Roop Kishore Shorey

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Hindi and Punjabi director and producer born in Quetta (now in Pakistan). Son of Roshan Lal Shorey, Roop was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and raised by an English governess. He acquired an early interest in Western music and English literature. He started his career as a Cinematographer, lab assistant, editor and producer in Kamala Movietone, owned by his father. As a child, he was a prolific writer and composer, and followed in the footsteps of his father Roshanlal Shorey in making his first full-length comedy Lucky Lovers at the age of 17. He produced and directed more than fifty short films in Lahore, and turned feature director with the coming of sound, pioneering low cost versions of Bombay films: e.g. mythologicals, Laila-Majnu love stories and Tarzan movies. Although preceded in this by B.R. Oberai and A.R. Kardar, Shorey was the first to demonstrate the financial viability of this formula, esp. in partnership with Dalsukh M. Pancholi.

One of the earliest films directed by Roop was Majnu (1935) — a musical comedy satirizing the old story of Laila Majnu, produced, directed and shot in Lahore with Ghulam Haider as music director. Playing the lead was Roop’s childhood friend Harold Lewis, who has since been known by his screen name Majnu. With daring motorbike stunts and special effects, audiences were thrilled at the sight of Majnu trapped on the railway tracks by the villain. The film confirmed his success as a film-maker, and audiences leaving the first show lifted him on their shoulders and danced joyously.

Another one, Tarzan ki Beti (1938) was hailed as the best jungle picture ever produced in India at that time. Filmed in the snowy Himalayas, the film topped its predecessor in its action sequences and placed Punjab on the entertainment map of India and the world. Majnu made a marked return in Nishani (1942), a musical situational comedy with Majnu in a double role. With music scored by Pandit Amernath, and Ragini as the heroine, Roop and his father personally trained the technical staff and musicians, who worked morning to night on a fixed salary.

He worked with Information Films of India in WW2 and migrated to Bombay following partition and established Shorey Films in Bombay (1948). With a solid reputation in Hindi and Punjabi cinema already established, Roop began to set new trends in comedy film with Ek Thi Ladki (1949, starring Motilal, Meena Shorey, Kuldeep Kaur, Majnu and introducing I.S. Johar), one of Roop’s biggest hits as a producer. With Partition, Roop and his family lost their film empire in Lahore, but they shifted to Bombay and tenaciously continued as before. In the years following independence, he produced Dr. Chaman (Punjabi), starring Meena Shorey, Karan Dewan, Om Prakash and Kuldeep Kaur, Dholak (1951), with Meena Shorey and Ajit in the lead-role, and Ek Do Teen (1953) starring the by-now-familiar Motilal-Meena team. Roop specialized in the pure situational comedy in which the characters were ready to laugh at themselves rather than take pleasure at laughing at others. R.K. Karanjia, writing for Blitz in 1953, called Roop `The King of Comedy’, and litterateur Mulk Raj Anand paid him an eloquent tribute.

During the same time period, Roop married Meena, the leading lady of his many films. In 1955, the couple was called to Lahore by J.C. Anand to make Miss 56. It was somewhat like Mr. & Mrs. 55, a Mahubala-Guru Dutt venture from Bombay. Shorey directed Miss 56 with Meena in the lead. Santosh, Shamim Ara, Charlie, Zareef and Aslam Pervaiz were also in the cast. Though the film did good business, it proved to be the swan song of the Shoreys. Meena, the lara-lappa girl of the forties was pampered by all, in contrast with the treatment meted out to declining artistes by film-goers in Bombay. For her it was like rediscovering the adulation of her youth. So when the time came to return to India, she decided to stay back, leaving heart-broken Roop to take yet another trip from Lahore empty-handed, within a span of ten years, first losing his means of livelihood and then his sweetheart. Though he died in 1973, Shorey was never again the man he used to be. Meena survived him by fifteen years but lived like a pauper in the last years of her life. When she died in 1989, the expenses of her burial were met through charity.

Roop’s last film, Ek Thi Rita, an English bilingual (A Girl Named Rita) that intended to tap the US market, was released in 1971. Roop Shorey, who passed away at the age of 56, will always be remembered for his serious approach to a genre known for its lightheartedness.

Prem Adib (Photo Courtesy of Maitri Manthan)

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Even though many actors like Shahu Modak, Mahipal, Trilok Kapoor, Abhi Bhattacharya, Manhar Desai, Anant Kumar,  Baalakraam and Chandrakant enacted the role of Raam, the first image that comes to mind is that of Prem Adib whenever Raam is mentioned.

Real name Premnaaraayan, Prem Adib was born on 10th August, 1917 in a Kashmiri Brahmin family in Sultanpur (Audh, Andhra Pradesh). His father Pandit Ramprasad was a lawyer. Ramprasad’s forefathers were known in the field of Literature. Impressed by his Litterateur personality, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah gave him the title of ‘Adib’, which became his family name (surname) in the future.

Prem decided to join films at the age of 13 after he watched the silent film Anaarbala. After matriculating from Jodhpur in 1932, he studied for 2 years in college. However, that didn’t diminish his passion for films and in 1934 he gave up studies and headed straight to Calcutta. First he went to Calcutta and then to Lahore,  but wasn’t able to secure work in films. After failing to get work at those places, he arrived in Mumbai. Finally his wish was fulfilled and he got a job in Rajputaana Films. Director Mohan Sinha (father of Vidya Sinha) gave Premnaaraayan a small role in the film Romantic India (1936) and gave him his film-name: Prem Adib. In this film another young kashmiri man O. K. Dar also played a role, who later became famous as a villain with his screen name of Jeevan.

His first film as the leading man was Industrial India (1938), opposite Shobhana Samrath. After that he worked as the leading man in many films including Ghunghatwali (1938), Bhola Bhale (1939) and Sadhana (1939). In Saubhagya (1940), he played the leading man opposite Shobhana Samarth, and also sang the songs.

In terms of popularity, the decade of the 1940s was his career’s best phase. In that decade, besides acting in dozens of films, he also produced 3 films Dehati (1947), Kasam (1947) and Ramvivah (1949). Of these, special mention must be made of Ramvivah which Prem also directed and wrote. In the early 40s, Prem Adib joined the prestigious studio – Prakash Pictures. Prakash Pictures was formed by Shankar Bhatt and Vijay Bhatt and major stars like Jayant, Shobhana Samarth, Sardar Akhtar, Shirin Banu (Mahesh Bhatt’s mother), Ratanmala, Umakant Desai, Durga Khote used to work for this studio. Prem Adib’s starting salary was fixed at Rs. 700 per month. Prem Adib appeared in many Prakash’s films including Darshan, Bharat Milap, Chudhiyan, Station Master, Ram Rajya, Police etc. Pleased with Prem Adib’s performance in Bharat Milap, his salary per month was increased to Rs. 1000.

One of his most successful films in the ’40s was Bharat Milap which was the creation of well known Marathi author Vishnupant Aundhkar. When he insisted that Prem Adib play the role of Raam, Adib was little hesistant. His argument was: “How can Raam be the hero of Bharat Milap story”. After lot of cajoling from Aundhkar, Prem Adib accepted the role and that became the most memorable role of his career. Even intellectuals like Dr.  Radhakrishnan were pleased on seeing the film. When the film was awarded gold medal in Calcutta, Kanhaiyalal Munshi was also present at the ceremony. He suggested Vijay Bhatt to make Luv Kush. Gandhiji was heading the independence struggle for the country and he repeatedly said that the independent India of his dream would be like Ram Rajya. Keeping in mind Kanhaiyalal Munshi’s suggestion, Vijay Bhatt did make the movie about Luv Kush but instead of calling it Luv Kush, he named it Ram Rajya (1943). Released at Super Cinema in Mumbai, Ram Rajya scaled the peaks of popularity. It ran continuously for 108 weeks.

During that time, Prem Adib got married to a leading citizen Rai Saheb Rajeshwarnath Kaul’s daughter Krishna Kumari(alias Pratima) on 26th February, 1943 in Lahore.  1944 was the 2000th year of Vikram Sanvat. The Maharaja of Gwalior was the chairman of the committee established to celebrate this occasion. He requested Mr. Vijay Bhatt to make a film on King Vikram. Vijay Bhatt did make the film Viktamaditya (1945) with Prem Adib, but it did not get the expected success.

In 1948, he appeared in Mehboob Khan’s Anokhi Ada (1948). Anokhi Ada became his best remembered non-mythological film [Also one of his few films released commercially]. It was a love triangle dealing mainly with the heroine’s (Naseem Bano) amnesia. The rivals for her love were an adventurer (Prem Adib) and a professor (Surendra). Remarkably shot in heavy chiaroscuro, the film is best remembered for Naushad’s melodious tunes.

Prem Adib continued to act in the 50s, mostly in mythological films. Angulimaal (1960) starring Nimmi, Anita Guha and Bharat Bhushan was his last film.  On 25th December, 1959 Prem Adib attended a party with his wife Pratima. After coming back from the party,  he had brain hemorrhage due to high blood pressure. His wife fainted at his untimely and unexpected death. His last rites were taken over and completed by his relatives present at that time. When his fans came to know they complained that if they had been informed they would have given him a farewell befitting Raam.

(Source – Harish Raghuwanshi )

Guru Dutt

Suffused with the dark poetry of the death wish, Dutt’s classics were nihilistic, self-portraits of the artiste as a depressed, disturbed and deluded young man.

Surprisingly, Guru Dutt Padukone’s childhood could have hardly been more normal. Born near Bangalore, of middle-class but intellectual parents, he was fascinated by dance. He joined Uday Shankar’s Dance Academy and his first film assignment was as the choreographer of Lakharani (’45). His friend from his days of struggle, Dev Anand, asked him to direct Baazi (’51) and its success made Dutt a sought after name. Thereafter, Dutt made shadowy, film noir inspired thrillers like Jaal and Aar Paar or comedies like Mr & Mrs 55.

Waheeda Rehman and an all-blanketing pessimism entered his films with Pyaasa (’57). Although self-obsessed and symbol-laden, the film was a commercial success and an undeniable classic.

The Christian symbolism rampant in Pyaasa was an early indication of Dutt’s persecution complex. In the song, `Yeh duniya agar mil bhi jaaye toh kya hai’, Dutt poses like Christ during the crucifixion; later, when he renounces the world, the light rushing towards him suggests his enlightenment and the film is peppered with references like `Kaaton ka haar’, which is akin to the crown of thorns synonymous with the Son of God.

The audience might not have responded to Dutt’s intellectualizations but they were captivated by his gift for story telling. He knew when to subdue the music, where the lyrics had to be given full voice (‘Jinhe naaz hai Hind par’) and how to create the atmosphere of a man triumphing over a spiritual wasteland.

Pyaasa was a blistering attack on worldly fame. When the long ignored poet finally gets recognition, he reacts with the climactic denouncement ‘Yeh duniya agar mil bhi jaye toh kya hai’. It seemed to suggest that this was Dutt’s point of view too. This, however, was not absolutely true. As Kagaz Ke Phool (’59) showed, success did mean a lot to Dutt. Both Pyaasa and Kagaz Ke Phool were intrinsically about Dutt’s relationship with fame. In Pyaasa, his alter ego rejected fame, albeit only after achieving it; while Kagaz Ke Phool showed his character’s frustration when he becomes a failure.

Off screen too, the failure of the elaborately scaled Kagaz Ke Phool left Guru Dutt devastated. His brilliantly shot, cinemascope attempt to reflect the world of Bollywood denizens through a cynical prism won him praise as the maker of a classic but set him back by Rs 17 lakhs. He agreed to produce a nakedly commercial Chaudhvi Ka Chaand (’60), to recoup the losses.

Strangely, Dutt refused to take credit as the director of the classic, Sahib Biwi aur Ghulam (’62). The film was set in a nineteenth century Calcutta mansion, that stood as an architectural metaphor for a crumbling age, succumbing to British exigencies. Meena Kumari was the mansion’s chhoti bahu — lovely but unloved. There was much that her fascinated factotum, Dutt (whose feelings for her were left undefined), wished to do for her but could not. Never has the human incapability for communication been so beautifully communicated.

Even as he sculpted classics, commercial factors continued to weigh heavily on Dutt’s mind. With tears in his eyes, Raj Kapoor praised Dutt highly after seeing Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam, only to have him counter, “But will it run?” The film had an unremarkable run at the box office. Meanwhile, a personal maelstrom caused Guru Dutt to lose himself in the dark cloisters of his own mind. He suffered a shattering break with his discovery Waheeda Rehman, as she sought to establish her own identity outside his films. A hurt Dutt tried to repair his relationship with wife Geeta, but to no avail.

It led to his drowning his sorrows in drink — his life had became a suicide note. Nobody could stop the final, inevitable overdose of sleeping tablets. Dutt died,-probably still wondering: ‘Jaane woh kaise log the jinke pyar ko pyar mila.’