Chandulal Shah

Chandulal Shah
Born Chandulal Jesangbhai Shah
(1898-04-13)13 April 1898
Jamnagar, Gujarat, India
Died 25 November 1975(1975-11-25) (aged 77)
Bombay, Maharashtra, India
Other names Chandulal J. Shah / Chandulal Shah
Occupation Film director, producer
founded Ranjit Studios (1929)
Years active 1925–1963
Spouse(s) Kesarben Chandulal Shah

Chandulal Jesangbhai Shah (13 April 1898 – 25 November 1975) was a famous director, producer and screenwriter of Indian films,[1] who founded Ranjit Studios in 1929.[2][3]

Early life

Shah was born in 1898 in Jamnagar, Gujarat, British India. He studied at Sydenham College in Bombay (now Mumbai) and got a job at the Bombay Stock Exchange in 1924. While waiting to get a job he helped his brother, J. D. Shah, who was a writer for mythological films.[4] He was called by the "Laxmi Film Company" to direct a film Vimla in 1925 as its director Manilal Joshi was bedridden. Chandulal Shah not only directed the film but also went on to do two more films for the company, Panch Danda (1925) and Madhav Kam Kundala (1926) before returning to the Stock Exchange.

Film career

Amarchand Shroff, a friend of Shah, who was with the Laxmi Film Company, brought him to Kohinoor Film Company where he first came into contact with Gohar, a contact that eventually developed into both a personal and professional relationship.

The first film independently directed by him at Kohinoor was Typist Girl (1926) starring Sulochana and Gohar which was made in 17 days. The film did extremely well at the box-office leading Shah to direct another five films for the studio all featuring Gohar. Of these, the most famous was Gunsundari (1927).

In 1929 Chandulal Shah founded Ranjit Studios at Bombay, Maharashtra. It produced films between 1929 and mid-1970s. The company began production of silent films in 1929 under the banner Ranjit Film Company and by 1932 had made 39 pictures, most of them social dramas. The company changed its name to Ranjit Movietone in 1932 and during the 1930s produced numerous successful talkies at the rate of about six a year. At this time, the studio employed around 300 actors, technicians and other employees. With the advent of sound, Ranjit Film Company became Ranjit Movietone.

Besides Filmmaking, Chandulal Shah also devoted a lot of time to the organizational work of the Indian Film Industry. Both the Silver Jubilee (1939) and the Golden Jubilee of the Indian film Industry (1963) were celebrated under his guidance. He was the first president of The Film Federation of India formed in 1951 and even led an Indian delegation to Hollywood the following year.[5]

Later life and death

Shah's downfall started when Raj Kapoor and Nargis starrer Paapi failed at the box office, followed by Zameen ke Taare. He took to gambling and horse racing. On 25 November 1975, the industry's most powerful man, who once owned a fleet of cars, was reduced to travelling in buses and died penniless.[6]

Filmography

Director

Writer

Producer

References

  1. ↑ IMDB Profile
  2. ↑ Susan Hayward (2013). Cinema Studies: The Key Concepts. Routledge. pp. 467–. ISBN 978-0-415-53813-8.
  3. ↑ Tejaswini Ganti (2013). Bollywood: A Guidebook to Popular Hindi Cinema. Routledge. pp. 17–18. ISBN 978-0-415-58384-8.
  4. ↑ Mihir Bose (9 May 2008). "3-Growing Under the Banyan Tree". Bollywood: A History. Roli Books Private Limited. pp. 90–. ISBN 978-93-5194-045-6. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
  5. ↑ Chandulal Shah on Upperstall
  6. ↑ Navhind Times Article Archived 23 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine.

External links

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