Govind Nihalani


Govind Nihalani is an Indian film director, cinematographer, screenwriter and producer, known for his works in Hindi cinema. He has been the recipient of six National Film Awards, and five Bollywood Filmfare Awards. 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.
His first directorial venture was Aakrosh, starring Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, Smita Patil and Amrish Puri. The film was scripted by noted Marathi playwright Vijay Tendulkar. The film shared the Golden Peacock for best film at the International Film Festival of India held in New Delhi in 1981.
He then directed Ardh Satya, based on a story by S. D. Panwalkar. The film has received critical reception for depicting the police-politician-criminal nexus. In 1997, he adapted Bengali novelist Mahasweta Devi's acclaimed novel by the same name to Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa.

Early life and career

Nihalani was born on 19 December 1940 in Karachi, Sindh province and his family migrated to India during the partition of 1947.
He started out as a cinematographer, graduating in cinematography from the Shree Jaya Chamrajendra polytechnic in Bangalore in 1962. He was an Assistant Cinematographer to the legendary V. K. Murthy. He was associated with all the earlier films of Shyam Benegal and with the cinematography of Richard Attenborough's Oscar-winning epic Gandhi. Nihalani and Benegal are well known for their socially relevant films.

Literary works

;Civilian honor
;National Film Awards
;Filmfare Awards