Khwaja Ahmad Abbas was an Indian film director, screenwriter, novelist, and journalist in Urdu, Hindi and English. He won four National Film Awards in India. Internationally, his films won the Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival and the Crystal Globe at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. As a director and screenwriter, he is considered one of the pioneers of Indian parallel or neo-realistic cinema.
Mira Nair is an Indian-American filmmaker based in New York City. Her production company, Mirabai Films, specializes in films for international audiences on Indian society, whether in the economic, social or cultural spheres. Among her best known films are Mississippi Masala, The Namesake, the Golden Lion–winning Monsoon Wedding, and Salaam Bombay!, which received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and the BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language.
The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India. The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by the Filmfare magazine of The Times Group in 1954, the same year as the National Film Awards. They were initially referred to as the "Clare Awards" or "The Clares" after Clare Mendonca, the editor of The Times of India.
Anand Patwardhan is an Indian documentary filmmaker known for his socio-political, human rights-oriented films. Some of his films explore the rise of religious fundamentalism, sectarianism and casteism in India, while others investigate nuclear nationalism and unsustainable development. Notable films include Bombay: Our City (1985), In Memory of Friends (1990), In the Name of God (1992), Father, Son, and Holy War (1995), A Narmada Diary (1995), War and Peace (2002) and Jai Bhim Comrade (2011), and Reason (2018) which have won national and international awards.
Jan Nisar Akhtar was an Indian poet of Urdu ghazals and nazms, and a part of the Progressive Writers' Movement, who was also a lyricist for Bollywood.
Chetan Anand was a Bollywood film producer, screenwriter and director from India, whose first film, Neecha Nagar, was awarded the Grand Prix Prize at the first ever Cannes Film Festival in 1946. Later, he co-founded Navketan Films with his younger brother Dev Anand in 1949.
The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory film-certification body in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India. It is tasked with "regulating the public exhibition of films under the provisions of the Cinematograph Act 1952." The Cinematograph Act 1952 outlines a strict certification process for commercial films shown in public venues. Films screened in cinemas and on television may only be publicly exhibited in India after certification by the board and edited.
Final Solution is a 2004 documentary film directed by Rakesh Sharma concerning the 2002 Gujarat riots in the state of Gujarat in which 254 Hindus and 790 Muslims were killed. Hindu right wing organizations were responsible for these riots, who claimed that their actions were in fact a "spontaneous response" to the demise of 70 Hindu Pilgrims in the Godhra Train Burning by a mob on 27 February 2002. But as the film proceeds with victims continuing to come forward and share their experiences, a more unsettling possibility seems to emerge- that far from being a spontaneous expression of outrage. The makers of the film claim that the violence had been carefully coordinated and planned.
Gaon Hamara Shaher Tumhara is a 1972 Bollywood romance film directed by Naresh Kumar. It stars Rajendra Kumar, Rekha in lead roles.
The Filmfare Best Documentary Award was one of the Filmfare Awards, given by the magazine Filmfare to documentary films. It was first presented in 1967, and was eliminated in 1998.
Prahlad Singh Tipaniya is an Indian folk singer who performs Kabir bhajans in the Malwi folk style from Madhya Pradesh.
War and Peace is a 2002 Indian documentary film directed by Anand Patwardhan. The film covers the Indian and Pakistani nuclear weapons tests in 1998, as well as the nationalist rhetoric that accompanied these tests. It also explores the ill-effects of the Indian test on the surrounding population and the reactions to the test among the government and the public. The latter part of the film also covers the perception of nuclear weapons in Japan and the United States. Upon the film's completion, the Indian censor board demanded that Patwardhan make 21 cuts before it could be released, including cutting all speeches by politicians. Patwardhan refused and took the matter to court; the Bombay high court ruled in his favour a year later, and the film was released without any cuts.
Jai Bhim Comrade is a 2011 Indian documentary film directed by Anand Patwardhan. The film begins with a description of police violence in the 1997 Ramabai killings. It goes on to explore various aspects of the lives and politics of Dalit people in Mumbai. The film took 14 years to produce, and was released in 2011 after the conclusion of the court trials that followed the Ramabai incident. The film was widely shown both nationally and internationally, and received an overwhelmingly positive reaction. It has won numerous national and international awards.
Santosh Anand is an Indian lyricist who attained success in the 1970s, earning the Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist twice in 1975 and 1983. He has also been awarded the Yash Bharti Award in 2016. He studied library science at Aligarh Muslim University
Father, Son, and Holy War is a 1995 film by Indian documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan. The film is shot in two parts, with the first examining the link between the violence of the Hindu nationalist movement, such as the demolition of the Babri Masjid, and sexual violence against women. The second part looks at the nature of masculinity in contemporary urban India, and its role in encouraging sexual violence. As with other films of his, Patwardhan had to fight multiple court battles in order to force the national carrier Doordarshan to screen the film, a screening which eventually occurred on the orders of the Supreme court. The film received numerous national and international awards, and was also seen positively by critics.
Ram ke Naam is a 1992 documentary by Indian filmmaker Anand Patwardhan. The film explores the campaign waged by the right-wing Hindu nationalist organisation Vishva Hindu Parishad to build a Ram temple at the site of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, as well as the communal violence that it triggered. A couple of months after Ram ke Naam was released, activists of the VHP and other Hindu nationalist groups demolished the Babri Masjid in 1992, provoking further violence. The film earned Patwardhan a wide recognition, and received several national and international awards.
A Narmada Diary is a 1995 documentary on the struggle of those adversely impacted by the Sardar Sarovar Dam project. It was directed by Anand Patwardhan and Simantini Dhuru and released in 1995. A record from about 1990–1993, of the measures adopted and hardship faced by the Narmada Bachao Andolan movement and the people inhabiting the place affected was presented. The documentary won the "Filmfare Award for Best Documentary, 1996" and the "Grand Prize" at Earth-Vision Film Festival, Tokyo, 1996. In spite of winning the central government's national awards, the movie was not allowed to be shown on National TV
Aaj Ka Daur is a 1985 Indian Hindi-language film directed by K. Bapayya. It stars Jackie Shroff, Padmini Kolhapure, Kader Khan, it is a remake of 1981 Tamil film Kudumbam Oru Kadambam. According to Pratiksha Mestry of Mid-Day, Aaj Ka Daur, along with Himmatwala (1983), is Khan's first attempt at comedy. For his work, Khan received a nomination for the Best Performance in a Comic Role at the 33rd Filmfare Awards.
Vilas Ghogre was a prominent Dalit activist, poet, and artist from Bombay who committed suicide in protest against the 1997 Ramabai killings in which 10 Dalits were killed by Maharashtra State Reserve Police Force and 26 were injured. He is featured prominently in Anand Patwardhan's documentaries Bombay Our City (1985) Jai Bhim Comrade (2011).
Atma Ram Padukone (1930–94) was Hindi film and TV director born in Calcutta. He was the younger brother of legendary film maker Guru Dutt.
