Kathiawar is a peninsula, near the far north of India's west coast, of about 61,000 km2 (23,500 sq mi) bordering the Arabian Sea. It is bounded by the Gulf of Kutch in the northwest and by the Gulf of Khambhat in the east. In the northeast, it is connected to the rest of Gujarat and borders on the low, fertile hinterland of Ahmedabad. It is crossed by two belts of hill country and is drained radially by nine rivers which have little natural flow aside from in monsoon months, thus dams have been built on some of these. Kathiawar ports have been flourishing centres of trade and commerce since at least the 16th century.
Gujarati cinema, also known as Dhollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema, dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Gujarati language widely spoken in the state of Gujarat. It is based in Ahmedabad. It is one of the major regional and vernacular film industries of the cinema of India, having produced more than one thousand films since its inception.
Upendra Jethalal Trivedi was an Indian film and stage actor, director and producer who was one of the most prolific actors of Gujarati cinema. As an actor films like Mehndi Rang Lagyo (1960), Jogidas Khuman (1962) were few of his earliest appearances in Gujarati films. He was also known as Abhinay Samrat. He was politically active and was elected to the state legislative assembly three times.
Manubhai Pancholi also known by his pen name Darshak, was a Gujarati language novelist, author, educationist and politician from Gujarat, India. He participated in the Indian independence movement and held several offices after independence.
Avinash Vyas was an Indian music composer, lyricist and singer of Gujarati films who composed music for over 190 Gujarati films. He was a winner of Gujarat State Film award for the best lyricist and best music 25 times. He was honoured by the Government of India in 1970 with Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award.
Mendi Rang Lagyo is a 1960 Indian Gujarati-language romantic film directed by Manhar Raskapur starring Rajendra Kumar and Usha Kiran. It is particularly remembered for its soundtrack by Gujarati music composer Avinash Vyas featuring songs sung by Lata Mangeshkar, Manna Dey and Mahendra Kapoor. The film was produced by Bipin Gajjar and written by Chaturbhuj Doshi.
The Children's literature in Gujarati language of India has its roots in traditional folk literature, Puranic literature, epics and fables from Sanskrit literature. Following 1830s, the large number of stories and fables adapted and translated from various traditional and western sources started to appear in Gujarati. Led by Gijubhai Badheka and Nanabhai Bhatt, the children's literature expanded rapidly in form of stories, poems, rhymes and riddles. Several authors and poets wrote for children intermittently and exclusively. Large number of magazines catering to children were published by middle of twentieth century. Later adventure novels, science fiction, young-adult fiction were also published. Ramanlal Soni and Jivram Joshi contributed for five decades creating stories, fictional characters and novels. Few children's plays were published while the biographies of historical characters appeared frequently.
Ramesh Mehta was an Indian actor, comedian and scriptwriter. He is considered to be the "Charlie Chaplin of Gujarat". He has acted in plays and in more than 190 Gujarati films. He wrote the scripts of several Gujarati films, including Hast Melap, Jesal Toral, Ghunghat, Raja Bharathari, Hothal Padamani and Valo Namori.
The Indian National Theatre (INT) is a theatre organisation and troupe founded in 1943 and based in Mumbai, India. Although performing predominantly Gujarati theatre, the troupe has also produced a number of plays in other Indian languages. In addition to theatre productions, the troupe also carries theatre education, training and research activities.
Ravindra Dave was an Indian film director, producer, editor and screenwriter. He directed more than 30 Hindi films in the 1950s and 1960s including several hits like Nagina (1951), Agra Road (1957), Post Box 999 (1958), Satta Bazaar (1959), Dulha Dulhan (1964) and Raaz (1967). He turned to Gujarati cinema with his blockbuster Jesal Toral (1971) and directed more than 25 Gujarati films in the 1970s and 1980s.
Liludi Dharati is a 1968 Gujarati social drama film directed by Vallabh Choksi. It stars Daizy Irani, Mahesh Desai, Kala Shah, Champshibhai Nagda, Upendra Kumar, Kishore Bhatt, Narahari Jani, Vina Prabhu, Vanalata Mehta. The film was adapted from Gujarati writer Chunilal Madia's novel of the same name. It was the first ORWO colour film of Gujarati cinema.
Kadu Makrani is a 1960 Gujarati historical fantasy film directed by Manhar Raskapur from India. The film tells the story of the historical figure Kadu Makrani, a bandit, fighting the British. The lead role was played by Arvind Pandya. The music was composed by Avinash Vyas. It was a commercial success.
Vir Mangdavalo is 1976 Gujarati romantic fantasy film directed by Babubhai Mistry from India. The film depicted a folklore from Gujarat. The lead role was played by Upendra Trivedi, Arvind Trivedi and Snehlata. The music was composed by Avinash Vyas. It was a commercial success. The film was dubbed in Bhojpuri as Amar Suhagin in 1978.
Ranakdevi is a 1973 Indian Gujarati historical drama film directed by Babubhai Mistry starring Tarla Mehta, Upendra Trivedi, Arvind Pandya and Arvind Trivedi in lead roles. The film was based on the legend of Ranakadevi.
Gunsundari is 1948 Indian Gujarati/Hindi social drama film directed and produced by Ratibhai Punatar. The film was a remake of 1934 film of same name. It was successful.
Jesal Toral is a 1948 Indian Gujarati devotional film written and directed by Chaturbhuj Doshi.
Malavpati Munj is a 1976 Indian Gujarati film directed by Ravindra Dave.
Jogidas Khuman is a 1962 Indian Gujarati social drama film directed by Manhar Raskapur.
Jogidas Khuman is a 1975 Indian Gujarati social drama film directed by Manhar Raskapur.
Mena Gurjari is a 1975 Indian Gujarati film directed by Dinesh Raval. It was produced by Punambhai Patel under banner of Lakshmi Film Laboratory and Studios Pvt. Ltd.. The soundtrack was composed by Dilip Dholakia.
