Babubhai Mistry (5 September 1918 – 20 December 2010) was an Indian film director and

special effects Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual wo ...

pioneer who is best known for his films based on

Hindu mythology Hindu mythology is the body of myths and literature attributed to, and espoused by, the adherents of the Hindu religion, found in Hindu texts such as the Vedic literature, epics like ''Mahabharata'' and ''Ramayana'', the Puranas, and ...

, such as ''

Sampoorna Ramayana ''Sampoorna Ramayana'' () is a 1961 Indian Hindi-language Hindu mythological film directed by Babubhai Mistry, based on the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' by Valmiki, starring Mahipal and Anita Guha as Rama and Sita respectively. The film was a box ...

'' (1961), ''

Mahabharat The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuru ...

'' (1965), and ''

Parasmani ''Parasmani'' ("Philosopher's stone" that converts iron into gold) is a 1963 Indian Hindi-language film. The film is a musical fantasy drama shot partly in Black and White and partly in colour. It was directed by Babubhai Mistri, who is known as ...

'' (1963) and

Mahabharat (1988 TV series) ''Mahabharat'' is an Indian Hindi-language epic television series based on the ancient Sanskrit epic of the same title. The original airing consisted of a total of 94 episodes and were broadcast from 2 October 1988 to 24 June 1990 on Doordarsh ...

In 1999, Mistry received the

Lifetime Achievement Award Lifetime achievement awards are awarded by various organizations, to recognize contributions over the whole of a career, rather than or in addition to single contributions. Such awards, and organizations presenting them, include: A * A.C. ...

at the

Zee Cine Awards The Zee Cine Award (ZCA) is an Indian awards ceremony for the Hindi film industry. They were instituted in November 1997 to award "Excellence in cinema - the democratic way". They were first held in Mumbai until 2004, when the ZCA went internat ...

.Zee awards
''Indian Express'', 1 March 1999. In 2009, he was honored "for his contribution to

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" ...

as the master of special effects" at an event, "Immortal Memories," held to honor the "living legends" of the

Hindi film industry 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 ...

Early life and education

Babubhai was born in area of

Surat Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is ...

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

and studied until class four.

Career

Babubhai was a regular art director for various movies produced by Wadia Movietone owned by JBH and Homi Wadia brothers along with Fearless Nadia. Here he discovered his penchant for handling camera and trick photography. He trained with

Vijay Bhatt Vijay Bhatt (born Vrajlal Jagneshwar Bhatt; 12 May 1907 – 17 October 1993) was a producer-director-screenwriter of Hindi cinema, who made such films as '' Ram Rajya'' (1943), ''Baiju Bawra'' (1952), ''Goonj Uthi Shehnai'' (1959) and '' Himal ...

at Basant Pictures as a special effects director from 1933 to 1937. ''

Khwab Ki Duniya ''Khwab Ki Duniya'' () is a 1937 Hindi fantasy film produced and directed by Vijay Bhatt for Prakash Pictures. The music director was Lallubhai Nayak with lyrics written by Pandit Anuj. The film starred Jayant, with costars Sardar Akhtar, Umakan ...

'' (1937) came to him after Vijay Bhatt asked him to go and watch the American film ''

The Invisible Man ''The Invisible Man'' is a science fiction novel by H. G. Wells. Originally serialized in '' Pearson's Weekly'' in 1897, it was published as a novel the same year. The Invisible Man to whom the title refers is Griffin, a scientist who has devo ...

'' (1933) and later asked whether he would be able to replicate them for a film, thus starting his career in special effects. Gulzar., p. 490 In fact his special effects in the film earned him the nickname ''Kala Dhaga'' (black thread) for the black threads he used in the film for performing various tricks. Thus ''Khwab Ki Duniya'' was the first film in which he was credited as a "trick photographer". In the coming years, he also received acclaim for his effects in Basant Pictures' ''Hatimtai'' (1956) directed by Homi Wadia and Ellis Duncan's ''

Meera Meera, better known as Mirabai and venerated as Sant Meerabai, was a 16th-century Hindu mystic poet and devotee of Krishna. She is a celebrated Bhakti saint, particularly in the North Indian Hindu tradition. Mirabai was born into a Rathore ...

'' (1954). Mistry soon became a director and a cameraman. He started his directing career by co-directing his first two films, '' Muqabala'' (1942) and '' Mauj'' (1943) with

Nanabhai Bhatt Nanabhai Bhatt (12 June 1915 – 24 April 1999) was an Indian film director and producer who worked in Hindi and Gujarati cinema. He is known for making over a hundred fantasy and mythological films, including ''Mr. X'' (1957), ''Zimbo Comes ...

, both starred Fearless Nadia. Over the next four decades, he gathered stories from diverse religious, epical and language texts, such ''

Puranas Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...

'', and went on to direct over 63 fantasy, mythological and religious films, including ''

'' (1961), "a milestone in the history of Hindu mythology", ''

'' (1963) and ''Mahabharat'' (1965). Later, he also remained a consultant for

Ramanand Sagar Chandramauli Chopra ( ; 29 December 1917 – 12 December 2005) known professionally as Ramanand Sagar, was an Indian filmmaker, editor, playwright, poet and an author. He is best known for making the television show ''Ramayan'' (1987-1988). The ...

's television epic series, ''

Ramayan The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages ...

'' (1987-1988). He was also in search of special effects in

B.R. Chopra Baldev Raj Chopra (22 April 1914 – 5 November 2008) was a famous Indian director and producer of Bollywood industry and television series . Best known for directing Hindi films like '' Naya Daur'' (1957), '' Sadhna'' (1958), '' Kanoon'' (196 ...

. In 2005, at the annual MAMI festival, he was awarded the Kodak Trophy for Technical Excellence for his contribution to Indian cinema. Dawyer, p. 44

Filmography

;Director * '' Muqabala'' (1942) * '' Mauj'' (1943) * ''

'' (1961) * ''King Kong'' (1962) * ''

'' (1963) * ''

'' (1965) * ''

Bhagwan Parshuram ''Bhagwan Parshuram'' is a 1970 Indian Hindi language drama film directed by Babubhai Mistry. The film stars Abhi Bhattacharya and Jayshree Gadkar. Plot This is the story of Lord Parshuram, who beheads his mother in the beginning to prove the ...

'' (1970) * ''Daku Man Singh'' (1971) * ''

Saat Sawal ''Saat Sawal'' is a 1971 Bollywood adventure film directed by Babubhai Mistry. The film stars Neville Symons and Heena Kumari. Cast * Naval Kumar as Hatim-Al-Tai * Heena Kumari as Gulnar Pari / Husna Pari * Shyam Kumar as Munir Shah * Yusu ...

'' (1971) * '' Hanuman Vijay'' (1974) * ''Alakh Niranjan'' (1975) * '' Maya Maschindra'' (1975) * '' Amar Suhagin'' (1978) * ''

Har Har Gange ''Har Har Gange'' is a 1979 Bollywood film directed by Babubhai Mistri. It stars Neera, Ashish Kumar, Anjana Mumtaz in the lead roles. The music is composed by Ravindra Jain and the lyrics are penned by Bharat Vyas. It is a color remake of the ...

'' (1979) * ''

Sant Ravidas Ki Amar Kahani ''Sant Ravidas Ki Amar Kahani'' is a 1983 Indian devotional movie based on renowned saint Ravidas, directed by Babubhai Mistri, with music by Chitragupt Chitragupta (Sanskrit: चित्रगुप्त, 'rich in secrets' or 'hidden pic ...

'' (1983) * ''

Kalyug Aur Ramayan ''Kalyug Aur Ramayan'' () is a 1987 Indian Hindi-language drama film starring Manoj Kumar, Madhavi, Prem Chopra, Om Prakash, Bindu and Rajiv Goswami. The film, a modern adaptation of the ancient Indian epic '' Ramayana'', was directed by Bab ...

'' (1987) * ''

Hatim Tai Hatim al-Tai ( ar, حاتم الطائي, ''Hatim of the Tayy tribe''; died 578), full name Ḥātim bin ʿAbd Allāh bin Saʿd aṭ-Ṭāʾiyy ( ar, حاتم بن عبد الله بن سعد الطائي) was the ruling prince and poet of the T ...

'' (1990) *''Mahamayi'' (1991) (Tamil) ;Special effects * ''

'' (1937) * '' Aladdin Aur Jadui Chirag'' (1952) * '' Jungle Ka Jawahar'' 1953 * ''

'' (1956) * ''

'' (1954) * '' Zimbo'' (1958) * '' Angulimaal'' (1960) * ''

Guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan- Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential ...

'' (1980) ;Cinematographer * '' Kaash'' (1993)

Notes

References

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External links