Pralhad Keshav Atre Biography 
Pralhad Keshav Atre, also known as Prahlad Keshav Atre and P. K. Atre was a noted figure of Marathi literature, theatre as well as cinema. He was the first recipient of National award for best feature film. He received it in the commenced year 1953 for the Marathi movie, Shyamchi Aai. The movie was produced and directed by himself. In 1955, his movie - Mahatma Phule received the President's Silver Medal. He was the founder-editor of Marathi newspaper Maratha and also known as a politician and orator. Thus Atre was a multi-faceted Indian genius. He had deep knowledge of Urdu and has written books under the pseudonym Maulana Allauddin Khilji.
Atre was born in Saswad, Pune of Maharastra on 13 August 1898. After completing his studies, he started his career as a teacher, a profession that he carried for 20 years. He has also compiled a series of Marathi language textbooks for elementary and secondary schools. As a writer, Atre was better known as an outstanding humorist. Atre has also written seven plays and majority of them are humour based. Atre has written two autobiographical works titled Mi Kasa Jhalo and Karheche Pani.
As a political leader, he is known for Sanyukta Maharashtra Andolan during 1956-60. He had extraordinary oratory skills adding humour to catch listeners’ attention. He has been Member of Local Municipal Board of Pune, Sanyukta Maharashtra Samiti as well as Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha. He tried his luck in parliament elections, but failed.
As a writer, his works include Poetry, Novels, Biographies, Plays and Essays. He has been associated with Evening newspaper Jai Hind (1948) and was the Founder/Editor of Saptahit Navyug and Tukaram. His movies are Brahmachari (1938), Premveer, Mahatma Phule, Paayaachi Daasi and Brandichi Batali.
Published: N/A
Updated: January 28, 2014
