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.
Jal Bin Machhli Nritya Bin Bijli is a 1971 Bollywood romance film directed by V. Shantaram, with Sandhya and Abhijeet as leads, along with Vatsala Deshmukh and Dina Pathak.
Amar Bhoopali is a 1951 Indian film, produced and directed by V. Shantaram and written by Vishram Bedekar. It is a true story about a simple cow herder who has an innate gift of poetry, set in the waning days of the Maratha confederacy, c. early 19th century. It is an ode to the saffron flag of Marathas, calling on people to rise again against the foreign enemy. It competed for the Grand Prize of the Festival at the 1952 Cannes Film Festival.
Kohraa is a 1964 Indian thriller horror film directed by Biren Nag, starring Waheeda Rehman, Biswajeet and Lalita Pawar. The film was adapted from Daphne du Maurier's 1938 novel Rebecca, which was previously adapted by Alfred Hitchcock as Academy Award-winning Rebecca (1940), though some supernatural elements were added to it, including a few from the movie Psycho. This version is famous for its twist ending, which differs significantly from that of the original novel.
Devta is a 1956 Hindi partly coloured swashbuckler film written by Sadasiva Bramham and directed by Pattana. The film stars Vyjayanthimala in the title role, along with Gemini Ganeshan and Anjali Devi in the lead, while Agha, Bipin Gupta, Krishna Kumari and M. N. Nambiar form an ensemble cast. The film was produced by Narayanan Iyengar with his production company; Narayanan Company. The music was composed by C. Ramchandra, with lyrics provided by Rajendra Krishan. The film was a remake of the 1955 Tamil film Kanavane Kankanda Deivam.
Navrang is a 1959 Indian Hindi-language film co-written and directed by V. Shantaram. The film is noted for its dance sequences with lead actress Sandhya and music by C. Ramchandra, while playback singer Mahendra Kapoor made his singing debut with the song Aadha Hai Chandramaa Raat Aadhi.
Parbat Pe Apna Dera is a Bollywood film directed by V. Shantaram. It was released in 1944. The story, dialogues and lyrics were written by Dewan Sharar. The music was composed by Vasant Desai. The film was produced under the Rajkamal Kalamandir banner and starred the "sensitive actress" Vanmala. Ulhas, cited as an actor known for his "melodramatic histrionics and a sonorous voice" was chosen to play the lead role of an "ascetic turned playboy". The cast included Shantarin, Madan Mohan, Kanta Kumari and Baby Nalini.
School Master is a 1959 Indian Hindi film, directed and produced by B. R. Panthulu. The film stars Karan Dewan, Shakila, B. Saroja Devi and Radha Kishan in lead roles. The film had a musical score by Vasant Desai. It is a remake of the 1958 Kannada film of the same name.
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.
Shakuntala is a 1943 costume drama film based on the Mahabharat episode of Shakuntala, directed by V. Shantaram. It was the first film made under the newly formed Rajkamal Kalamandir banner that Shantaram had started. It was the first film to be shown commercially in US. Adapted from the Shakuntala of Kalidas the screenplay was by Diwan Sharar. Music was composed by Vasant Desai with lyrics by Diwan Sharar and Ratan Piya. The cinematatography was by V. Avadhoot and the film starred Kumar Ganesh, Jayashree, Chandra Mohan, Ameena, Shantaram, Zohra and Nana Palsikar.
Ladki Sahyadri Ki is a 1966 Hindi social drama film directed by V. Shantaram. Also called Iye Marathichiye Nagari in Marathi, it was a bilingual for V. Shantaram productions under the Rajkamal Kalamandir banner. The music was composed by Vasant Desai, with lyrics by Bharat Vyas. The cast included Sandhya, Shalini Abhyankar, Vatsala Deshmukh, Kumar Dighe, Keshavrao Date, and Baburao Pendharkar.
Sehra (Desert) is a 1963 Hindi romantic family drama film directed by V. Shantaram. The story and dialogue writer was Shams Lucknowi, while the screenplay was by Shantaram. Made by Shantaram Productions, it had music composed by Ramlal with lyrics by Hasrat Jaipuri. The actress Mumtaz played a small character role in this film and also in Shantaram's earlier Stree (1961). The film starred Sandhya, Prashant, Mumtaz, Lalita Pawar, Manmohan Krishan, Ulhas, Babloo, M. Rajan and Baburao Pendharkar.
Surang is a 1953 film directed by V. Shantaram for his Rajkamal Kalamandir banner. The story and dialogue were by Vinod Kumar with music by Shivram Krishna and lyrics by Shewan Rizwi. The actor Chandrashekhar came into prominence with his role of a miner in the film. The rest of cast included Shashikala, Sheila Ramani, Vinod Kumar, Ulhas and Vikas.
Teen Batti Char Raasta is a 1953 Hindi-language comedy drama film on national integration directed by V. Shantaram. The film was made under the Rajkamal Kalamandir banner and produced by Shantaram. The story and dialogue were by Diwan Sharar while the cinematography was by G. Balkrishna. With music composed by Shivram Krishna, it had lyrics by Pyare Lal Santoshi. The star cast included Karan Dewan, Sandhya, Shashikala, Nirupa Roy, Sheila Ramani, Dewan Sharar and Lalita Kumari.
Subah Ka Tara is a 1954 Hindi social romantic film directed by V. Shantaram. The film was produced by Rajkamal Kalamandir and had story and dialogues by Shams Lucknavi. The director of photography was G. Balkrishna. It had music composed by C. Ramchandra and the lyricists were Noor Lakhnavi and Diwan Sharar. The title song "Chamka Chamka Subah Ka Tara" was one of the notable songs from this film. Rajshree appeared in her debut role as a child star. The cast included Pradeep Kumar, Jayshree, Amirbai Karnataki, Rajshree, Shakuntala Paranjpye and Naaz.
Dahej (Dowry) is a 1952 Hindi social family drama film based on the dowry system directed by V. Shantaram. Produced by Rajkamal Kalamandir, the director of photography was V. Avadhoot. Music was composed by Vasant Desai with lyrics by Shams Lucknavi, who also wrote the story and dialogues. The film starred Prithviraj Kapoor, Karan Dewan, Jayshree, Ulhas, Mumtaz Begum, Keshavrao Date and Lalita Pawar.
Pushpanjali is a 1970 Hindi, romantic drama film, produced and directed by Kishore Sahu. The film was made under the "Kishore Sahu Productions" banner. The story, screenplay and dialogues were by Kishore Sahu. Laxmikant Pyarelal composed the music for the film, with lyrics written by Anand Bakshi. Sanjay Khan, Naina Sahu, Kishore Sahu, Premnath, Faryal, Manmohan Krishan, Lalita Pawar and Om Prakash were the main star cast of the film.
Karan Dewan was an Indian cinema actor in Hindi films. He worked in over seventy films from 1941 to 1979. He started as a journalist while still in college, editing a film-based magazine in Urdu. His brother was the film producer and director Jaimani Dewan.
