Kamal Swaroop

Kamal Swaroop Biography

Kamal Swaroop is a screenwriter and television and radio director. He is the director of banned Indian movie, Om-Dar-Ba-Dar which was finally released in Indian theaters after 26 years, on January 17, 2014 with digitally restored print of the film. This work, produced by National Film Development Corporation of India is regarded as Swaroop’s masterpiece work. Though this satire Postmodernist film was not released in India in 1988, this critically acclaimed movie was premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in 1988 and is regarded as a cult classic. Not only that, this movie also received Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie in 1989. He worked as the assistant director of Richard Attenborough for the movie – Gandhi in 1982.

He was born in Kashmir as the son of a teacher. Later the family moved to Ajmer where he completed graduation. He graduated in film direction from the Film and Television Institute in 1974 before entering film industry. He had a brief stint at ISRO and took film making classes in the remote villages. He worked as an assistant director, writer and Production Designer before directing his first movie, Om-Dar-Ba-Dar in 1988. He got the idea of the film while in the sets of Richard Attenborough's 'Gandhi', where he worked as an assistant director.

Om Dar Ba Dar was a major attraction in the festival circuit and premiered at the Berlin Film Festival. But it was banned in India and got released only in January 2014. This movie is a portrait of life in Ajmer town, Rajasthan which tells the story of a young boy named Om in the period of his carefree adolescence.

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Updated: February 19, 2014