Krishan Chander Chopra | |
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 Krishan Chander on a 2017 stamp of India | |
| Born | 23 November 1914 |
| Died | 8 March 1977 (aged 62) Bombay, Maharashtra, India |
| Alma mater | Forman Christian College, Lahore |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Spouses | Vidyawati Chopra and Salma Siddiqui |
| Part of a series on |
| Progressive Writers' Movement |
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Krishan Chander (23 November 1914 – 8 March 1977) was an Indian Urdu and Hindi writer of short stories and novels. Some of his works have also been translated into English. He was a prolific writer, penning over 20 novels, 30 collections of short stories and scores of radio plays in Urdu, and later, after partition in 1947, took to writing in Hindi as well. He also wrote screen-plays for Bollywood movies to supplement his meagre income as an author of satirical stories. Krishan Chander's novels (including the classic: Ek Gadhe Ki Sarguzasht, transl. 'Autobiography of a Donkey') have been translated into over 16 Indian languages and some foreign languages, including English.
His short story "Annadata" (transl. The Giver of Grain – an obsequious appellation used by Indian peasants for their feudal land-owners), was made into the film Dharti Ke Lal (1946) by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas – which led to his being offered work regularly as a screenwriter by Bollywood, including such popular hits as Mamta (1966) and Sharafat (1970). He wrote his film scripts in Urdu.[1][2]
- ^ Rauf Parekh (2 May 2016). "LITERARY NOTES: Remembering Krishan Chander and Akhter-ul-Iman". Dawn (newspaper). Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ "Film World". Film World. 10. T.M. Ramachandran: 65. 1974.
I feel that the Government should eradicate the age-old evil of certifying Urdu films as Hindi ones. It is a known fact that Urdu has been willingly accepted and used by the film industry. Two eminent Urdu writers Krishan Chander and Ismat Chughtai have said that "more than seventy-five per cent of films are made in Urdu." It is a pity that although Urdu is freely used in films, the producers in general mention the language of the film as "Hindi" in the application forms supplied by the Censor Board. It is a gross misrepresentation and unjust to the people who love Urdu.