as it was banned within 4–5 days of its release, though later it won the National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film for the year. He made his debut as a feature film director with '' Hip Hip Hurray'' in 1984, scripted by

Gulzar Gulzar (born Sampooran Singh Kalra; 18 August 1934) is an Indian Urdu poetry, Urdu poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, and film director known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of greatest Urdu poets of this era. He starte ...

and starring Raj Kiran and Deepti Naval as leads. Next came the film he received most recognition for, '' Damul'' (1984), which won the

National Film Award for Best Feature Film The National Film Award for Best Feature Film is one of the categories in the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in I ...

and the

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 ...

in 1985. The film was based on the

bonded labour Debt bondage, also known as debt slavery, bonded labour, or peonage, is the pledge of a person's services as security for the repayment for a debt or other obligation. Where the terms of the repayment are not clearly or reasonably stated, or whe ...

issue in

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 ...

. In 1986, he directed '' Parinati'', based on the story by Vijaydan Detha. Over the years he has made over 25 documentaries, 13 feature films, two television features and three television series, including the popular TV serial ''Mungerilal Ke Hasin Sapne''. His production company has produced five films with independent directors. In 2004, Jha directed the 112-minute film '' Loknayak'', based on the life of

Bharat Ratna The Bharat Ratna (; ) is the highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred in recognition of "exceptional service/performance of the highest order", without distin ...

Jayaprakash Narayan Jayaprakash Narayan Srivastava (; 11 October 1902 – 8 October 1979), also known as JP and ''Lok Nayak'' (Hindi for "People's leader"), was an Indian politician, theorist and Indian independence activist, independence activist. He is mai ...

. In the film, Chetan Pandit played the role of Narayan and

Tisca Chopra Tisca Chopra (born 1 November 1973) is an Indian actress, author and film producer who has appeared in over 45 feature films, predominantly in Hindi language. '' Taare Zameen Par'', her best known feature film, was India's official entry to th ...

played Prabhavati Devi, the wife of JP. In 2010, Jha directed '' Raajneeti'', a contemporary take on the epic ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

''. It starred Ajay Devgan, Manoj Bajpai,

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 ...

, Katrina Kaif,

Arjun Rampal Arjun Rampal (born 26 November 1972) is an Indian actor and model who mainly works in Hindi films. He made his acting debut in Rajiv Rai's romance film ''Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat'' (2001) and has since gone on to Arjun Rampal filmography, act in ...

Nana Patekar Vishwanath Patekar (born 1 January 1951), better known as Nana Patekar, is an Indian actor, film maker, mainly working in Hindi language, Hindi and Marathi language, Marathi cinema. Widely regarded as one of the finest and most influential actors ...

and

Ranbir Kapoor Ranbir Kapoor (; born 28 September 1982) is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi-language films. He is one of the highest-paid actors of Hindi cinema and has featured in ''Forbes India'' Celebrity 100 list since 2012. Kapoor is the re ...

, and was a critical and commercial success. His next venture was '' Aarakshan'', which starred

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. He is often considered one of the greatest, most accomplished and commercially successful actors in the history of Indian cinema.* * * * * With a cinemati ...

Saif Ali Khan Saif Ali Khan (; born Sajid Ali Khan Pataudi; 16 August 1970) is an Indian actor and film producer who primarily works in Hindi cinema, Hindi films. The titular head of the Pataudi family since 2011, he is the son of actress Sharmila Tagore a ...

Deepika Padukone Deepika Padukone (; born 5 January 1986) is an Indian actress who works predominantly in Hindi films. She is India's highest-paid actress, as of 2023, and List of awards and nominations received by Deepika Padukone, her accolades include thre ...

and Prateik Babbar. In 2012, Jha's release '' Chakravyuh'' starred Arjun Rampal, Abhay Deol, Manoj Bajpai, Kabir Bedi and Esha Gupta, and was released in Dussehra 2012. His next film ''

'' (2013) starred

and

Ajay Devgn Vishal Veeru Devgan (born 2 April 1969), known professionally as Ajay Devgn, is an Indian actor, film director, and producer. One of the most prolific actors of Hindi cinema, Devgn has appeared in over Ajay Devgn filmography, 100 films and ha ...

. In 2019, he acted in the film '' Saand Ki Aankh'' a

biographical film A biographical film or biopic () is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or group of people. Such films show the life of a historical person and the central character's real name is used. They differ from Docudrama, docudrama films ...

directed by Tushar Hiranandani. He played Rattan Singh Tomar, the patriarch of the Tomar family.

Politics

Prakash Jha contested and lost the

14th Lok Sabha The 14th Lok Sabha (2 June 2004 – 18 May 2009) was convened after the 2004 Indian general election held in four phases during 20 April – 10 May 2004, which led to the formation of first Manmohan Singh ministry (2004–2009). Indian National ...

election from his native place Bettiah in 2004. He stood 6th and managed to get around 26,000 votes only, while the winner Raghunath Jha got 2,11,590 votes. He also lost the 15th Lok Sabha election to Sanjay Jaiswal in 2009 as Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) candidate from Paschim Champaran. In the same election Sadhu Yadav stood 3rd as INC candidate. Jha once again contested in the 16th Lok Sabha election in 2014 as a

Janata Dal (United) Janata Dal (United) ("People's Party (United)"), abbreviated as JD(U), is a Social democracy, social-democratic and secular List of political parties in India, Indian political party, rooted mainly in East India, eastern and Northeast India, ...

candidate from Paschim Champaran and lost to Sanjay Jaiswal. In 2014 election affidavit he had mentioned that he has assets worth ₹92.5

crore Crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes the quantity ten million (107) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. In many international contexts, the decimal quantity is formatted as 10,000,000, but when used in the context of the India ...

s and liabilities worth ₹55.2 crores.

Social initiatives

Anubhooti

Prakash Jha is the chairman of Anubhooti, a registered society that has been working for cultural development, improvement of health care, disaster management and the upliftment of farmers and socio-economically backward people in Bihar since 1991. Most recently, the organization has been working for flood survivors. After the Kosi flood on 18 August 2008, Anubhooti has provided complete relief to 6000 people since September 2008. Anubhooti has created a model village, Hindolwa village, for those the flood affected, and is working towards their complete rehabilitation. Anubhooti has provided relief to 5000 people for health care in

Supaul district Supaul district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar, India. The town Supaul is the district's administrative headquarters. The district, which was split from the former Saharsa district on 14 March 1991, occupies . Social Group Su ...

in Bihar.

Filmography

Web series

Awards

National Film Awards

* 1984: National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film: ''Faces After The Storm'' (1984) * 1985:

: '' Damul'' (1985) * 1987: National Film Award for Best Arts/Cultural Film: '' Kudiattam'' * 1988: National Film Award for Best Costume Design: ''Parinati'' * 1988: National Film Award for Best Industrial Documentary: ''Looking Back'' * 2002: National Film Award for Best Non-Feature Film: ''Sonal'' * 2004:

National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues The National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues was one of the category in the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organization set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India ...

: '' Gangaajal'' (2003) * 2006: National Film Award for Best Screenplay: '' Apaharan'' (2005)

Filmfare Awards

* 2001: Best Documentary of the Year: ''Faces After The Storm'' (1983) * 1985: Filmfare Critics Award for Best Film: '' Damul'' (1985) * 2006:

Filmfare Award for Best Dialogue The Filmfare Best Dialogue Award is given by the ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films. Here is a list of the award winners since 1958 and the films for which they won. Superlatives ; Achla Nagar, Juhi Chaturvedi ...

: '' Apaharan'' (2005)

Star Screen Awards

*2005: Screen Award for Best Screenplay: '' Apaharan'' *2011: Screen Award for Best Screenplay: '' Raajneeti''

Filmfare OTT Awards

ITA Awards

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jha, Prakash 1952 births Living people Film directors from Mumbai Film and Television Institute of India alumni Delhi University alumni 20th-century Indian screenwriters Indian documentary filmmakers Hindi-language film directors Film producers from Mumbai Indian male screenwriters Filmfare Awards winners Kendriya Vidyalaya alumni Sainik School alumni People from West Champaran district Candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Janata Dal (United) politicians Lok Janshakti Party politicians 21st-century Indian people Politicians from Mumbai Hindi film editors Film editors from Bihar Film producers from Bihar Film directors from Bihar Best Original Screenplay National Film Award winners Directors who won the Best Feature Film National Film Award Producers who won the Best Film on Other Social Issues National Film Award Directors who won the Best Film on Other Social Issues National Film Award Screenwriters from Bihar Male actors from Bihar Ramjas College alumni