Mani Kaul

He won the National Film Award for Best Direction in 1974 for Duvidha and later the National Film Award for his documentary film Siddheshwari in 1989.

• Name — Mani Kaul • Birth Name — Rabindranath Kaul • Born — 25 December 1944 • Birthplace — Jodhpur, Rajputana Agency, British India • Died — 6 July 2011 • Place of death — Gurgaon, Haryana, India • Known for — Uski Roti, Duvidha, Siddeshwari • Occupation — Film director, film academic

Born in Jodhpur, Rajasthan in a Kashmiri family, Kaul first joined FTII, Pune as a yearbook photographer and later shifted to the acting course, where noted film director Ritwik Ghatak was a teacher, graduating in 1966. He was a nephew of the actor-director Mahesh Kaul, who made films like Raj Kapoor starrer Sapno Ka Saudagar (1968).

His first film Uski Roti (1969) has been described as "one of the key films of the New Indian Cinema or the Indian New Wave". It marked a drastic departure from earlier Indian cinema technique, form and narrative. It was one of the early formal experimental films in Indian cinema. Ashadh Ka Ek Din (1971), his next film, was based on a play by Mohan Rakesh. Duvidha, his third film, was his first in colour. It grew out of a short story by Vijaydan Detha and tells the story of a merchant's son, who returns with his new bride. When he departs on a business trip, a ghost falls in love with the wife. It was widely shown across Europe. He was awarded the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship in 1974. Kaul was one of the co-founders of the Yukt Film Co-operative (Union of Kinematograph Technicians) in 1976, leading to avant-garde films. Critics opined in "Mani Kaul's cinematic conception, fiction and documentary films have no clear demarcated dividing line." He also taught music in the Netherlands, and was Creative Director of the film house at Osian's Connoisseurs of Art, Mumbai. In 1971, he was a member of the jury at the 21st Berlin International Film Festival. He was a visiting lecturer at Harvard University for the 2000–2001 school year.

Mani Kaul died on 6 July 2011 at his home in Gurgaon, near Delhi, after prolonged battle with cancer. He is survived by two sons and two daughters.

• Yatrik (1966) - Student diploma film • Uski Roti (1969) • Sara Aakash (1969) - as actor • Ashadh Ka Ek Din (1971) • Duvidha (1973) • Puppeteers of Rajasthan (Documentary) (1974) • A Historical Sketch of Indian Women (Documentary) (1975) • Ghashiram Kotwal (1976) • Chitrakathi (Documentary) (1977) • Arrival (Documentary) (1980) • Satah Se Uthata Admi (1980) • Dhrupad (1982) • Mati Manas (Documentary) (1984) • A Desert of a Thousand Lines (Documentary) (1986) • Before My Eyes (Documentary)(1989) • Siddheshwari (Documentary) (1989) • Nazar (1991) • Idiot (1992) • The Cloud Door (1995) • Naukar Ki Kameez (The Servant's Shirt) (1999) • Bojh (Burden) (2000) • Ik Ben Geen Ander (I Am No Other) (Netherlands) (2002) • A Monkey's Raincoat (Netherlands) (2005) • Signature Film (for Osian's Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema) (2006)