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V. Shantaram

His film about an open prison won a Berlin Silver Bear. It also won a Golden Globe. Both awards came before he had made most of his best-known work.

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V. Shantaram was born on 18 November 1901, in Kolhapur.
He debuted as an actor in 1921, in the silent film “Surekha Haran.”
In 1929, he co-founded Prabhat Film Company, along with Vishnupant Damle, K.R. Dhaiber, S. Fatelal, and S.B. Kulkarni.
He directed “Ayodhyecha Raja” (1932), the first Marathi film made under Prabhat.
In 1942, he left Prabhat and founded Rajkamal Kalamandir, his own studio in Mumbai.
He directed “Do Aankhen Barah Haath” (1957), about an experimental open prison. It won the President’s Gold Medal in India. It won a Silver Bear at the 1958 Berlin International Film Festival. It also won the Samuel Goldwyn International Award, at the 1959 Golden Globes.
He received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1985.
He died on 30 October 1990, in Mumbai, aged 88.

Rajkamal Kalamandir was named for his parents, Rajaram and Kamalabai.
The studio produced other major films, including “Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje” (1955), “Navrang” (1959), and “Pinjra” (1972).
He won the Filmfare Award for Best Director in 1957, for “Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje.”
He received the Padma Vibhushan in 1992, two years after his death.

Don’t confuse Prabhat Film Company with Rajkamal Kalamandir. Prabhat was Shantaram’s first studio, co-founded in 1929. Rajkamal was his second, founded alone in 1942, after he left Prabhat.
“Do Aankhen Barah Haath” won recognition at three different levels. It took a national award, a major European festival award, and an American industry award. That spread is unusual for a single Indian film of its era.
His honours arrived on a long, uneven timeline. The Dadasaheb Phalke Award came in 1985, five years before his death. The Padma Vibhushan came only in 1992, two years after it.