1^st December 2019

“Remembering our dad, K.Amarnath, today on his 105^th Birth Anniversary”

K.Amarnath Family

Though my father, K.Amarnath, was influenced by Hollywood films, he strongly upheld Indian traditions & possessed solid family values.

He was a man of great integrity & honesty. He had a strong sense of what was right and what was wrong as was conveyed time and again in most of his movies.

These exemplary moral & ethical values also helped him in raising us to be responsible and conscientious adults.

He came from a cultural background where women were rarely exposed to the realm of a male workplace like the movie industry; and because of these views, my mother, my sister and I seldom visited Ranjit Studios where he had his office and where most of his movies were shot. One exception being, a cameo appearance of the four of us siblings in a song sequence for “Kal Hamara Hai” (1959).

Some of my dad’s contemporaries – actors, writers and music directors did visit my dad at our residence and they all highly respected the family.

I have been frequently asked that in spite of my dad giving a break to so many newcomers in the filmworld, why none of his children had followed in his footsteps.

Well, my parents did have certain aspirations for all of us.

They wanted my sister Madhu and me to pursue higher education and maybe enter the teaching profession.

They encouraged my eldest brother Satish to become a movie director & scriptwriter like my dad and my elder brother Manmohan, to become an actor.

My dad made the necessary arrangements for both my brothers to be trained in all aspects of moviemaking. We possessed a huge library at home with numerous great books of all genres written by famous authors. Both my brothers had a tutor to teach them to read and write Urdu – language used in majority of the Indian movies. They were given music lessons and learned to play the violin. Manmohan also went to a body-building gym and an acting academy.  And of course, they had the guidance of my dad regarding the myriad nuances of life & the complex workings of the movie industry.

In 1971 – Satish started working with our dad as an assistant director for the movie, “Woh Din Yaad Karo”.

Unfortunately, my dad passed away before his dreams could be fulfilled.

After my father passed away, Satish turned to his hobbies and gained fame as a renowned national and international professional billiards & snooker player. He was one of the best and most loved coach in the club circuit. With Satish’s excellent grooming module in cue sports which also included yoga and meditation, many of his young students excelled and won national as well as international championship tournaments.

Manmohan was a popular model – the handsome young man of many commercial advertisements during the ’80s.

My dad, K.Amarnath, had an illustrious career and had always lived life his way.

He was offered many opportunities to direct international movies abroad, but declined them all since

Family was always his number one priority.

Dad, you did your best for all of us.

You will always be in our hearts.

Cheers to You, Papaji !!

Sagar Mandir (Shivaji Park Beach -1960’s)
Painting by Author & Administrator of this website, Manju, daughter of K.Amarnath

Ref photo courtesy – school friend – Chandru Rajani

Ranjit Studios
Painting by Manju, daughter of K.Amarnath
Ref Photo courtesy – Hitesh Harisinghani/Rediff.com

PUBLISHED: 1^st DEC 2019
More on my dad, K.Amarnath’s family, click here.
More on my mom, Sumitra Batra’s family, click here.