Not Yash Chopra Or Raj Kapoor, This Indian Director Had The Longest Filmmaking Career

Hindi cinema has witnessed many legends who have had really long filmmaking careers. There was Raj Kapoor, who began his filmmaking career in the late 40s and made films for the next 35 years. And ofcourse, there was Yash Chopra who made a variety of films across genres and themes for over 5 decades.  However, the Indian filmmaker who had the longest filmmaking career is none of the above - It’s the guy who began his career with Marathi cinema, and gradually established himself as the pioneer of Indian cinema in the 40s and 50s.

Shantaram established his banner at the age of 28

Shantaram, who was inclined towards music and dance from a very young age, entered the film industry at a very young age. When he was 26 years old, Shantaram got the opportunity to direct his first film. 2 years later, V. Shantaram was already on his way to establish Prabhat Film Company. For the next 15 years, Shantaram produced and directed many notable films under the banner, including the bilingual Duniya Na Mane which earned a lot of recognition at international film festivals as well.

Shantaram was the first Indian filmmaker to win a Golden Globe

In 1942, V Shantaram began a new chapter in his career, and founded Rajkamal Films. If Indian cinema evolved to the next stage in the 40s and 50s, a huge credit for it must go to V. Shantaram’s films like Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani, Navrang, Dahej, Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje and the most pivotal of them all, Do Aankhen Barah Haath. Very few people know this, but Do Aankhen Barah Haath was the first Indian film to win a Golden Globe award. 

Shantaram’s films were laced with design, detailing and an element of social message. Additionally, Shantaram always designed his films around song and dance, which was the highlight of Indian cinema especially those days.

Shantaram’s last film released in 1986

As mainstream Hindi cinema changed in the 70s and 80s, Shantaram’s films found themselves increasingly losing relevance and mass audience’ acceptance. However, Shantaram continued to make films for the next many years. Shantaram’s last film Jhanjhar released in 1986. That makes it a filmmaking career that lasted for 59 years.

The renowned filmmaker passed away merely 4 years later in 1990. That practically means that V Shantaram made films almost till his last breath.