Govind Nihalani

Biography

Govind Nihalani is an Indian film director, cinematographer, screenwriter and producer, best known for his work in Hindi cinema, particularly within the parallel cinema movement. He was born in 1940 in Karachi, in Sindh province, now part of Pakistan, and his family moved to India during the partition of 1947. He trained in cinematography at the Shree Jaya Chamrajendra polytechnic in Bangalore, graduating in 1962. His films are associated with socially and politically engaged storytelling that has drawn praise from critics.

He began as an assistant cinematographer to V. K. Murthy before moving on to work as a cinematographer in his own right. He was associated with the early films of Shyam Benegal and worked on the cinematography of Richard Attenborough's Gandhi (1982), where he also served, uncredited, as second unit director. His directorial debut was Aakrosh, a legal drama scripted by the Marathi playwright Vijay Tendulkar, which won the Golden Peacock for best film at the International Film Festival of India in New Delhi in 1981. He then directed Ardh Satya (1983), based on a story by S. D. Panwalkar, and later adapted Mahasweta Devi's novel for Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa.

His work has earned several National Film Awards and Filmfare Awards, as well as the Padma Shri in 2002. Together with Saibal Chatterjee and Gulzar, he co-wrote the Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema (2003), a reference work on the industry. His legacy lies in showing that Indian mainstream filmmaking could address social, political and justice themes with seriousness and restraint.

Key films

• Ankur (1974): cinematography on an early parallel cinema film directed by Shyam Benegal.
• Aakrosh (1980): his debut as a director, with a script by Vijay Tendulkar about a miscarriage of justice.
• Ardh Satya (1983): a police thriller about corruption and violence within the force, based on a story by S. D. Panwalkar.
• Drishti (1990): a key film from the middle of his directing career, honoured as best Hindi feature.
• Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa (1998): an adaptation of Mahasweta Devi's novel with a political and socially critical tone.
• Dev (2004): a social drama that received the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie.