Sohrab Modi
Sohrab Merwanji Modi | |
---|---|
Bombay, Maharashtra, India | |
Nationality | Indian |
Organization | Minerva Movietone |
Notable work | Pukar, Sikandar, Prithvi Vallabh, Jhansi Ki Rani, Mirza Ghalib, Jailor, Nausherwan-E-Adil (1957 film) |
Spouse | |
Awards | Dadasaheb Phalke Award (1980) |
Sohrab Merwanji Modi (2 November 1897 – 28 January 1984) was an Indian stage and film actor, director and producer.[1] His films include Khoon Ka Khoon (1935), a version of Shakespeare's Hamlet, Sikandar, Pukar, Prithvi Vallabh, Jhansi ki Rani, Mirza Ghalib, Jailor and Nausherwan-E-Adil (1957). His films always carried a message of strong commitment to social and national issues.[2]
Early life
Sohrab Merwanji Modi was born 2 November 1897 in Bombay.[2] After finishing school, he became travelling exhibitor in Gwalior with his brother Keki Modi. At 16 he used project films in Gwalior's Town Hall and at 26 set up his Arya Subhodh Theatrical Company.[3]
Sohrab began as a
Personal life
Sohrab Modi was born into a Parsi family on 2 November 1897. His father was an Indian civil servant. He spent his childhood in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh where he developed a liking for Hindi and Urdu languages.[4]
Sohrab Modi was married to
Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi initiated Sohrab Modi in his early years of life at Udbodhan in Calcutta. His elder brother informed him about Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. As Sri Ramakrishna left his body by then, he requested spiritual advice from Holy Mother to realize God. Holy Mother instantly gave him Mantra Diksha finding him a worthy recipient.
Biography
He launched Minerva Movietone in 1936.[4] His early films at Minerva dealt with contemporary social issues such as alcoholism in Meetha Zaher (1938) and the right of Hindu women to divorce in Talaq (1938). Though the films did well, what attracted Modi was the historic genre. Minerva Movietone became famous for its trilogy of historical spectaculars that were to follow – Pukar (1939), Sikandar (1941) and Prithvi Vallabh (1943), wherein Modi made the most of his gift for grandiloquence to evoke historical grandeur.
Pukar (1939) was set in the court of the Mughal Emperor
Arguably Modi's greatest film was Sikander (1941), which immortalized Prithviraj Kapoor playing the title role. This epic film was set in 326 BC when Alexander the Great, having conquered Persia and the Kabul Valley, descends on the Indian border at Jhelum and encounters Porus (Modi), who stops the advance with his troops. Sikander's lavish mounting, huge sets, and production values equalled Hollywood's best, particularly in its rousing and spectacular battle scenes. The movie was rated by a British writer as "well up to the standard of that old masterpiece The Birth of a Nation." Its dramatic, declamatory dialogue gave both Prithviraj Kapoor and Sohrab Modi free rein to their histrionic proclivities.
The release of the film coincided with World War II at its peak and in India the political atmosphere was tense following Gandhiji's call to
Prithvi Vallabh was based on
Although Modi went beyond Parsee theatre with such themes as illicit passion (Jailor (1938), remade in 1958) and incest (Bharosa (1940)), his formal approach still remained tied to the theatre. He re-created the look and sound of Parsee theatre by using frontal compositions and staging the narrative in spatial layers with copious use of Urdu dialogue.
In 1946, after his relationship with Naseem had run its course (though she continued to work with him in Sheesh Mahal (1950) and Nausherwan-e-Adil (1957)), he married Mehtab, an actress 20 years his junior whom he had directed in Parakh (1944). Sohrab Modi was 48 years old at that time.[2][4]
In 1950, when Sohrab Modi's Sheesh Mahal was being screened at Minerva Theatre in Bombay, the actor was present at the hall. Mr. Modi noticed a man sitting in the front row with closed eyes. Upset with such a reaction, he asked an attendant to let the viewer out and to return his money. The employee came back to say that the person was blind but had come just to hear Sohrab Modi's lines.
For Jhansi Ki Rani, India's first technicolour film, Modi had technicians flown in from Hollywood. Mehtab starred as the young queen of Jhansi who took up arms against the British during the Mutiny of 1857 with Modi playing the role of the Rajguru, her chief advisor. The film was notable for its authenticity in creating the right period and delineating historical events, its spectacular battle scenes and Mehtab's stirring performance though she was far too old for the role. She achieves stirring dignity in the role as she vows to protect Jhansi from all enemies both within and outside. The ball sequence in Jhansi's palace was superbly shot and Modi's characters held great emotional appeal. The film failed to connect with the audience and was a costly misfire for Modi as a box office crash.[2]
Modi however bounced back with
Though Nausherwan-e-Adil and Samay Bada Balwan (1969) had their moments it is said that Modi's later films did not reach the heights of his earlier work.[2] In Jailor (1958) Modi gave a chilling portrayal of a rational man turned into a tyrant. His last few hits included Kundan (1955), Raj Hath (1956) and Meri Biwi Mere Bachche (1960).
Death and later life
Even after he stopped making films, Sohrab Modi never actually gave up the idea of making one. Even as late as 1982 (when he was 85 years old) and was hardly able to move around, he had the muhurat of 'Guru-dakshina'. As per his wife, people took advantage of his weakness for making a film and they lost a lot of money by way of advance payments etc., since two days after the 'muhurat', Sohrab Modi fell sick and then never recovered. His wife also said in a 1986 interview that Sohrab Modi was obsessed with filmmaking and, in fact, had no other interests.[5]
Sohrab Modi received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1980. He was the tenth recipient of the award. He suffered from cancer of the bone marrow and succumbed to the disease on 28 January 1984 at the age of 86.[2]
Trivia
- In 1960 he was a member of the jury at the 10th Berlin International Film Festival.[7]
- In 2005, the Phalke medallion and some ceramic pieces from Modi's Chor Bazaar.
Filmography
As director
- Khoon Ka Khoon (1935)
- Said-e-Havas (1936)
- Atma Tarang (1937)
- Khan Bahadur (1937)
- Jailor (1938)[2][4]
- Meetha Zahar (1938)[2]
- Pukar (1939)[2]
- Bharosa (1940)
- Taj Mahal (1941)
- Sikandar (1941)[2][4]
- Phir Milenge (1942)
- Prithvi Vallabh (1943)[2]
- Parakh (1944)[2][5]
- Ek Din Ka Sultan (1945)
- Manjhdhar(1947)
- Narasinha Avatar (1949)
- Daulat (1949)
- Sheesh Mahal (1950)[2]
- Jhansi Ki Rani (1953)[2][5][4]
- Mirza Ghalib (1954)[2][4]
- Kundan (1955)
- Raj Hath (1956)
- Nausherwan-E-Adil (1957)[2]
- Jailor (1958)
- Mera Ghar Mere Bachche (1960)
- Samay Bada Balwan (1969)
As actor
Film | Year | Role |
---|---|---|
Khoon Ka Khoon | 1935 | Hamlet |
Said-e-Havas | 1936 | Kazal Beg (Hubert) |
Jailor | 1938 | Jailor |
Meetha Zahar | 1938 | |
Pukar[5] | 1939 | Sardar Sangram Singh |
Sikandar[4] | 1941 | King Porus |
Prithvi Vallabh[4] | 1943 | Munja |
Sheesh Mahal | 1950 | Thakur Jaspal Singh |
Jhansi Ki Rani | 1952 | Raj Guru |
Kundan | 1955 | Kundan |
Raj Hath | 1956 | Raja Babu |
Nausherwan-E-Adil alias Farz Aur Mohabbat | 1957 | Sultan-e-Iran Nausherwan-e-Adil |
Yahudi[2] | 1958 | Ezra, the Jew |
Jailor | 1958 | Dilip |
Pehli Raat | 1959 | |
Woh Koi Aur Hoga | 1967 | |
Noor Jahan | 1967 | Kazi |
Jwala | 1971 | |
Ek Nari Ek Brahmachari | 1971 | Raisaheb Surajbhan Chaudhary |
Razia Sultan |
1983 | Vazir-e-Azam |
References
- ISBN 978-81-7991-066-5. Archivedfrom the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Karan Bali. "Sohrab Modi profile". Upperstall.com website. Archived from the original on 27 November 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
- ISBN 978-81-8328-108-9.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Sohrab Modi (1897 - 1984) - profile on Cineplot.com website Archived 25 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine Published 13 June 2010, Retrieved 27 November 2019
- ^ a b c d e f Yesteryear actress Mehtab remembers her husband Sohrab Modi Archived 23 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine Cineplot.com website (14 September 2013), Retrieved 27 November 2019
- ^ London’s Second Run DVD is rescuing rare arthouse films from obscurity Archived 1 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Scroll.in (29 March 2018). Retrieved on 2018-11-09.
- ^ "10th Berlin International Film Festival: Juries". berlinale.de. Retrieved 27 November 2019.