Jaishankar Danve
- Born: 1 March, 1911 (Pune)
- Died: 3 October, 1986
- Primary Cinema: Marathi
Actor-director Jayshankar Danve is mainly known for his work in Marathi cinema, and to a lesser extent in Hindi films. He acted in approximately 134 plays and 67 films including Kanhopatra (1937), and Jai Bhawani (1947). Developing a distinctive personality as a villain on stage and on screen, his career lasted more than five decades. An acclaimed theatre director, Danve worked in a significant number of films and plays during his illustrious innings.
Born on 1 March in 1911 in Pune, he was brought up under the care of his uncles and aunts in Lonavala. His gift for mimicry became apparent at a young age. Passionate about theatre and films, he would visit Laxmi Talkies in Pune. He was noticed by Bhalji Pendharkar who invited him to be part of Subodh Natak Company, which was run by Sohrab Modi's brother Rustum Modi. Thereafter, Jayshankar acted on stage in Asuri Lalsa which was written by Bhalji Pendharkar. Once in Bombay, there was a planned show of the Marathi play, Satv-Safalya, which was produced by the same company. When the main hero met with an accident, Jayshankar stepped in and performed with excellence. He acted in Marathi and Urdu plays, and then served as co-director to Pendharkar on films. Danve later went on to start his own company, Natya Nishan in association with Mr Benjamin, producing and directing many stage acts. Migrating to Kolhapur, he ventured into cinema, making his film debut with Asire Havish (1925). His memorable films include Baburao Painter’s iconic social drama Savkari Pash (1936), Bhalji Pendharkar’s celebrated Sasurvas (1946), Meeth Bhakar (1949), Mohityanchi Manjula (1963) and Maratha Tituka Melavava (1964), and Dada Kondke’s Andhala Marto Dola (1973) in which he played the main antagonist.
Danve played important parts in Hindi and Urdu cinema during the 30s and 40s in films like Sach Hai (1939), and Valmiki (1946) in which he shared the screen with legendary father-son duo Prithviraj Kapoor and Raj Kapoor. As a director, he made films such as Jai Bhawani (1947),Phoolpakhru (1953) and Ishwari Nyay (1953).
He played a secondary villain for the first time in Bhalji Pendharkar’s Kanhopatra (1937), going on to play the lead villain in Bahirji Naik (1943). Known for playing negative roles, apparently his villainous acts were so effective, that he escaped being beaten up by film-watchers after a screening of Patlacha Por (1951), while mill workers, enraged by his cruel mill manager character in Majhi Aai (1961), actually came forward to thrash him! He is also credited with directing the film Jai Bhawani.
Jayshankar Danve passed away on 3 October, 1986. Recently, a personal memorabilia collection of the actor-director was been deposited by Danve’s family for safekeeping with the National Film Archive of India (NFAI). The collection consists of rare archival photographs and albums including handbills, song booklets, newspaper clippings, articles, and old documents, various books, and also his handwritten plays. Other objects of interest include wigs and a moustache from his 1933 stage adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and Danve’s handwritten literary work which comprises fourteen novels, eight plays and five stories.
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Filmography (1)
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Subhadra Haran 1964
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