Hrishikesh Mukherjee (30 September 1922 – 27 August 2006) was an Indian film director, editor and writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of Indian cinema. Popularly known as Hrishi-da, he directed 42 films during his career spanning over four decades, and is named the pioneer of the 'middle cinema' of India. Renowned for his social films that reflected the changing middle-class ethos, Mukherjee "carved a middle path between the extravagance of mainstream cinema and the stark realism of art cinema".[1][2][3][4]
Hrishikesh Mukherjee was born in the city of Calcutta in pre-independence India (now Kolkata) to a Bengali brahmin family.[6] He studied science and graduated in chemistry from the University of Calcutta. He taught mathematics and science for some time.
Career
Mukherjee chose to begin working, initially as a cameraman, and then film editor, in B. N. Sircar's New Theatres in Calcutta in the late 1940s, where he learned his skills from Subodh Mitter ('Kenchida'), a well known editor of his times.[7] He then worked with Bimal Roy in Mumbai as film editor and assistant director from 1951,[8] participating in the landmark Roy films Do Bigha Zamin and Devdas.
His debut directorial venture, Musafir (1957), was not a success, but he persisted and received acclaim for his second film Anari in 1959. The film, crew and cast won five Filmfare Awards, with Mukherjee only losing the Best Director Award to his mentor, Bimal Roy.
In later life, Mukherjee suffered from chronic kidney failure and would go to Lilavati Hospital for dialysis. He was admitted to Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai early on Tuesday, 6 June 2006 after he complained of uneasiness. Mukherjee died few weeks later on 27 August 2006.[11][12]
Personal life
Mukherjee was married and has three daughters and two sons.[13] His wife died more than three decades before him. His younger brother Dwarkanath Mukherjee helped write the screenplay for many of his films. He was an animal lover and had many dogs and sometimes an odd cat at his residence in Bandra, Mumbai. He was staying with only his servants and pets in the last phase of his life. Family members and friends would visit him regularly.
Great Masters of Indian Cinema: The Dadasaheb Phalke Award Winners, by D. P. Mishra, Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India, 2006. ISBN81-230-1361-2. page 122.
References
^Gulzar; Nihalani, Govind; Chatterjee, Saibal (2003). Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema. Encyclopædia Britannica (India) Pvt Ltd. p. 592. ISBN81-7991-066-0.
^The common man lure of Hrishikesh Mukherjee's films Rediff.com.
^Hrishikesh Mukherjee's best films Special Photo feature, Rediff.com, 28 August 2006.
^Duara, Ajit (3 September 2006). . The Hindu. Archived from the original on 10 November 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
hrishikesh, mukherjee, september, 1922, august, 2006, indian, film, director, editor, writer, regarded, greatest, filmmakers, indian, cinema, popularly, known, hrishi, directed, films, during, career, spanning, over, four, decades, named, pioneer, middle, cine. Hrishikesh Mukherjee 30 September 1922 27 August 2006 was an Indian film director editor and writer He is regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of Indian cinema Popularly known as Hrishi da he directed 42 films during his career spanning over four decades and is named the pioneer of the middle cinema of India Renowned for his social films that reflected the changing middle class ethos Mukherjee carved a middle path between the extravagance of mainstream cinema and the stark realism of art cinema 1 2 3 4 Hrishikesh MukherjeeMukherjee on a 2013 stamp of IndiaBorn 1922 09 30 30 September 1922Calcutta Bengal Presidency British India present day Kolkata India Died27 August 2006 2006 08 27 aged 83 Mumbai Maharashtra IndiaOccupationsFilm directoreditorscreenwriterHonoursDada Saheb Phalke Award 1999 Padma Vibhushan 2001 He is known for a number of films including Anari Satyakam Chupke Chupke Anupama Anand Abhimaan Guddi Gol Maal Majhli Didi Chaitali Aashirwad Bawarchi Khubsoorat Kissi Se Na Kehna and Namak Haraam He also remained the chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification CBFC and of the National Film Development Corporation NFDC 5 The Government of India honoured him with the Dada Saheb Phalke Award in 1999 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2001 He received the NTR National Award in 2001 and he also won eight Filmfare Awards Contents 1 Early life and background 2 Career 3 Later life 4 Death 5 Personal life 6 Awards 7 Filmography 7 1 Films as director 7 2 Films as editor writer or assistant director 7 3 TV serials 8 Further reading 9 References 10 External linksEarly life and background EditHrishikesh Mukherjee was born in the city of Calcutta in pre independence India now Kolkata to a Bengali brahmin family 6 He studied science and graduated in chemistry from the University of Calcutta He taught mathematics and science for some time Career EditMukherjee chose to begin working initially as a cameraman and then film editor in B N Sircar s New Theatres in Calcutta in the late 1940s where he learned his skills from Subodh Mitter Kenchida a well known editor of his times 7 He then worked with Bimal Roy in Mumbai as film editor and assistant director from 1951 8 participating in the landmark Roy films Do Bigha Zamin and Devdas His debut directorial venture Musafir 1957 was not a success but he persisted and received acclaim for his second film Anari in 1959 The film crew and cast won five Filmfare Awards with Mukherjee only losing the Best Director Award to his mentor Bimal Roy In the following years he made numerous films Some of his most notable films include Anuradha 1960 Chhaya 1961 Asli Naqli 1962 Anupama 1966 Aashirwad 1968 Satyakam 1969 Guddi 1971 Anand 1971 Bawarchi 1972 Abhimaan 1973 Namak Haraam 1973 Mili 1975 Chupke Chupke 1975 Alaap 1977 Gol Maal 1979 Khubsoorat 1980 and Bemisal 1982 He was the first to introduce Dharmendra in comedy roles through Chupke Chupke and gave Amitabh Bachchan his big break with Anand in 1970 along with Rajesh Khanna he also introduced Jaya Bhaduri to Hindi cinema in his film Guddi 5 Having worked with his mentor Bimal Roy as an editor in films like Madhumati he was much sought after as an editor as well 9 Later life EditMukherjee was honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award by the Government of India in 1999 10 Mukherjee was chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification and of the National Film Development Corporation He was also awarded the Padma Vibhushan the second highest civilian award for his contribution to Indian cinema by government of India in 2001 The International Film Festival of India honoured him with a retrospective of his films in November 2005 He holds the distinction of working with almost all the top Indian stars since independence of India in 1947 His last film was Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate Since his original hero Amol Palekar had grown old he had to cast Anil Kapoor He has also directed TV serials like Talaash Death EditIn later life Mukherjee suffered from chronic kidney failure and would go to Lilavati Hospital for dialysis He was admitted to Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai early on Tuesday 6 June 2006 after he complained of uneasiness Mukherjee died few weeks later on 27 August 2006 11 12 Personal life EditMukherjee was married and has three daughters and two sons 13 His wife died more than three decades before him His younger brother Dwarkanath Mukherjee helped write the screenplay for many of his films He was an animal lover and had many dogs and sometimes an odd cat at his residence in Bandra Mumbai He was staying with only his servants and pets in the last phase of his life Family members and friends would visit him regularly Awards Edit2001 Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India 2001 NTR National Award Rashtriya Kishore Kumar Samman from the Government of Madhya Pradesh for 1997 1998 14 15 Berlin International Film Festival1961 Golden Bear Nomination Anuradha 16 Filmfare Awards1956 Filmfare Best Editing Award Naukari 1959 Filmfare Best Editing Award Madhumati 1970 Filmfare Best Screenplay Award Anokhi Raat 17 1972 Filmfare Best Movie Award Anand shared with N C Sippy 1972 Filmfare Best Editing Award Anand 1972 Filmfare Best Story Award Anand 1981 Filmfare Best Movie Award Khubsoorat shared with N C Sippy 1994 Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award South 1994 18 Kerala State Film Awards1970 Kerala State Film Award for Best Editor Priya 19 1974 Kerala State Film Award for Best Editor NelluNational Film Awards1957 Certificate of Merit for Third Best Feature Film in Hindi Musafir 20 1959 President s Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Hindi Anari 21 1960 President s Gold Medal for the All India Best Feature Film Anuradha 22 1966 President s Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Hindi Anupama 1968 President s Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Hindi Aashirwad 1969 President s Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Hindi Satyakam 1970 President s Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Hindi Anand 1999 Dada Saheb Phalke AwardFilmography EditFilms as director Edit Year Film Starring1957 Musafir Dilip Kumar Kishore Kumar Suchitra Sen and Usha Kiran 1959 Anari Raj Kapoor Nutan Lalita Pawar and Motilal 1960 Anuradha Balraj Sahni Leela Naidu1961 Chhaya Sunil Dutt Asha ParekhMemdidi David Jayant Lalita Pawar Asit Sen Tanuja1962 Asli Naqli Dev Anand SadhnaAashiq Raj Kapoor Padmini1964 Saanjh Aur Savera Guru Dutt Meena Kumari1966 Anupama Dharmendra Sharmila TagoreGaban Sunil Dutt SadhanaBiwi Aur Makan Biswajit Kalpana Mohan Mehmood1967 Majhli Didi Dharmendra Meena Kumari1968 Aashirwad Ashok Kumar1969 Satyakam Dharmendra Sharmila TagorePyar Ka Sapna Mala Sinha Biswajeet Ashok Kumar Helen Johnny Walker1971 Anand Rajesh Khanna Amitabh BachchanGuddi Dharmendra Jaya Bhaduri Utpal DuttBuddha Mil Gaya Om Prakash Navin Nischol Deven Verma1972 Bawarchi Rajesh Khanna Jaya BhaduriSabse Bada Sukh Vijay Arora Asrani1973 Abhimaan Amitabh Bachchan Jaya Bhaduri AsraniNamak Haraam Rajesh Khanna Amitabh Bachchan Rekha1974 Phir Kab Milogi Biswajit Mala Sinha Deven Verma1975 Chupke Chupke Dharmendra Amitabh Bachchan Sharmila Tagore Jaya BhaduriMili Amitabh Bachchan Jaya BhaduriChaitali Dharmendra Saira Banu1976 Arjun Pandit Sanjeev Kumar Ashok Kumar1977 Alaap Amitabh Bachchan RekhaKotwal Saab Shatrughan Sinha Aparna Sen1978 Naukri Rajesh Khanna Zaheera Raj Kapoor1979 Gol Maal Amol Palekar Utpal Dutt Bindiya GoswamiJurmana Amitabh Bachchan Rakhee Vinod Mehra1980 Khubsoorat Rekha Rakesh Roshan Ashok Kumar1981 Naram Garam Amol Palekar Utpal Dutt Swaroop Sampat Shatrughan Sinha1982 Bemisal Amitabh Bachchan Rakhee Vinod Mehra1983 Rang Birangi Amol Palekar Parveen Babi Deepti Naval Farooq Sheikh1983 Kissise Na Kehna Utpal Dutt Deepti Naval Farooq SheikhAchha Bura Raj Babbar Anita Raj1985 Jhoothi Rekha Raj Babbar Amol Palekar Supriya Pathak Deven Verma1988 Namumkin Sanjeev Kumar Raj Babbar Zeenat Aman Vinod Mehra1998 Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate Anil Kapoor Juhi Chawla Amrish Puri Reema LagooFilms as editor writer or assistant director Edit Year Film ProductionFunction Notes1947 Tathapi1950 Pehla Aadmi Editor Assistant Director1952 Maa Editor Assistant Director1953 Do Bigha Zamin Scenario editor Assistant Director1953 Parineeta Editor1954 Biraj Bahu Editor1955 Devdas Co editor with Das Dhaimade 23 1955 Garam Coat Editor1958 Madhumati Editor1959 Heera Moti1961 Char Diwari Editor1961 Ganga Jumna Co editor with Das Dhaimade1965 Chemmeen Editor1968 Mere Hamdam Mere Dost Editor1974 Nellu Editor1970 Dastak Editor1977 Alaap Story producer1977 Anuroopa One and only Kannada Film as editor1981 Professor Pyarelal Editor1983 Coolie EditorTV serials Edit Hum Hindustani 1986 Talaash 1992 Dhoop Chhaon Rishte Ujaale Ki Or Agar Aisa Ho TohFurther reading EditGreat Masters of Indian Cinema The Dadasaheb Phalke Award Winners by D P Mishra Publications Division Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Govt of India 2006 ISBN 81 230 1361 2 page 122 References Edit Gulzar Nihalani Govind Chatterjee Saibal 2003 Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema Encyclopaedia Britannica India Pvt Ltd p 592 ISBN 81 7991 066 0 The common man lure of Hrishikesh Mukherjee s films Rediff com Hrishikesh Mukherjee s best films Special Photo feature Rediff com 28 August 2006 Duara Ajit 3 September 2006 A touch of realism The Hindu Archived from the original on 10 November 2012 Retrieved 19 September 2011 a b Remembering Hrishikesh Mukherjee Archived 5 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine Hindustan Times 26 August 2008 Hrishikesh Mukherjee The Independent 28 August 2006 Retrieved 8 January 2022 Hrishikesh Mukherjee Biography Archived 15 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine on winning the 31st Dada Saheb Phalke Award Hrishikesh Mukherjee Upperstall com Remembering Hrishida Rediff com 28 August 2006 Hrishikesh Mukherjee wins Dadasaheb Phalke Award Archived from the original on 15 October 2007 Hrishikesh Mukherjee is dead The Times of India 27 August 2006 Filmmaker Hrishikesh Mukherjee dead CNN IBN 28 August 2006 Veteran Bollywood director dies BBC News 27 August 2006 Recipients of Kishore Kumar Samman https www amarujala com education kishore kumar samman recipient list waheeda rehman to be awarded this year Kishore Kumar Award https m timesofindia com the kishore kumar award instituted by the madhya pradesh government in 1997 is given away for direction acting script writing and lyrics every year past recipients of the prestigious award have included hrishikesh mukherjee gulzar shyam benegal and amitabh bachchan this year it has been given to yash chopra articleshow 6752191 cms Awards Internet Movie Database Best Screenplay Award Filmfare Award Official Listings Indiatimes Archived from the original on 29 April 2014 Retrieved 28 April 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award South winners down the years Vijayakumar B 6 May 2012 Old Is Gold Priya 1970 The Hindu Retrieved 6 November 2020 5th National Film Awards PDF Directorate of Film Festivals Retrieved 2 September 2011 7th National Film Awards PDF Directorate of Film Festivals Retrieved 4 September 2011 8th National Film Awards International Film Festival of India Archived from the original on 12 October 2013 Retrieved 7 September 2011 Devdas film External links EditHrishikesh Mukherjee at IMDb Hrishikesh Mukherjee at AllMovie Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hrishikesh Mukherjee amp oldid 1148000885, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
