Govind Nihalani

Govind Nihalani (born 19 December 1940) is an Indian film director, cinematographer, screenwriter and producer, known for his works in Hindi cinema, particularly the movement of parallel cinema. He has been the recipient of six National Film Awards, and five Filmfare Awards.

Nihalani was born on 19 December 1940 in Karachi, Sindh province (now in Pakistan) and his family migrated to India during the partition of 1947.

He graduated in cinematography from the Shree Jaya Chamrajendra polytechnic (the present Government Film and Television Institute) in Bangalore in 1962.

He started his career as an sssistant cinematographer to V. K. Murthy, post which he made his debut as a cinematographer. He was associated with all the earlier films of Shyam Benegal and with the cinematography of Richard Attenborough's Oscar-winning period biographical drama Gandhi (1982). Nihalani and Benegal are well known for their socially relevant films.

His first directorial venture was the legal drama Aakrosh, starring Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, Smita Patil and Amrish Puri in lead roles. The film was scripted by noted Marathi playwright Vijay Tendulkar. The film won the Golden Peacock for best film at the International Film Festival of India held in New Delhi in 1981. He then directed Ardh Satya , a 1983 film based on a story by S. D. Panwalkar.

In 1996, his script for Drohkaal was adapted by Kamal Haasan for its Tamil remake, Kuruthipunal, which subsequently became India's official entry for the 68th Academy Awards Best Foreign Language Film category.

In 1997, he adapted Bengali novelist Mahasweta Devi's acclaimed novel by the same name to Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa.[10]