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Kanjibhai Rathod

Kanjibhai Rathod
Born
Kanjibhai Rathod

Maroli, Gujarat, India
OccupationFilm director

Kanjibhai Rathod was an Indian film director.[1][2]

Early life

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Kanjibhai Rathod from Maroli village in Navsari district of south Gujarat, was considered the first successful director in Indian cinema. His rise to fame in an era when most people stayed away from films due to a peculiar stigma attached to the filmdom.[citation needed]

Not much is known about Rathod's personal life. Film historian Virchand Dharamsey writes, "Kanjibhai was coming from a Dalit family and he can be considered the first successful professional director of India."[3][4][5]

Career

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Rathod began as a still photographer with the Oriental Film Company. His experience earned him a job in Kohinoor Film Company and its owner Dwarkadas Sampat made him a director.[citation needed]

Rathod's 'Bhakta Vidur' released in 1921, was perhaps the first criticism of the British colonialism in a popular feature film.[citation needed]

This mythological allegory directly alluded to political issues, particularly the controversy over the Rowlatt Act.[citation needed]

An adaptation from a section of the Mahabharata, this film showed the British as the Kauravas and its protagonist Vidur as Gandhi. Sampat himself played the role donning the Gandhi cap and khadi shirt. The film raised a storm - while a big hit in Bombay, it was banned by the British in Karachi and Madras, write historians.[citation needed]

Rathod was the first film-maker to direct a crime thriller in 1920s on contemporary events. His Kala Naag (1924) was based on famous double murder case in Bombay. Rathod introduced Zubaida to film industry with his Gul-e-bakavali.[citation needed]

By the time he left for Saurashtra Film Company in Rajkot in 1924, Rathod had enough work on his name. At the launch of Krishna Film Company, he returned to Mumbai in 1931, the year of first talkies.[citation needed]

Dharamsey writes in his 'Light of Asia: Indian Silent Cinema 1912–1934' that Rathod directed five talkies out of 17 made in 1931. He remained active in the industry even in 1940s, but he was not as successful directing talkies.[citation needed]

Filmography

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Director

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Production manager

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References

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  1. ^ K. Moti Gokulsing; Wimal Dissanayake (17 April 2013). Routledge Handbook of Indian Cinemas. Routledge. p. 90. ISBN 978-1-136-77284-9.
  2. ^ "Kanjibhai Rathod Films | Films". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 6 September 2013.
  3. ^ Dharamsey, Virchand (November 1984). "મુક ફિલ્મોમા ગુજરાતીઓ નો ફાળો" [Contribution of Gujaratis in Silent Cinema]. Navneet Samarpan (in Gujarati). Bombay: Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan. p. 42.
  4. ^ Dharamsey, Virchand (1995). "ગુજરાતી ફિલ્મ ગીત કોશ" [Encyclopaedia of Gujarati Film Songs]. In Harish Raghuvanshi (ed.). Gujarati Film Geet Kosh (in Gujarati). Surat. p. xii.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ^ Dharamsey, Virchand (July 2012). "The Advent of Sound in Indian Cinema: Theatre, Orientalism, Action, Magic". BioScope: South Asian Screen Studies. 3 (2). New Delhi: Sage: 182.
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