K. S. Daryani

Khanchand Shamaldas Daryani (1899 – 2 April 1955) was an Indian dramatist, film producer, screenwriter, director and stage actor. Literary scholar L. H. Ajwani describes Daryani as "the most notable figure in the history of Sindhi drama and film" and credits him with being "the first to bring home to Sindhis the value of drama and its significance in the life and literature of the province".

Born in 1899 in Hyderabad, Sindh, Daryani studied at the Agricultural College, Poona (now Pune), and joined the Agricultural Department of Sind as a gazetted officer. He was active in theatre from an early age and co-founded the Rabindranath Literary and Dramatic Club (RLDC), along with M. U. Malkani, in 1923. Besides writing, Daryani also performed in his own plays, portraying the female leads in Gulab Jo Gul urf Devi Jo Partap and Motiye Ji Mukhri urf Anand Ji Sundari. Shaikh regarded Bharat Ki Beti (1934), Sangdil Samaj (1936), Zamana (1938), and Hindustan Hamara (1940) as the "outstanding successes" of Daryani's career. The romantic comedy Salgirah (1946) was Daryani's only directorial venture, described in a Bombay Chronicle review as an "emotional story [that] tells the modern people, what love really is, and means". In 1951, Daryani produced his final film, Tarana, which was a critical and commercial success.

Filmography