J.P Dutta (B. 1949)

Hindi director born in Bombay. Son of cineaste O.P. Dutta. Belongs to late 80s generation of Hindi commercial film-makers (e.g. Vinod Chopra, N. Chandra) aiming for a realist surplus through the sensory intensification of established film genres, as in 70s Hollywood films (e.g. Scorsese). Locates all his scripts in feudal Rajasthan, among conflicts featuring the Jat and the immensely powerful Thakur zamindars. His début, Sarhad (1978) was to star Vinod Khanna but remained unfinished. Faced major controversy when his next film, Ghulami, sparked off communal violence in Rajasthan. Best-known film Hathyar extended the ancestral conflict into Bombay’s gang wars. FILMOGRAPHY : 1985: Ghulami; 1988: Yateem; 1989: Hathyar; Batwara; 1992: Kshatriya.