Hrishikesh Mukherjee


Hrishikesh Mukherjee was an Indian film director, editor and writer regarded as one of the greatest filmmakers of Indian cinema, known for a number of films, including Anari, Satyakam, Chupke Chupke, Anupama, Anand, Abhimaan, Guddi, Gol Maal, Majhli Didi, Chaitali, Aashirwad, Bawarchi, Kissi Se Na Kehna, and Namak Haraam.
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".
He also remained the chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification and of the National Film Development Corporation. 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.

Early life and background

Hrishikesh Mukherjee was born in the city of Calcutta in pre-independence India to a Bengali family. 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, a well known editor of his times. He then worked with Bimal Roy in Mumbai as film editor and assistant director from 1951, participating in the landmark Roy films Do Bigha Zamin and Devdas.
His debut directorial venture, Musafir, 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, Chhaya, Asli-Naqli, Anupama , Aashirwad, Satyakam, Guddi, Anand, Bawarchi, Abhimaan, Namak Haraam, Mili, Chupke Chupke, Alaap, Gol Maal, Khubsoorat and Bemisal. 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. Having worked with his mentor, Bimal Roy as an editor, in films like Madhumati, he was much sought after as an editor as well.

Later life

Hrishikesh Mukherjee was honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award by the Government of India, in 1999. 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

In later life, Hrishikesh 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.

Personal life

Hrishikesh Mukherjee was married and has three daughters and two sons. 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 used to stay alone with servants and pets in his last phase of life. Family members and friends would visit him regularly.

Awards

;Berlin International Film Festival
;Filmfare Awards
;Kerala State Film Awards
;National Film Awards

Films as director

YearFilmStarring
1957MusafirDilip Kumar, Kishore Kumar, Suchitra Sen and Usha Kiran.
1959AnariRaj Kapoor, Nutan, Lalita Pawar and Motilal.
1960AnuradhaBalraj Sahni, Leela Naidu
1961ChhayaSunil Dutt, Asha Parekh
1961MemdidiDavid, Jayant, Lalita Pawar, Asit Sen, Tanuja
1962Asli-NaqliDev Anand, Sadhna
1962AashiqRaj Kapoor, Padmini
1964Saanjh Aur SaveraGuru Dutt
1966AnupamaDharmendra, Sharmila Tagore
1966GabanSunil Dutt, Sadhana
1966Biwi Aur MakanBiswajit, Kalpana Mohan, Mehmood
1967Majhli DidiDharmendra, Meena Kumari
1968AashirwadAshok Kumar
1969SatyakamDharmendra, Sharmila Tagore
1969Pyar Ka SapnaMala Sinha, Biswajeet
1971AnandRajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan
1971GuddiDharmendra, Jaya Bhaduri, Utpal Dutt
1971Buddha Mil GayaOm Prakash, Navin Nischol, Deven Verma
1972BawarchiRajesh Khanna, Jaya Bhaduri
1972Sabse Bada SukhVijay Arora, Asrani
1973AbhimaanAmitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bhaduri, Asrani
1973Namak HaraamRajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, Rekha
1974Phir Kab MilogiBiswajit, Mala Sinha, Deven Verma
1975Chupke ChupkeDharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Sharmila Tagore, Jaya Bhaduri
1975MiliAmitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bhaduri
1975ChaitaliDharmendra, Saira Banu
1976Arjun PanditSanjeev Kumar, Ashok Kumar
1977AlaapAmitabh Bachchan, Rekha
1977Kotwal SaabShatrughan Sinha, Aparna Sen
1978NaukriRajesh Khanna, Zaheera, Raj Kapoor
1979Gol MaalAmol Palekar, Utpal Dutt, Bindiya Goswami
1979JurmanaAmitabh Bachchan, Rakhee, Vinod Mehra
1980KhubsooratRekha, Rakesh Roshan, Ashok Kumar
1981Naram GaramAmol Palekar, Utpal Dutt, Swaroop Sampat, Shatrughan Sinha
1982BemisalAmitabh Bachchan, Rakhee, Vinod Mehra
1983Rang BirangiAmol Palekar, Parveen Babi, Deepti Naval, Farooq Sheikh
1983Kissise Na KehnaUtpal Dutt, Deepti Naval, Farooq Sheikh
1983Achha BuraRaj Babbar, Anita Raj
1985JhoothiRekha, Raj Babbar, Amol Palekar, Supriya Pathak, Deven Verma
1988NamumkinSanjeev Kumar, Raj Babbar, Zeenat Aman, Vinod Mehra
1998Jhooth Bole Kauwa KaateAnil Kapoor, Juhi Chawla, Amrish Puri, Reema Lagoo

Films as editor, writer or assistant director

TV serials