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H. S. Rawail

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H. S. Rawail
Born
Harnam Singh Rawail

(1921-08-21)21 August 1921
Lyallpur, Punjab, British India
Died17 September 2004(2004-09-17) (aged 83)
Bandra, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
OccupationFilm director
Years active1940–1982
ChildrenRahul Rawail

Harnam Singh Rawail (21 August 1921 – 17 September 2004), often credited as H. S. Rawail, was an Indian filmmaker. He debuted as a director with the 1940 Bollywood film Dorangia Daku and is best known for romantic films like Mere Mehboob (1963), Sunghursh (1968), Mehboob Ki Mehndi (1971) and Laila Majnu (1976). His son Rahul Rawail and nephew Rajat Rawail are film directors too; the former paid a tribute to his father's film Sunghursh by titling one of his film as Jeevan Ek Sanghursh (1990).

Personal life and career

Rawail was born in Lyallpur, Punjab, British India and moved to Mumbai to aspire to be a filmmaker. Later, he moved to Kolkata where he wrote several film scripts and debuted as a director with Dorangia Daku (1940). His three consecutive films; Shukriya (1944), Zid (1945) and Jhoothi Kasmein (1948); were commercial failures. His next film Patanga (1949) was successful and was the seventh highest grossing Bollywood film of 1949.[1] The film is still remembered for the song "Mere Piya Gaye Rangoon" performed by Shamshad Begum.[2]

Later, Rawail's nine consecutive films from 1949 till 1956 did not perform well on the box office. In March 1956, Rawail started with two new projects, Chaalbaaz with Meena Kumari and Baazigar with Vyjayanthimala. Both the films were dropped eventually. However, in 1958 director Nanabhai Bhatt revived both the project starring Nirupa Roy.[3] Rawail took three years sabbatical and returned in 1959 with a comedy film Shararat, starring Raaj Kumar, Kishore Kumar and Meena Kumari. The film was not a commercial success along with his next two films, Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja (1961),[4] starring Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman and Kanch Ki Gudiya (1963) starring Manoj Kumar. But the film brought recognition to Manoj Kumar after having starred in various unsuccessful films before.[5]

Rawail's major success came with 1963 musical film Mere Mehboob starring Rajendra Kumar and Sadhana Shivdasani. Kumar had earlier worked as an assistant director to Rawail.[6] The film was praised for Rawail's direction and is remembered for title song composed by music director Naushad and performed by singers Mohammed Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar.[7] His next film Sunghursh (1968) was based on a novel written by the Bengali author Mahashweta Devi. The film was set in 19th century and showcased the lives of bandits. It was praised for the "exceptional performances" by its actors like Dilip Kumar, Vyjayanthimala, Balraj Sahni, Sanjeev Kumar and Jayant.[8] The actor-director Rakesh Roshan had worked as an assistant director on the film.[9]

His next film Mehboob Ki Mehndi (1971), featuring Rajesh Khanna and Leena Chandavarkar performed average at the box office but was recognised for its music composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal. However, his 1976 film Laila Majnu, starring Rishi Kapoor and Ranjeeta Kaur in lead roles, became a success. Rawail's last film as director Deedar-E-Yaar (1982) was a commercial failure with which he took sabbatical from the film industry.[10]

His son Rahul Rawail is also a film director and is best known for films like Love Story (1981), Betaab (1983), Arjun (1985) and Anjaam (1994). He paid a tribute to his father's "best work" Sunghursh (1968) by titling one of his film as Jeevan Ek Sanghursh (1990).[8] Rawail's grandson Bharat Rawail is an upcoming director, who recently assisted Yash Chopra for his last film, Jab Tak Hai Jaan (2012).[11] Rawail died on 17 September 2004 at the age of 83 in Mumbai.[8]

Filmography

Year Title Director Other
1940 Dorangia Daku Yes
1944 Shukriya Yes
1945 Zid Yes Cinematographer
1948 Jhoothi Kasmein Yes
1949 Patanga Yes
1949 Do Baatein Yes
1951 Sagai Yes
1951 Jawani Ki Aag Yes
1952 Saqi Yes
1953 Shagufta Yes
1953 Lehren Yes
1954 Mastana Yes
1955 Teerandaz Yes
1956 Pocket Maar Yes Writer
1959 Shararat Yes
1961 Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja Yes
1961 Kanch Ki Gudiya Yes
1963 Mere Mehboob Yes Producer
Screenplay Writer
1968 Sunghursh Yes
1971 Mehboob Ki Mehndi Yes Producer
1976 Laila Majnu Yes Screenplay Writer
1982 Deedar-E-Yaar Yes
1987 Dacait Presenter
1992 Bekhudi Presenter
1994 Anjaam Presenter

Awards

National Film Awards
Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards

References

  1. ^ "Box Office 1949". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  2. ^ "Shamshad Begum, voice behind Mere Piya Gaye Rangoon, passes away". niticentral. 24 April 2013. Archived from the original on 25 July 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  3. ^ "स्मरणरंजन" [Memories]. Loksatta (in Marathi). The Indian Express. 28 June 2009. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  4. ^ "Box Office 1961". Box Office India. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  5. ^ Gulzar, Govind Nihalani, Saibal Chatterjee (2003). Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema. Popular Prakashan. p. 585. ISBN 8179910660.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ "Bollywood's Jubilee Star". Rediff.com. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  7. ^ "Mere Mehboob". Radio Times. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  8. ^ a b c Subhash K. Jha (24 September 2004). "H.S. Rawail: Death of a faded giant". Sify. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  9. ^ "I have never worked with latecomers". The Indian Express. 4 February 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  10. ^ "biography of H. S. Rawail". gomolo.com. 11 August 2008. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  11. ^ "SRK, Anushka, Adi to attend Rahul Rawail's son's wedding". Times of India. 31 July 2013. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  12. ^ "11th National Film Awards". International Film Festival of India. Archived from the original on 2 May 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
  13. ^ "1969: 32nd Annual BFJA Awards: Awards For The Year 1968". bfjaawards.com. Archived from the original on 6 May 2008. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
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