Kantilal Rathod was an Indian film maker known for his work in Gujarati and Hindi cinema. He directed the 1969 Gujarati film Kanku which won National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Gujarati at the 17th National Film Awards.[1]
Born on 12 December 1924 in Raipur, India, Rathod grew up in Bengali atmosphere. He studied Art at Shantiniketan, and went to America to study Animation and Cartoon film at Art Institute of Chicago. He taught documentary film making and editing at Circus University, America during 1954-56. He made a short film Cloven Horizon about children's paintings for the same institute. The film was distributed by Encyclopædia Britannica. He briefly worked with Scottish Canadians animator and director Norman McLaren. He died on 28 September 1988.[1]
His film Parinay won the 1974 Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration (known as the "Rajat Kamal Special Award for the Best Feature Film on National Integration" at that time) presented by the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF).[2] The DFF also gave Samantar Chitra Private Limited a Rajat Kamal (Silver Lotus), ₹30,000 (equivalent to ₹900,000 or US$11,000 in 2023), and a certificate; Rathod got a Rajat Kamal, ₹10,000 (equivalent to ₹300,000 or US$3,800 in 2023), and a certificate. Rathod's film Cloven Horizon won the best documentary film in 1965. The same year he won the National Film Award for Best Children's Film for The Adventures of Sugar Doll at 13th National Film Awards.[2]