Gajanan Jagirdar Biography: Early Life, Age, Family, Career & Awards
Gajanan Jagirdar was a veteran Indian film director, screenwriter, and actor. He worked in Hindi cinema, Bollywood, and Marathi cinema.
Gajanan Jagirdar-Introduction: He was selected first as the director and then the principal of the (FTII) Film and Television Institute of India in the year 1960, known as the Film Institute of India. Jagirdar served as the Director of FTII for only one year, from 1961 to 1962. He was associated with Prabhat Film Company for three decades before his FTII role when the campus was Prabhat’s base.
He became a renowned teacher applying Stanislavsky’s acting principles to the prevailing local conditions. Gajanan Jagirdar’s film Vyjayantha was awarded the second-best Marathi feature film at the 1962 National Film Awards.
Gajanan Jagirdar Early Life
Gajanan Jagirdar was born on 2 April 1907 in Amravati, a town in Amravati district, which was a part of the then Bombay Presidency of British India. He began acting as a child artist on the amateur stage.
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Gajanan Jagirdar Film Career
Gajanan began his film career as a screenwriter and assistant director in the Prabhat Film Company in 1931 and became a full-fledged film director two years later in 1934. His first Bollywood film as a director was Sinhasan (1934). Gajanan Jagirdar’s role as Ramshastri in Ramashastri (film) brought him much appreciation and popularity.
The first Marathi film released in India was Shree Pundalik by Dadasaheb Torne on 18 May 1912 at Coronation Cinematograph, Mumbai.
Marathi Cinema: In Retrospective, by Sanjeet Narvekar. Maharashtra Film, Stage and Cultural Development Corporation, 1995.
Gajanan Jagirdar Awards and honors
Gajanan Jagirdar was awarded the Best Actor award for his portrayal of the poet Parshuram in the film Shahir Parshuram by the Government of Maharashtra in 1962. The Bengal Journalists Association in the 5th Annual BFJA Awards, bestowed upon him the best actor award for his performance in the film Padosi.
The same Bengal Journalists Association in the 8th Annual BFJA Awards honored him doubly in 1944 by citing him as Best Actor of the Year and Best Director of the Year for his film Ramshastri.
Marathi cinema received critical acclaim in 2004 with the film Shwaas, which won the Golden Lotus National Award. This was India’s official entry to the 77th Academy Awards. It won the President’s Medal for Best Film, beating Bollywood’s prolific production with quality.
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Gajanan Jagirdar Death
Gajanan Jagirdar died because of heart failure at his residence in Bombay (now Mumbai) on 13 August 1988 at 81 years of age.