Shakti Samanta (13 January 1926 – 9 April 2009) was an Indian film director and producer, who founded Shakti Films in 1957, which is most known for films such as ''

Anand Ashram ''Anand Ashram'' () is a 1977 Indian drama film written and directed by Shakti Samanta, based on a story by film director and novelist, Sailajananda Mukhopadhyay. It starred Ashok Kumar, Uttam Kumar and Sharmila Tagore in lead roles. This film ...

'' (1977), Anusandhan /'' Barsaat Ki Ek Raat'' (1981), ''anay abhichar'' ( 1982) '', ''

Howrah Bridge The Howrah Bridge is a balanced cantilever bridge over the Hooghly River in West Bengal. Commissioned in 1943, the bridge was originally named the New Howrah Bridge, because it replaced a pontoon bridge at the same location linking the cities ...

'' (1958), ''

Insan Jaag Utha ''Insan Jaag Utha'' () is a 1959 Hindi-language social drama film, produced and directed by Shakti Samanta, and written by Nabendu Ghosh and Vrajendra Gaur, based on a story by Saroj Mitra. The film stars Madhubala, Sunil Dutt, Nasir Hussain, ...

'' (1959), ''

China Town A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Aust ...

'' (1962), ''

Kashmir Ki Kali ''Kashmir Ki Kali'' () is a 1964 Indian Hindi-language romance film directed by Shakti Samanta. The film stars Shammi Kapoor, Sharmila Tagore in her Hindi movie debut role, Pran, Dhumal, Nazir Hussain and Anoop Kumar. The music was compose ...

'' (1964), ''

An Evening in Paris ''An Evening In Paris'' (Hindi: ''Paris Ki Ek Shaam'') is a 1967 Indian romantic thriller film produced and directed by Shakti Samanta, with story by Sachin Bhowmick. It revolves in the French capital city of Paris. It stars Shammi Kapoor, Sh ...

'' (1967), '' Aradhana'' (1969), ''

Kati Patang ''Kati Patang'' () is a 1971 Indian Hindi-language musical drama film produced and directed by Shakti Samanta. It was a box office success. The film stars Asha Parekh as a woman pretending to be a widow, and her ensuing trials and tribulations ...

'' (1971), and ''

Amar Prem ''Amar Prem'' () is a 1972 Indian Hindi romantic drama film directed by Shakti Samanta. It is a remake of the Bengali film '' Nishi Padma'' (1970), directed by Arabinda Mukherjee, who wrote screenplay for both the films based on the Bengali s ...

'' (1972), '' Amanush''. . He received

Filmfare Award The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...

s for

Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

for '' Aradhana'' (1969), '' Anuraag'' (1973) and '' Amanush'', which was also made in Bengali, a language in which he made six films, including an Indo-Bangladesh joint production in 1984.

Early life and education

He was born in the village of Bokra (post office: Raina), in the district of

Purba Bardhaman Purba Bardhaman district is in West Bengal. Its headquarters is in Bardhaman. It was formed on 7 April 2017 after the division of the previous Bardhaman district. Great revolutionary Rash Behari Bose was born in village Subaldaha in the district ...

, in the

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. He received his education at

Dehradun Dehradun () is the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of the eponymous district and is governed by the Dehradun Municipal Corporation, with the Uttarakhand Legislative As ...

, staying with his uncle. He graduated in 1944 from

Calcutta University The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every year, C ...

Career

After completing his education he wanted to become an actor in the Hindi film industry at Bombay, so moved closer to the city. He took a school teacher's job in

Dapoli Dapoli is a town in Ratnagiri district, Maharashtra which is also a coastal hill station. It lies south of the state capital of Mumbai. the town is also known as Camp Dapoli, as the British had set their camps here. Many high-ranking British o ...

, about 200 kilometres from Mumbai. He eventually joined the film industry in 1948 as an assistant director starting with Satish Nigam in

Raj Kapoor Raj Kapoor (pronunciation: �aːd͡ʒ kəpuːɾ born Shrishti Nath Kapoor; also known as Ranbir Raj Kapoor; 14 December 1924 2 June 1988) was an Indian actor, film director and producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. He is considered one of th ...

starrer ''Sunhere Din'', subsequently he worked with directors like

Gyan Mukherjee Gyan Mukherjee (30 September 1909 – 13 November 1956) was an Indian film director and screenwriter, who worked in Hindi cinema, best known for the hits '' Jhoola'' (1941) and '' Kismet'' (1943). Early life Mukherjee was born on 30 Septembe ...

, and

Phani Majumdar Phani Majumdar was a pioneering Indian film director, who worked in Hindi cinema, most known for his film '' Street Singer'' (1938) starring K.L. Saigal noted for its song, ''Babul Mora Naihar Chhooto Jaye'', Meena Kumari classic ''Aarti'' (19 ...

Bombay Talkies Bombay Talkies was a movie studio founded in 1934. During its period of operation, Bombay Talkies produced 40 movies in Malad, a suburb of the Indian city of Bombay. The studio was established in 1934 by Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani. After R ...

, in ''Tamasha'', ''Baadbaan'' and '' Dhobi Doctor''. Eventually he got his break as an independent director when Samanta directed his first feature film, ''Bahu'' in 1954, starring Karan Dewan, Usha Kiron, Shashikala and PranGolden banner
Rajiv Vijayakar. ''

Screen Screen or Screens may refer to: Arts * Screen printing (also called ''silkscreening''), a method of printing * Big screen, a nickname associated with the motion picture industry * Split screen (filmmaking), a film composition paradigm in which mul ...

'', 11 July 2008. and after the success for his next few films, '' Inspector'' (1956), ''Sheroo'' (1956), ''Detective'' (1957) and ''Hill Station'' (1957), he started his own production company, ''Shakti Films'', in 1957, and the first release of his independent banner was the murder-mystery ''

'', with

Ashok Kumar Kumudlal Ganguly (13 October 1911 – 10 December 2001), better known by his stage name Ashok Kumar and also by Dadamoni, was an Indian actor who attained iconic status in Indian cinema and who was a member of the cinematic Ganguly family. He ...

and

Madhubala Madhubala (born Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi; 14 February 1933 – 23 February 1969) was an Indian actress and producer who worked in Hindi-language films. She ranked as one of the highest-paid entertainers in India in the post-independence era, ...

as the lead, with its crooning number 'Aaiye Meherbaan' with music by

O. P. Nayyar Omkar Prasad Nayyar (16 January 1926 – 28 January 2007) was an Indian film music composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, and musician. He is considered to be one of the most rhythmic and melodious music directors of the Hindi film industr ...

, sung by

Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in th ...

in a notable

Geeta Dutt Geeta Dutt (born Geeta Ghosh Roy Chowdhuri; 23 November 1930 – 20 July 1972) was an Indian playback singer and a famous Hindi and Bengali classical artist, born in Faridpur before the Partition of India. She found particular prominence as a ...

style, and picturised on Madhubala became a rage, and the film a breakthrough hit; this was a turning point.Five decades of Shakti Films
''

'', 12 December 2008. With ''

Insaan Jaag Utha ''Insan Jaag Utha'' () is a List of Bollywood films of 1959, 1959 Hindi-language social drama film, produced and directed by Shakti Samanta, and written by Nabendu Ghosh and Vrajendra Gaur, based on a story by Saroj Mitra. The film stars Madhu ...

'' (1959) starring Sunil Dutt and

, he wanted to shift to making films on social themes, but when it was unsuccessful, he shifted back to making entertainers for another decade, for returning to social themes, with ''Aradhana'' (1969). In all, Samanta directed 43 feature films, including 37

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

, and 6

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

films. His best known films include ''Howrah Bridge'', ''China Town'', ''Kashmir Ki Kali'', ''Sawan Ki Ghata'' and ''An Evening in Paris''. He is credited for starting the trend of making double version films in

and

with ''Amanush'' in 1974, and also made the first co-produced film between

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

in 1984. Samanta was among the directors who worked with

Shammi Kapoor Shammi Kapoor (born Shamsher Raj Kapoor; (pronounced �ʌmːi kʌpuːɾ 21 October 1931 – 14 August 2011) was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of two Filmfare Awards, winning in the categories of Best Actor for ...

in the late 1950s and up to the mid '60s, then with

Sharmila Tagore Sharmila Tagore (also known as Begum Ayesha Sultana; born 8 December 1944) is a retired Indian actress, primarily known for her work in Hindi and Bengali cinema, Tagore is the recipient of two National Film Awards, a Filmfare Award, and the F ...

, Rajesh Khanna, creating a number of classics such as '' Aradhana'', ''

'', ''

Anurodh ''Anurodh'' (English: ''Request'') is a 1977 Hindi musical drama film, based on the 1963 Bengali film ''Deya Neya'', produced by Girija Samanta and directed by Shakti Samanta. The film stars Rajesh Khanna, Vinod Mehra, Simple Kapadia who ma ...

'' and ''

''. However, his movies with Amitabh Bachchan were not major hits. On some of his films, his brother and wife were producers. He also produced some of the films that his son,

Ashim Samanta Ashim Samanta is an Indian film and television director and producer, and the son of film director and Shakti Films founder Shakti Samanta. Shortly after receiving his bachelor's degree in commerce from Bombay University in 1976, Samanta start ...

, directed. In 1985, Shakti Films established 'Aradhana Sound Service', a digital audio post-production facility which works both for

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

as well as Hollywood films. Samanta died of cardiac arrest at his suburban Santa Cruz residence at approximately 5pm on 9 April 2009, while undergoing physiotherapy. He was recovering from a stroke he had suffered two months ago.

Legacy

Three of his classics, ''Howrah Bridge'', ''Aradhana'' and '' Barsaat Ki Ek Raat'', starring Amitabh Bachchan and Raakhee, are to be turned into animation films by '

Pritish Nandy Pritish Nandy (born 15 January 1951) is an Indian poet, painter, journalist, parliamentarian, media and television personality, animal activist and maker of films, TV and streaming content. He was a parliamentarian in the Rajya Sabha from Mahara ...

Communications'

Awards and recognition

Samanta received

s for "

" for '' Aradhana'', '' Anuraag'' and '' Amanush''. He has also received several Lifetime Achievement awards, including the

Zee Cine Award for Lifetime Achievement The Zee Cine Award for Lifetime Achievement is given to someone who is at the verge of retiring from films and it is to commemorate his/her career at the limelight. List of Honourees The respected people are listed below:- See also * Zee ...

in 2002 and several other awards from Zee and other Indian organisations. Some of his films have been shown at international festivals in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of 2 ...

, Moscow,

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

and

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

. Samanta was President of the Indian Motion Pictures Producers Association for 5 years, Chairman of the

Central Board of Film Certification 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 provision ...

( CBFC) for 7 years and was Chairman of the

Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) is a film and television institute located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Named after Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray, the institute provides higher and professional education and technical exp ...

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

for 2 years.

Filmography

;Director * ''Bahu'' (1955) * '' Inspector'' (1956) * ''Hill Station'' (1957) * ''Sheroo'' (1957) * ''

'' (1958) * '' Detective'' (1958) * ''

'' (1959) * ''

Jaali Note ''Jaali Note'' () is a 1960 Hindi-language crime film directed by Shakti Samanta, based on the theme of counterfeit money. It stars Dev Anand and Madhubala, along with Helen, Madan Puri, Om Prakash. The film was unsuccessful with critics but ...

'' (1960) * ''

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

'' (1960) * '' Isi Ka Naam Duniya Hai'' (1962) * ''

Naughty Boy Shahid Khan ( ur, شاهد خان; born 1 January 1981), better known by his stage name Naughty Boy, is a British DJ, record producer, songwriter and musician. In 2012, Khan signed a three–year publishing deal with Sony ATV, as well as a rec ...

'' (1962) * ''

'' (1962) * ''Ek Raaz'' (1963) * ''

'' (1964) * ''

Sawan Ki Ghata ''Sawan Ki Ghata'' () is a 1966 Bollywood musical romance produced and directed by Shakti Samanta. It stars Manoj Kumar, Sharmila Tagore, Mumtaz in lead roles, along with Pran, Jeevan, Madan Puri in other important roles. The music was compo ...

'' (1966) * ''

'' (1967) * '' Aradhana'' (1969) * ''

'' (1970) * ''

Pagla Kahin Ka ''Pagla Kahin Ka'' (''Such a Fool'') is a 1970 Indian Hindi-language romance film directed by Shakti Samanta. It stars Shammi Kapoor, Asha Parekh, Helen and Prem Chopra, all of whom had earlier starred in the huge hit Teesri Manzil (1966). The fi ...

'' (1970) * '' Jaane-Anjaane'' (1971) * ''

'' (1971) * '' Anuraag'' (1972) * '' Charitraheen'' (1974) * '' Ajanabee'' (1974) * '' Amanush'' (1975) * '' Mehbooba'' (1976) * ''

'' (1977) * ''

The Great Gambler ''The Great Gambler'' is a 1979 Indian crime action film directed by Shakti Samanta. The film stars Amitabh Bachchan, Zeenat Aman, Neetu Singh in lead roles. It was based on the Bengali novel ''Great Gambler'' by Vikramaditya. The film's stor ...

'' (1979) * '' Khwaab'' (1980) * '' Barsaat Ki Ek Raat'' (1981) * '' Ayaash'' (1982) * ''

Awaaz Awaaz (transl. ''Voice'') is a 1984 Hindi action crime film directed by Shakti Samanta with Rajesh Khanna in the lead role and supported by Jaya Prada, Rakesh Roshan, Suresh Oberoi, Supriya Pathak, Iftekar, Prem Chopra, Madan Puri and Amris ...

'' (1984) * ''

Alag Alag ''Alag Alag'' is a 1985 Hindi film starring Shashi Kapoor, Rajesh Khanna and Tina Munim in the lead roles, produced by Rajesh Khanna and directed by one of his favourite directors Shakti Samanta. The film is best remembered for the way it was sh ...

'' (1985) * ''

Aar Paar ''Aar Paar'' () is a 1954 Indian Hindi-language noir comedy film. Directed by Guru Dutt, it has music by O.P. Nayyar and lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri. ''Aar-Paar'' stars Johnny Walker, Shyama, Shakila, Jagdeep, Jagdish Sethi. Raj Khosla a ...

'' (1985) * ''Anyay Abichar'' (1985) * ''

Andha Bichar ''Andha Bichar'' ( blind judgement) is an action Bengali film made in 1990. A revenge drama, this film also re-made the Hindi film Dushman. Plot A fast-paced action thriller, with Mithun Chakraborty as the lead. Rakesh (Chakraborty) – a sma ...

'' (1990) * '' Dushman'' (1990) * ''

Geetanjali __NOTOC__ ''Gitanjali'' ( bn, গীতাঞ্জলি, lit='Song offering') is a collection of poems by the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore. Tagore received the Nobel Prize for Literature, for the English translation, Gitanjali:''Song Offer ...

'' (1993) * ''

Devdas ''Devdas'' ( bn, দেবদাস, transliterated as ''Debdās'') is a Bengali romance novel written by Sarat Chandra Chatterjee. The story pivots a tragic triangle linking Devdas, an archetypal lover in viraha (separation); Paro, his forbidd ...

'' (2002) ;Producer * '' Balika Badhu'' (1976) * '' Achena Atithi'' (1997)Shakti Samanta – Filmography
''Upperstall.com''.

References

External links

*
Shakti Samanta Panorama
at ''Indian Auteur'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Samanta, Shakti 1926 births 2009 deaths Bengali film directors Filmfare Awards winners Hindi-language film directors 21st-century Indian film directors Film producers from West Bengal People from Purba Bardhaman district University of Calcutta alumni Indian male screenwriters Bengali Hindus 20th-century Indian film directors Film directors from West Bengal 20th-century Indian screenwriters 20th-century Indian male writers