Chapter Four

The Talkies: A New Dimension of Visual Image

4.1. Sound as a component of image

The emergence of talkies brought in changes in the entire film world. Jatindra Nath Mitra records his opinions on the emergence of talkies in the weekly journal Film Land. Jatindra Nath Mitra urges the Indian enterprisers to take up the responsibility of building up studios to produce talkies. He senses an opportunity to produce indigenous films as the element of sound had stalled Hollywood’s claim of universal film language:

In pre-talkie days, Hollywood pictures were in universal demand, because the whole world with all its diversities and short-comings were very ably epitomized in them. Her representations were broad abstractions, humanity in toto, and hence appeared to human beings from San Francisco to Tokie, that is, all over the two worlds. Thus Hollywood built up a reputation for universal characterization. Her ‘movies’ have had a tremendous vogue. The accidental appearance of ‘talkies’ has, of course, turned a table against her. (Filmland Vol. IV, Issue No. 159 5-6)

In this article one comes across the practice of division between ‘movies’ (silent cinema) and ‘talkies’ (cinema with sound). Most of the advertisements of talkie films in Indian cine journals emphasize the element of song and dance. For example Varieties Weekly a cine journal advertises the screen debut of Alaknanda as “A famous singer and Dancer from U.P. makes her screen debut in ‘Surya Kumari’ ” (Varieties No pagination). Alam Ara (1931) was advertised as, “all talking, singing, dancing” (Barnouw, Indian Film 60). The implications of sound were serious in general for cinema but for Indian cinema they were different from those of the European cinema. The market of Indian cinema got divided based on the language. The economics of Indian cinema immediately got affected for the simple reason that the regions inhabiting specific languages would demand films in those particular languages. The other change that Indian cinema confronted was the introduction of

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song and dance sequence in the film. Let us first take into account what, Deleuze suggests, coming of sound did to the visual image.

Deleuze in Cinema 2 claims that the break between the silent and talkie films met with a resistance from certain strata of film makers but the silent cinema was hinting towards the talkie:

But it has been shown with as much justification how the silent film called for the talkie, already implied it: the silent film was not silent, but only ‘noiseless’, as Mitry says, or only ‘deaf’, as Michael Chion says. What the talkie seemed to lose was the universal language, and the omnipotence of montage; what it seemed to gain, according to Mitry, was a continuity in the passage from one place to another, from one moment to another. (216)

The basic difference that Deleuze points towards, between silent cinema and the talkie is the readability of image. The images of silent cinema are seen and the intertitles are read with the second function of eye” (Cinema 2 216). The image in silent cinema reaches the naturalness of society and uses intertitle to string a relation between the seen image and read image. According to Deleuze the intertitle can “…make us see the lamentations of the poor or the cry of the rebels. It shows the condition of speech- act, its immediate consequences and even its phonation” (Cinema 2 217). With talkies Deleuze states the second function of the eye that is of reading image, is taken away. The speech act that was read in silent cinema is now heard directly. The talkie, “recovers the distinct features of ‘discourse’ which were altered in the silent or written film” (Cinema 2 217). The heard images become the new dimension, new component of visual image. Thus talkie modifies the visual image by making visible some aspect of image that was not there in the silent cinema. Deleuze states that it is the, “human interaction”, (Cinema 2 218) that becomes visible in talkies. Visual image in this way becomes de-naturalized, as Deleuze states, because of the sociology of communication is a, “correlate of speech act and silences stripping the social of its naturalness, forming systems which are far from being in equilibrium or invent their own equilibrium” (Cinema 2 218).

The most important feature of talkie according to Deleuze is the feature of situation as structuring and conditioning of interaction the way it used to with action and reaction in silent cinema. While comparing some important scenes from silent

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cinema to the talkies Deleuze explicates more on how the sound fills up the space in talkies. Deleuze argues “But it was the space covered which allowed the silent speech-act to be re constituted in this way. Whilst it is now the heard voice which spreads in visual space, or fill it, trying to reach its addressee across obstacles and diversions” (Cinema 2 224). With heard voices acquiring new status in the talkies and becoming one more dimension of visual image the analysis of talkies selected for study should yield some interesting observations.

4.2. Achhut Kanya

Achhut Kanya was released in 1936 and was a huge success. Joyojeet Pal, Niranjan Pal’s grand son, while talking about Achhut Kanya, describes the film as:

His most famous work with Bombay Talkies though was the controversial blockbuster, Achhut Kanya (1936), still a household name in India. The film deals with an ill-fated romance between a boy from a Brahmin family and a girl from an ‘untouchable’ family. In the film, both conformity and non- conformity are equally impossible options, underlining important social questions that the soon to be free nation would face. The exploration of mob mentalities towards preventing cross-caste relationships are eerily relevant three quarters of a century later, as Indian filmmakers of the day grapple with ways of examining honour killings on screen. (Niranjan Pal 17)

Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Paul Willemen describe Achhut Kanya as:

A circular story, told in flashback, in which eternal repetition is only interrupted by death in the form of a relentlessly linear railway engine. The film opens at a railway crossing where a man is about to kill his wife when the narrative spins into the past via a song. The central story is of the unhappy love affair between Kasturi (Devika Rani), the Harijan (Untouchable) daughter of the railway level crossing guard Dukhia (Prasad), and Pratap (Kumar), the Brahmin son of the grocer Mohan (Pithawala). At first, the rumour and mob violence are deployed to lethal effect in order to maintain a ‘traditional’, oppressive morality. Later, when the main protagonists are about to conform and marry selected partners, rumour and maliciousness again intervene to

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trigger renewed violence until the on-rushing train of fate stops the strife. (Encyclopedia 265)

The film begins with the background music and a small temple in close-up showing a carved statue of the face of a woman. The camera slowly tilts down to show the writing at the base of the temple. The writing is read as, “She sacrificed her life to save others’ lives” (Figure 4.1). The image fades in on to the close-up of the written words emphasizing them. This close-up is followed by a mid-long shot framing the entire temple. One more fade in is used for the visual transition and a half lit house, supposedly railway station, is shown with a pan from the left of the frame to the right showing the temple across a small road. With one more fade in the frame now has a railway signal on the left and a railway guard closing the railway gate. From the opposite side of the frame a car approaches to the gate. These are two movements from opposite directions meeting at one point, where the gate closes (Figure 4.2). The man in the car, in a high angle camera frame, asks the guard to open the gate but the guard refuses despite the fact that there still is time for the train to come. The man in the car tries to bribe the guard but the guard refuses to accept the money and explains, in a low angle camera frame, that he will not open the gate because a ghost appears in between 12 to 1 at night. The use of light and shadow in this scene creates the atmosphere of mystery (Figures 4.3-4.4). The man gets down from the car as the guard leaves the frame. While getting down from the car he drops his gun on the seat. His wife gives the gun back to him. The significance of the gun is revealed later at the end of the film. However it is easy to guess that he had the gun with him to kill his wife. The man starts walking towards the temple and a song is heard in the background. The source of the song cannot be traced. His wife observes the atmosphere around. And her gaze is followed by the camera recording the trees and the full moon in low angle pan that stops at the end on the temple followed by a cut and her gaze going in the same direction. After a cut, in a mid-long shot the man is seen looking at the temple with his back to the camera and his wife gets off the car and walks towards the temple.

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Figure 4. 1. The temple of Kasturi with Figure 4. 2. The guard closing the the words written at the bottom. AK railway gate and the car approaching the gate. AK

Figure 4. 3. The guard talking to the Figure 4. 4. The driver trying to bribe the driver. Use of light and shadow. AK guard. AK

The next shot is a mid close-up keeping the same camera angle. The man asks his wife to go back to the car. The man’s speech here suggests the strained relationship, “Go back to the car, you have come as if your dear Narendra is here” (AK). This is when after a cut a tree is seen in the mid shot and an old man appears on the right side of the screen with superimposition. This old man as we get to know is the source of the song that is heard from the beginning of this sequence. The song stops and the lady reads out the lines written at the bottom of the temple. The read image is heard now. The old man repeats the same lines. There is a special emphasis given on the act of sacrifice that the woman in the monument had gone through. The old man suggests the couple that the telling and listening of the story of this woman brings salvation. The lady from the car requests the old man to narrate the story of the sacrifice. The old man metaphorically says, “I will remove the veil from the gone

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moments” (AK). This old man is shown with low angle shot and his hand movement matches the wipe as a visual transition suggesting the unveiling of the virtual past. The next shot, with a wipe as a visual transition, goes back to the past; to the story of Kasturi and Pratap.

This opening sequence of Achhut Kanya suggests some interesting formations of movement-image breaking the sensory-motor-schema but not materializing into time-image. D. N. Rodowick in Gilles Deleuze’s Time Machine, describes the function of memory in the process of bringing out time to the fore in cinema, as follows:

Bergson understands the relations between movement and matter as continuous in space. There can be no physical division of body and mind considered from the point of view of movement. Memory, on the other hand, requires the interval as a dislocation in time. In the direct image of time, the interval no longer functions as continuity in space, but as a series of dislocations in time. These dislocations involve relations between present and past that are nonlinear and nonchronological. Contrary to perception, then, memory might be defined as a process bringing ever more complex and numerous points in time into relation with an image drawn from perception on the one hand, and from memory itself on the other. Direct images of time provide audio-visual mappings of this process. (87)

The song heard in this scene initially does not have the source of its enunciation. The visuals that go with this song are of nature, the trees and the full moon in the sky. The lady in the vehicle looks at the sky, the moon and the tree tops. It becomes difficult to confirm whether her action of looking is a reaction to the perception of the sound image. The song is about God being omnipresent and non-discriminating. The visuals of the sky, moon and tree tops go with the lyrics of the song; of God being present everywhere in the world. The appearance of the ghost brings in the source of the song in the visual image. The ghosts’ act of revealing the past, going back to the memory, is a recollection image. But this recollection comes from habitual recognition (Deleuze, Cinema 2 42). The ghost tells the couple that the telling and listening of the story of the woman’s sacrifice brings in salvation and the railway guard’s explanation that the ghost appears every day, points towards the repetition of the act of

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recollection of the story of sacrifice. The recollection thus is associated with the sensory-motor-schema. For the time-image to appear, the visual images and sound images have to form new circuits and do away with the sensory-motor-schema. According to Deleuze:

The relation of the actual image to recollection-images can be seen in the flashback. This is precisely a closed circuit which goes from the present to the past, then leads us back to the present…But we know very well that the flashback is a conventional, extrinsic device: it is generally indicated by a dissolve-link, and the images that it introduces are often superimposed or meshed. It is like a sign with the words: ‘watch out! Recollection’. It can, therefore, indicate, by convention, a causality which is psychological, but still analogous to a sensory-motor determinism, and, despite its circuits, only confirms the progression of a linear narration. (Cinema 2 46)

And this is what precisely happens with this scene, the story of Kasturi, who sacrifices her life for others, is told in flashback. At the end of the film after the flash back is over, the ghost disappears with a fade out from the frame. The tension between the husband and wife subsides and the film ends with Kasturi’s monument in the frame. The song without source and Kasturi’s monument create the situation where the sensory-motor-schema appears to fall apart with the stretching of gap between perception and action, but ultimately all these images conform to the sensory-motor- schema and become parts of movement-image. For Ravi Vasudevan, “In these inaugural features of Bombay Talkies we can observe how commodity value, reformism and modernity are bound together in its enterprise. Indeed the commodity field constituted by star and the studio may have been central to its articulation of the ideology of modernity:” (Film Studies 2810). Achhut Kanya has been talked about in the light of some of the issues of modernity it deals with. The story of Kasturi (the low caste railway signal man’s daughter) and Pratap (the Brahmin grocer’s son) leaps in time with cuts on dialogues. The visual transitions used are wipes. After two shots in flashback we have a voice over of the ghost reminding us of the original situation of the film, the narration of Kasturi’s story. The voice over introduces the friendship between Mohanlal, the grocer, and Dukhiya, the railway signal man. Mohanlal is stung by a poisonous snake and it is Dukhiya who sucks out the venom out of his body. Dukhiya has to touch Mohanlal and he asks for his forgiveness. As a result of

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the touch Dukhiya and Mohanlal become close friends. The actions of touching and sucking the venom out of Mohanlal’s body become the relation-image. According to Deleuze the relation image is the thirdness and mental image (Cinema 2 272). The action-image becomes the symbolic element of law. The event of touch between the upper caste grocer and the lower caste railway signal man becomes symbolic of certain closeness between them. Dukhiya’s apology for touching Mohanlal brings in the element of caste discrimination in the society. However it becomes important to note that this touch, symbolic in various ways, is acceptable to the society. In this case people sitting around the ailing Mohanlal, do not mind Dukhiya touching him.

Figure 4.5. Mohanlal and Dukhiya sitting Figure 4.6. Pratap and Kasturi sitting at at different planes suggesting the caste the same plane on the Bullock cart. AK hierarchy. AK

The film moves forward with one more leap in time, with ellipsis, Kasturi and Pratap are grown into a youthful couple. Pratap is about to leave for a nearby village to buy grains and Kasturi is sweeping the porch of her house. Kasturi wants to accompany Pratap and he agrees to take her with him. They leave in the bullock cart. With a cut, scene changes to Mohanlal and Dukhiya in a wide angle mid-shot. The composition of frame is suggestive in this shot. Mohanlala is shown sitting on a higher plane and Dukhiya is sitting on the ground suggesting the caste hierarchy in the society (Figure 4.5). Both Mohanlal and Dukhiya are aware of this caste hierarchy in spite of being good friends. On the other hand the earlier shot in which Pratap and Kasturi leave on the Bullock cart, are sitting on the same plane either being not aware or not giving the caste hierarchy any thought (Figure 4.6).

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The conversation between Mohanlal and Dukhiya gives us the first glimpse of the conflict in this yet to be fully established society, the village. Dukhiya asks Mohanlal to stop coming to his house as the entire village has gone against Mohanlal for befriending the low caste Dukhiya. But Mohanlal argues:

Mohanlal: Brother, our relation is not that of high caste and low caste. Do you think I can ever forget that you risked your life to save mine? The entire village is aware of the fact that what you have done for me nobody would do even for his brother. In fact it is the Babulal vaidya who is misleading people about us.

Dukhiya: Why is Babulal jealous of you? I don’t like him.

Mohanlal: I sell Quinine to the villagers thus they don’t buy his medicine. This is the reason. (AK)

The scene changes to the conversation between Babulal vaidya and one of the patients. The conversation in this shot brings forth the conflict between Babulal’s traditional medicine and Mohanlal’s modern medicine, anti-malaria Quinine. Babulal asks the patient:

Babulal: How is your daughter now? You took the medicine the other day but did not come back again.

Patient: Vaidyaji your medicine did not work. She recovered quickly with Mohanlal’s medicine.

Babulal: What? From last fifteen generations my ancestors have been practicing traditional medicine and you say that my medicine did not work! I will avenge you and Mohanlal for this insult. (A K)

However, the line Babulal uses to describe his traditional business of medicine, “practiced by fifteen generations”, is repeated by him in the film frequently. This repetition later on in the film creates lot of humour at various situations. These two different scenes are connected in space and time through conversations. It is quite evident how sound is used to connect the scenes and shots with each other and give the sense of continuity of actions happening at different time lines and at different spaces. Instead of bodies moving in space we get the shots in which characters in the

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film are in conversations. Their bodily movements are restricted to the partially closed frame that opens up on to another set through the connection of speech.

The next shot, after the cut, begins with instrumental music and a frame with long shot saturated with trees. As the instrumental music continues, the bullock cart is seen entering the frame from left to the right. Pratap and Kasturi sing the song, “Khet ki Muli bag ko Aam” (A K). The song is entirely shot in mid close-ups (Figure 4.7). The characters again are bound in the frame not allowing much body movement. But taking into account the restrictions that technology put on the body movements at the beginning of the talkies, the song is shot focusing on the tight frames of the singing characters. The song also indicates the unity of time for the actions happening at three different spaces. Babulal vaidya’s conversation with his patient, Mohanlal and Dukhiya’s conversation, and Pratap and Kasturi’s journey to another village are all actions happening at the same time. In the next shot Mohanlal and Dukhiya’s conversation ends as the bell rings and Dukhiya, being the railway guard, had to close the gate for the railway is about to approach (Figure 4.8).

Figure 4.7. Pratap and Kasturi singing in Figure 4.8. Mohanlal and Dukhiya about a tight frame with a mid-shot. AK end their conversation as the train is about to approach the station. AK

Pratap’s mother as one of the elements that issues awareness of caste discrimination over Pratap and Kasturi’s growing closeness. Kasturi’s father too is aware of the impossibility of Kasturi and Pratap’s marriage and explains this to Kasturi.

Pratap and Kasturi come back with the grains. At Mohanlal’s shop Kasturi asks for ration. A passerby overhears the conversation between Mohanlal and Kasturi

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where she tells Mohanlal that she can cook and Pratap has eaten the food she had cooked (Figure 4.9). Pratap’s mother scolds Pratap for eating the food cooked by Kasturi (Figure 4.10). The film here seems to move from situations to actions. Deleuze in Cinema 1 describes this movement as follows:

We are approaching a domain which is easier to define: derived milieu assert their independence and start to become valid for themselves. Qualities and powers are no longer displayed in any-space-whatevers, no longer inhabit originary worlds, but are actualized directly in determinate, geographical, historical and social space-times. Affects and impulses now only appear as embodied in behavior, in the form of emotions or passions which order and disorder it…What constitutes realisms is simply this: milieux and modes of behaviour, milieu which actualize and modes of behaviour which embody. The action-image is the relation between the two and all the varieties of this relation. (145)

Figure 4.9. The passerby overhears the Figure 4.10. Pratap’s mother scolding conversation between Mohanlal, Kasturi, Pratap for eating food cooked by Kasturi. Pratap and Pratap’s mother. AK AK

In Achhut Kanya the village, the social space, seems to influence the individual choices, the personal space. The action of cooking for and eating together for Kasturi and Pratap are not considered to be socially acceptable. Pratap’s parents and Kasturi’s father start seriously pondering over the growing intimacy between Pratap and Kasturi. The solution to this problem they have is to marry them in their

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own caste. Pratap and Kasturi accept the impossibility of their union. Pratap is married to a girl from his caste.

Mohanlal gets to know that Dukhiya is not feeling well when the procession of Pratap’s marriage crosses Dukhiya’s house, he offers Dukhiya to stay at his place till he gets well. Mohanlal brings Dukhiya at his house. Babulal vaidya gets to know about this and there are other people in the village that plan to get Mohanlal in trouble over his growing intimacy with Dukhiya (Figure 4.11). They plan to out caste Mohanlal for bringing the low caste Dukhiya in his house (Figure 4.12). There is no single establishment shot in the film that shows the entire village. The village as a space is sliced and exposed at various points in the film. Babulal vaidya along with other village men walks towards Mohanlal’s house. People are seen moving around doing their daily chores through narrow alleys with small houses (Figure 4.13). Babulal along with other villagers reaches Mohanlal’s house and starts saying that Mohanlal has contaminated the Brahmin caste and has to move out of the village. Babulal vaidya argues that even he deals with the untouchables, treats them, but does not keep them in his house. Mohanlal in his defense, with a long speech, explains the villagers,

Mohanlal: Listen, you can throw me out of the village. But tell me that are not untouchables human beings? Don’t they feel happiness or get sad? Human beings belonging to all castes are children of one God. All the elements on earth, sunlight, water, air are equally accessible to everybody. If the God does not discriminate between human beings what right do we have to practice caste discrimination? You tell me Babulal, you are a vaidya, is the fever of a Brahmin different from fever of an untouchable? Dukhiya is not well and he needs to be looked after. It is my personal issue and you do not need to interfere into this. (Ak)

The villagers however do not agree with Mohanlal and storm into his house (Figure 4.14). Mohanlal is hurt and the villagers loot his store adjacent to his house. Dukhiya leaves for the railway crossing to get the doctor from junction. The villagers set Mohanlal’s house on fire. Dukhiya tries to get on the train to get a doctor from junction but fails to do so and feels bad about it (Figure 4.15). But he meets a police officer at the railway crossing enquiring about riot in the village. Dukhiya informs the

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police about Babulal’s deeds. One more villager appears at the railway crossing and confirms about Babulal’s deed. The police go to the village to enquire about the matter (Fig. 4.16). The railway officer appears after the police leave and Dukhiya is being dismissed from his job. These two incidents, Dukhiya’s effort to get a doctor and Mohanlal’s house being set on fire, are edited with parallel cutting. Ravi Vasudevan has analysed this particular sequence in the essay, Film Studies, New Cultural History and Experience of Modernity as follows:

Inter-cutting between the events in the village and Dukhiya’s frantic activities at the railway line, the segment constitutes an extension of space, a compression of time, and feelings of anxiety and helplessness in the spectator. The movement between spaces at the level of filmic narration runs parallel to the social problem which inaugurates the riot: the fact that the untouchable has been moved out of his house and into that of the Brahmin, thus disturbing the imperatives of spatial and bodily separation which underlie the caste system. Clearly, the train represents the possibilities of a further extension of this disturbance of traditional norms and spatial organization, and therefore becomes a metaphor for modernity when it brings the police to the village. The police darogha will prove to be an ideal representative of modernity, for he completely disregards the hierarchies in the village and proceeds to arrest the Brahmin leader of the riot. (2811)

Vasudevan also points towards the contradiction that Mohanlal as a character entails. He represents modernity by going against the caste distinctions and advocating modern medicine but does not press charges against the rioters. Dukhiya’s attempt of getting the doctor for the injured Mohanlal, instead of the police, is considered as self defeating by Vasudevan (2811). The police intervene and the decision to punish the culprit is taken by the state agency and not by Mohanlal. It appears that the modernity through the agency of police, railway and modern medicine exists in the confines of the village but does not become the integral part of the village life. This is evident through the tragic end of the film. The caste distinction remains blurred through the relationship between Mohanlal and Dukhiya but when it comes to Pratap and Kasturi’s relationship the caste barriers stand firm. It is the personal choices and intimate desires, whom to befriend and marry, that are not regulated by the agencies of modernity. This confrontation between the tradition and personal choice brings in

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some instances in the film where the affection-images appear to be withdrawn from concrete space and time. The any-space-whatevers appears strongly with the dominant caste system hovering over the two lovers.

Figure 4.11. Dukhiya at Mohanlal’s Figure 4.12. Babulal and other villagers house. AK planning to avenge Mohanlal. AK

Figure 4.13. Narrow alleys of the village Figure 4.14. Babulal vaidya and other and gradual, sliced establishment of the villagers at Mohanlal’s house. AK village. AK

After the riot Mohanlal’s family starts its routine life. Dukhiya and Kasturi continue to live in the same railway signalman’s chowki as the new man Manu, replacing Dukhiya as a signal man, is the same person to whom Kasturi was engaged

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in childhood. Manu is already married to Kajari but they do not live together for Kajari’s parents want Manu to live with them in their house. Manu does not approve of this.Dukhiya decides to marry Kasturi to Manu and Kasturi agrees to it. Karturi and Pratap are still in love with each other and both of them are shown singing sad song for their lost love. Though Deleuze would say that the event of speech functions as an action-image, the two particular songs in this film I refer to, become the impulse- image. While describing impulse-image Deleuze states that, “this new set is not a mere intermediary, a place of transition, but posseses a perfect consistency and autonomy, with the result that the action-image remains powerless to represent it, and the affection-image powerless to make it felt” (Cinema 1 127). The grief of separation has started showing its effects on both the characters by now. Kasturi is shown singing the sad song, “jaati hai gaati chidiya ye rag, avo pritam hilmil khele premprit ka phag…” sitting at the bank of a river, looking at void with blank eyes (Figure 4.17). Pratap, rebuilding the roof of the house, sings the sad song, “kise karata murakh pyaar pyaar pyaar tera kaun hai…jhuthe jag ke naate-rishte jhuthi jag ki prit, jhuthaa jaga kaa milana-julana ulti jag ki rit…” expressing his grief. His actions and his speech are devoid from each other as the song and expressions on his face reflect his sadness (Figure 4.18).

Figure 4.15. Dukhiya and Kasturi trying Figure 4.16. Dukhiya and a villager to stop train to get a doctor. AK reporting to the police about Babulal’s deeds. AK

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Figure 4.17. Kasturi looking at the river Figure 4.18. Pratap working on the and expressing her grief through song. rooftop and singing sad song. AK AK There comes a moment in one of the following scenes when Pratap asks Kasturi to elope with him but after thinking for a while she denies it. Pratap tells Kasturi that their separation has become intolerable for him. There appears the superimposed images of the riot on the image in which Kasturi is shown in a close-up (Figures 4.19-4.20). These become the images where the schema of perception followed by an action as a reaction image is stretched. The transition from affection- image to action-image lingers for longer period of time. There also appears the recollection image not in the form of habitual recognition but the attentive recognition. It becomes the moment of appearance of the pure optical image.

Figure 4.19. Both the characters unable Figure 4.20. Kasturi thinking about the to act or react as Pratap asks Kasturi to riot that took place because of the caste elope with him. AK hierarchy in the society. AK

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The attentive recognition nonetheless is followed by the decisive no of Kasturi with the explanation that “The fate did not favour us. You are a Brahmin and I am an untouchable” (AK). Close to the end of the film there is one more instance when the attentive recognition appears with the superimposition on the existing image (Figure 4.21). Pratap, while returning back from the village fare in a bullock cart reminds Kasturi of the good time they had spent with each other in the past. The superimposition of the song they had sung together at the beginning of the film is remembered by both of them. But Kasturi tells Pratap not to remind her of their past life. This scene is followed by the scene in which Manu and Pratap get involved in a scuffle. Kajari, Manu’s first wife, misleads Manu in believing that Kasturi is unfaithful to him and loves Pratap. Manu attacks Pratap near the railway crossing. Kasturi tries in vain to separate the two men involved in the fight. The bullock cart is stuck on the railway track and there is a railway approaching. Kasturi in bid to save the railway passengers, from the possible accident, runs towards the railway to stop it. She is dashed by the railway and dies. By the time all the characters around realize what has happened it is too late. The story narrated by the ghost ends with railway passengers and other characters hovering around Kasturi’s dead body (Figure 4.22). The visual is supported by the ghost’s last lines of voice over narration, “usane apani jaan di dusaron ki jaane bachane ke liye” (AK).

Figure 4.21. Attentive recognition of past Figure 4.22. Railway passengers and superimposed on the present image of other characters surrounding Kasruri’s Pratap and Kasturi. AK dead body. AK

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The last scene of the film ends with the problems between couple stranded at the railway crossing solved. The telling and listening of Kasturi’s story has saved two more lives as the couple stranded at railway crossing state:

Woman: It seems the pure soul still saves people’s lives.

Man: Yes it has saved our lives too. (AK)

As has been analysed, the film is dominated by large form of action-image that is situation leading to action and action resulting in a new situation. Both the stories; the story of the couple stranded at the railway crossing and Kasturi’s story begin with a situation and keep on moving in to new situations through actions. The stranded couple for example through the action of listening to the story of Kasturi, enter in to a new situation. The speech-act of the ghost becomes the act of story-telling. Though there are no dominant images of time, it is possible to say that the film presents the moments when the gap between the perception and action is extended by the characters’ inability to react to the situations as a result of indecisiveness towards the personal choices. The caste discrimination plays an important role through the agency of society to create hindrance in practicing personal choice for Pratap and Kasturi. The dominant caste hierarchy and the peripheral existence of modern governmentality result in the tragic end not only for Kasturi and Pratap but also for their respective families.

The world of Achhut Kanya seems to be divided in four sections. The first section is the world of the two lovers where their innocence towards the caste discrimination gets contaminated gradually as the narrative moves forward. Initially in the film Kasturi and Pratap seem to be completely unaware of the caste barriers that might stop them from forming the union of love. But the gradual realization of the caste hierarchy makes them take decisions they regret later. The second section is that of Mohanlal and Dukhiya’s friendship. Their friendship materializes into a strong relationship despite both of them being aware of the caste discrimination in the society. Mohanlal though does not believe in the practice of untouchability when it comes to Dukhiya. He keeps him in his house to take care of him. But he is helpless in the case of Pratap and Kasturi’s union. The third section comprises of Babulal vaidya and Pratap’s mother representing the strong social caste hierarchy. Babulal vaidya along with other villagers enforces the practice of untouchability. The fourth section

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is that of the agencies of modernity. The modern medicine and governmentality in the form of police and railway are situated at the brink of the village. These sections are intercut at various stages in the film.

The sound plays the role of forming connections between these sections. The speech forms the circuits of actions. The partially closed sets open onto other sets with the connections of speech. The visual images do not have to depend on the gaze for the expansion of sets; the out of field.

In the film the issue of caste is not fully absorbed by Pratap and Kasturi. Their reactions are to the situation, though created by the problem of discrimination based on caste, and not directly to the problem. There appears to be acceptance of the given situation on the part of both the young lovers. On the contrary Mohanlal responds to the situation with an action by continuing his friendship with Dukhiya and bringing him in his house. Thus it is possible to say that Achhut Kanya presents the large form of the action-image; from a given situation it moves to new situation through actions. The story of Kasturi ends in tragedy. The situation in the village does not change much. The village remains more or less unchanged, unresponsive to the agencies of modernity. The organization of whole in this film follows the Organic montage of American school. As it has been stated already, the film is divided into sections; sections that want to confirm to the tradition and the caste hierarchy and the section that wants to practice elements of modernity and do away with the caste barriers. These parts, as Deleuze analyses Griffith’s method of montage, “are taken in binary relationships which constitute a parallel alternate montage, the image of one part succeeding another according to a rhythm” (Cinema 1 31). These parts enter into relationship with each other. They threaten to outdo each other. At one level Babulal is being punished by the police on the other Kasturi meets the tragic fate as a result of the caste hierarchy and scheming of Kajari. Speech plays an important role in bringing these sections in conflict with each other. The small conversations between characters form relationships with virtual images to follow. Babulal’s scheming against Mohanlal is heard and seen at the same time. The paaser by listening to the conversation between Pratap’s family and Kasturi reports it to Babulal. These conversations play an important role in forming the relations between the sets. The conflict between these sections gets resolved with village confirming to the tradition. Kasturi’s story is organized with accelerated montage as is evident in the last scene

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discussed earlier. The shots of train approaching the railway crossing, Kasturi’s desperate attempt of separating two dueling men and her running towards the train to stop it are organized with quick cuts. The ambivalent relationship between tradition and modernity in early twentieth century India comes forth with this film.

4.3. Janmabhoomi

Janmabhoomi is termed as, “a nationalist rural drama” by Rajadhyaksha and Willemen (Encyclopedia 268). The film opens with a mid-shot of a fountain in front of a big house suggesting prosperity. The background music is also suggestive of happy times. The camera slowly tracks back and the mid-shot is transformed into a long-shot of the fountain. The frame now shows the windows and entrance of the big house. The background music is continued with a song sung by a female voice. In the next shot we see the camera panning from left of the frame to the right showing a lush garden. After a cut, the next is a back lit shot of a female character singing a song and walking towards the fountain with her back towards the camera and a paper in her hand (Fig. 4.23). The camera slowly dollies in on her as she faces the camera. After a cut Pratima (Devika Rani) is shown sitting down and the audience get to know that the song is addressed to the pet, a dog. This appears to be a happy situation as Pratima’s song expresses the things to be done for her would be husband. The audience gets to know about her would be husband partially through the song and the dialogue between Pratima and her friend in the following shot. Pratima and her friend discuss Pratima’s would be husband Ajay (Ashok Kumar).

The scene that follows the first establishing sequence is a high angle shot of an ailing person in the bed. It is an over the shoulder shot of Ajay (Fig. 4.24). This scene establishes a new situation. The ailing person is Ajay’s friend Prem and Ajay is a doctor practicing medicine in the city. Prem does not want to die and asks Ajay if he can save his life. Ajay asks him to go to city with him but Prem denies, reasoning with Ajay that he cannot leave behind his fellow villagers. The reasoning between two friends continues as:

Ajay: Prem you have lost your health because of these people who every now and then created problems for you.

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Prem: Not these people Ajay, it is their lack of understanding. But I still believed that these people will realize the true situation. (Janmabhoomi)

This dialogue gives a glimpse of the problem in the village. There seems to be some attempt of reformism by Prem which the villagers have failed to respond to and understand. The situation continues to be established as the out-of-field comes into play through a song sung by a female voice. Both Prem and Ajay look in the right side of the frame from where the sound, supposedly, is coming. The next shot shows the source of the song. An old lady in a long shot walks towards the camera. The frame is rather saturated with information like the houses in the village and some people doing their daily chores (Fig. 4.25). In the next shot Prem tells Ajay that the lady singing the song is called Pagali. She is the only person who understood and supported him. The villagers think she is insane. Pagali enters the house and gets introduced to Ajay. This scene continues to slowly establish the situation as there is a pan from left to the right of the frame showing photographs of Vivekanand and other reformists on the wall (Fig. 4.26). Prem dies after some time and Pagali asks Ajay if he would like to become insane and save the mother. Here by mother she means village. The reference to mother also points towards “India” as a country. The dialogue between Pagali and Ajay also makes clear the difference between city life and village life. If Ajay wants to serve village people he has to leave behind all the comforts of life he gets in the city. The problem in the village, the situation, is partially established here. Ajay and Pratima’s clothes suggest their city life style. Pagali even calls Ajay a ‘baboo,’ a term used in the colonial period for an educated person living in the city. In the next scene Pratima and her friend are shown sitting in the drawing room, reading news paper and discussing their respective ways of getting married. Ajay and Pratima are in love and are about to get married soon.

In the next scene Ajay comes back to the village. In a mid-shot Pagali and Ajay are seen discussing his readiness to serve the ‘Janmabhoomi’. Mise-en-scene in this shot is important as Ajay’s clothes are changed suggesting his transformation. In the earlier shot he was shown wearing shirt, pant, a blazer and a tie symbolic of his city dwelling practices. On the contrary in this shot he is shown wearing khadi clad kurta and dhoti. Ajay tells Pagali that he has renounced the comfortable city life to devote himself in the service of the village. He also confesses that it is difficult for him to break away from Pratima but has broken all the ties with her. In the next scene

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Pratima and her father receive letters by Ajay in which he mentions that for “gramseva” he will stay at village.

Figure 4.23. Pratima singing a song with Figure 4.24. Prem and Ajay talking in a letter in her hand. The fountain and the the over the shoulder shot. JB big house in the background suggest the prosperity. JB

Figure 4.25. Pagali walking through the Figure 4.26. The photographs of the village and singing song. JB social reformers establishing the tone of the film. JB

Pratima’s father believes that Ajay is lying and is denying the marriage with Pratima because he is in love with some other girl. Pratima on the other hand supports Ajay and decides to go to the village to see Ajay.

The descriptions I have been giving here are important from the point of view of the analyses of the organizations of these sets that reveal the whole through montage. In the next scene Pagali takes Ajay with her to show around the village. While showing the daily chores in the village, Pagali sings a song, “Gaon ki Mati,

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Mati hamari” (Janmabhoomi). The lyrics of the song put more emphasis while describing the village along with the visuals (Figures 4.27-4.28). Men carrying grains, children playing together are perceived by Ajay. This scene goes slow as lot of perception-images appear that are in the process of establishing the village. Ajay takes his time to absorb the milieu. Pagali’s conversation with the children playing makes it clear that the word ‘janmabhoomi’ is used for India as a nation as well as its small parts like the village they want to work in.

Figure 4.27. Pagali singing and showing Figure 4.28. Men in the village doing Ajay the village. The village gets their daily chores. JB established slowly in parts through the lyrics of the song and the visuals. JB

Ajay soon starts his mission of reform. He meets people of the village and tells them not to spend money on the rituals suggested by Brahmins and instead use the money for the well being of their children. With a wipe in the next shot he explains the villagers that they don’t have to take loan from ‘Mahajan’, the local money lender. They can go to the Kisan Bank. In the next shot Ajay is shown treating a patient and advising him not to get treated by the village vaidya and instead follow the modern medicine. In the following shot he asks an old man not to marry his young daughter to the old Zamindar. Ajay also talks to the people who work on daily wages. He asks them not to be afraid of the Zamindar’s men and stop working in his fields. Ajay’s reformist ideas are followed by the villagers. The following shots show villagers stop practicing the rituals suggested by the Brahmin. They deny loans from Mahajan and treatment from the local vaidya. An old man tells Zamindar’s aide that he will not marry his daughter to the Zamindar. All these events suggest change of the situation.

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And this change is shown using quick successions of shots. The villagers seem to have quickly accepted Ajay’s reformist ideas. Modern medicine, bank, consent to marry, giving up religious rituals are all changed situations. All these changes are shown using action-images, the speech acts. The changed situations are shown using conversations. This changed situation results into Zamindar, Vaidya, Brahmin and Mahajan plotting against Ajay and the ideas of modernity.

Ajay’s social work continues as in the following scene he is seen walking with the villagers with the farming tools in their hands. This scene begins with Ajay and the fellow villagers singing the song, “Jai jai Janani Janmabhoomi hum balak hain tere” (Janmabhoomi). This song sequence is full of saturated frames as there is lot of movement and action-images. The set keeps on changing with the movements of the characters in the shot. The first shot of the sequence is a long shot comprising movement of Ajay and other villagers moving from left of the frame to the right. There are other villagers who cross the frame from the other direction giving the feel of the busy village morning. The main movement in the sequence is that of Ajay and other villagers suggesting their determination of moving towards a certain goal. The following shot is a long-shot of Ajay and the villagers walking towards the camera from the depth of the field. On both the sides of the frame villagers are seen cutting the frame horizontally. This unidirectional movement establishes the geography of the village. After watching the group moving in unison, other villagers also join the group. The song refers to the various castes that exist in the village and appeals them to work together. The song ends with all the people merging together going into the depth of the field in the frame (Figs. 4.29-4.30).

Zamindar and other conspirators listen to the song. The sound plays an important role here as the sound coming from out-of-field connects the conspiracy that is to be plotted at Zamindar’s house against the social work in progress. The villagers’ coming together and awareness of the usurpers Zamindar, Brahmin, Vaidya and Mahajan put them in conflict with the userpers’ interests. At Zamindar’s house the servant by mistake hands over the ‘hookah’ smoked by Kayastha caste person to the Brahmin. The Brahmin is upset with this. The caste discrimination practiced by these people can be seen in contrast with Ajay’s reformist appeal to people from all the castes to come together and work for the well being of the village.

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Figure 4.29. Ajay with other villagers Figure 4.30. All the villagers merged in moving towards the camera. Women to the group moving towards the place doing their daily chores crossing the they want to work at. JB frame. JB

Pratima manages to come to the village with her father. But her father finds it difficult to adjust to sitting in a bullock cart. Pratima’s father functions as a character contrasted to the village practices and his presence and complaints create humour in the film.

Zamindar and his aides, meanwhile, go to meet the village people and tell them lies about Ajay’s foul intentions and people are convinced of their lies.

On reaching the village Pratima’s father, Pratima and Karuna witness Ajay working in the fields along with other villagers. In the next shot Zamindar, along with the other villagers approaches the field that Ajay is working in. Zamindar asks Ajay to stop all the activities of filling up the undrinkable water sources, accusing him of misinforming the villagers. Ajay tells the people that they can use water from Zamindar’s well as the water is potable (Fig. 4.31). Ajay and Zamindar argue over Ajay’s reformist activities as Ajay denies abandoning his mission. A riot takes place and in the process Pratima is hurt by a stone hurled towards Ajay. Ajay, Karuna and Pratima’s father take Pratima away. The scene changes to Zamindar’s house where Zamindar and others are worried about the consequences. However, Sanatan, Zamindar’s manager, brings the message that Pratima is safe as she is not hurt much. Ajay does not file any case against Zamindar. He also tells Zamindar a lie that Ajay asked for two thousand rupees for not reporting to the police. Sanatan, Vaidya,

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Mahajan and Brahmin use Zamindar for their own monetary benefits. In the following scene Sanatan visits Mahajan who is lending money to Brahmin and Vaidya. All of them discuss that Zamindar’s marriage with Bahutosh’s young daughter would have provided them an opportunity to get some money from Zamindar and Bahutosh. The Brahmin would have got money for performing rituals and Bahutosh would have borrowed money from Mahajan on which he would have charged lot of interest. This scene portrays the four characters with their greedy and scheming impulses (Fig. 4.32). The conversation along with the visual images, the close-ups and mid-shots function as impulse-image. The scheme to extract money from Zamindar and get Ajay in trouble gets materialized in the action-images later. In the conversation among these four characters it is conveyed that in other villages Zamindars are getting influenced by new ideas, arguably ideas of modernity, and people like vaidya, Brahmin and Mahajan do not enjoy the authority the way they used to do. Other villages have hospitals and banks for the farmers. But Sanatan assures them that Zamindar will not fall prey to the new ideas and will believe in the traditional set up. He also tells them that he keeps away Zamindar from going to the city, reading newspapers and meeting people who advocate new ideas.

Sanatan conspires with Zamindar to get Ajay arrested for stealing Zamindar’s money. He succeeds in doing so and the plot thickens as Sanatan asks Pratima to marry Zamindar. Pratima agrees to marry Zamindar but at the last moment she denies to complete the rituals of marriage. While Ajay is in jail Pratima continues with the - task of creating awareness about hygiene and problems of Cholera. Ajay is released from the jail. Zamindar becomes ill and Ajay treats Zamindar. Vaidya misleads villagers by telling them that Ajay’s medicines will kill Zamindar.

Zamindar repents his mistakes and decides to give all his wealth for the social work Ajay does for the village. Sanatan and Mahajan after knowing Zamindar’s will, plan to kill Zamindar and get his property transferred to his nephew, Madhu Baboo, living in the city. Sanatan makes Madhu Baboo mix poison in Zamindar’s drinking water. Zamindar dies after consuming poisoned water. Vaidya and village people hold Ajay and Pratima to be responsible for Zamindar’s death. Both Ajay and Pratima are taken into custody. Sanatan’s plot is exposed by the person who sells the poison to Sanatan. He gives all the details to the police. Police get hold of Sanatan, Mahajan and Zamindar’s nephew. The court of law releases Ajay and Pratima (Figure

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4.33). The film ends with all the villagers marching from left of the frame to the right following Pagali, Ajay and Pratima (Figure 4.34).

Figure 4.31. Zamindar and Ajay arguing Figure 4.32. A close-mid-shot of four about the potable water and the activities scheming characters in their expressions of gramseva. JB captured in the frame. JB

Figure 4.33. The judge in the court Figure 4.34. A low angle shot of the declaring his decision of releasing Ajay entire village marching together and Pratima. JB signifying the persistence of the ideas of modernity. JB

This film is a good example of how talkie film uses speech to connect sets of images to the open whole. As Deleuze states in Cinema 2, “What the speech-act makes visible, interaction, may always be badly deciphered, read, seen: hence a whole rise in the lie, in deception, which takes place in the visual image” (220), Sanatan’s scheming against Ajay and Zamindar are materialized through speech-acts. These schemes become visible through the actions performed by the characters. The villagers to whom the lies are told, are seen, easily giving in to the deception. This

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giving in to the lies creates new situations in the film. The gap between perception and action is most of the times filled up by speech-acts.

The composition of movement-images in this film is organic. The village here can be divided into two sections. First is that of the inhabitants who believe in agencies of modernity like, modern medicine, a bank for monetary transition, hygiene, equality and law. Pagali, Prem, Ajay and Pratima inhabit this world. And later on in the film the villagers also believe in these ideas. Modern medicine, ideas of reform, police and the court of law become the agencies of modernity. On the other hand Zamindar, Sanatan, Vaidya, Mahajan and Brahmin inhabit the second section that of traditional ideas of caste hierarchy and its practice. Both the sections are organized using parallel alternate montage. Ajay’s decision to come back to the village and do reform work is pitched directly against the forces interested in maintaining the traditional set up of the village. These two sections are connected with each other using speech-acts of the characters. Lies and scheming play an important role in forming the organic whole as these elements create their own vectors that open up the virtual sets expanding the signification of the images.

4.4. Durga

Durga was made in 1939 the year when the German technicians were interned at Deolali by the Britishers in India. As has been mentioned earlier the following year Himanshu Rai’s passed away and Niranjan Pal had already left the studio over his differences with Himanshu Rai. Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Willemen describe Durga as:

Rural melodrama about Durga (Devika Rani), an adolescent child of nature, living with her aged mother Heera. Unable to get the medicine required to prevent her mother’s death, one misfortune after another befalls the heroine in spite of the sympathies of the newly arrived village doctor, Jawahar (Shukul). In the absence of Niranjan Pal, the studio’s main scenarist and author of its best-known rural dramas (Achhut Kanya, Janmabhoomi, both 1936), the tale reduces itself to a purely familial narrative. It is nevertheless a key production in Devika Rani’s self-projection of urbane charm clothed in primal innocence. (Encyclopedia 278)

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Durga, was considered, “…notable principally for the acting of Devika Rani” by K.A. Abbas in the editorial written for the journal Film India Vol.5, issue 12 in December 1939.

Durga, begins with a fixed frame containing verandah of a house on the right side and bushes on the left side. After a few seconds a voice emanates from out-of-the field. From the left side of the frame Durga the titular heroine of the film appears singing a song, “Nadi paar hain Aam ki bagiyan,” the camera pans slightly from right to left following the character in a long shot and capturing in the right corner of the frame a goat’s kid. This song establishes Durga’s mischievous nature, her innocence and the attachment to the goat’s kid named Bahadur. Durga is shown singing and dancing in this song. If Janmabhoomi had given Pagali as a character to the audience this film has a Pagala. Durga’s song is followed by another song, “Na koi baap na booth kisika, fir kaheko rona,” by a Pagala. Pagala moves in the village and the visuals in the song record the village activities. This song establishes the village. The camera records activities of cobbler, blacksmith, potter and children playing along with the Pagala (Figures 4.35-4.38). Pagala’s movement and song end, in the partially established, happy looking village, at Durga’s house where Durga’s mother is shown grinding grains. Through the conversation between Pagala and Durga’s mother we get to know that she is not feeling well. The scene changes to Durga playing with her friend Putali and Bahadur. Durga’s innocence is emphasized in every possible shot in the film through her speech and actions. Pagala reaches where Durga and Putali are playing and informs Durga that her mother is not well.

Durga rushes home and finds her mother to be very sick. In the following scene a conversation between a Brahmin a compounder and a villager is shown. The Brahmin, Harilal, is complaining about Jawahir, a new man in the village. If in Achhut Kanya quinine represented the modern medicine. In this film Jawahir relies on injections. Harilal and Meghraj, the compounder, have problems with the methods of treatment of the patients used by Jawahir. With Jawahir in the village Meghraj loses his patients. The villagers prefer to be treated by Jawahir.

Durga goes to Meghraj to ask him to treat her mother. Meghraj agrees to treat her mother but asks for money. Durga does not have enough money and he refuses to

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visit her house. Meghraj asks her to visit Jawahir if she wants her mother to be treated free of cost. Durga goes to Jawahir.

Figure 4.35. Pagala singing a song and Figure 4.36. Cobbler as a part of village moving around in the village. Durga. life. Durga.

Figure 4.37. Potter as a part of village Figure 4.38. Blacksmith as a part of life. Durga. village life. Durga.

The scene changes from the earlier scene of conversation between Meghraj, Hiralal and the villager to Jawahir through a cut. The cut is given on the dialogue that ends with Jawahir’s name. The first shot of the next scene begins with Jawahir in a close-mid-shot scribbling something in his note book (Figure 4.39). In spite of knowing that Durga does not have enough money, Jawahir goes to her house. But it is too late, after reaching her house he finds out that Durga’s mother is dead. In the next scene a villager goes to Meghraj asking for medicine for his ill mother. Meghraj asks for more money than the villager can offer. Their conversation reveals that Jawahir is

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considered to be responsible for Durga’s mother’s death. And it is rumoured in the village that Jawahir is incompetent and kills the patients.

Conversations and rumours play an important role in this film as well. The situations and actions are connected through conversations, speech-acts and the rumours. They connect sets with open whole. Durga’s mischief and innocence come in contact with villagers in separate ways. Her innocence penetrates Pagala and Jawahir and her mischievous acts are met with villagers’ wrath. The following scenes quickly establish these relationships. Durga steals vegetables and fruits from the villagers’ farms. She steals green peas from Jawahir’s farms which he does not mind much and instead brings fruits for her to eat. Rambhoj, Meghraj and other villagers, on the other hand are not happy with Durga’s mischief. This conflict between villagers and Durga comes across through images of movement, through action- images and speech-acts. Durga’s mischief is discussed amongst the villagers. Jawahir reports to Durga that villagers complain about her acts to him. Meghraj and Rambhoj confront her after witnessing her stealing fruits and vegetables from their farm. However Durga finds her acts as harmless. The vegetables she collects are for Bahadur the goat kid she has. Durga’s innocence gets expressed through one more element and that is her relationship with her doll, Gudiya. Durga is shown talking to Bahadur and Gudiya who cannot respond to her in any meaningful way (Figure 4.40).

Figure 4.39. Jawahir scribbling Figure 4.40. Durga talking to the doll, something in a notebook. Durga. Gudiya. Durga.

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One of the most important characters in the film is Makhhan, the Mahajan who lends money to the villagers and every month comes to the village to get the interest, on the money lent, from the villagers.

Durga, was advertised, referring to the Makhhan’s character, in the film journal, The Mirror, published on July 23, 1939 as:

This aged usurer, in whom none would dare have suspected fellow feeling, did in truth give home and shelter to the orphan girl whom her village despised. And this young untutored girl, whom none thought capable of any knowledge or wisdom, did in truth rescue the usurer from a life’s course of spreading ruin and earning curses. (The Mirror No pagination )

Mahajan in this advertisement is referred to as a usurer. This is one more element of conflict in the film, one more situation that leads to actions and through actions new situations. The large form of the action-image dependent on the conversation is evident here.

Mahajan while collecting the interest comes across Bahadur and asks the villagers about the owner of the kid. The villagers tell him that it is owned by Durga. The villagers complain about Durga’s mischievous nature to Mahajan and tell him that Durga should not be paid for the kid. Mahajan wants to buy the kid from Durga and that is when he meets her for the first time. Mahajan likes her. The villagers wish that if Mahajan marries her the village will be relieved of Durga’s antics. However Mahajan does not want to break the law by marrying an underage girl. The villagers suggest him to take Durga to his house that way she would learn all the household work and would take care of his young daughter from the first wife. Durga denies to go with Mahajan. The villagers, in order to send Durga with the Mahajan, burn her hut (Figure. 4.41). Mahajan manages to convince Durga and takes her with him to his village (Figure 4.42).

On her way back to Mahajan’s village Durga meets Jawahir and tells him that as her hut is burnt and there is nothing to do in the village she is leaving. Jawahir feels bad and in the next scene Pagala also laments Durga’s absence in the village. Jawahir’s friend Ramaji Das from the city comes to meet him. Jawahir calls him pagala as instead of practicing medicine in the city and earning money Ramaji Das

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wants to work with Jawahir and help the villagers. There is definite similarity of theme between Pagali and Ajay in Janmabhoomi and Jawahir and Ramjidas’ attitude towards ‘gramvikas’ and social work.

Figure 4.41. Durga’s hut burning. Durga. Figure 4.42. Mahajan manages to convince Durga to go with him to his village. Durga.

Durga at Mahajan’s house starts bringing in changes. She asks Mahajan to stop charging interest, on the money lent.

Back in Durga’s village Zamindar’s representative announces an auction of Durga’s burnt house as Durga’s mother owes money to the Zamindar. Rambhoj, Meghraj and Hiralal all try to negotiate the price for Durga’s burnt house but Jawahir pays more money and buys the land and burnt house. Jawahir wants the house to be owned by Durga. Pagala and Jawahir decide to build a ‘pucca’ house and run a hospital, in it, for the villagers to be treated free of cost. They decide to name the hospital after Durga, ‘Durga Mandir’. With a fade in as a transition there is a leap in time. The hospital is ready. The next shot is that of a close-up of the name plate of the hospital, ‘Durga Mandir’. The camera slowly tracks back from the close-up to a long shot and pans from left of the frame to the right covering the crowd of the patients and Jawahir treating them. It is a long duration continuous shot. The camera tracks back and pans from right of the frame to the left showing Pagala sitting at the right corner of the frame. This scene establishes the element of modernity along with the idea of reform. Jawahir’s ideals are accommodative, as Meghraj, the compounder’s son is also treated by Jawahir. All the detractors of Durga come to Durga Mandir and

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Jawahir treats them well. In Durga Mandir the poor villagers get treated for free (Figure 4.43).

At Mahajan’s house his daughter Padma is shown as a grown up girl. The film continues with the leap in time. Durga’s conversation with Mahajan appears to be more mature. Durga appears to be sad and Mahajan asks her the reason for her being sad. Durga’s reply to Mahajan and the visuals produce slight forking of time there appears attentive recollection-image (Figure 4.44).

Figure 4.43. Durga’s house is being Figure 4.44. Durga looking out of the transformed in to a hospital named after window towards the path and the hill she her. Durga. travelled to come to Mahajan’s house. The image becomes the forking of time and a recollection image. Durga.

After Durga finishes the song, “Balapan ke mere saathi,” in which she responds to Mahajan’s questions:

Durga: Today after watching that road and the hill, old memories came back. I came with you in the Palakhi using the same road. Beyond the hill lies my village.

Mahajan: You are restless may be because you want to visit your village.

Durga: No, I was thinking that I was such a mischievous girl in the village…There were some people in the village who liked me such as Pagala and Jawahir. I don’t even know if they remember me. But I always think of them. Sometimes I dream of them. (Durga)

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This conversation is followed by Durga’s dream in which Jawahir and Durga sing a love song together. The dream and the recollection-image, are however engulfed by the movement-image as the recollection of Durga’s past gets engulfed in the conversation with Mahajan. Mahajan proposes Durga for marriage which is declined by Durga. The dream sequence makes it evident that Durga loves Jawahir. Mahajan sends a letter to Jawahir asking him to visit his house because Padma is not well and needs his treatment. Jawahir immediately leaves for Mahajan’s house. Padma regains her health after being treated by Jawahir. Both Jawahir and Durga express that they miss each other. At this point it becomes clear that both of them love each other. Jawahir goes back to his hospital and resumes his work for the poor villagers.

Jawahir treats the ill Megharaj, who initially was not ready to be treated by him. Megharaj expresses his gratitude for he hated Jawahir and still Jawahir treated him. Megharaj proposes to Jawahir that he should marry his daughter Putali. Jawahir accepts the proposal as Durga never expresses her love towards him. Pagala on knowing this decides to go to meet Durga and tell her about Jawahir’s marriage. Pagala reaches Mahajan village. He walks through the village singing a song. Durga recognizes his voice and brings him home. They talk about their village. Pagala gives her details of some of the happenings and at the end tells her about Jawahir’s marriage with Putali. Durga decides to go to the village and meet Jawahir. She runs towards the door of the house bur returns back thinking about Mahajan and Padma. Mahajan comes to know about the situation and rushes to Durga’s village. He lies to Jawahir that Durga is not feeling well and needs his treatment. Jawahir who is about to marry Putali decides to go to Mahajan’s village. In this tricky situation Ramji Das agrees to marry Putali. Megharaj is worried about dowry but Ramji assures Meghraj that he is not marrying his daughter for money. Durga touches upon the issue of dowry system in India. Putali’s marriage is cancelled once due to the money demanded by her would be groom. But Ramji solves that problem by declaring that he is not interested in Megharaj’s money.

Jawahir and Mahajan leave immediately and reach at Mahajan’s house. Jawahir is surprised to find out that Durga is perfectly fine. Mahajan tells Jawahir that had he married Putali, Durga would have been heartbroken. Both Jawahir and Durga express and accept their love for each other and decide to marry soon. The film ends with Pagala’s song from out-of-field (Figure 4.45).

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Figure 4.45. Durga and Jawahir looking out of the frame from where the song sung by Pagala is heard. Durga.

Durga was a deliberate attempt by Bombay Talkies to go back to their earlier success formula of representing rustic life with some elements of modernity operating within it. In this film it is not just the modern medicine that stands out as an agency of modernity but also the characters of Jawahir and Ramji Das. In the film journal, The Mirror Vol. 3 published in 1939, an entire article is written on Jawahir’s character. In Shukul shines quietly as the good young doctor, written by an author with the pseudonym Featureman, Jawahir’s character is considered as one of the representatives of his contemporary youth:

In him, Bombay Talkies have presented to us a picture of the Youth that was meeting the Youth To Come. An analysis of Dr. Jawahar’s characters and conceptions, based on his minor as well as major actions and activities, as also on his reactions to various circumstances, reveals him as pre-eminently an individual and not a type…For, the youth of today marks a passing phase, a transitory step between two major stages in our national evolution…We are not therefore surprised that Dr. Jawahar rejects the modern definition of a career, and seeks to evolve one in the exercise of his humanitarian instinct…Dr. Jawahar represents these reorganized values. In that sense, he is an individual to whom it is given to create a class. (No pagination)

As it happens in Janmabhoomi, in Durga as well the ideals of modernity are accepted by everyone at the end of the film. Mahajan, Hiralal, Rambhoj and Megharaj all of them accept the importance of Jawahir and his work. But most of the times the film

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deals with conversations that are not regulated by the social structure. It is the conversation out of which the social structures are formed. The interactions in this film create, deplete and tighten the relations between the characters. It is always some sort of speech-act that helps the shots and scenes to transit into another scene. The sets and parts of them are carried forward and connected with other sets through conversations. The conversations reveal the conflicting ideologies of the characters. What we get in visuals are the flat images. In the absence of dubbing technology the camera had to be close enough to the characters so that their utterances could be recorded. Thus what is seen is the loss of the depth of the field replaced by emergence of the flat images, carrying conversations as another dimension of the image. Durga was, and even now can be, appreciated for the stellar performances given by Devika Rani and Rama Shukul.

4.5. Izzat

Indranil Bhattacharya describes Izzat as:

The theme of Izzat is vaguely historical, revolving around the tragic consequences of the Maratha-Bhil enmity. A 25 year old peace treaty with the Bhils is broken-off by the treacherous Maratha chieftain Balaji, when he murders the Bhil leader Maroti, Kanhaiya, Maroti’s son swears revenge. But is careful that it might revive the bloody rivalry between the two parties. He laso faces enmity within his own tribe from Appaiya, his rival for the rank of the chief…The long and convoluted plot and the dramatic excesses made Izzat different from the previous films. (Visions 20)

Ashok Kumar playing the main character in the film is seen in completely different attire and set of expressions than what he was seen in the earlier films. The film opens with a long high angle shot, a saturated frame in which a gathering of Maratha and Bhil communities is shown. Maruti, the head of the Bhil community in Ashti village offers a gift to the head of Maratha community, Patel, in the honour of their twenty five year long friendship. The gift is the dead leopard’s skin. Patel accepts the gift and reminds both the communities of their long lasting friendship and peaceful cohabitation in the Ashti village (Figures 4.46-4.47). In the next scene Bhil community living in the forest is addressed by their head, Nayak. Maruti sends a gift to the Nayak from the Patel of Ashti as a reminder of their friendship. The Bhills

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accept the gift with respect and swear by their arms to respect the friendship of Marathas (Figure 4.48).

Figure 4.46. The opening shot of the Figure 4.47. Marathas accepting the dead film. In a long high angle shot are the leopard’s skin as a gift from Bhills. Izzat. Bhill and Maratha communities together in Ashti village. Izzat.

Figure 4.48. Bhills in the forest swear by Figure 4.49. The Bhills leaving the their arms to honour the friendship of village moving from left of the frame to Marathas. Izzat. the right. Izzat.

But there is a change in the situation as Balaji, the next head of the Maratha community disrespects the gift given by Bhills. The Bhills feel offended and the friendship between Marathas and Bhills is strained. Balaji becomes the head of Maratha community after his uncle dies. Balaji ill-treats the Bhills and the relations are further strained. The film begins with a situation that of honouring of friendship. But the initial situation gets transformed quickly as the dishonouring of the gift becomes an important action. The changed situation is that of the strained relationships between Marathas and Bhills. The situation continues to worsen as

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Balaji tries to kill Maruti and his son Kanhaiyya using his assassins. Maruti dies but Kanhaiyya lives to avenge the Marathas and fight for Bhill community’s honour.

This film situates characters into two sections. Bhills leave the village and go back to the forest to live there. Their actions are to defend their honour. Balaji Patel and his assassins, on the other hand, inhabit the world of crime. The action of the dishonour of the gift propels chain of reactions from both the sections of the characters. Balaji’s actions from that point onwards are those of creating problems for Bhills and Bhills are to act to defend their honour and avenge Balaji. This film is dominated by the large form of action-image. The initial situation gets transformed into a new situation through the intermediary actions. Deleuze explains the relationship between action-image and cinema of behaviour as:

The action-image inspires a cinema of behaviour (behaviourism), since behaviour is an action which passes from one situation to another, which responds to a situation in order to try to modify it or to set up a new situation…But from this perspective, the sensory-motor link must be very strong, behaviour must be truly structured. The great organic representation, SASʹ, must not only be composed, but engendered: on the one hand the situation must permeate the character deeply and continuously, and on the other hand the character who is thus permeated must burst into action, at discontinuous intervals. This is the formula of realist violence, completely different from naturalist violence. The structure is that of an egg: a vegetable or vegetative pole (permeation) and an animal pole (acting-out). (Cinema 1 159-160)

On witnessing Balaji dishonouring the gift of Bhills it is Kanhiyya who erupts into an action first. After this first eruption of action Kanhiyaa has to undergo and witness further degradation of Bhills at the hands of Balaji. The treaty between Bhills and Marathas is broken as the Bhills decide to leave the village and go back to the forest. Kanhaiyya has to assimilate all these actions. The situation further permeates Kanhaiyya as he is injured and his father Maruti is killed by the assassins sent by Balaji. The money collected by all the Bhills is stolen by them. These actions change the situation as Kanhaiyya and other Bhills swear to avenge Maruti’s death.

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The sequence of Bhills leaving the village and Maruti being killed is important and thus needs to be analysed in detail. This is one of the few sequences in Bombay Talkies Studio produced films in which background music is used. The Bhills decide to leave the village and the next shot is of Bhills walking by a lake with their luggage and cattle (Figure 4.49). The entire sequence has background music that appears to be sad, played on Sarangi. There are movements in the Ashti village as well. Some of the villagers are still left behind. In all these movements of migration are continuous as the chain of characters is seen entering the frame and leaving the frame. Kanhaiyya and Maruti are the last ones to leave the village. Balaji sensing that Maruti and Kanhaiyya do not have support of other villagers sends Somaji and Bheemahi to kill them. Kanhaiyya and Maruti are collecting their luggage and valuables when Somaji and Bheemaji peek through the door and see that the Bhills have got money with them (Figure 4.50). The assassins decide to kill the two Bhills on their way to forest and follow them. Not accompanied by any of their fellow Bhills, Kanhaiyaa and Maruti become soft targets. Somaji and Bhimaji follow them (Figures 4.51-4.52). The two movements of assassins’ and of Bhills’ are organized using parallel cutting. The background music changes with the speeding movements of the characters. The tempo of background music increases as the assassins are about to confront the two Bhills. The sound from Sarangi is accompanied by a steady but continuous beat of Dhol. The background music stops after the assassins kill Maruti, injure Kanhaiyya and run away with the money (Figure 4.53). The sequence is organized using parallel editing and as the climactic shot of assassins attacking Kanhaiyya and Maruti approaches the actions and movements take on speed along with the background music. Deleuze while discussing the role music plays in cinema, states:

If we ask now what cinema music contributes, the elements of a reply appear. Silent cinema certainly included a music, improvised or programmed. But this music found itself subject to a certain obligation to correspond to the visual image, or to serve descriptive, illustrative and narrative ends, acting as a form of intertitle. When cinema develops sound and talking, music is in a sense emancipated, and can take flight. (Cinema 2 229)

Deleuze defines the music of which source is seen in the image as, “voice-in” and music of which source is not seen in the image as, “voice-off” (Cinema 2 226-227). Deleuze further claims that music represents the changing whole directly unlike

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movement-image that represents indirectly (Cinema 2 230). In this sequence the background music corresponds to the surging in of the actions that make way for a new situation. The movements in this sequence are cut on action to give the feel of continuity. Though the music is not located in the visual image it increases the curiosity of the spectator for the confrontation between the assassins and the Bhills. The movements of the characters that are spread over the space and organized using parallel editing represent the time indirectly but the continuous music piece represents the time directly.

Figure 4.50. Maruti giving money to Figure 4.51. Maruti and Kanhaiyaa on Kanhaiyya to keep it safe. Izzat. their way to forest with their luggage and money. Izzat.

Figure 4.52. Somaji and Gomaji Figure 4.53. Somaji attacking Kanhaiyya following Maruti and Kanhaiyya on their with a knife. Izzat. way to the forest. Izzat.

In this sequence the source of the music is not seen thus it becomes the ‘voice off’ corresponding to the rhythm of the movement-image. Izzat uses other sources of sound as well. Deleuze claims:

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We are sometimes reminded that there is not just one soundtrack, but at least three groups, words, noises, music. Perhaps an even greater number of sound components should be distinguished: noises (which isolate an object and are isolated from each other), sounds (which indicate relationships and are themselves in mutual relation), phonations (which cut into these relations, which can be shouts, but also genuine ‘jargons’, as in the talking burlesque of Chaplin or Jerry Lewis), words, music. It is clear that these elements can enter into a rivalry, fight each other, supplement each other, overlap, transform each other… (Cinema 2 225)

After the assassins run away, Nayak the head of the Bhills in the forest calls all the tribes men. This call is made through the noise emanating from big drum being played, struck by the sticks. This act of drum being played is shot in a close-up with the voice-in. what follows is an interesting sequence of reactions of the tribesmen to the sound of the drum. The sound of the drum reaches the entire habitat of the tribe and the opens spaces. All the movements captured in the quick succession of shots respond to the sound. The sound reaches the visual out-of-field. The Bhills and their habitat gets established in this sequence, not entirely as is seen in the earlier films analysed but, partially. Nayak asks the gathered tribesmen to go in search of Maruti and Kanhaiyya as he gets worried with the passing moment. The search beings the tribesmen shout calling Kanhaiyya and Maruti hoping that one of them would hear the call and call back with the similar shout. But there is no call back. There are several short duration shots in which Bhills are shown moving through opens paces and the forest in search of their fellow Bhills. It is Radha (Devika Rani) who finds both the Bhills first. She immediately calls other tribesmen with the similar shout. Listening to Radha’s call all the tribesmen gather at the spot where Kanhaiyya and Maruti are lying. These shouts and the sound of drum are codes of the tribesmen (Figures 4.54- 4.55). They are not just meaningless sounds. They form relationships with the characters, situations and connect sets with each other. Izzat can easily be considered to be the best film as far as use of sound, music and speech is concerned. One can also note that the visuals of the film are more appealing with lots of open spaces being framed. There are less of flat images in the film.

Kanhaiyya has to go through various action sequences to change the initial situation, the revenge of Bhills’ dishonour and his father Maruti’s death. There is a

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long gap between the initial situation and the modified situation. Diwan and Kotawal are two more characters who govern the Ashti village and want peace between Bhills and Marathas. They play the governing agency in this duel between Marathas and Bhills. Balaji’s lies create misunderstanding and the governing agency start hunting for Kanhaiyya. But Kanhaiyya manages to convince the Kotawal and Diwan after explaining the entire situation.

Figure 4.54. A drum being played to call Figure 4.55. Radha calling other the tribesmen. The source of the sound, tribesmen though a shout. Izzzat. voice-in, in the visual image. Izzat.

Kotawal promises Kanhaiyya to give back the land of Bhills and honour them. However the other Kotawal, Khanderao, with the help of Appaiyya tries to kidnap Radha. Radha to save herself from Khanderao jumps in the river. Kanhaiyya thinking that Radha is dead kills Kotawal. But Radha survives. Kanhaiyya is to be hanged under the charges of murder. Radha upon knowing the punishment for Kanhaiyya, dies of a shock and Kanhaiyya is hanged. Kanhaiyya manages to get back the lost honour of his tribe and avenges his father Maruti’s death. The situation changes at the end but the film ends in a tragedy as both Radha and Kanhaiyya die at the end of the film. Between the two situations (S-Sʹ) there are continuous small missions that Kanhaiyya has to accomplish. Kanhaiyya catches the assassins, Somaji and Bhimaji, he duels with Appaiyya to become the new Nayak of the Bhills and confronts Balaji Patel. Kanhaiyya is never shown tranquil and is always bursting out into action after the first period of permeation. The film is organized using organic editing or to use the term used by Deleuze, “organic-active American montage” (Cinema 1 32).

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4.6. Song Sequences

Gilles Deleuze does not discuss song and dance sequences in his cinema project. There is a slight reference to dance movements in Cinema 1 while discussing the pre-war French school of montage. Deleuze observes:

The French school might be better defined by a sort of Cartesianism: these directors were primarily interested in the quantity of movement and in the metrical relations which allow us to define it…Now the French turned away from organic composition, and similarly avoided a dialectical composition, but built up a vast mechanical composition of movement-images…In a group dance, there is certainly an organic composition of the dancers and a dialectical composition of their movements, not merely fast and slow, but also linear and circular, etc. but, even while recognizing these movements, one can extract or abstract from them a single body which might be ‘the’ dancer, the single body of all these dancers, and single movement which might be ‘the’ fandango of L’Herbier, the movement of all possible fandangos made visible. One goes beyond the moving bodies to extract a maximum quantity of movement in a given space…Taken to extremes, the dance might be a machine, with dancers as its components. (42-43)

Deleuze uses the analogy of dance (and the form of dance) and machine to explicate on how the pre-war French directors organized movement-images in their films. It should be possible to use the same analogy for song sequence in Indian cinema to discuss how it fits into the movement-image.

David Martin-Jones in the chapter “The Masala-Image: Popular Indian (Bollywood) Cinema”, in his book Deleuze and world cinemas coins a new term for the images of song and dance that appear in Hindi cinema. He describes the organization of song sequences as masala-image. Martin-Jones states:

Popular Indian cinema is marked by the fluid interaction of two movements. First the ‘movement of world’ (as explored throughout this book in various contexts) that is discussed by Deleuze in Cinema 2 in relation to the time- image. For Deleuze, this type of movement demonstrates the independent movement of discontinuous spaces that characterizes the time-image.

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Secondly, a unifying movement across otherwise discontinuous spaces (often seen as a sensory-motor movement, most clearly evident in the movement of characters in the action-image) typical of the movementimage. In popular Indian cinema these movements alternately mesh and separate, taking it in turns to dominate and drive the narrative, which proceeds circuitously, alternating between spectacles or interruptions and linear progression. (202)

Mrtin-Jones analyses a song sequence from the film Toofani Tarzan (1936). He claims that the Tarzan is indianised in this film as the linear flow of narrative is disrupted. This linear progression gets interrupted because of “…repeated, unannounced appearance of Tarzan’s insane mother Uma (Nazira) at various points in the film, a character who, Thomas states, Indian audiences would recognize as being ‘coded as a kali figure, the goddess of creation and destruction’” (221). He also brings out the issue of the structure of epics like Ramayan and Mahabharat claiming that most of the Indian cinema is structured based on these two major narratives. But it is not necessary that the song sequence breaks the narrative continuity. The songs in the Bombay Talkies produced films would show that the songs were an integral part of the narrative structure. Martin-Jones analysis of song sequence as a form of movment- image though appears to be acceptable, the term ‘Masala-Image’ does not designate qualities of songs and the functions performed by these songs in the early Indian talkie films.

It is evident that the song and dance sequences differenciate the Indian cinema from the Western cinema but it is the way these songs are shot appears to be the point of difference. One has to consider the fact that the sound recording technology in the 1930s India was still in its infancy. The songs had to be recorded simultaneously with the visuals. The actors had to be trained in the art of singing and they had to sing songs (Mujawar, Prabhat Chitre 11). The sound recording camera and the video recording camera had to be placed close to the characters so that the sound gets recorded. This conditioning of technology had its implications for cinema as an art. Aniket Jaaware in his essay, “Who is it that is singing? Shot-Music-Speech,” makes interesting case for the song in early Indian cinema. Jaaware claims that for western narrative cinema the auditory input was subordinated to the visual inputs. Sound in the form of music and speech was subordinate to the visual image (Who Is it That is

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Singing: 156). But in Indian cinema “the narrative and the musical are usually inseparable” (156). Jaaware further states:

A lot of film theory still continues to speak about the speactacle, of scopophilia, of spectation, mostration, of Lacanian capitation. What the co- ordinated experience of sound (speech/music) does in cinema remains to be considered…What is to be noted in many song sequences is how characters position themselves when they ‘sing’, and how in early sound cinema they ‘pause’ for the connecting orchestration to finish, and then start singing the next line. My argument is that this is one very good example of where the visual is constructed in such a way that the music, voice, and lyric are foregrounded, thus allowing me to suggest that here the visual sequence is entirely subservient to the auditory sequence. The visual is mere background to the music. (156-157)

In the films studied above, songs, and to a certain extent songs accompanied by dance, become important part of the movement-image. In Achhut Kanya the second song in the narrative “Khet ki muli, Bagon ke aam” is shot using static camera with two different angles, placed close to both the characters sitting on the Bullock cart. Both the characters Kasturi and Pratap wait for the ‘connecting orchestration’ (the music piece between the two stanzas or lines), to finish so that they can begin singing their lines. The other important point that Jaaware makes is talkie film using “linguistic conventions of monologue, dialogue and voice over,” to represent the interiority of the characters. In absence of these conventions the silent cinema gave us the gestures, exaggerated facial expressions and intertitles. Now, songs in Hindi cinema in general and early Indian cinema in particular operate on two levels. One, songs are important and integral part of the narrative. Most of the times, in early Indian cinema, songs were used to express the interiority of the characters. Obviously there was speech and facial expressions available but music and song were very popular with the audience. The sound films in India had borrowed the ‘song’ from music-drama forms (Barnouw and Krishnaswamy, Indian Film 6). Songs in early Indian cinema appear at various points in the film performing varied functions. It seems adequate here to discuss some song sequences, if not all, from the films, Achhut Kanya and Janmabhoomi.

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At this point various types of songs can be divided into two major categories: ‘background song’ and ‘song of expression’. The term ‘background song’ has been described by Jaaware as “…non-typical Hindi song…in which the song cannot be attributed realistically to the lead characters on screen” (159). What he means by ‘non-attributable’ is that it is not the lead character in the film or song sequence who sings the song. It is someone else singing or the source of the song is not in the visual frame. Song in this case as Delezue defines becomes, ‘voice-off’. Jaaware adds other sources like radio or other mechanical devices of background song which still makes it a voice-off. And I would like to add a new name (song of expression), at least if not a new category, and argue here that ‘song of expression’ on the other hand can be attributed to the lead character in the film or the song sequence that becomes the voice-in.

Jaaware in his categorization of the Hindi film song takes into account the ‘iterability’ of the song:

‘Aaj sajan mohe ang lagaa le’ from Guru Dutt’s Pyaasa is a good enough example. Gulabo (Wahida Rehman) has just been casually saved from a policeman by our protagonist, and in her somewhat drunken state, follows him to his house. A bhajan singer is singing of Radha and Krishna. The ‘interior’ emotions felt by Gulabo are channelized through the song sung y that singer. This sequence seems to indicate a certain iterability of emotion and desire: the singer sings of Radha and Krishna, but ‘quotes’ Radha, which in turn seems to ‘quote’ Gulabo’s emotion and deire. Through the sequence she climbs the stairs to ‘reach’ her ‘love’. The sequence only ends with Gulabo realizing her station in live as a fallen woman, or as a prostitute. She turns away from the possibility of ‘actually’ touching our protagonist and thus, makes the song, so to say, her own expression, while not ‘really’ expressing herself at all. (159-160)

Achhut Kanya comprises total of ten songs. There is one background song that appears in the film around 42 minutes and 24 seconds. The song, “kit gaye ho khevanhaar/ naiyaa dubati hai” begins with voice-off as in the frame there is no source of the song seen. It is only after 25 seconds into the song an old lady with a bunch of small branches on her head and a walking stick in her hand enters the frame

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from the right side. After she becomes visible it is possible to make out that she is singing the song. Now it becomes a voice-in song. The old lady through the song expresses her loneliness, she is separated from her friend/lover and love has brought her pain. There is a cut given and the next is a mid-shot of Kasturi standing, leaning on the railway signal pole. Kasturi is looking out of the frame constantly changing the direction of her gaze. By the time the song ends we get four shots of both old lady and Kasturi framed in two long duration shots. The song appears after the shot in which Kasturi’s father explains her that the caste barrier between her and Pratap makes it impossible for them to marry. It is obviously Kasturi’s emotion of the possible separation from Pratap that gets expressed through this song. Though the emotion from the song sung by the old lady is iterable in this sense Ksturi’s expressions on listening to the song are subdued making the shot an extended affection-image. The transformation of the voice-off into voice-in makes the song iterable but the complex composition of the visual image makes it a ‘background song’ helping to extend the duration of affection. The perception of the song, the lyrics, affects Kasturi who possibly has already been thinking about Pratap. However, this affection-image is quickly engulfed by movement-image as by the time song ends Pratap appears in the frame. The shot continues without any cut with Kasturi and Pratap talking about Pratap’s marriage.

The same song appears at the end of the film. Kasturi is married to Mannu who belongs to the same caste Kasturi belongs to. They are sitting on the bed talking about their relationship and the old lady starts singing the song. Kasturi and Mannu, upon listening to the song, look out of the frame in the direction of the source of the song. With a cut the old lady is framed into a long shot. it is the same location at which she was shown the first time. The long shot gets converted into a mid-shot, without cut, as she walks into the frame. After a cut Kasturi and Mannu are shown again with the continuation of their earlier shot. By the end of the song Kasturi starts crying. She evidently is thinking about her partition from Pratap. Even at this instance the song works as a background song as it is Kasturi whose emotions get reiterated through this ‘voice-off to voice-in’ song sequence.

The other two songs that I would like to refer to here belong to the category of ‘song of expression’. These songs appear after Pratap is married to other girl from his caste. Kasturi is shown sitting by lakeside and singing the song “Udi hawa me jaati

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hai gaati chidiya ye rag/ avo pritam hilmil khele premprit ka phag/ mai dukhiyari bichhad gayi/ ka ke sag khelu phag”. Kasturi through this song expresses her sadness for being parted from Pratap. Karturi, while singing the song looks either, at the water in the lake or towards the sky. This song sequence can be considered as an action- image; Kasturi soaking in the situation, being permeated continuously. This is where the large form of action-image becomes evident. The characters in the song of expression are permeated by the situation. They soak in the conditions and milieu. Though, as being said earlier, the act of speech, singing in this case, principally becomes action-image. Kasturi here does not erupt in any of the bodily movements. In fact, if one looks at the visuals closely, her actions match the beat of the song. Her hand movements intermittently follow the beat of the song. It is important to remember here that Devika Rani was not merely faking the singing of the song. She was actually singing the song while being shot for the scene. Her hand movements and facial expressions actually betray the emotions she is supposed to portray (being sad) on the screen. Moreover the point here is that the ‘song of expression’ in this case is assimilated into movement-image. The next instance of song of expression in Achhut Kanya appears after Pratap is married. Pratap is shown building the roof top of his burnt house and singing, ‘kise karataa murakh pyaar pyaar pyaar teraa kaun hai/ jhuthe jag ke naate- rishte jhuthi jag ki prit/ jhuthaa jag kaa milanaa-julanaa ulti jag ki rit/ nahi mit koi nahi yaar yaar yaar teraa kaun hai”. Pratap still in love with Kasturi expresses his feelings through this song. It is a three minutes continuous long duration shot with slight movement of pan to frame Pratap’s wife listening to Pratap’s song. It becomes a “vegetative pole” (Deleuze, Cinema 1 160) as Pratap too is being permeated by the situation. It is a slow but sure realization for the both Pratap and Kasturi that their separation from each other saddens them. Thus the two sad songs in Achhut Knaya picturised on Ashok Kumar (Pratap) and Devika Rani (Kasturi) separately are songs of expresseion and can be considered as instances of expression of interiority of the characters through the action-images.

If Achhut Kanya contains examples of background song and song of expression, Janmabhoomi gives an interesting example of song of expression sung by a group of people. There are four songs sung by group of people together in Janmabhoomi. These songs appear in the film at regular intervals. The first song of

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expression “Gayi raat aaya prabhat hum nidra se jaage/ jay jay janani matrubhoomi hum balak hai tere” by a group of people appears when Ajay (Ashok Kumar) has started his gramseva, the reform activities in the village. In the visuals of the song Ajay along with some villagers is walking towards the field where all of them are going to work. Ajay heading the group of villagers and all of them with the tools to work in the field in their hands are framed in long-shots in the entire song. Since it is not an individual whose interiority being expressed, the use of long-shot helps in capturing the collective agreement towards a certain idea. Here the idea is of village reform through ideas of modernity. This form of song in Janmabhoomi as an action- image becomes the other pole; “an animal pole” (Cinema 1). The determination of the main character and the villagers who believe in him is expressed through the song accompanied by the physical movement and action. The same is applicable to the other three songs of expression performed by the groups. These songs perform the function of convergent actions of organic montage. “Seva ke hum vratadhaari/ Seva se nahi hatenge” is another song in the film that shows Ajay and the villagers working in the field. Pratima (Devika Rani) too joins Ajay in his reform mission and helps the villagers with the sanitation and awareness of Cholera. She along with Pagali and other villagers, participates in the group song of collective expression of ideas through the song “Maata ne hai janma diya jeene ke liye”. At the end of the film the misunderstandings of villagers towards Ajay are cleared and Ajay is released by the court of law as he is proved to be innocent of the charges of murder. The coming together of the village community is again expressed with the song of expression. All the elements of the village participate in the song, “Jaya jaya pyaari janmabhoomi mata”. These song sequences prominently work as an action-image in the scheme of movement-image.

The other aspect of iterability that Jaaware discusses, and is important to be noted here, is the detachability of song in Indian cinema (The Indian Public Sphere 158). Jaaware argues that the Hindi film music was consumed in India through films as well as through radio. The iterability of the song is not limited to the narrative of the film. It goes beyond that. It reached to the consumers in the society through the gramophone industry. Sangeet Natak in Bombay and Maharashtra is a good example of the song as a detachable element of drama as a form of entertainment (Who is it…?158). This detachability of a song sequence is possible because of its iterability.

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Technology’s contribution to the development of song sequences in early Indian cinema is considered to be important by Neepa Majumdar in the essay, “Sound in Indian Cinema: Beyond the Song Sequence: Theorizing Sound in Indian Cinema,”. Majumdar stresses the importance of focusing on the sound element of Hindi film song. Her main focus in the essay is the technological givens of the time that created certain kind of sound culture. Majumdar while quoting S.D. Burman’s review of the 1932 film Chadidas, which appeared in the film magazine Filmland in November 1932 argues:

‘Most of the songs sung by Mr. K.C. Dey (as reproduced on the screen) were devoid of their natural grace and delicate touches. Particularly the high notes were rendered unduly hoarse’. Burman goes on to say that ‘the contrast in reproduction was all the more striking when during the interval two gramophone records of Mr. K. C. Dey were played to the audience with all th beauty of the high and low notes coming out clear and distinct’. Burman, himself a musician, is interested primarily in the fidelity of musical reproduction, or what James Lastra calls ‘phonographic’ sound, but his line of tolerance renders the noise of the gramophone machine inaudible, especially in constrast to the even poorer audio quality of film sound. (307)

The detachability of song sequence in this sense becomes an added advantage to Hindi cinema. The advertisements of song records of the films appearing in the 1930s film journals make it evident. His Master’s Voice, one of the most popular brands producing radio and records advertises its product as “They stand for all that is best in Radio just as they have stood for Supremacy in Records ever since records were made…39 years of “SOUND” experience guarantees life-like reproduction both of radio and records” (Filmindia Vol. 3 Issue 8 44). In one more advertisement that appeared in Filmindia Vol.3 Issue. 12 published in April 1938, His Master’s Voice advertises its machine as:

Even if you have no radiogram you need not be denied the enjoyment of electrical reproduction-the ideal rendering of gramophone records. By connecting this remarkable new ‘H.M.V’ Record Player to your radio receiver you will add vastly to the entertainment value of your set. The new ‘His Master’s Voice’ Record Player works off he electricity supply and will operate

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with any type of radio receiver. It is easily installed and may be used in any convenient position. You can, in fact, operate it without moving from your arm chair. (20)

Even if it was not possible for any character to sing a song in a reclining position (Jaaware, 157) it was definitely possible for the consumers to listen to the songs with comfort. Teri Sillman in the essay, “The Bombay Hindi Film Song Genre: A Historical Survey,” states:

The Radio was responsible for Popularizing singers and film songs by making the sound track available to those who could not afford the luxury of a phonograph or frequent visits to the cinema hall. The radio network, introduced in India in 1927 (Fazalbhoy 1953: 364), made the songs accessible to the vast Indian public. By the end of the 1930s, phonograph discs and radio broadcasts had popularized film songs across the vast Indian subcontinent. (135)

Detachability of the song, mechanical reproducibility of the song and limitations of the sound recording machines did create some peculiar practices of video recording of Hindi film songs. Songs in the films produced by Bombay Talkies do give us a glimpse of the way film songs become an integral part of the film narrative in spite of being detachable from them.

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