Vijay Dhondopant Tendulkar was a leading Indian playwright, movie and television writer, literary essayist, political journalist, and social commentator primarily in Marāthi. His Marathi plays established him as a writer of plays with contemporary, unconventional themes. He is best known for his plays Shantata! Court Chalu Aahe (1967), Ghāshirām Kotwāl (1972), and Sakhārām Binder (1972). Many of Tendulkar's plays derived inspiration from real-life incidents or social upheavals, which provide clear light on harsh realities. He has provided guidance to students studying "play writing" in US universities. Tendulkar was a dramatist and theatre personality in Mahārāshtra for over five decades.
Smita Patil was an Indian film and theatre actress who mainly worked in Hindi and Marathi films. Regarded among the finest and greatest actresses in the history of Indian cinema, Patil appeared in over 80 films, in a career that spanned over a decade. Patil was the recipient of two National Film Awards, a Filmfare Award, two Filmfare Awards Marathi. She received the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian honour in 1985.
Dr. Mohan Agashe is an Indian psychiatrist and actor. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1996 in theatre.
Dr. Shriram Lagoo was an Indian film and theatre actor, in Hindi and Marathi, in addition to being an ENT Surgeon. He was known for his character roles in films. He acted in over 250 films including Hindi and Marathi films as well as Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati plays, and directed over 20 Marathi plays. He was also very vocal and active in furthering progressive and rational social causes, for example in 1999, he and social activist G. P. Pradhan undertook a fast in support of anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare. He won the 1978 Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for the Hindi film Gharaonda. His autobiography is titled Lamaan (लमाण), which means "the carrier of goods".
Jait Re Jait is 1977 Indian Marathi-language musical film directed by Dr. Jabbar Patel and produced by Usha Mangeshkar and Hridaynath Mangeshkar, under the banner of Mahalakshmi Chitra. The film stars Mohan Agashe and Smita Patil in the lead roles. The film won President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Marathi at the National Film Awards.
Ghashiram Kotwal is a Marathi play written by playwright Vijay Tendulkar in 1972 as a response to the rise of a local political party, in Maharashtra. The play is a political satire, written as historical drama. It is based on the life of Nana Phadnavis (1741–1800), one of the prominent ministers in the court of the Peshwa of Pune and Ghashiram Kotwal, the police chief of the city. Its theme is how men in power give rise to ideologies to serve their purposes, and later destroy them when they become useless. It was first performed on 16 December 1972, by the Progressive Dramatic Association in Pune. Jabbar Patel's production of the play in 1973 is considered a classic in Modern Indian Theatre.
Aakrosh (transl. Outrage) is a 1980 Indian Hindi-language legal drama film directed by Govind Nihalani in his debut, and written by Vijay Tendulkar. Starring Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri and Amrish Puri in pivotal roles, the film was released to widely positive reviews, winning the Golden Peacock at the 8th International Film Festival of India, as well as the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi and several other honors.
Mohan Gokhale was an Indian film, television and theater actor who has worked in art films such as Sparsh, Bhavni Bhavai and Mirch Masala. His father was a senior journalist and Editor of the weekly Swarajya and Assistant Editor of Sakal in Pune.
Satish Vasant Alekar is a Marathi playwright, actor, and theatre director. A founder member of the Theatre Academy of Pune, and most known for his plays Mahanirvan (1974), Mahapoor (1975), Atirekee (1990), Pidhijat (2003), Mickey ani Memsahib (1973), and Begum Barve (1979), all of which he also directed for the Academy. Along with Mahesh Elkunchwar and Vijay Tendulkar he is considered among the most influential and progressive playwrights in modern Marathi and Indian theatre.
Nilu Phule was an Indian actor known for his roles in Marathi movies and Marathi theatre. Nilu Phule acted in around 250 Marathi and Hindi movies during his film career. He was most prominently seen playing the roles of notorious villains in the movies.
Bhaskar Chandavarkar was an Indian sitar player, academic and film and theatre composer who worked with well-known directors of Indian cinema like Mrinal Sen, Girish Karnad, Aparna Sen, K. G. George and Amol Palekar in various languages including Marathi, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali and Oriya and was known for his blending of Indian classical and western music.
Samna is a 1974 Marathi-language crime drama directed by Jabbar Patel. It was entered into the 25th Berlin International Film Festival.
Umbartha is a 1982 Indian Marathi-language film produced by D. V. Rao and directed and coproduced by Jabbar Patel. The film is a story of a woman's dream to step outside her four walled home and bring change in the society. Smita Patil played the lead protagonist in the film for which she won Marathi Rajya Chitrapat Puraskar for Best Actress. The film was adjudged as the Best Feature Film in Marathi at the 29th National Film Awards for "a sincere cinematic statement on the theme of a woman seeking to establish her identity by pursuing a career, even at the risk of alienation from her family".
Ek Hota Vidushak is a 1992 Marathi film directed by Jabbar Patel and produced by National Film Development Corporation of India. The film stars Laxmikant Berde, Madhu Kambikar, Nilu Phule, Varsha Usgaonkar in lead roles and Mohan Agashe and Dilip Prabhavalkar in supporting roles.
Ravindra Sathe is an Indian playback singer in Marathi film industry. He was the original cast and crew member of famous Marathi theatre Ghashiram Kotwal.
Anand Modak was an acclaimed Marathi film composer and music director in Marathi cinema and Marathi theatre, known for his experimental style. He is notable films include Lapandav (1993), Chaukat Raja (1991), Tu Tithe Mee (1998), Naatigoti (2006), Harishchandrachi Factory (2009), Samaantar (2009), and Dambis (2011). In theatre, his notable compositions were for Mahanirvan, Mahapoor, Kheliya, Raigadala Jeva Jag Yete, Begum Barve, Chaukatcha Raja, and Mukta.
Mukta is a 1994 Marathi film directed by Jabbar Patel. The film stars Shreeram Lagoo, Sonali Kulkarni, Reema Lagoo and Vikram Gokhale in lead roles. Mukta won the 1994 National Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration. It is considered one of the important Marathi films for the period 1993–98.
Ghashiram Kotwal is a 1976 Indian Marathi-language film, which is an adaptation of Vijay Tendulkar's play of the same name. Tendulkar himself wrote the screenplay. Coming at the height of the Parallel cinema movement in India, the film was an experiment in collective filmmaking. It was produced by YUKT Film Cooperative, a 16-member collective consisting mostly of graduates of the Film and Television Institute of India. The title role was played by Om Puri, who made his debut with this film. The final shot of the film lasts for more than ten minutes. According to K. Hariharan, one of the four directors of the film, this shot is unique in film history as "the world’s longest shot on a standard reel of 1,000 feet to be shot by four camera operators".
The Filmfare Marathi Best Director Award is one of the main awards presented given by the annual Filmfare Marathi Awards to recognise directors working in Marathi cinema. It was first presented in 1975.
