Bollwyood producer lost his mansion and business, was homeless in Mumbai; made biggest film of Amitabh Bachchan's career
GP Sippy came from a wealthy family in Karachi but his family had to flee to Bombay almost overnight. Like thousands of people who lost everything to the horrors of the Partition, the Sippys also lost all their material possessions, which included their mansion, their prominent business, all in Karachi. Sippy had to start from scratch all over again and provide for his family. He lived a luxurious life back in Karachi and he dreamed of reliving those experiences again.
Once in Bombay, Sippy found himself to be homeless. As per a report in New York Times, Sippy sold carpets, saved some money and started a restaurant but nothing worked out until one day, he saw an incomplete under construction house in Colaba, Bombay, and decided to purchase it, with the intention of reselling it at a higher cost. This sparked an idea and Sippy started a construction business where he would construct residential buildings and sell them at a higher cost. Since he was now starting to make some money, Sippy started hobnobbing with the city's elite and was frequently told that he should start investing in the movies, and so he did and made his first film Sazaa in 1953.
ALSO READ | Javed Akhtar looks back at the Sholay script he wrote with Salim Khan: 'Its dialogues are used in stand-up comedies even today'
Following this, Sippy started investing in more films but eventually got himself the tag of a B-grade film producer. He also tried his hand at acting and direction, but nothing got him the kind of success that had hoped for. When he sensed that his investments in the movies were not yielding the kind of results that he wanted, he called his son Ramesh Sippy back from the UK, where he was studying at London School of Economics, and asked him to take charge of the business. After Ramesh's return, the company made films like Andaz, Seeta Aur Geeta, but their luck changed only after the 1965 film Sholay.
Made with a budget of Rs 3 crore, the film changed the trajectory of Hindi cinema. Starring Sanjeev Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Amjad Khan, Hema Malini, Jaya Bachchan among others, Sholay became the biggest Hindi film at the time. Written by Salim-Javed, the film changed his fortune and Sippy was now back on top.
Sholay ran at the cinemas for five years and was eventually replaced by his next production Shaan. He also producer Dimple Kapadia's comeback film Saagar. In later years, he produced films like Patthar Ke Phool, Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman, among others. Sippy died in 2007 at 93.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India.com
23 minutes ago
- India.com
This star holds record of not giving a single flop to date, he earned Rs 4200 crore from 12 films, worked with top actors, he is…
Many great directors have come and gone in Indian cinema, but there are some names who have not only rocked the box office with their every film, but have also changed the map of the Indian film industry. These are such directors whose films have mass masala along with grandeur and everything that attracts the public to the cinema halls to see. We are talking about S.S. Rajamouli. Every film directed by Rajamouli has proved to be a blockbuster. Rajamouli's 25-year journey is an example of his hard work, creativity and brilliant vision, which has made him the most successful director of Indian cinema. This director made 12 films, without a single flop Rajamouli's first film Student No. 1 was released in 2001. He has directed a total of 12 films in his film career so far. The special thing is that not a single film of his has flopped. Every film has either broken box office records or made a permanent place in the hearts of the audience. His films like 'Magadheera', 'Eega', 'Chhatrapati', 'Simhadri', 'Baahubali: The Beginning', 'Baahubali: The Conclusion', and 'RRR' guaranteed to draw audiences to the theatres. View this post on Instagram A post shared by SS Rajamouli (@ssrajamouli) Which films is directed by SS Rajamouli? Rajamouli's 'Baahubali' series gave Indian cinema global recognition. 'Baahubali: The Beginning' and 'Baahubali: The Conclusion' together earned more than Rs 2,400 crore and proved to be a milestone for the Indian film industry. 'RRR', which released in 2022, was a superhit not only in India but all over the world. The film also won international awards, including the Oscar Award. View this post on Instagram A post shared by SS Rajamouli (@ssrajamouli) How SS Rajamouli make Rs 4,200 crore? The total gross collection of 12 films of Rajamouli is Rs 4,200 crore. Which includes Student No. 1, Simhadri, Sai, Chatrapati, Vikramarkudu, Yamadonga, Magadheera, Maryada Ramanna, Eega, Baahubali, Baahubali 2 and RRR. SS Rajamouli's films have a unique combination of grand VFX, emotional story, strong characters and mass appeal. He connects the audience of every generation with his cinema. This is the reason why his films are always in the news and win the hearts of the audience. SS Rajamouli never gave a flop In today's time when big directors face the ups and downs of flops and hits, S.S. Rajamouli has always achieved not only critical but also commercial success with all his films. He is definitely such a director of Indian cinema, who creates history at the box office every time. View this post on Instagram A post shared by SS Rajamouli (@ssrajamouli) What is SS Rajamouli's next film? SS Rajamouli's 12 superhit films out of 12 and a gross collection of more than Rs 4,200 crore is an amazing story of Indian cinema. These days he is working on his dream project with Mahesh Babu Priyanka Chopra and soon some good news may come about this project.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
'Mahavatar Narsimha' Box Office Collection Day 13: The film sees a dip; crosses Rs 112 crore
Picture Credit: X The mythological animated film 'Mahavatar Narsimha' is still performing strongly at the box office; however, a decline is beginning to be seen as it reaches halfway through the month. As per early estimates reported by Sacnilk, Mahavatar Narsimha collected around Rs 6 crore (India net) on its 13 day, Wednesday, August 6, across all languages. This brings the film's total to an impressive Rs 112.80 crore so far. Despite the minor drop from the previous days, the film's performance remains noteworthy considering its genre and format. Leading up to Wednesday's collection, the film was still putting up strong numbers. On its second Monday (Day 11), it earned Rs 7.35 crore, followed by Rs 8.5 crore on its second Tuesday (Day 12). However, with Wednesday's drop to Rs 6 crore, it appears the film is gradually stepping into its more steady-paced phase after a high-octane first week and weekend. Theatre occupancy The audience turnout tells a similar story. For the Telugu version, Mahavatar Narsimha had a total occupancy of 24.42% on Wednesday. Morning shows had an occupancy of 14.35%, followed by afternoon shows at 20.91%, evening shows at 26.76%, and night shows at 35.65%. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 15 Most Beautiful Female Athletes in the World Learn More Undo This demonstrates that the film is still attracting family audiences and working professionals in their after-work hours, particularly in Telugu-speaking areas. The Hindi version of the film saw a more modest turnout on Wednesday with total occupancy at 13.64%. Morning shows had a slow start with just 7.41% occupancy, followed by an increase to 11.10% in afternoon shows. The sprang to 15.24%, and peaked to 20.79% for night shows. Interestingly, some areas saw better-than-average turnout even for midweek. In one another reported occupancy breakdown, the 3D Hindi version saw a stronger hold with total occupancy at 18.27% on Wednesday, higher than prior reported numbers. Morning shows were at 8.26%, afternoon shows were at 15.50%, evening shows were at 23.01%, and night shows were at 26.31%. Cast and crew Directed by Ashwin Kumar and written by Jayapurna Das, Ashwin Kumar, and Rudra Pratap Ghosh, Mahavatar Narsimha is a rare blend of animation, mythology, and action. The voice cast includes Aditya Raj Sharma, Haripriya Matta, and Priyanka Bhandari in lead roles.
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Dhadak 2: Shazia Iqbal destroys ancient Bollywood Dharma in the best Karan Johar production since Jigra
Something that Quentin Tarantino said recently rings true for director Shazia Iqbal's Dhadak 2. In an interview, he explained why he admires the controversial blockbuster film Joker, despite the divisive reactions that it opened to. Tarantino said that the movie pulled off 'subversion on a massive level', when it got audiences across the globe to root for a madman to shoot a celebrity in the face on live TV. These were all civilised people, Tarantino said. And yet, for around 10 minutes, they were hungry for blood. It's an unusual comparison to make, but Dhadak 2 has more in common with a billion-dollar-grossing Hollywood movie than you'd imagine. In an alternate universe, Siddhant Chaturvedi's character in the film, a Dalit man named Neelesh, could have very easily turned into a vengeful anarchist. In the film's climactic showdown, after escaping from the clutches of a malevolent Anton Chigurh-type assassin played by Saurabh Sachdeva, Neelesh turns his attention to the film's main antagonist, a Brahmin guy called Ronny who's been harassing him for months. He grabs a hold of Ronny, drags him onto the street, and pummels him into the ground. Like Sunny Deol, he uproots a metallic gate, and prepares to bash Ronny's face in with it. In that moment, there is nothing more that you, as a member of the audience, can desire more than for Ronny to be murdered in the most brutal manner imaginable. Also read – Jigra: Vasan Bala weaponises Alia Bhatt in one of the best Hindi films of the year; Karan Johar better have his back This is 'subversion on a massive level' – to get seemingly civilised people to briefly think like wild animals. Comedians do this all the time. Joker did it as well. Directed by Todd Phillips, the movie pointed fingers at polite society for turning a blind eye to the mentally ill. Their ignorance, the movie suggested, is what compels folks like Arthur Fleck to take matters into their own hands. In Dhadak 2, Neelesh experiences many of the same indignities that were directed at Arthur in Joker. He is humiliated in public, kicked while he's down, even urinated on. Dhadak 2 could've been the origin story of a mass-murdering criminal; had Neelesh transformed into a lunatic killer, you'd 100% understand why. But Dhadak 2 isn't a comic book movie. It is, however, one of the most daring examples of what can be achieved in mainstream Hindi filmmaking. There are elements of exploitation cinema — Tarantino's favourite genre — in Dhadak 2 as well. But the tone isn't nearly as gnarly as it could've been; for a real glimpse at how far things can be pushed past the boundaries of good taste, you needn't look further than Mari Selvaraj's Vaazhai, an autobiographical drama that he released last year. Incidentally, Dhadak 2 is a remake of Selvaraj's debut film, Pariyerum Perumal. It follows a lower-caste man's tentative romance with a girl from an upper-caste family. In Dhadak 2 — the film has had the misfortune of being retroactively rebranded as a 'spiritual sequel', much like the recent Kesari: Chapter 2 — Neelesh understands that he could get murdered for even speaking to someone like Viddhi, let alone for developing feelings for her. Read more – Stolen: The rare Hindi movie that isn't afraid to insult its own audience, and you know what, we deserve it Chaturvedi plays him with a timidity that is more self-imposed than it is ingrained. He is driven only by one objective: to gain an education for the benefit of the same people to whom it has been denied. Neelesh also delivers a version of the line that made Chaturvedi go viral some years ago, when he told the presumably more privileged Ananya Panday that his dreams end where her struggles begin. In Dhadak 2, Neelesh gains admission into a law college through the SC/ST quota, something that the ingrates in his class never let him forget. They don't understand that for him to even have the opportunity to be seated in the same room as them is essentially a miracle. Instead of celebrating him for swimming against the tide his entire life and challenging an oppressive system by merely existing, they ostracise him. The harassment only becomes worse when he starts dating Viddhi, played by a never-better Triptii Dimri. She happens to be related to Ronny, who threatens to (honour) kill her on several occasions. It's a familiar set-up, but one that has historically been sugarcoated in cinema by class-conflict, socioeconomic differences, and sometimes, plain geographical distance. All of these issues are code for caste. In India, every injustice can be traced back to a single source; it's the disgusting 'nala' that we're all drinking from. Income inequality, hunger, lack of education, denial of fundamental rights… Everything. Read more –Bheed: Anubhav Sinha's movie is a messy, confrontational, and deeply angry response to blasé Bollywood We live in a country where a man can be killed for growing a style of moustache that the upper castes have claimed as their own. India is perhaps one of the few nations in the world where literal laws have to be enforced in order to prevent people from killing their own children. To do the dirty work for them, the cowards hire midwives for the nominal sum of Rs 50. These midwives murder female babies for a living not because they enjoy it, but because they've been subjugated and oppressed for their entire lives; it's a family trade; their daughters will follow in their footsteps. They aren't allowed to do anything else. What sort of society allows this? These uncomfortable truths are rarely, if ever, spoken about inside our homes, let alone in our cinema. The Malayali filmmakers are leading the charge on this front as well, while Bollywood self-combusts at the very idea of discomfort. But, in recent years, there has been a growing wave of Hindi directors who've dared to expose us for who we are. Iqbal is the youngest to join their ranks, and she probably had other barriers to overcome. She's a minority twice over. You can sense her growing pains in the Dhadak 2's odd comic interludes, a needless song-and-dance number, and one-note soundtrack. Collectively, all of it feels like a giant Ormax Media note more than anything else. But her movie has more integrity than the entire filmographies of her colleagues put together. Her voice is bebaak. Dhadak 2 is the best film of its kind since Nagraj Manjule's Jhund, and one that producer Karan Johar should hang forever and ever on his mantelpiece. Post Credits Scene is a column in which we dissect new releases every week, with particular focus on context, craft, and characters. Because there's always something to fixate about once the dust has settled. Rohan Naahar is an assistant editor at Indian Express online. He covers pop-culture across formats and mediums. He is a 'Rotten Tomatoes-approved' critic and a member of the Film Critics Guild of India. He previously worked with the Hindustan Times, where he wrote hundreds of film and television reviews, produced videos, and interviewed the biggest names in Indian and international cinema. At the Express, he writes a column titled Post Credits Scene, and has hosted a podcast called Movie Police. You can find him on X at @RohanNaahar, and write to him at He is also on LinkedIn and Instagram. ... Read More
