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Kamal Amrohi (17 January 1918 - 11 February 1993) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, and dialogue writer. He was a Shia Muslim and an Urdu and Hindi poet. He is most known for his Hindi films such as Mahal (1949), Pakeezah (1972) and Razia Sultan (1983). He established Kamal Pictures (Mahal Films) in 1953 and Kamalistan Studio in Bombay in 1958.
Kamal Amrohi was born in Amroha, Uttar Pradesh in India and later took on the name Kamal 'Amrohi' (Amrohvi). Raees Amrohvi one of the leading poets of Pakistan who gained immense fame for writing daily couplets for Jang (Pakistan's leading Urdu newspaper) for more than 30 years and Jaun Elia was one of the eminent Urdu poets of the twentieth century. Also from Pakistan were Kamal's cousins who were raised like brothers in the same household. The eldest of these cousins was Syed Mohammed Taqi,at one time,Chief Editor of Jang He enjoyed the repution of being a PHILOSPHER.He is burried in Sakhi Hassan Grave yard in the compound with the other two brothers
In 1938, he left Amroha to study in Lahore, now part of Pakistan, where singer K. L. Saigal discovered him and took him to Mumbai to work for Sohrab Modi's Minerva Movietoon, where he started his career working on films like Jailor (1938), Pukar (1939),Bharosa (1940), Kardar (Shohjeban 1946). He made his debut as a director in 1949, with Mahal, starring Madhubala and Ashok Kumar, which was a musical hit, with songs by Lata Mangeshkar.
He directed only four films. Two were Mahal (1949) for Bombay Talkies and Pakeezah (which was conceived in 1958 but was not brought to the screen until 1972).
He wrote scripts for the movies made by Sohrab Modi, Abdul Rashid Kardar and K. Asif. He was one of the four dialogue writers for the latter's famous 1960 movie, Mughal-e-Azam, for which he won the Filmfare Award.
As a director, he developed a style that combined a stylized direction with minimalist performances. This style was different from the one with expressive acting that was common in Indian cinema of his period. Both Mahal and Pakeezah express Amrohi's personal vision of the world, and it can be said that they are not so much movies as symphonic poems on celluloid.
In 1958, he started Kamaal Studios for his banner Mahal Films, though it closed down after three years and later changed hands to become Natraj Studios.
It was mentioned that the last movie he wanted to make was called Aakhri Mughal. He had written a substantial portion of the script. But it went into oblivion after his death. Noted film maker J P Dutta was to revive the film in the late 1990s which was supposed to have been Abhishekh Bachchan's debut movie. But later Dutta scrapped the project. He was again planning to revive the film in 2007 after the debacle of his costume drama Umrao Jaan (2006) remake from the cult film from the 80s.
Amrohi married three times: His first wife was Bano (who was a maid to Nargis's mother, Jaddan Bai); she died of asthma. His second wife was Mehmoodie. He met Meena Kumari on a set when she was 19 and he was 34. They fell in love and married in 1952. The marriage ended in 1964. They remarried, but Meena Kumari had become an alcoholic by then. She died on 31 March 1972, and Amrohi died on 11 February 1993 in Mumbai, ten years after making his last film, Razia Sultan (1983). He was buried next to Meena Kumari in an Iranian graveyard.
Kamal Amrohi had three children with Mehmoodie: two sons, Shandaar and Taajdaar, both of whom worked with him in Razia Sultan, and a daughter, Rukhsar. Shandaar Amrohi died on Sunday the 21 August 2011 in Goa. He was laid to rest in Mumbai on 22 August.
Filmography
§ Chalia 1938 as a dialogue writer
§ Pukar 1939 asalogue writer
§ Mahal (1949)
§ Daera 1953 as a director
§ Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai 1960 writer
§ Pakeezah 1972 directed
§ Razia Sultan 1983 directed
§ Shankar Hussain - Producer
Us Raat Ki Yaadein Meena Kumari, 1954 Ghutan - Meena Kumari, Dilip Kumar 1955 Mughal-E-Azam (dialogue) Dilip Kumar, Madhubala 1960 Shahjehan (writer) 1946 1945 Phool (dialogue) 1943 Mazaaq (dialogue) 1940 Bharosa (writer) 1940 Main Hari (dialogue) 1938/ Jailor I (story) 1938/ Jailor II (story)
Awards
§ 1961: Filmfare Best Dialogue Award: Mughal E Azam
Source : Wikipedia
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