Shantaram Rajaram Vankudre, referred to as V. Shantaram or Shantaram Bapu, was an Indian filmmaker, film producer, and actor known for his work in Hindi and Marathi films. He is most known for films such as Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani (1946), Amar Bhoopali (1951), Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje (1955), Do Aankhen Barah Haath (1957), Navrang (1959), Duniya Na Mane (1937), Pinjara (1972), Chani, Iye Marathiche Nagari and Zunj.
Sai Paranjpye is an Indian movie director and screenwriter. She is the director of the award-winning movies Sparsh, Katha, Chasme Buddoor and Disha. She has written and directed many Marathi plays such as Jaswandi, Sakkhe Shejari, and Albel.
Shakuntala Paranjpye was an Indian writer, actress and a prominent social worker. She was a member of Maharashtra Legislative Council during 1958–64, and served as nominated member of Rajya Sabha during 1964–70. In 1991, she was awarded Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, in recognition of her pioneering work in the field of family planning.
Prabhat Film Company was an Indian film production company and film studios founded in 1929 by the noted film director V.Shantaram and his friends.
Keshavrao Date (1889–1971) was an Indian film actor, who worked in both silent and sound movies. He tried to run his own drama company but found it difficult to perform the dual roles of manager and actor.
Narayan Hari Apte, popularly known as Nanasaheb Apte was a Marathi popular novelist, writer of advice books and editor from Maharashtra, India.
Payithiyakaran is a 1947 Tamil-language film produced by and starring N. S. Krishnan. It was based on the play of the same name staged by Krishnan's drama troupe. It was the first film for Krishnan after his acquittal in the Lakshmikanthan murder case. M. G. Ramachandran played a supporting role in the film.
Ayodhyecha Raja, literally "The King of Ayodhya", was the first Marathi talkie, released in 1932, directed by Shantaram Rajaram Vankudre. It is based on the puranic story of Raja Harishchandra of Ayodhya and his test by sage Vishwamitra, as recounted in Valmiki's epic, Ramayana.
Das Baje, also called 10 O'Clock, is an Indian film. It was released in 1942. This was a debut direction for Raja Nene, a protege of V. Shantaram, and produced under Shantaram's Prabhat Film Company banner. The film was a bilingual, made in Hindi, and in the Marathi language as Daha Wajta. The music direction was by Keshavrao Bhole. The story was written by Kashyap and Pawar, with dialogues in Hindi by Ashant. The photography was by E. Mohammed. It starred Paresh Bannerji, Urmila and Vasant Thengdi in the lead roles, with Baby Shakuntala and Manajirao forming the supporting cast.
Bachchon Ka Khel is a 1946 Indian film produced by Ramnik Productions and directed by Raja Nene. It was released at Novelty Bombay on 2 May. The film's music is by C. Ramchandara, lyrics by Magan, Pt Sharma and art direction by Shripatrao Mane. The film starred Meena Kumari, Aga Jan, Nimbalkar, Shanta Patel and Baby Shakuntala.
Keshav Vaman Bhole, also known as Keshavrao Bhole, was a well-known music composer and critic in Indian cinema.
Shantaram Govind Athavale was an Indian director of Marathi, Hindi and English language films, a lyricist, poet, and author. Part of the generation that emerged from the Prabhat Film Company in Pune in the 1930s, he made pioneering contributions to Marathi film.
Amrit Manthan is a 1934 Indian costume-drama film directed by V. Shantaram for his Prabhat Film Company. The film was produced simultaneously in Hindi and Marathi. The film starred Chandra Mohan, Nalini Tarkhad, Shanta Apte, G. R. Mane, Varde and Kelkar. The film was based on Narayan Hari Apte's novel Bhagyashree. The Hindi translation was done by Veer Mohammed Puri, who also wrote the lyrics for the film.
Rajkamal Kalamandir was a noted film production company and studio in Mumbai. It was established by V. Shantaram in 1942, after he left Prabhat Films. The studio produced films both in Hindi and Marathi, and it was best known for Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani (1946), Amar Bhoopali (1951), Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje (1955), Do Aankhen Barah Haath (1957), Navrang (1959) and Pinjra (1972). In its heyday, Rajkamal was one of the most sophisticated studios of the country.
Amar Jyoti is a 1936 Hindi social, action adventure, drama film directed by V. Shantaram. Produced by Prabhat Film Company and cited as a "noteworthy" film along with Shantaram's earlier Amrit Manthan (1934), the film had actress Durga Khote performing one of her most "memorable" roles. K. Narayan Kale wrote the story with dialogues by Narottam Vyas. The music was composed by Master Krishnarao. The director of photography was V. Avadhoot, and the cast included Durga Khote, Chandra Mohan, Shanta Apte, Nandrekar, Vasanti and Narayan Kale.
Shejari is also known as Padosi in Hindi version as. Padosi is a 1941 Indian social drama film directed by V. Shantaram. It was produced by Prabhat Film Company and the bilingual film in Marathi and Hindi was the last film Shantaram made for Prabhat before venturing to form his Rajkamal Kalamandir. The film is cited as one of the three social classics Shantaram made at Prabhat. The other two were Duniya Na Mane (1937) and Aadmi (1939). The story and dialogue were by Vishram Bedekar in the Marathi version, while the dialogues in the Hindi version were by Pandit Sudarshan, who also wrote the lyrics. The music director was Master Krishnarao. The famous character artist Radhakrishan made his acting debut in the film as a villain. The film starred Mazhar Khan, Gajanan Jagirdar, Anees Khatoon, Radha Kishan, Lajwanti, Sumitra, Gopal and Balak Ram.
Sinhagad is a 1933 Marathi historical fact film directed by V. Shantaram. The production company was Prabhat Film Company. The story was based on Hari Narayan Apte's literary classic novel "Gad Ala Pan Sinha Gela". Apte was a famous Marathi novelist of the early twentieth century. The story's screenplay and dialogue were written by Narayan Hari Apte. The cinematographers were V. Avadhoot and Keshavrao Dhaiber. The cast included Master Vinayak, Baburao Pendharkar, Keshavrao Dhaiber, Leela Chandragiri, Shinde, Prabhavati, Budasaheb and Shankarrao Bhosle.
Lokshahir Ram Joshi also called Matawala Shair Ram Joshi in Hindi, is a 1947 Marathi biopic film of the poet Ram Joshi, written by G. D. Madgulkar, directed by Baburao Painter and co-directed by V. Shantaram. Shantaram had given the direction to Painter but had to complete the film when Painter fell ill during production. Produced under the Rajkamal Kalamandir banner, it is also referred to as Lok Shahir Ramjoshi. The story writer was G.D. Madgulkar, who is cited as the "first specialist film writer" in Marathi cinema. This film was his first "full-fledged writing assignment", wherein he wrote the story, screenplay, dialogue and lyrics. It was also his debut as a screenplay writer. The film starred Jayaram Shiledar as Ram Joshi and Hansa Wadkar as Baya. The rest of the cast included Shakuntala Paranjpye, Parashuram, Sudha Apte and G. D. Madgulkar.
Manoos, also called Life's for Living, is a 1939 Indian Marathi social melodrama film directed by V. Shantaram. The movie was simultaneously made in Hindi as Aadmi. The film was based on a short story called "The Police Constable". The story was by A. Bhaskarrao, with screenplay and dialogue by Anant Kanekar. The cinematographer was V. Avadhoot and the music was composed by Master Krishna Rao, with lyrics by Kanekar. The cast included Shahu Modak, Shanta Hublikar, Sundara Bai, Ram Marathe, Narmada, Ganpatrao and Raja Paranjpe.
Shanta Apte (1916–1964) was an Indian actress-singer who worked in Marathi and Hindi cinema. Renowned for her roles in films like Duniya Na Mane/Kunku (1937) and Amar Jyoti (1936) under the Prabhat Films banner, she was active in Indian cinema from 1932 to 1958. Apte's impact on Marathi cinema "paralleled" that of Kanan Devi in Bengali cinema. Along with Kanan Devi, Apte is cited as one of the "great singing stars" from before the playback singing era. Apte began her career in films playing the role of a young Radha in the Marathi film Shyamsunder (1932). She joined Prabhat Films acting in her first Hindi language film Amrit Manthan in (1934).
