Chandulal Shah

Chandulal Shah Biography

Chandulal Shah was a film producer, director and screenwriter from Jamnagar, Gujarat. He founded Ranjit Studios in 1929. He was married to singer-actress Gohar Kayoum Mamajiwala, also known as Miss Gohar. Though he lived a luxurious life once, he dead penniless. His downfall as a producer happened with a series of continuous flops starting with Raj Kapoor and Nargis starrer Paapi followed by ‘Zameen ke Taare’. He got addicted to gambling and horse racing which destroyed him completely. Zameen Ke Tare released in 1960 was his last movie. He died on November 25, 1975. Apart from film making he was also associated with organizational work of the Indian Film Industry which celebrated Silver Jubilee (1939) and the Golden Jubilee of the Indian film Industry (1963). Chandulal Shah’s Ranjit Studios was one of the four great institutions of the studio era.

He was born in Jamnagar in 1898. After studies he joined Bombay Stock Exchange in 1924. He was called by the Laxmi Film Company in 1925 to direct a movie as its director was seriously ill. The movie was Vimla and he got attached to film industry. He won attention while directing films for Kohinoor Studios in the mid-20s. He introduced a new genre of movie making in Indian cinema - the social melodrama. The silent film- Gnansundari was first movie released in this genre. The movie itself became a path breaker and its theme was used by Indian film industries many times with variations. His future wife, Gohar played its title role and she was one of the glorious heroines then.

Gohar, E Billimoria, Madhuri, Motilal, Khurshid and Saigal were the big stars in his production company. However he lost momentum with the movie, Paapi and very soon lost everything he earned through film making.

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Updated: July 12, 2014