Padosi (film)

Padosi
Directed by	V. Shantaram
Produced by	Prabhat Film Company
Written by	Vishram Bedekar
Starring	Gajanan Jagirdar Mazhar Khan Radhakrishan Anees Khatoon
Music by	Master Krishnarao
Cinematography	V. Avdhoot
Production company	Prabhat Film Company
Release date	1941 (1941)
Running time	135 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi

Padosi (Hindi: पड़ोसी, Neighbour) also called Shejari in Marathi (शेजारी) is a 1941 Hindi social drama film directed by V. Shantaram. It was produced by Prabhat Film Company and the bilingual film in Hindi and Marathi was the last film Shantaram made for Prabhat before venturing to form his Rajkamal Kalamandir. The film is cited as one of the three social classics Shantaram made at Prabhat. The other two were Duniya Na Mane (1937) and Aadmi (1939). The story and dialogue were by Vishram Bedekar in the Marathi version, while the dialogues in the Hindi version by Pandit Sudarshan who also wrote the lyrics. The music director was Master Krishnarao. The famous character artist Radhakrishan made his acting debut in the film as a villain The film starred Mazhar Khan, Gajanan Jagirdar, Anees Khatoon, Radha Kishan, Lajwanti, Sumitra, Gopal, Balak Ram.

The story concentrated on the topical issue of Hindu-Muslim unity making a "strong plea" for it. The film was made against the backdrop of communal tension at the formation of Muslim League. Shantaram attempted a theme showing amicable relations between the Hindus and the Muslims. To achieve a better geniality he had Mazhar Khan, a Muslim playing the role of a Hindu and Gajanan Jagirdar, a Hindu play the Muslim character.

With his trio of social films and especially Padosi, Shantaram has been cited by author Bajaj as the third best director pre-1960 in the top ten rating following P. C. Barua for Devdas (1935) and Homi Wadia for Miss Frontier Mail (1936), followed by Mehboob Khan for Mother India (1957).