Parasar Gaur

Parashar Gaur is a director, filmmaker, poet, and artist based in the Garhwali language cinema in Uttarakhand. He was born on 3rd May 1947 in a small village named Mirchora, Aswal Syun Garhwal, in Uttarakhand, India. He was self-taught for both junior and higher secondary education. He graduated with a BA degree from Lala Lajpat Rai Degree College Sahibabad, U.P. His late father, Pt. Tika Ram Gaur was an astrologer who resided in Delhi. In memory of his father, he created ‘‘Garhwali Shahitya Purshkar’’ which earned the first-ever award for literature in Garhwali language. At a very young age, he debuted in theatre as a child actor ‘Rohtash’ in a play called ‘’Raja Harish Chander’’ in his village. During his teenage days, he moved to Delhi and witnessed that Garhwali language was not known by many and thus decided to represent the language by theatrical acts.

With support from colleagues such as Mr. Dinesh Pahadi and Krishan Chand Chanpuriya, he formed ‘’Pushpanjali Rangshala’’ on 28th February 1965. Under this banner he wrote his first-ever Garhwali Natak/Drama named ‘’Aunsi ki Raat’’ in which Mr. Gaur played the lead role himself. This play brought him fame and recognition all over India. Mr. Gaur has acted in numerous plays like Choli, Khawesh, Chatti ki Raat, Junyali Raat, Timla Timla Khatya Nagyak Nangi Dikhyaa, Mangal, and many more.

He has performed in over 50 Hindi plays, out of which Dhronacharya and Andha Yug are the two that mark his most notable work. Parashar Gaur has dedicated 30 years of his life to the Garhwali cinema, not only by acting but also by writing poems in regional dialects which were published by various newspapers and magazines. He also wrote about 30 songs which were broadcast on All India Radio during 1960s. In 1983, he stamped the trademark of Garhwali cinema with the release of ‘’Jagwal’’ (The Long Wait), the first-ever Garhwali movie directed and produced by Parashar Gaur. The film was well-received, and the demand for its premier was steadily increased. In 2008 he made another such attempt to revive the Garhwali cinema and inspire the young generation to affiliate with this regional dialect. Parashar Gaur has moved to Toronto, Canada and resides with his family.