New Delhi: Today marks the 96th birth anniversary of acclaimed Indian filmmaker, Shakti Samanta.Once an aspiring hero he turned to direction and film making. Samanta directed 37 Hindi films and six Bangla films and co produced the first Indo-Bangladesh production.
He was born in the Burdwan district of the Bengal Presidency of British India in 1926 (present day Bardhaman district of West Bengal).
He debuted in 1954 with “Bahu” which was released in 1955. His most popular films are “Amanush”, “China Town”, “Howrah Bridge”, “Kashmir ki kali”, “An Evening in Paris”, “Aradhana”, “Amar Prem” among others.
Shakti Samanta worked with a plethora of artists, notably Sharmila Tagore, Rajesh Khanna, Madhubala, Shammi Kapoor, Uttam Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Prem Chopra, Nazir Hussain, SD Burman, RD Burman, Geeta Dutt, Asha Bhosle, Shailendra to name just a few.
One of Shakti Samanta’s biggest traits was not his creative storytelling or his skilful use of aesthetics, lighting, camerawork but that of bringing his Bengali roots with him to the screen.
A proud Bengali, he brought his fascination for his home state and its history and culture with him to the big screen, whether it be Bengali literature or the fact that his crew would almost always consist of Bengali talent.
He would never compromise in driving his narratives home and establishing audience character connections while making the characters on screen both film like and yet somehow relatable.
Shakti Samanta won a number of awards in his lifetime including three Filmfare Awards and several Lifetime Achievement Awards such as the Zee Cine Award for Lifetime Achievement besides other Indian organizations.He died at the age of 83, in Mumbai on April 9, 2009.(UNI)