Roop Kishore Shorey[1] (28 January 1914 – 3 June 1973) was an Indian film director and producer.
Roop Kishore Shorey | |
|---|---|
 Shorey c. mid-1940s | |
| Born | January 28, 1914 |
| Died | June 3, 1973 (aged 59) Bombay, Maharashtra, India |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1931–1971 |
| Organisation | Shorey Films |
| Spouse | |
Biography
editBorn in Quetta to filmmaker Roshan Lal Shorey, he began his career in the Lahore film industry in the early 1930s and rose to prominence with Majnu (1935) and Tarzan Ki Beti (1938).[2]: 309 He then produced and directed several box office successes, including Dulla Bhatti (1940) and Mangti (1942),[3]: 29–30 and according to film historian Mushtaq Gazdar, "attained the status of a movie mogul" in pre-independence-era Lahore.[4]: 18 By the mid-1940s, Shorey had established a modern studio on Lahore's Multan Road, reported to be among the largest film studios in the East,[3]: 30 and announced plans to expand into Hollywood with bilingual productions.[5][6]
In 1947, Shorey was forced to abandon his studio and flee from Lahore due to the communal violence during the Partition of India.[4]: 18–19 He settled in Bombay, India, where he established Shorey Films in 1948[1] and frequently collaborated with actress Meena, who became his second wife in 1949.[3]: 150 He directed her in screwball comedies such as Ek Thi Larki (1949) and Ek Do Teen (1953),[3]: 150, 162 both of which received positive contemporary reviews and commercial success.[7][8] Their final collaboration was on J.C. Anand's Miss 56 (1956), which was filmed in Lahore, Pakistan.[4]: 52–53 The couple separated in 1956, with Meena permanently shifting to Lahore while Shorey returned to Bombay.[4]: 52–53
He directed only a few films in the 1960s. His final directorial venture was Ek Thi Reeta (1971), a bilingual Hindi-English film starring Tanuja and Vinod Mehra that was aimed at American audiences.[1] Shorey died in Bombay in 1973.[2]: 309
Filmography
editShort films
editFeature films
editAccording to The Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema (2014):[1]
| Year | Film | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1935 | Majnu | |
| 1938 | Tarzan Ki Beti | |
| 1939 | Khooni Jadugar | |
| 1940 | Dulla Bhatti | |
| Ik Musafir | ||
| 1941 | Himmat | |
| 1942 | Nishani | |
| Mangti | ||
| 1943 | Koel | |
| 1945 | Din Raat | |
| 1946 | Shalimar | |
| 1947 | Paro | |
| 1948 | Chaman | |
| 1949 | Ek Thi Larki | |
| 1951 | Dholak | |
| Mukhda | ||
| 1953 | Aag Ka Dariya | |
| Ek Do Teen | ||
| 1955 | Jalwa | |
| 1956 | Miss 56 | Pakistani release[4]: 52–53 |
| 1961 | Ek Ladki Saat Ladke | |
| Aplam Chaplam | ||
| 1962 | Main Shaadi Karne Chala | |
| 1966 | Akalmand | |
| 1971 | Ek Thi Reeta |
Reception and legacy
editFilm historian Sanjit Narwekar credits Shorey as one of the directors who delivered a "lasting contribution to the comic genre" during the post-independence era.[10]: 157
Scholar Salma Siddique devoted a chapter of Evacuee Cinema: Bombay and Lahore in Partition Transit, 1940–1960 (2022; Cambridge University Press) to Shorey's collaborations with Meena and their post-Partition comedy films, arguing that they constituted a body of refugee cinema shaped by migration, displacement and the cultural aftermath of Partition.[11]
References
edit- 1 2 3 4 5 Rajadhyaksha, Ashish; Willemen, Paul (2014). The Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema. Routledge. p. 216. ISBN 9781135943257.
- 1 2 Narwekar, Sanjit (1994). Directory of Indian Film-makers and Films. Flicks Books. ISBN 9780948911408.
- 1 2 3 4 Siddique, Salma (2022). Evacuee Cinema: Bombay and Lahore in Partition Transit, 1940–1960. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781009175524.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Gazdar, Mushtaq (1997). Pakistan Cinema, 1947–1997. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195778175.
- ↑ Stanley, Fred (14 October 1945). "HOLLYWOOD SEEKS AUTHORS; Visitor From India". The New York Times. p. 1. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
- ↑ "India to Enter Field of Hollywood". The Deseret News. 3 October 1945. p. 10. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
- ↑ "Shorey-Meena Triumph In Rollicking Slapstick Comedy "Ek Thi Larki": Our Review". The Times of India. 21 January 1950. p. 10. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
- ↑ ""Ek Do Teen" Still Tops In Popularity At Bombay: Our Film Critic". The Times of India. 24 April 1953. p. 8. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
- ↑ Thorpe, Frances; Pronay, Nicholas (1980). British Official Films in the Second World War: A Descriptive Catalogue. Clio Press. p. 231. ISBN 9780903450270.
- ↑ Narwekar, Sanjit (2005). Eena Meena Deeka: The Story of Hindi Film Comedy. Rupa & Company. ISBN 9788129108593.
- ↑ Arora, Anupama (26 May 2024). "Book review: Salma Siddique, Evacuee Cinema: Bombay and Lahore in Partition Transit (1940–1960)". BioScope: South Asian Screen Studies. 15 (1).