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Chaturbhuj Doshi (1894–1969) was a Hindi and Gujarati writer-director of Indian cinema. He was one of the top Gujarati screenplay writers, who helped script stories for the Punatar productions. He is stated to be one of the leading figures who launched the Gujarati film industry with work on notable films like Gunsundari (1948) and Nanand Bhojai (1948).[1] Doshi, was “well known” for his family socials and had become “a celebrity in his own right”.[2] He made a name for himself as a journalist initially and was referred to as the "famous journalist" and publicist by Baburao Patel, editor of Filmindia.[3]
Chaturbhuj Doshi | |
|---|---|
.jpg) From Filmindia September 1938 | |
| Born | Chaturbhuj Anandji Doshi 1894 |
| Died | 21 January 1969 Bombay, Maharashtra, India |
| Occupation(s) | Writer, director |
| Years active | 1938–1958 (as director) |
His debut film as a director was Gorakh Aya (1938), produced by Ranjit Movietone,[4] though he joined Ranjit in 1929, as a scriptwriter. In 1938, he directed another film for Ranjit, a social comedy, The Secretary, and both films were box-office successes for Doshi. His forte was socials, regularly adapting stories and novels for films. He worked initially on comedies like Secretary and Musafir (1940), but then "shifted to more significant films".[5]
Chaturbhuj Anandji Doshi was born in Kathiawar, Gujarat, British India. He was educated at the University of Bombay, and after graduation he started work as a journalist for a daily, Hindustan (1926), working for editor Indulal Yagnik. His entry into films was working as a scenarist in the silent era for directors like Jayant Desai, Nandlal Jaswantlal, and Nanubhai Vakil. He joined Ranjit Movietone in 1929, and wrote stories and screenplay for several of Ranjit films.[1][6]
Gorakh Aya (Gorakh has come) in 1938, was the first film directed by Doshi. It was produced by Ranjit Movietone with screenplay by Gunvantrai Acharya and dialogues by P. L. Santoshi. The music, termed "good" was composed by Gyan Dutt. Baburao Patel's review in the September 1938 issue was favourable to the director "Directed by a man who enjoys a good reputation as a journalist… Mr. Chaturbhuj Doshi has given an excellent account of himself as a director considering that this is his very first effort", claiming it to be the "best picture coming out during the year from the Ranjit Studio".[4]
The Secretary in 1938, was a "riotous comedy", starring Madhuri as a rich heiress in love with her secretary played by Trilok Kapoor. Charlie played the third angle causing friction, and was described as the "mainstay" of the film.[5] The music was composed by Gyan Dutt, who became a regular in most of the films directed by Doshi.
Musafir in 1940 was a comedy costume drama, which had Charlie playing a prince who on his return finds his kingdom in disarray. Baburao Patel commended his acting in Filmindia, calling him "versatile" and "inimitable".[7]
Bhakta Surdas, a devotional film directed by Doshi in 1942, is stated to be the "most famous" of the several versions made. It starred K. L. Saigal and Khursheed "the singing idol(s) of millions", winning "unprecedented popularity" everywhere.[8]
Maheman (1942) starred Madhuri, Ishwarlal, Shamim and Mubarak. Music director Bulo C. Rani had come to Bombay in 1942, and joined Ranjit Studios assisting Khemchand Prakash in music direction. Prakash gave him a song to sing in Mehman, "Rootha Pyar Mein", which was "appreciated" and became a "popular number".[1][9]
Doshi helped enormously in the development of the Gujarati cinema. During 1948-49 he directed three successful Gujarati films which "brought immense success to the industry". The success of the Gujarati film Kariyavar in 1948, directed by Chaturbhuj Doshi from a story by Shayda, called Vanzari Vaav, helped establish the Gujarati film industry along with other films like Vadilona Vanke (1948) by Ramchandra Thakur and Gadano Bel (1950) by Ratibhai Punatar.[10] His next Gujarati film was Jesal Toral (1948) based on folklore, which proved a big box-office success.[11] In 1949, Doshi directed another Gujarati film, Vevishal, an adaptation of Meghani's novel of the same name.[12]
He also wrote stories, and one of his stories Pati Bhakti was used in the Tamil film En Kanawar (1948) produced by Ajit Pictures, which starred the Veena maestro, S. Balachander, who was also the debut director and music composer for the film.[13]
Chaturbhuj Doshi died on 21 January 1969 in Bombay, Maharashtra, India.[6]
| Year | Film | Cast | Composer | Studio/Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | Gorakh Aya (Gorakh Has Come) | Mazhar Khan, Trilok Kapoor, Kalyani, Rajkumari | Gyan Dutt | Ranjit Movietone |
| 1938 | The Secretary | Madhuri, Trilok Kapoor, Charlie, Kalyani, Wahidan, Rajkumari | Gyan Dutt | Ranjit Movietone |
| 1939 | Adhuri Kahani (Incomplete Story) | Durga Khote, Prithviraj Kapoor, Rose, Keshavrao Date, Ishwarlal | Gyan Dutt | Ranjit |
| 1940 | Musafir (Traveller) | Charlie, Khursheed, Ishwarlal, Vasanti, Yakub | Gyan Dutt | Ranjit |
| 1941 | Sasural (In-Laws) | Motilal, Madhuri, Nurjehan, Tarabai | Gyan Dutt | Ranjit |
| 1941 | Pardesi (Foreigner) | Motilal, Khursheed, Snehprabha, E. Bilimoria | Khemchand Prakash | Ranjit Movietone |
| 1942 | Maheman (The Guest) | Madhuri, Ishwarlal, Shamim, Rama Shukal, Mubarak | Khemchand Prakash | Ranjit Movietone |
| 1942 | Dhiraj (Patience) | Sitara Devi, Ishwarlal, Kesari, Nurjehan | Gyan Dutt | Ranjit |
| 1942 | Bhakta Surdas (Worshipper Surdas) | K. L. Saigal, Khursheed, Monica Desai, Nagendra | Gyan Dutt | Ranjit |
| 1943 | Shankar Parvati | Sadhana Bose, Aroon, Kamala Chatterjee, Brijmala.Bhagwandas | Gyan Dutt | Ranjit |
| 1943 | Chhoti Maa (The Nurse) | Khurshid, Aroon, Prabha, Anil Kumar | Gyan Dutt | Ranjit |
| 1944 | Bhartrahari | Surendra, Mumtaz Shanti, Kajjan, Aroon, Sulochana Chatterji, Yashwant Dave | Khemchand Prakash | Navin Pics |
| 1945 | Moorti (The Idol) | Motilal, Padma Banerjee, Khurshid, Yashwant Dave | Bulo C. Rani | Ranjit |
| 1946 | Phoolwari (The Bower) | Khursheed, Motilal, Dixit, Madhubala | Hansraj Behl | Ranjit |
| 1947 | Hothal Padmini | |||
| 1947 | Kaun Hamara (Who's Ours?) | Roopa, Nihal, Dixit, Bipin Gupta | Bulo C. Rani | Ranjit |
| 1947 | Bela | Nigar Sultana, P. Jairaj, S. N. Tripathi, Krishna Kumari | Bulo C. Rani | Ranjit |
| 1948 | Sati Sone | |||
| 1948 | Kariyavar (Dowry) | Dina Sanghvi, Dhulia, Shobha | Ajit Merchant | Sagar Movietone, based on the novel Vanzari Vaav by Shayda |
| 1948 | Jesal Toral | Rani Pramlata, Chhanalal, Chimanlal | Avinash Vyas | |
| 1949 | Vevishal (Engagement) | Ushakumari, Motibai, Mumtaz, Chandrarekha, Ghanshyam, Chandravadan Bhatt, Bhagwandas, Babaldas, Bhogilal, Vitthaldas | Mohan Jr., Ramesh Desai | Kirti Pictures, based on Jhaverchand Meghani's novel of same name |
| 1949 | Bhakta Puran (The Story Of Worshippers) | |||
| 1950 | Ramtaram | |||
| 1950 | Kis Ki Yaad (Remembrance) | Sulochana Chatterji, Bharat Bhushan, Jeevan, Paro, Veena | Hansraj Behl | Paro Art |
| 1950 | Akhand Saubhagya (Immortal Husband) | |||
| 1954 | Aurat Teri Yehi Kahani (O Womankind, This is Your Story) | Nirupa Roy, Bharat Bhushan, Sulochana, Chandrashekhar | Bulo C. Rani | Bulo C. Rani, Ranjit Studios |
| 1956 | Dassehra | Nirupa Roy, Shahu Modak, Gajanan Jagirdar, Daisy Irani | N. Dutta | Navkala Niketan |
| 1956 | Aabroo | Kishore Kumar, Kamini Kaushal, Smriti Biswas, Madan Puri | Bulo C. Rani | Uma Chitra |
| 1957 | Shesh Naag | Shahu Modak, Nirupa Roy, Sulochana | Ajit Pictures | |
| 1957 | Khuda Ka Banda (God's Beloved) | Chandrashekhar, Krishna Kumari, Tiwari, Gope, Kanhaiyalal | S. N. Tripathi | Chitra Bharti |
| 1958 | Sanskar (Culture) | Ameeta, Jayshree Gadkar, Anant Kumar, Yakub, Ranjana | Anil Biswas | Filmistan |
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