Raghbir Chand Talwar (21 April 1910 - ?), better known as R. C. Talwar, was an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter. He was born in Talagang, Chakwal in Punjab, British India (now in Pakistan). In the 2023 book Pre-Partition Punjab's Contribution to Indian Cinema, author Ishtiaq Ahmed described Talwar as "the longest living Punjabi" who used to reside in Bombay (now Mumbai).
Talwar's directorial career began with the Punjabi film Pardesi Dhola in 1941 and continued until Naya Kanoon in 1965. He was known for working closely with J. S. Casshyap and Ramanand Sagar, both of whom wrote the dialogue for several of his films. In 1952, Talwar directed and produced a loose adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre: the Hindi-language romantic drama Sangdil, which became one of the year's highest-grossing films. While contemporary critic Baburao Patel bemoaned that Talwar "fail[ed] to infuse any life" into the drama, Ahmed retrospectively wrote that Sangdil demonstrated Talwar's "masterly skills in exploiting Dilip Kumar and Madhubala's histrionic talents".
Talwar worked with actors Kishore Kumar and Meena Kumari in three films, Ilzam (1954), Rukhsana (1955) and Mem Sahib (1956). The latter, which was also written by Talwar, is noted for its unconventional story in which a wealthy, independent woman (played by Kumari) seeks her own romantic partner, refusing to marry the man selected by her father. Contemporary reviews in The Times of India were positive toward both films: Ilzam was praised for its "delightful entertainment", while Mem Sahib was described as an "amusing comedy with social slant".
Filmography
Year Title LanguageProducerDirector Ref. 1941 Pardesi Dhola Punjabi 1943 Manchali Hindi 1945 Albeli 1950Khiladi 1952 Khamoshi Sangdil SaqiHarnam Singh Rawail 1954 Ilzam 1955 Rukhsana 1956 Mem Sahib 1963 Ek Dil Sau Afsane 1965 Naya KanoonGirdharilal Manchanda
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