Secularism in Indian Cinema

TWENTY SECOND T.A. PAI MEMORIAL LECTURE SECULARISM IN INDIAN CINEMA Delivered by SRI SHYAM BENEGAL Film Producer, Sahyadri Films, 19/20a, Tardeo Road, Tardeo, Mumbai – 400 034 ON JANUARY 17, 2005 AT MANIPAL T.A. PAI MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE MANIPAL SECULARISM IN INDIAN CINEMA I remember that for me it is a which is now got almost washed away. great privilege to come here and deliver The Island also almost washed away and the memorial lecture in memory of Mr. he remembered when he was the T.A. Pai. Because I remember that I met Development Commissioner and he was him many years ago, when I had made a allocating funds for Nicobar and series of promotional films for the Life Andaman at that time. He has gone Insurance Corporation. He was then there and there was a small tribal Chairman of LIC and my memory of him community that was living there and matches exactly what Mr. K K Pai said of their sole wealth used to be pigs and him about that lift that was made only they were piggy rich and when the for the Chairman in that building. I population of pigs grew, they became remember he was so down to earth rich and when they became rich like because the other Officers had said that that they always used to have a custom we know that you are meeting the which was to celebrate their wealth Chairman and the whole protocol was with their ancestors which meant that being set up for me so that I would go they would dig up the bones and skulls and not make any bloomers when I met of the ancestors and place them in front him. But interestingly what happened and did have all these live pictures of was the moment I met him, he started these pigs as they ‐‐offered to them. As to talk to me in ‘Konkani’. As you know, this was a community that had been everything was just simply vanished and converted to Christianity by the perfect and after that everything started missionaries when Andaman and to work very well. The films I made of Nicobar were taken over by the British course he liked them and so on and towards the end of the 19th century and then they became the series that went one of the interesting fact that they on for 17 (several) years after that. were all Christians and when Gill asked them “You people are Christians. Why Anyway, before I actually get you people are doing all these strange into my talk, I would be reading the kind of practice?” so the headman said other day very interesting thing when “Well, our religion is Christianity, but Mr. M.S. Gill who was our Chief Election this is our culture”. What he was and Commissioner sometime ago, he wrote what they were trying to say is a little article after that Tsunami. He was something that we as Indians talking about Andaman and Nicobar and understand perfectly well. Because you he remembered Campbell Bay which is know when Nehru talked about ‘unity in the southernmost point of Nicobar diversity’ he was really talking about this because we are extremely diverse situation like this you do not need to people in this country with so many add any kind of political idea of a different languages, so many different unifying concept, so that is why the customs where I come from micro‐ reason I am giving this long time of minority Saraswat community in appeal is because you see the world Chitrapur District. I am told that the secularism has unfortunately in recent Chitrapur Saraswat Census that was years become a matter of debate. taken a couple of years ago, they said Because of some of the political reasons they were no more than 22,000 people the terminologies like pseudo secular, and I thought we know we ever doing secular is also for, which I think is quite for survives and it suggests small meaningless because ultimately what community but actually it was survived we mean by secular is we mean and I know because nothing in India inclusive. In the context of India, it does which dies out and nothing at all dies not measure the mean that we should out in India. It goes somewhere out be functionally without our beliefs or crossing to the woodwork but when you our religions, it means that we will feel it merges again. So, that was the accept what other people for what they kind of things that happen so here we are. As long as that we accept that we have that level and extreme kind of are citizens of the same land, at that I diversity in languages, religions so many think is the essence of what it is and this different kind of things, yet there is is what concerned to be when it comes something that binds us together that to the cinema. brings us together and that is that quality which off course unfortunately Now, in the late 1950, Satyajit in India has least in recent years taken Ray, on being interviewed, he was one on a somewhat ugly path because it has of the greatest film makers of this got politicized. We politicized the country and producer, and he won the Il concept of this unified culture by giving Leone d’Oro (English: The Golden Lion), it a name and there was just no need for the highest prize given to a film at the that sort of thing because that really it Biennale Venice Film Festival. it is the does not bring people together and it first film ever to win such a prize, a very separates people. Because I think the prestigious film in the festival and essential needs of India have to be where in an interview when he was inclusive to include, we don’t reject asked he said that he was a Bengali film people, we include them. We may be as maker and the same year Raj Kapoor communities and thrones and froth won an award at Karlo Evaluative, extremely that self involved and self another international film festival at absorbed. But when it comes to relating Czechoslovakia and he got very upset he to other people we accept we are said why does Ray call himself as a tolerant, we accept other people very Bengali film maker? Is not he an Indian easily amongst us in our midst. So either film maker? Why should he make that funny kind of mistakes for himself? So the matter of course eventually got Tamil is largely shown only in Tamilnadu disclossed because Ray had qualified his and similarly Telugu films and Bengali statement what he meant what he did films etc. Hindi films tend to travel much not make films in Hindi that he was not wider and go beyond all these different a Hindi film maker and he was a Bengali areas. Anyway, couple of years ago, film maker in the sense that he makes actually now five years ago, Outlook film in Bengali which of course did not invited a number of social thinkers on satisfy anybody at all. Certainly not Raj the 50th Anniversary of the Indian Kapoor I know that. But the important republic, invited a number of social thing here off course is that people in thinkers as well as public personalities India because most of us automatically to answer the question what is an assume that film makers who make Indian? Vinod Mehta, the editor chose films in Hindi are somehow more to quote from a Hollywood film ‘the representative of India than who make party’, an American film, in which there films in other languages. This is a is a British comedy actor called continuing problem particularly for film Peterson, who played the character of makers of South India. Because the film an Indian and when he is asked in the makers in Kerala, we never say Indian film that ‘Sir, Who would you think you film much of the time we mean Hindi are?”. So he replied “In India we don’t film and film makers in Kerala get very think who we are, we know who we bugged and they will get very upset and are” they say what you mean the other people who make films in India and Now I believe this statement was same thing goes for Bengali film makers, actually meant as a joke but actually the Kannada film makers, Telugu film seriously speaking the express on what makers, Tamil film makers and all. most Indians know about themselves Anyway because the idea that largely and a quite secured in the knowledge Hindi being considered the National about we know who we are. You know Language of the country who make this security is an extraordinary thing Hindi films the concept of because this is what gives us in many representational for the whole country ways a great deal of strength. That we is natural and normal. There is no real have a civilizational identity as Indians insult to any of other film makers or never been questioned and the sort of other languages and therefore as far as I extent has been a probability to am concerned even today when I talk accommodate diverse and often of the about Indian films I will actually largely contradictory element in it. At any given mean film makers who make films in time we chose one or another of our Hindi.

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