Filmmaker Shakti Samanta gave India hits like Aradhana and Amar Prem but he never received the Padma Shri, said his son Ashim Samanta in an interview on Wednesday.
Shakti Samanta died on April 9 in 2009 at the age of 83. On his father’s 100th birth anniversary, Ashim remembered Samanta as a versatile filmmaker who excelled across genres.
His work ranged from his debut film Bahu, thrillers like Howrah Bridge, China Town and An Evening in Paris, to romantics such as Aradhana, Amar Prem and Kashmir Ki Kali.
According to Ashim, his father should be remembered as a filmmaker who worked across genres and created a variety of films.
“My dad definitely deserved national recognition like a Padma Shri or Padma Vibhushan. I’m told that these things have to be pushed politically. He was not a person who would ask for such things. If he got it himself, it was fine but he was not the one to ask for it. If that was his attitude, it was the right attitude,” Ashim told PTI.
One of his era’s top directors, Samanta made commercial blockbusters highlighting social themes such as women’s plight, greed, and corruption. These films featured great music starring stalwarts like Ashok Kumar, Madhubala, Shammi Kapoor, Sharmila Tagore, and Rajesh Khanna.
“Dad had a terrific music sense, that was God gifted. He was a very good flute player. Having worked with Gyan Mukherjee and Phani Majumdar as an assistant also helped because he learnt a lot from them,” Ashim said.
“Imagine, Amar Prem not getting music awards, and some other movie got awards instead, and that itself tells a lot. He once said that he should have got a (Dadasaheb) Phalke Award, Ashim added.
To mark Samanta’s 100th birth anniversary, Hindi OTT platform Ultra Play announced Shakti Samanta@100: A Celebration of Timeless Cinema, a month-long festival featuring 32 of his iconic films.
Ashim revealed that his father’s favourite films were Amanush, Amar Prem and Aradhana. Speaking about his collaborations, Ashim said a common thread in these films was Sharmila Tagore, whom Samanta first noticed in a Bengali magazine. Eager to work with her, he was introduced to the actress by Sachin Bhowmick, who later wrote Aradhana.
“She is like a family member. Both of them were like best friends. They would argue but if they’ve fought, it is forgotten after two seconds. The arguments would be for the film or either about what she would wear or how she would look.”
“Interestingly, Tagore wore the bikini on screen for Samanta’s 1967 film, An Evening in Paris, becoming the first Indian actress to do so,” Ashim further added.
Besides Sharmila Tagore, Ashim said actor Ashok Kumar played a key role in his father’s life, encouraging him to pursue cinema.
Samanta began his career as a school teacher before getting a break as an assistant director to Raj Kapoor.
His filmmaking career spanned nearly five decades. Though he retired from directing after his last film, Devdas (2002), he remained active in film and TV production through Ashim.
Devdas, released in Hindi and Bengali and starring Prosenjit Chatterjee, was one of the few films in his career that failed at the box office.
Samanta also served as president of the Indian Motion Picture Producers’ Association and chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
Over the years, producers have approached Ashim for remakes, but he feels that ‘classics shouldn’t be touched.’
“Somebody wanted to remake Aaradhna and I told him, it is a popular film and you will not be able to get an actor like Rajesh Khanna and nor will you get that music.”
Describing his father Samanta as a “loving, careful, and supportive” person, Ashim said, “He was a friend, a father, a guide, everything, all in one.”