K. Amarnath

K. Amarnath Biography

K. Amarnath was one of the earliest film makers of Indian cinema talkies. He was known for stunt/action movies in Hindi as well as Tamil and was active in the industry over four decades since mid-1930s. He directed 6 Tamil movies for Mohan Studios of which Minnal Kodi was a big hit. He has completed around 40 movies belonging to different languages.

His real name is Amarnath Gelaram Khetarpal. He was born in Punjab on 1 December 1914. Inspired by Bollywood and Hollywood movies, Amarnath also dreamt to become an actor and set to Mumbai. He left home at the age of 18. He started off as a stunt actor and character actor and worked in Mumbai and Kolkata. In 1936 he got his first big break and it was given by Ramaniklal & Mohanlal Shah, founders of Mohan Studios to complete the direction of "Matwali Jogan". They gave him an opportunity by seeing his passion towards movies. Thus at the young age of 22, Amarnath turned a film director. Since then he directed 40 films.

He directed 6 Tamil action movies for Mohan Studios of which Minnal Kodi was a big hit. In 1953, he set up his own production company, "K.Amarnath Productions" and made 11 movies till 1971. Alif-Laila was the first movie made under his own banner. Actress Helen got her first solo dance number for this movie. Woh Din Yaad Karo – his last movie starred Sanjay Khan and Nanda in lead roles. Though he made B-grade stunt movies in the beginning, after forming his company he started making fantasy and family drama entertainers. Amarnath was well known for promoting young talents. He introduced Salim Khan (Salim of Salim-Javed fame) to the movies as an actor in Baraat (1960).

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Updated: November 17, 2015