Sohrab Modi
Encyclopedia
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n Parsi stage and film actor, director and producer. His films include Khoon Ka Khoon (1935), a version of Shakespeare's Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
, Sikandar, Pukar, Prithvi Vallabh, Jhansi ki Rani, Mirza Ghalib, and Nausherwan-e-dil (1957). His films always carried a message of strong commitment to social and national issues. A whole generation's image of history is based on his historical films.
Biography
Sohrab Merwanji Modi was born 2 November 1897 in Bombay. 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.. Sohrab began as a Parsi stage actor with some experience in silent films. He earned quite a reputation as a Shakespearean actor, travelling throughout India with his brother's theatrical company and enjoying the tremendous sense of fulfillment every time the curtain came down and the audience applauded. However, with the advent of the sound film in 1931, theatre was declining. To rescue this dying art, Modi set up the Stage Film Company in 1935. His first two films were filmed versions of plays. Khoon ka Khoon (1935) was an adaptation of Hamlet and marked Naseem Bano's acting debut. The second, Saed-e-Havas (1936) was based on Shakespeare's King John. Both films failed.He then launched Minerva Movietone in 1936. 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), Sikander (1941) and Prithvi Vallabh (1943), wherein Modi made the most of his gift for grandiloquence to evoke historical grandeur.
Pukar was set in the court of the Mughal Emperor Jehangir and is based on an incident, perhaps fictional, that highlights Jehangir's fair sense of justice. Many of the key scenes were staged in the magnificent courts and palaces of the Mughals, which gave the film an authenticity that studio built sets could never achieve. The charisma of its stars, Chandramohan and Naseem Bano, and Kamaal Amrohi's oration, with its literary flourish and innate grace, ensured the film's popularity.
Perhaps Modi's greatest film was Sikander, 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. Sikanders 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
The Birth of a Nation
The Birth of a Nation is a 1915 American silent film directed by D. W. Griffith and based on the novel and play The Clansman, both by Thomas Dixon, Jr. Griffith also co-wrote the screenplay , and co-produced the film . It was released on February 8, 1915...
." 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 Civil Disobedience. Sikander further aroused patriotic feelings and national sentiment. Thus, though Sikander was approved by the Bombay censor board, it was later banned from some of the theatres serving army cantonments. However, its appeal to nationalism was so great and direct, it remained popular for years. It was revived in Delhi in 1961 during the Indian March into Goa.
Prithvi Vallabh was based on K.M. Munshi's novel of the same name. The film's major highlights were the confrontations between Modi and Durga Khote
Durga Khote
Durga Khote was an Indian actress, starting as one of the foremost leading ladies of her times, she remained active in Hindi and Marathi cinema, as well as theatre, for over 50 years, starring in around 200 films and numerous theatre productions....
, the haughty queen Mrinalvati, who tries to humiliate him publicly but then falls in love with him.
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).
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 (1953), 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 essaying 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 without. The ball sequence in Jhansi's palace was superbly shot and Modi's characters held great emotional appeal. Sadly the film failed to connect with the audience and was a costly misfire for Modi as a box office crash.
Modi however bounced back with Mirza Ghalib (1954). The film, based on the life of the great Indian poet who lived during the reign of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last of the Mughal Emperors, won the President's Gold Medal for Best Feature Film of 1954. The film beautifully captured the mood of the period, its hedonistic pursuits and the fading magnificence of the court of the last Mughal, where poets like Zauq, Momin, Tishna, Shefta and Ghalib assembled to recite their verse. Mirza Ghalib also saw Suraiya's finest dramatic performance as she embodied the role of the married Ghalib's lover, a courtesan. Ghalib also saw some of her finest singing - "Aah ko Chaihiye Ek Umar," "Nuktacheen Hai Gham-e-Dil," "Dil-e-Nadaan Tujhe Hua Kya Hai," "Yeh Na Thi Humari Kismet," etc. Her singing is to date regarded as the definitive portrayal of Ghalib. In fact India's then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru paid her the ultimate compliment by telling her she had brought Mirza Ghalib to life. ("Tumne Mirza Ghalib ki Rooh ko Zinda Kar Diya").
Though Kundan (1955), Nausherwan-e-Adil and Jailor (1958) had their moments, particularly the latter in which Modi gave a chilling portrayal of a rational man turned into a tyrant, Modi's later films did not reach the heights of his earlier work.
In 1960 he was a member of the jury at the 10th Berlin International Film Festival
10th Berlin International Film Festival
The 10th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 24 June to 5 July 1960.-Jury:* Harold Lloyd * Georges Auric* Henry Reed* Sohrab Modi* Floris Luigi Ammannati* Hidemi Ima* Joaquín de Entrambasaguas* Frank Wisbar...
.
Sohrab Modi received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award
Dadasaheb Phalke Award
The Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in cinema given annually by the Government of India for lifetime contribution to Indian cinema. It was instituted in 1969, the birth centenary year of Dadasaheb Phalke, considered as the father of Indian cinema.The award for a particular year is...
in 1980. He was the tenth recipient of the award. In 2005, the Phalke medallion and some ceramic pieces from Modi's Cuffe Parade
Cuffe Parade
Cuffe Parade is an upmarket neighbourhood in South Mumbai. It is in the southernmost region of the city just north of Navy Nagar. To the north of Cuffe Parade lies Badhwar Park, Ambedkar Nagar the slum area of the Cuffe Parade.-History:...
home were sold to Mumbai's most resourceful and notorious antiques market, Chor Bazaar
Chor Bazaar
Chor Bazaar , located near Bhendi Bazaar in South Mumbai, is one of the largest flea markets in India. The word Chor means "thief" in Hindi-Urdu. Initially, though , it was called Shor Bazaar; Shor in Hindi meaning Noise. The place was noisy and full of chaos. It still remains so...
.
Sohrab Modi died of cancer on 28 January 1984 at the age of 86.
Filmography (as actor)
- Khoon Ka Khoon (1935) .... Hamlet
- Jailor (1938) .... The Jailor
- PukarPukar (1939 film)Pukar is a 1939 Urdu film produced and directed by Sohrab Modi at production house, Minerva movietone. The film is about Mughal emperor Jehangir's legendary justice and focuses how Jehangir offers himself to be killed when a washerwoman accuses the empress Noorjehan of killing her husband in a...
(1939) .... Sardar Sangram Singh - Sikandar (1941) .... King Porus
- Prithvi Vallabh (1943) .... Munja
- Sheesh Mahal (1950) .... Thakur Jaspal Singh
- Jhansi Ki Rani (1952) .... Raj Guru
- KundanKundanKundan keshri is a traditional South Asian gemstone jewellery, a method of gem setting in a jewellery piece, consisting of inserting gold foil between the stones and its mount, usually used to create elaborate necklaces believed to have originated in the royal courts of Rajasthan and Gujarat...
(1955) .... Kundan - Raj Hath (1956) .... Raja Babu
- Nausherwan-E-Adil (1957) .... King Nausherwan-e-Adil
- YahudiYahudiYahudi is a 1958 Bollywood film directed by Bimal Roy. It starred Dilip Kumar, Meena Kumari, Sohrab Modi, Nasir Hussain, Nigar Sultana and others....
(1958) .... Ezra, the Jew - Jailor (1958) .... Dilip
- Pehli Raat (1959)
- Woh Koi Aur Hoga (1967)
- JwalaJwalaJwala is a 1971 Bollywood action film directed by M.V. Raman. The film stars Sunil Dutt and Madhubala. This was Madhubala's last film, released two years after her death in 1969. This is also her only film, that is completely shot in color....
(1971) - Ek Nari Ek BrahmachariEk Nari Ek BrahmachariEk Nari Ek Brahmachari is a 1971 Bollywood comedy film directed by Kotayya Pratyagatma. The film stars Jeetendra, Mumtaz and Aruna Irani .-Cast:*Mumtaz ... Neena*Birbal ... College student with glasses*Brahmachari ... Madan...
(1971) .... Raisaheb Surajbhan Chaudhary - Sultan (1983) .... Vazir-e-Azam