Chandulal Jesangbhai Shah (13 April 1898 – 25 November 1975) was a famous director, producer and screenwriter of Indian films, who founded Ranjit Studios in 1929.
Amarchand Shroff, a friend of Shah, brought him to Kohinoor Film Company. The first film independently directed by him at Kohinoor was Typist Girl (1926) starring Sulochana and Gohar which was made in 17 days. The film did extremely well at the box-office leading Shah to direct another five films for the studio all featuring Gohar. Of these, the most famous was Gunsundari (1927). This silent film about a dowdy housewife who loses her husband to another woman but wins him back after transforming herself, was a record-breaking success. Its story became a staple of Hindi cinema and has been retold over the years with slight variations.
Gunsundaris heroine, Gohar, now came to be known as Glorious Gohar. She became the married Shah’s consort.
As per IMDB
Gohar was born in 1910 in Lahore, Punjab, British India as Gohar Kayoum Mamajiwala. She was an actress, known for Miss 1933 (1933), Bhaneli Bhamini (1927) and Achhut (1940). She was married to Chandulal Shah. She died on September 28, 1985.
Within two years Shah started his own studio, Ranjit, and Gohar starred as the heroine of his first film, Rajputani (’29). Through much of the 30s and the 40s, Shah’s dream factory churned out memorable films like Pati Patni, Toofani Toli, Holi, Acchut, Shaadi and Tansen.
The company changed its name to Ranjit Movietone in 1932 and during the 1930s produced numerous successful talkies at the rate of about six a year.
Besides Filmmaking, Chandulal Shah also devoted a lot of time to the organizational work of the Indian Film Industry. Both the Silver Jubilee (1939) and the Golden Jubilee of the Indian film Industry (1963) were celebrated under his guidance. He was the first president of The Film Federation of India formed in 1951 and even led an Indian delegation to Hollywood the following year.
By the mid-40s, the studio system was fast disintegrating and Ranjit’s list of flops had grown long. Shah tried unsuccessfully to achieve a comeback with the Raj Kapoor-Nargis starrer, Paapi (’53).
Finally, faced with massive losses on the stock exchange and the race course, Shah was left with no option but to allow the takeover of his famous studio. In later years, the much revered big boss of Ranjit was reduced to travelling by Bombay’s public transport. Through five decades of ups and downs, Glorious Gohar stood steadfastly by his side — in glory as well as in eclipse.
The industry's most powerful man, who once owned a fleet of cars, was reduced to travelling in buses. He died penniless on 25 November 1975,
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