Entertainment News Desk – One is our current Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whom the world is praising at this time and the other is Sohrab Modi of the cinema, whose then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru could not stop himself from praising the work. Sohrab, who is fond of art since childhood, fulfilled his hobby by making great films when he grew up and today people move forward by making their hobby a career. In today’s cinema, Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Ashutosh Gowariker make films by making big sets, Sohrab did this work in the 30, 40s and 50s. Come, let’s remember his classical films today on Sohrab Modi’s Memorial Day.
Sweet Poison (1938)
After school, Sohrab Modi became a traveling guide in Gwalior with his brother Kiki Modi. When he turned 26, he started the Arya Subodh theater company. As soon as the curtain fell on the stage, the public would clap a lot, but those plays would be silent. When speaking films started coming in 1931, the number of people going to theaters decreased, but Sohrab did not let his art die and in 1935 he started the stage film company. Under this, he made two films named ‘Khoon Ka Khoon’ and ‘Saeed -e -Havas’. The films flopped, but Sohrab came to know about the choice of the people. In 1936, Sohrab started Minerva Movietone Film Company and first made the film ‘Mitha Poison’. In this film, social issues like drug addiction were raised. Sohrab directed the film and also acted in the film with Naseem Bano and Gajanan Jagirdar. People liked this film very much. And this is where Sohrab Modi’s caravan started.
Call (1939)
Sohrab Modi produced the film ‘Pukar’ based on an incident of the justice of the Mughal emperor Jahangir in 1939. The film was fictional, but Sohrab filmed most of the film’s scenes in real places made by the Mughals. This brought a lot of reality in the film which he could not achieve by filming in the studio. The story of the film was written by famous filmmaker Kamal Amrohi and starred by Chandra Mohan and Naseem Bano along with Sohrab. The audience liked the reality of the film and the film did wonders.
Alexander (1941)
Sohrab produced continuous grand films under the banner of his film production company Minerva Movietone. The next grand film in this was ‘Sikandar’ of the year 1941. In this film, actor Prithviraj Kapoor played the role of Alexander the Great. Sohrab made a huge set for this film. He showed in the film that Alexander conquered the Kabul Valley via Persia but when his army moved towards India, Porus stopped his way there. Sohrab filmed war scenes in this film with the help of Hollywood filmmakers. This film was highly praised not only in the country but also abroad. The time for the release of this film was such when the Second World War was going on on one side and Gandhiji was ready to start the freedom struggle in the country on the other side. In such a situation, this film of Sohrab created a spirit of patriotism.
Prithvi Vallabh (1943)
Sohrab made a trilogy of films like ‘Pukar’, ‘Alexander’ and ‘Prithvi Vallabh’ which were based on historical stories. The story of the 1943 film ‘Prithvi Vallabh’ was based on the novel of the same name written by KM Munshi. The film mainly featured the conflict between the characters of Sohrab Modi and Durga Khote. Sohrab played Munj in this film and Durga Khote played the role of Mrinalvati. Mrinalvati is a arrogant queen who publicly tries to degrade Munj but for some reasons she falls in love with her. This film of Sohrab Modi was well liked by the audience.
Sheesh Mahal (1950)
Sohrab Modi was known for making films by making big sets. When he made his film ‘Sheesh Mahal’ in the year 1950, he also made a grand set for this. Critics highly praised Sohrab’s work. However, the film was not much liked. When the film was screened at the Minerva Theater in Mumbai, Sohrab saw that a person was sitting with his eyes closed in the first line. He did not expect such a response from the audience. He asked his people to return the money of all the people and take out everyone. After getting the order of Sohrab, his employees went but came back as soon as possible. He told Sohrab that the person is not sitting with his eyes closed, but is blind. He came to listen to the lines of the film, not watching the film. Sohrab then felt some relief. Nevertheless, the film proved to be very good for the audience. Apart from Sohrab, the film played the lead roles by actors like Nasim Bano, Nigar Sultana, Pran, Leela Mishra.
Rani of Jhansi (1953)
Sohrab acted in several films with Naseem Bano, so deep love affair was developed between them, but Sohrab fell in love with Mehtab, a young actress working in the 1944 film ‘Parakh’. At that time Mehtab was just 20 years old, while Sohrab was 48 years old. Both got married. When Sohrab made his film ‘Jhansi Ki Rani’ in 1953, Mehtab played the role of Rani of Jhansi in this film. The film was the country’s first technicler film. Sohrab made this colorful film with the help of Hollywood technicians. In this film, he himself played the role of Rajguru. Despite everything being excellent, the film did not succeed in attracting the audience.
Mirza Ghalib (1954)
Sohrab Modi did not stop even after the flop of a big film and in 1954 he made the film ‘Mirza Ghalib’ on the life of the country’s great poet Mirza Ghalib. The film received the Gold Award for Best Film from the President. Sohrab set all the scenes in the film very beautifully when the country was ruled by the last Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar. He showed the king’s court and the poets of his time in his film in a great way. Mirza Ghalib played the character of Bharat Bhushan in the film while Mirza Ghalib loved a prostitute who played the character in the film by actress Suraiya. Suraiya’s work was highly praised in the film. When the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru also watched the film, he praised the film and said, ‘You have alive Mirza Ghalib’s soul.
Kundan (1955)
In 1955, Sohrab produced and directed the film ‘Kundan’ under the banner of his company in which he played the lead role with actors like Nimmi, Sunil Dutt, Ulhas, Pran, Murad, Om Prakash, Baby Naz. The film was based on Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel ‘Les Mizrables’. In the film, Sohrab played the role of a young man struggling with poverty who gets caught in the clutches of the police on charges of stealing a piece of bread. It was a drama film raising a social issue.
