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Home , Aadmi Aur Insaan, Anari, Anmol Ghadi, An Encounter with Faces, Banjaran, Basu Bhattacharya

Vol 23, No. 1 ISSN 0970 5074 IndiaJANUARY-MARCH 2009 Perspectives

Editor Vinod Kumar

Assistant Editor Neelu Rohra

Consulting Editor Newsline Publications Pvt. Ltd., C-15, Sector 6, Noida-201301

India Perspectives is published every month in Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia, Bengali, English, French, German, , Italian, Pashto, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Sinhala, Spanish, Tamil and . Views expressed in the articles are those of the contributors and not necessarily of Perspectives. All original articles, other than reprints published in India Perspectives, may be freely reproduced with acknowledgement. Editorial contributions and letters should be addressed to the Editor, India Perspectives, 140 ‘A’ Wing, Shastri Bhawan, New -110001. Telephones: +91-11-23389471, 23388873, Fax: +91-11-23385549, E-mail: [email protected], Website: http://www.meaindia.nic.in For obtaining a copy of India Perspectives, please contact the Indian Diplomatic Mission in your country. This edition is published for the Ministry of External Affairs, , by Parbati Sen Vyas, Special Secretary, Public Diplomacy Division. Designed and printed by Ajanta Offset & Packagings Ltd., Delhi-110052. The Indian B.R. Chopra Industry A FILM MAKER FOR ALL SEASONS UPENDRA SOOD Editorial 2 58 We bring to our readers this time a special issue on Indian PROGENITOR NEW WAVE CINEMA Cinema. There could not have been a better theme for me to 62 commence my editorial stint as Indian and India-based cinema seem to be the fl avour of the season. THE VERSATILE MAN AND HIS WORLD India was introduced to ‘moving pictures’ soon after their 66 screening by the Lumierre brothers in Paris. By the end of the nineteenth century, Indian fi lmmakers had started making Director’s Cut THE ONES documentaries and later exploring the commercial potential Global future for THAT BROKE THE MOULD of cinema. A journey that began with ‘Raja Harishchandra’ India-based cinema RAUF AHMED and ‘’ has today led to the largest fi lm industry of SAIBAL CHATTERJEE 70 the world, diverse in its treatment and coverage of subjects. 4 A melodious melange The Indian fi lm industry has contributed several masterpieces; SHARAD DUTT a number of fi lmmakers have left their indelible imprints on THE TIMELESS TEXT BOOK Cinema 73 ; and several fi lm personalities are fairly well SWAPAN MULLICK JYOTSNA known across the world. Oscars for A.R. Rahman, Gulzar, and 8 28 Touching the heart testify to the creative and technical talent in the and mind with country, as ‘ Ho’ resonates through the globe. Marathi Cinema words of song MAYAH BALSE FIROZE RANGOONWALLA It is impossible to do justice to different facets of the Indian 32 fi lm industry in a small publication. We have articles on some 78 fi lmmakers and some artistes, to present to you a sample, and INTERVIEW there has been no attempt to be exhaustive. In India we have a THE UNFORGETTABLE very rich tradition of regional cinema; they have all been doing 36 80 well and making excellent fi lms. The issue includes articles on cinema in a few states. Due to constraints of space, we have not THE LEGENDARY LADY OF INDIAN CINEMA been able to cover all the languages and offer our apologies. 40 We have tried to bring to you a collage that hopefully would interest some of you in further exploring Indian cinema through THE ANGRY YOUNG MAN more comprehensive publications, and equally importantly, in OF INDIAN CINEMA watching more Indian fi lms. 46 I thank all of those who have contributed articles and provided Hindi Film Posters Animation fi lms PARTHA CHATTERJEE material for this issue. S.M.M. AUSAJA THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DREAM GIRL 86 Hope you enjoy reading the issue. 16 50 Shah Rukh March 2009 THEODORE BASKARAN THE KING-SIZE HERO Cover: A.R. Rahman with Oscars for best musical score and song in 24 54 . to reach Rs. 20 billion in 2012 from a current size of Rs. 8.5 billion The Indian in 2007. On a per fi lm average basis, the share from overseas collections is expected to increase to 16 per cent per fi lm in AN OUTLOOK 2012 from 12 per cent in 2007. There are several growth drivers for this segment from increased marketing and selling efforts t is notable that today we speak not of the “fi lm business”, but internationally, growing popularity of Indian fi lms overseas and of the “fi lm industry”. In a broader sense, the Indian Media & beyond the Indian Diaspora, several fi lms with themes/locations/ Entertainment industry is going places. The sector remains stories based on the Indian Diaspora, increased number of prints I and a signifi cantly more organised distribution plan. resolute and continues to grow at 17 per cent CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate), despite the larger economic slowdown. So he home video market is expected to signifi cantly shift in the what is this growth engine of the Indian economy about? Why next fi ve years given the developments in 2007. Though an are more and more corporates jumping onto the fi lm fi nancing Toverall growth of 15 per cent is projected over the next fi ve bandwagon? years, in line with the previous years, the current rental-market Firstly, the content business in India is likely to generate over domination is projected to signifi cantly reduce to 25 per cent in $50 million in the next two years. This growth is expected to come 2012 from 80 per cent in 2007 in favor of the sell-through market. from the overseas market. The Indian fi lm industry is projected The penetration of home video subscribers is expected to increase to grow by 13 per cent over the next fi ve years, reaching to from 10 per cent of the pay-TV homes in 2007 to 25 per cent in Rs. 176 billion in 2012 from the present Rs. 96 billion in 2007, 2012. This translates into an addition of 41 million subscribers nearly double its present size. In addition to this, India is also fast over the next fi ve year period. 75 per cent of these subscribers are emerging as an outsourcing base for special effects, gaming, and estimated to be from the sell-through segment. animation content development. Though the home video subscribers are expected to increase in Next, the box offi ce fi gures are healthy and promising. The box the next fi ve years, the sell-through prices are expected to decline offi ce incomes of the fi lm industry will shift marginally from the over the forecast period from a current average of Rs. 90 in 2007 traditional revenues to the new emerging revenues like home to Rs. 50 in 2012. The average rental price of Rs. 50 is expected to video market and digital cinema. Though the share of the domestic decline only marginally. The home video market is thus projected box offi ce is projected to reduce to 70 per cent in 2012, primarily to double its size to Rs. 15 billion in 2012 from the current Rs. 7.5 in favour of overseas and ancillary revenues, the domestic box billion in 2007, translating into a cumulative growth of 15 per cent offi ce segment itself will grow at 11 per cent cumulatively over the over the fi ve-year forecast period. next fi ve years to reach an estimated Rs. 123 billion in 2012 from The ancillary revenues comprising of revenues from sale of the present size of Rs. 72 billion. Increases in the average ticket television rights, internet download rights, mobile rights, re-make prices will be the primary contributor to this growth, estimated rights, in-fi lm placements, on-screen advertisements, brand to increase from an all-India average of Rs. 22 in 2007 to Rs. 35 placements etc. will on an overall basis grow by 16 per cent over in 2012. The number of admissions is projected to rise marginally the next fi ve years to reach an estimated Rs. 18 billion in 2012 from from the current high base of 3.25 billion tickets sold in 2007 Rs. 8.5 billion in 2007. to an estimated 3.5 billion in 2012. The overseas collections are ◆ (Source: The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce) estimated to grow cumulatively at 19 per cent over the next 5 years

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 2 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 3 Global future for India-based cinema

SAIBAL CHATTERJEE

anny Boyle’s hugely entertaining Slumdog Millionaire is the fl avour of the season and not without reason. The superbly Dcrafted, pulsating rags-to-riches drama has put on the mainstream moviemaking map of the world, besides providing global exposure to -style storytelling, replete with drama, dance, song and narrative happenstance. The unique Danny Boyle touch may have raised a straightforward narrative that employs several Mumbai masala movie plot devices – a poor slum boy who triumphs over all odds to hit the jackpot on a television quiz show, separated lovebirds who are reunited on a busy Mumbai railway platform, a feel-good fantasy that hinges on the role of destiny in human lives – to a new level of suppleness, but the fact remains that, in more ways than one, Slumdog Millionaire is the ultimate ‘Indian’ crossover fi lm.

Slumdog Millionaire (facing page) and Munnabhai MBBS (below).

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 4 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 5 So what will India’s global fi lm be like? Will it be from Bollywood or will it be from the Indian Diaspora Directors? One major Mumbai- based Director who has been working towards carving a global niche for this kind of cinema is . The Bollywood Producer-Director, the man behind the successful Munnabhai fi lms, is all set to shoot his fi rst Hollywood fi lm, , starring Mickey Rourke, the veteran actor who was nominated for an Oscar this year for his performance in Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler. Seasoned Assamese Director , too, is planning a period fi lm to be shot entirely in the UK with a mixed Indian and British cast. Titled Homing Pigeons, the fi lm will be targeted at a global audience. On the other hand, the work of Diaspora Directors refl ect the diversity of the Indian cultural and social landscape to an extent that mainstream Bollywood movies never quite do. , whose Water reached India seven years after its shoot was violently disrupted in Varanasi, says: “India gives me the stories; gives me the freedom to tell those stories.” Though Water was a Hindi-language fi lm, it was Canada’s offi cial nominee for the best foreign-language fi lm Oscar last year. Incidentally, Slumdog Millionaire, too, uses Hindi extensively on its soundtrack. The world is today a smaller place and Indian émigrés are doing well for themselves across the globe. As more and more fi lmmakers of Indian descent make their presence felt on the international stage with cinematic essays endowed with global appeal, Bollywood will gear itself up to provide the Indian equivalent of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. ◆ The author is an independent fi lm critic.

Deepa Mehta’s Namesake (top left) and Monsoon Wedding (top right). Deepa Mehta’s Water (left) and Heaven on Earth (right). Gurinder Chadha’s Bend It Like Beckham (left above & right).

The question of the hour is: are our own homegrown fi lmmakers fully equipped to grab the opportunity that Slumdog Millionaire has created? Can Brand Bollywood travel beyond the expatriate Indian community in various parts of the world? For genuine global impact, our cinema has for many years banked primarily on the efforts of a handful of Indian-origin fi lmmakers who are active on the global scene – the likes of , , Deepa Mehta and Gurinder Chadha. The scenario is beginning to change for the better and directors like Kapur and Nair have of late inched decidedly closer to the Hollywood mainstream. Mira Nair’s Amelia, a biopic about the legendary aviatrix Amelia Earhart who, in 1937, disappeared over the Pacifi c in a bid to fl y around the world, and Kapur’s big-budget fantasy epic Larklight will hit the screens soon. Though helmed by Indians, these productions cannot be regarded as Indian fi lms.

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 6 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 7 It is only natural, therefore, that the Ray consciousness comes up with discoveries with the passing of every year. It began in a humble way with the setting up of the Ray Society in which found eager patrons in America. This has now grown into a full-fl edged programme to give his fi lms a new lease of life with enhanced audio and visual qualities. This does not mean that anyone is trying to tamper with the originals. That would be sacrilege, somewhat like adding new colours or lines to an Amrita Shergill. All the same, there is a compelling need to ensure that the original nuances which give Ray’s work a character of its own: from the frugal music in the background to the outstanding compositions of every shot. Some well-meaning scholars from America turned up at the last Kolkata with about half a dozen Rays of different genres whose prints were in a dilapidated state but which had been restored to their original form. They may even have gained something from the possibilities of new technology without letting the technology get the better of the actual document. This is something that no other Indian fi lm-maker can claim – that the works are being restored and preserved because they Satyajit Ray constitute inevitable study material. If one is talking about an original screenplay that sets aside the conventional wisdom of THE TIMELESS TEXT BOOK turning to established fi ction, there can hardly be a better example than Kanchenjangha. He had done two heavy fi lms in the later SWAPAN MULLICK 50s – Devi and Jalsaghar and had fulfi lled a long-cherished dream to complete the fi nal part of the Apu trilogy after the box-offi ce tudents graduating from fi lm schools have tended to lean disaster of Aparajito when he felt that he needed to plunge into towards fi lm-makers who belong to experimental groups an experiment. That was the time he made Kanchenjangha on an Srather than towards the classical masters who represent the best cinema in their respective countries. It was many years ago that Penelope Houston had stated in a brilliantly succinct statement how the world looked at Indian cinema; she said that as long as someone did not come along to change, Ray’s would be cinema’s India. Talk to the young exponents of direction, camera, editing and sound, passing out of fi lm schools and they would probably beg to disagree with one of America’s leading fi lm scholars. Yet what Houston said more than four decades ago can hardly be disputed even by the post-Ray generation. Satyajit Ray remains an icon who is not just revered as a master but, almost 20 years after his death, remains a reference point for anyone who wishes to extend his appreciation of the medium regardless of the language or culture to which he or she belongs. Ray goes beyond words into a visual magic that transcends the limitations of language or the geographical borders within which his work generally moved.

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 8 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 9 Stills from , 1955. Aparajito, 1956 (top) and Apur Sansar, 1959 (above). original screenplay using running time to record actual time when If this was one of the fi lms restored, it was because this members of a family from Kolkata stroll down the misty pathways uncharacteristic adventure had so many complexities including in the mountains sorting out their inner confl icts. It bombed at the deliberate attempt to place the human experience in a the box-offi ce then because many saw it as a fi lm ahead of its natural environment. Turn to Sonar Kella (The Golden Fortress) time. Today, it remains the best possible specimen of a screenplay and one would again run into another text-book piece that the in which all the voices blend into a splendid orchestra, each as restorers hope will reach fi lm schools all over the world. First, indispensable as the other and the little pieces in the jigsaw puzzle there is no children’s fi lm by Ray which deserves to be seen fi tting into a magnifi cent ensemble. as naïve amusement. This and the Goopy Bagha series make

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 10 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 11 Devi, 1960 (top) and Kanchanjungha, 1962 (above). Abhijan, 1962 (top) and , 1964 (above). statements that penetrate adult minds. They are technically so There are two other points that young rebels with the camera, exciting as to demand repeated viewings. And they move out into with fi re in their belly and anger in their hearts tend to overlook. open spaces that pose a powerful challenge to the cameraman, First, it is no sin to be simple. Today’s enthusiasm for non- in this case Ray himself. Whether it is the magical use of Subrata narrative techniques often leave one puzzled as to why it ignores Mitra’s camera in Pather Panchali or the delightful manipulation the discipline of fi lm-making that is the cornerstone of Ray’s of external sounds or even his uncanny ability to turn rank work (he deleted remarkably little footage on the editing table). “outsiders’’ into able performers, he controlled every department of He imbibed the story-telling techniques of Hollywood in the fi lm-making and emphasised that if the director had to be the vital Thirties and reaffi rmed that one could put all one’s cinematic, cog in the wheel, it was imperative that he didn’t slip up on fi ner aesthetic and even personal ideas into the broad framework that details and had the whole movie in his head before a single scene the masses understood. Without being the marketing that is shot. today’s so-called creative personalities set out to be, he saw most

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 12 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 13 , 1963 (top); Shakha Proshakha, 1990 (left) and Ganashatru, 1989 (right). Teen Kanya, 1961 (top); Jalsaghar, 1958 (left) and Nayak, 1966 (right). of his fi lms being picked up long after their initial runs. He did and Premchand’s Shatranj Ke Khilari without setting the Hooghly not have to worry about markets and festivals – they came to his on fi re. doorstep. Today all that is irrelevant. What matters is that Ray offers Secondly, his work grew from their humble roots to a universal everything to anyone who wants to learn cinema. He had regretted humanism that ensured their place in history. Whether it was a at one stage having failed to take up science fi ction that he so historical like Shatranj Ke Khilari, a crime thriller like Joi Baba loved and an epic drama that offered another kind of challenge. Felunath (The Elephant God), an examination of life in a big city Perhaps it is just as well that blockbusters never consumed his (Mahanagar, Jana Aranya), a sense of compassion prevailed time that he devoted more fruitfully to projects that confi rmed his though he never allowed it to lapse into misplaced romanticism. breadth of vision and an all-embracing spirit of inquiry. Each of Nor did he allow the phenomenal variety in his works to these became a social event when they reached the theatres, a suggest that he lacked a philosophy of life. Ray never believed picture of an India that has survived its cultural diversity. And, of in a committed way of life or thinking. He wrote the series of course, they will remain text-books for fi lm buffs and sources of detective stories with as much passion as he recreated periods intellectual nourishment long after the curriculum in fi lm schools from Tagore stories (Charulata, Ghare Baire) with a contemporary has to be changed with the times. outlook. Long before the Tagore pundits frowned upon any “new ◆ The author is a National Award winning fi lm critic and currently Director of the Satyajit Ray interpretations’’, Ray turned the fi nal statement of Charulata on its Film & Television Institute, Kolkata. head and played around with characters in Tagore’s Ghare Baire

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 14 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 15 There were artists: poster designers who specialized in publicity art and they were often very popular within the producers’ community, Hindi Film Posters though somewhat anonymous to the rest of the world. There is a VISUAL CHRONICLES OF CULTURE difference between a poster-designer and a hoarding painter. The poster-designer is the creative brain behind the visuals one saw on the S.M.M. AUSAJA fi lm’s advertising media, while a hoarding painter usually enlarges any one poster design to the hoarding size. he fact that Hindi cinema has always had a form of art, besides Hindi fi lms arrived in 1931 with ’s Alam Ara. Since the various creative talents involved in fi lmmaking, has remained the Thirties there have been several transitions in the art of poster Tlargely hidden over the years. It’s a form of brush-stroke art designs. of thirties were largely theatrical in presentation, that appeared in its publicity material like posters, block-prints, song- therefore, the emphasis on elaborate costumes can be seen on the synopsis booklets, slides, lobby cards, and even LP record covers. characters depicted in the posters of the Thirties. Also, since fi lms

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 16 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 17 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 18 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 19 The Forties and Fifties, with the Bawre Nain (1950), Jogan (1950), self-defeating journey of love and rise of superstar Awara (1951), Baazi (1951), betrayal. and his natural acting style, Daag (1952), Aah (1953), Do The Sixties was an era of romantic gave us fi lms that highlighted Beegha Zameen (1953), musicals embedded even in epics social issues. The family dramas, (1955), Chori Chori (1956), like Mughal-e-Azam (1960). The romantic musicals, socio-political (1957), Pyasa fi lm’s dialogues played as big a sagas, and action/stunt fi lms (1957), (1959) and Kaagaz role in its success as ’s emerged and overshadowed ke Phool (1959) made waves as immortal compositions. The the costume-dramas. So more socially relevant fi lms. Baazi and posters were distinctively profi le-driven posters arrived Kaagaz ke Phool were attempts ostentatious as we saw in most on the walls. Aurat (1940), to elevate Hindi fi lms to the historicals, but the fi lm was Nartaki (1940), Bahen (1941), level of technical fi nesse seen in essentially a romantic one. Aadmi (1941), Roti (1942), Hollywood. The posters indicated Junglee (1961), Saheb Bibi aur Kismat (1943), what was in store for the viewer. Ghulam (1962), (1964), (1946), Dard (1947), For example, in Bahen, a fi lm ki Kali (1964), Guide (1947), Aag (1948), Andaz (1949) about a brother’s obsessive (1965), Waqt (1965), Teesri and Mahal (1949) are some possessiveness about his sister, Manzil (1966), had been branded as symbols Indrasabha (1932), Alibaba aur of the most successful fi lms of the sister was shown dwarfed (1967), aur Shyam (1967) of perversion, very few families 40 Chor (1932), Ayodhya ka those years. The posters were under the large shadow of her tall and Aradhana (1969) were all ventured to theatres. To combat Raja (1932), Chandidas (1934), simpler and the faces were given brother! Kismat being a noir fi lm musical success stories despite this social resistance, the Thirties Ramayan (1934), Anarkali prominence over costumes. With with a near negative protagonist, their varied plots. The posters producers focused on mythology, (1935), Hunterwali (1935), Seeta superstars like Ashok Kumar, Ashok Kumar held millions began to highlight music; in fact history, fantasy, religion, and Haran (1936), Vidyapati (1937), , Raj Kapoor and captive under his revolver as the the reprint posters had the hit folk-tale inspired fi lms. It worked Alladin and the Wonderful Lamp Dev in the limelight, fi lm smashed records across the songs prominently written on top to expand their audience. The (1938), Gopal (1938) their faces were given more country to emerge as the biggest to indicate to the viewer that the fi lm posters of those early years and ’s immortal weight than the other players in success story till we had ! fi lm posessed hit music. were full of fl amboyant costumes historical Pukar (1939) had the fi lm for purely commercial In Devdas, Dilip Kumar and his and the biggest success stories visually appealing posters, full of reasons. In the Fifties the same alcohol bottle on the posters The Seventies began the era of belonged to these genres. Notably elaborate costumes. trend continued. Babul (1950), took the viewer to the hero’s the Angry Young Man as Amitabh

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 20 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 21 Bachchan rose like a meteor Kaalia, Coolie, Aakhree Raasta, Lastly, we need to applaud the and emerged as the biggest-ever Agneepath, Hum, Khuda Gawah designers and painters who star the industry ever saw. The and Badshah. have given us such delightful Seventies, Eighties and Nineties images across decades. The In the Thirties, Forties and Fifties, belonged to him in terms of foremost designer who ruled for there were lithographic posters. popularity, making him a ‘Star three decades was D.D. Neroy. The lithographic press gave way of the Millennium’ (in a global And there were many talented to the offset press and the posters opinion poll commissioned by names and entities like Tilak, of the Seventies and Eighties the BBC). Romance and music Diwakar Karkare, Mulgaonkar, were mostly offset prints. The took a back seat as the posters D.R. Bhosle, Pamart, Pandit Ram began to display a variety of Nineties popularized the digital Kumar Sharma, S.M. Pandit, Faiz, action images: from guns, press. Consequently, by the end and many more. These were machine-guns and knives to of Eighties, the era of hand- exceptionally gifted artistes who poses of stars – mainly Amitabh – painted posters ended, replaced depicted a visual journey of in combat positions. Such was the by the digitally composed images Indian culture on posters across extent of Amitabh’s infl uence that appearing on the posters. With decades. They are unsung, and even the established romantic the end of the hand-painted we need to celebrate them if we stars were forced to pick up posters, came the realization to celebrate the art of posters in treat the originals as pieces of art, India. the gun – like ◆ (Johnny Mera Naam, Des Pardes, thereby making the hand-painted The author is a noted fi lm-historian and Lootmaar), poster of any fi lm from the cinema memorabilia collector. (Gora Aur Kala), Thirties to the Eighties objects of (Yaadon ki Baarat, Hukumat), art. The craze for collecting such Dilip Kumar (Shakti, , posters began in the Nineties and and Duniya). Amitabh’s anger has gained momentum in the simmered on posters from new millennium. Today, these Zanjeer and to Sholay, posters are being auctioned at art , Muqaddar ka Sikandar, houses, galleries and premium , Laawaris, auction houses globally.

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 22 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 23 After Independence fi lm artistes gravitated towards the Dravidian Tamil Cinema movement, whose leaders offered DIARY OF A SOCIETY ON CELLULOID them recognition and patronage. Many of the leading lights of THEODORE BASKARAN the party, like C.N. Annadurai and M. Karunanidhi, were themselves playwrights and he limelight on composer areas, riding piggyback on often acted in plays. The A.R. Rahman should draw rural electrifi cation schemes of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Tattention to Tamil cinema post-independent India. Touring that grew out of the Dravidian that nursed him and honed talkies, another unique feature movement, facilitated the his skills. Barely a year after of Indian cinema, took fi lms advent of the phenomenon the Lumiere brothers screened into remote rural areas. Today, of the star politician in India. their moving pictures in Paris, with 2548 cinema houses, fi lms M.G. Ramachandran, the best cinema was introduced in enjoy a high exposure rate in known star-politician and later Madras (now ) in 1897. Tamil Nadu. Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu The fi rst silent fi lm in South had, in fact, acted in patriotic India, Keechakavatham (The Like other cinemas of India, plays and was a khadi-wearing Slaying of Keechaka) was made early Tamil fi lms were all Congress sympathizer in his in 1916 by Nataraja Mudaliyar mythological, with a series of younger days. The interaction in Madras, marking the birth excuses for songs. This was between Tamil cinema and of Tamil cinema. It was in the a legacy from the company politics has attracted academic Fifties that the hold of cinema drama. Within a few years of Nadodimannan, 1958 scholars from all over the world. on the Tamil people increased the arrival of talkies fi lm music A good reference work is Tamil as it penetrated deep into rural grew into an independent aural entertainment and increased though a mythological, had a Cinema: The Cultural Politics the hold of cinema on people. song praising Gandhi. Soon, Parasakthi, 1952 of India’s Other Film Industry The gramophone industry, cinema became an instrument (Routledge 2008) edited coupled with the availability of political propaganda and by S. Velayutham of Sydney of inexpensive machines, many fi lm artistes began taking University. popularized fi lm songs. direct part in politics. Some went as delegates to National One of the distinctive A prominent feature of Tamil Congress sessions and many characteristics of cinema in cinema is its interaction with appeared on political platforms. India is its subservience to the politics. How did it begin? One of the stars of the Thirties, spoken word. In Tamil cinema, When sound came to Tamil .B. Sundarambal, campaigned this was a legacy of the stage cinema, in 1931 with Kalidas, for the Congress. She was the and it was accentuated when the artistes from company fi rst fi lm artiste in India to enter dialogue writers from the DMK drama moved into the studios. the legislature, in 1958, as a became active in fi lms. Long They were already highly Congress nominee in Chennai. monologues with alliterative politicized, having formed This interaction, between fi lm sentences became popular, an active part of the freedom artistes and cinema, continues as in the fi lm Parasakthi struggle. They brought with to the present day. Two stars, (The Goddess), 1952. These them their ideology and a and Sarathkumar, monologues are remarkably penchant for political activism. each fl oated a political party like formal speeches. Even the For instance, the fi lm Kalidas, recently. camera angles were such that

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 24 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 25 school boys, clearly refl ected the infl uence of European cinema. He later went on to make Veedu (Home), 1988, the story of a middle class family struggling to build a house. Mahendra adapted a literary work to make Udhiripookal (Scattered Flowers), 1979. A few young fi lmmakers who trained under these directors individuated and made movies, extending the frontiers of Tamil cinema. Balu was one such who has made fi lms like Sethu, 1999. And there was whose fi lm Autograph, 2005, endeared , rivals both itself to the Tamil public. in fi lms and in politics. They Today the Tamil fi lm industry had both built up a huge has matured, along with following with thousands Kannada, and of fan clubs functioning as Telugu fi lm industries into surrogate party units. MGR a vibrant industry which specialized in swashbuckling provides employment and roles. His Nadodimannan entertainment to a vast section (Vagabond king), 1958, was of the population. Tamil cinema characteristic of this genre. Sivaji has enjoyed a reputation Ganesan on the other hand for being both the pioneer featured in melodramas such and the launchpad for new as Pavamannippu (Forgiveness technologies, new , of Sins), 1961. The fi lms that successful story formulae etc came during this period were for the entire southern fi lm formulaic, the characters industry. The presence of world stereotyped and acting stylized. class fi lm labs and infrastructure A critic observed: “Bedevilled as at Chennai has also contributed Dasavatharam, 2008 16 Vayathinile, 1977 (top) and Veedu, 1988. Tamil fi lms are by the Big Two, to the leadership role that the story of every year is the the characters appeared to be form and as gramophone discs. there were signs of change with Tamil fi lm industry plays in the story of what fi lms they made south. Now with A.R. Rahman, addressing the vast multitude Thus, cinema, as handled in and who outscored the other a new generation of fi lmmakers in the cinema house. The these fi lms, was almost like an making their mark. Bharathi a talent nurtured in the Chennai at the box offi ce. Aesthetics do Hollywood making it big in the importance given to the spoken extension of literature, instead not enter into the discussion at Raja, through his 16 Vayathinile words tended to eliminate of belonging to its own realm. (At the age of 16), 1977, focused real Hollywood, Tamil fi lms will any point for aesthetics here is really get a global exposure. camera mobility and rendered subordinate to economics.” on rural Tamil Nadu. Balu ◆ performance immobile. In fact, For three decades Tamil cinema Mahendra’s Azhiyatha kolangal The author is a noted writer and cinema dialogues of a few of these was in the shadow of two As the infl uence of the two stars (Enduring Patterns), 1979, a historian. fi lms were published in book stars, M.G. Ramachandran and began to wane in the Seventies, story centring around three

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 26 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 27 A WHIFF OF SANDALWOOD

JYOTSNA

olloquially referred to as Sandalwood, the cinema of encompasses movies made in Karnataka. The emergence of Ctalking pictures in regional languages of in 1931 saw the release of the fi rst talkie in Kannada in 1934 Sati Sulochana, followed by Bhakta Dhruva. Both Sati Sulochana and Bhakta Dhruva were major successes. The most popular actor in Kannada fi lms was the late Dr. . An accomplished singer and a performer with versatile acting capabilities, his era was thronged with superb comedian actors, music composers, directors, lyricists, script writers and cinematographers who collectively brought what is now regarded as the golden era of Kannada cinema. Dr. Rajkumar, originally known as ‘Mutturaju’, had to his credit over 200 fi lms. His debut fi lm with Gubbi Virnna’s Bedara Kanappa in 1954 established him as a mythological hero overcoming the severest test of conscience to prove his devotion to his ideals. The movie proved to be a blockbuster and signalled the arrival of a new star. It also launched comedian Narasimharaju and director G.V. Iyer.

Bedara Kanappa, 1954

Gejje Pooje, 1970 Sadly, even after the success of Bedara Kanappa, the Kannada fi lm industry remained stagnant. Lack of fi nanciers, technicians and studios proved to be a hindrance to fi lm making.

Rajkumar’s public adulation and identifi cation was peerless. His early retirement stunned his fans who treated him as a demi-god. Predictably, the septuagenarian was forced out of his self-imposed exile by his fans and Shabdavedi, his comeback movie, saw the thespian performing once again. He received the prestigious Dada Saheb Phalke Award in 1995 for his outstanding contribution to Kannada fi lm industry. Rajkumar was one of the few actors in world cinema who had an illustrious classical singing and stage acting career throughout simultaneously.

The 1970s and 80s is heralded as the Golden Age of Kannada cinema. It was also the period that witnessed the birth of alternate cinema or . Shankar Nag, in the late 70s, made his own mark with the internationally-acclaimed Malgudi Days along with some commercial hits. Sandesh Nagraj made his presence felt with his off-beat fi lms. Kumar Desai vowed the audience with his

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 28 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 29 industry. The year 2005 witnessed stupendous box offi ce success for the Kannada fi lm industry. Starting with Shivarajkumar starrer Jogi, which grossed Rs. 70 crore at the box offi ce, fi lms like Anna Tangi (grossed Rs 50 crores), Gowramma, Amruthadhare, Deadly Soma, Nenapirali performed well at the box offi ce. An estimated four of every fi ve releases had succeeded at the box offi ce. The profi ts soared and the industry fl ourished like never before. Mungaru Male released in 2006, shattered all records Tabarana Kathe, 1987 of the Kannada fi lm industry versatility whereas Dinesh Babu Kaadu (1973), Ondanondu grossing Rs. 75 crores. In 2008, redefi ned the art of story-telling. Kaladalli (1978), M.S. Sathyu’s the Kannada fi lm industry T.S. Nagabharana’s involvement Kanneshwara Rama (1977), saw many fi rsts. A number of in Jaanapada and historical Chithegu Chinthe (1978), Pattabhi fi lms were released outside the melodramas, Kodlu Ramakrishna Rama Reddy’s Samskara (1970) state and even abroad. Gaja, for his subjects based on common were some of the important Buddhivantha and Navagraha man and narrative stories, Phani movies of this decade. This became huge hits. The success Ramachandra with his comic decade also witnessed the rise of of the fi lm industry is obvious fl icks, Rajendra Singh Babu ,all , who is widely by the fact that the average brought Kannada cinema its acknowledged as the greatest budget for Kannada fi lms is much deserving recognition. director in Kannada fi lm history. now between Rs. 5-10 crores as His movies like Bellimoda, Gejje against Rs. 1-2 crore just three B.V. Karanth’s Chomana Dudi, Pooje, Sharapanjara Sakshatkara, years ago. The fragrance of an evocative fi lm on caste Nagara Havu bought new style Sandalwood continues to spread distinctions spearheaded the of fi lm making which acted as a far and wide. Kannada parallel cinema. Girish ◆ bridge between commercial and The author is a noted writer and Kasaravalli’s fi rst fi lm Ghata parallel cinema. documentary fi lm maker. Shraddha in 1977, won him the National award for best The current star of the Kannada fi lm. He has won the National fi lm industry is Shivarajkumar, award for best fi lm four times who started his career with a including his latest fi lm . hatrick of superhits. Actresses like Bhavya, Mahalaxmi, Sudharani, His award winning fi lms include Thara, Vanitha Vasu, Anjana, Akramana (1979), Mooru too made their presence Dhaarigalu (1981), Tabarana felt over time with sterling Kathe (1987), Bannadha Vesha performances. (1989), Mane (1989), Kraurya (1996), Taayi Saaheba (1998) and The recent years have been Dweepa (2002). ’s good times for the Kannada fi lm Ghata Shraddha, 1977

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 30 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 31 remembered today as the father of Indian cinema and Marathi Cinema a prestigious award named SCALING NEW HEIGHTS after him, is bestowed on those luminaries from the fi lm MAYAH BALSE world who have distinguished themselves in the fi eld of here is a fable in the Indian epics, in which a clever squirrel cinema. waits for an army of ants to laboriously bring grains of sugar Tto a hole in the bark of a tree. The clever squirrel then barges The mantle for making fi lms, his way in to eat the hoard of grain and occupies the niche too. This thereafter, fell on Prabhat Film is what has happened to Marathi cinema over the years, vis-a-vis Company, owned exclusively Hindi cinema. The powerful and muscular Hindi giant has nudged by Maharashtrians, which took Marathi fi lms from supremacy in their own territory. The birthplace the movement forward with of Marathi fi lms has become the stronghold of Bollywood’s Hindi classics having moral values fi lm industry. and emotional resonance, the notable ones being Sant Ironically, it was a Marathi “maanoos” who was responsible for Tukaram, the fi rst fi lm in India laying the foundation of cinema itself in India. It was Dadasaheb to bag the best fi lm award in Phalke, a Maharashtrian, who envisioned making the fi rst ever l927 at the . indigenous Indian fi lm – a silent movie called Raja Harishchandra, a story about a high-principled king who was willing to sacrifi ce his Prabhat Films produced the fi rst kingdom and his family to gain the grace of the gods. The gods were Marathi talkie, Ayodhyecha Raja so impressed they gave him back what he had lost. in 1932, fast on the heels of the fi rst Hindi talkie Alam Ara Raja Harishchandra was the fi rst home-grown Indian production which was made a year earlier, and the corner-stone of the fi lm industry. Dadasaheb Phalke is by Imperial Film Company and directed by Ardeshir Irani. Stills from Ayodhyecha Raja, 1932 It was over two decades later in 1954 when the National Awards were launched for the fi rst time, that P.K. Atre’s Marathi fi lm Shyam chi Ayee won the President’s Gold Medal. It was a cinematic rendering of Sane Guruji’s emotional novel. Marathi cinema bloomed after that, with the advent of names like V. Shantaram, Phadke, Raja Paranjpe Master Vinayak and others. Directors like Ashok Mane churned out fi lms focusing on the widely

Raja Harishchandra (left top); Sant Tukaram (middle) and Shyam chi Ayee (left).

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 32 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 33 become better. For example, Ankush Chaudhary’s Sade Made Teen, released in November 2007 made with a budget of Rs. One crore is reputed to have earned more than Rs. 3 crore. Today big corporates like Zee Talkies and ABCL are interested in investing in Marathi fi lms and promoting this genre of regional fi lm. Today, Marathi fi lms have successfully become a Rs. 100 crore plus industry. Marathi fi lms have often represented India honorably abroad. Valu, directed by Umesh Kulkarni was the fi rst Marathi movie to be screened at the International Film Festival popular Marathi folk art Maati Maay (above). Valu (right top) and of Rotterdam. It was the only Sade Made Teen (below). form, the tamashas. Also in Indian fi lm to be given four vogue were traditional family In the 80s, , screenings at the festival and dramas of Raj Dutt and Datta Pilgaonkar, also received the Hubert Bals Dharamadhikari, which told and Mahesh Kothare ruled Fund. Chitra Palekar’s Maati stories of emotional confl ict, in a the roost. Their comedies Maay, starring Nandita Das, realistic environment. Rustic and sparkled on the silver screen. won the Prix du Jury Graine th urban audiences enjoyed both This was a different kind of Cinephage Award at the 30 genres of fi lms. entertainment, minus the double Cretil’s International Women’s entendres of Dada Khondke Film Festival in Paris, France. Later in the 70s, comedy with and proved exceedingly popular Marathi fi lms have come a long double entendres and earthy as grandparents could watch way from their fl edgling days jokes catered to another kind of these fi lms even in the company of Dadasaheb Phalke’s silent audience who loved this genre of their grandchildren. It was same environment. But Hindi cinema, in this case, just another era. With corporate houses and even when it bordered on the soon after this that Marathi fi lms had larger budgets, studio in Mumbai. cricket icons entering the fi eld vulgar. Dada Khondke handled theatre raced ahead of Marathi bigger stars, more audience, and awards galore, it surely this format to perfection and cinema, with bold themes and greater reach. Marathi fi lms It was only after a series of means a new era of success had his audiences in splits. great acting. While Marathi with their niche audiences and conferences, airing of grievances, for Marathi cinema. The army But some squeamish people plays earned accolades and therefore, low budgets faced and serious brainstorming that of ants it seems, have made a frowned on these fi lms as they appreciation, Marathi cinema tough times. The other regional things began to look better. State comeback into the squirrel’s felt they would corrupt the struggled for recognition on the language fi lms in their respective subsidies for Marathi fi lms were den, but reconciled to sharing young. Apparently the young fringes. states, like Bengal and South hiked upward; the government small tit-bits with the Hindi did not mind it one bit, though India, apparently had more stipulated that multiplexes must monolith. the family elders were extra- There was a reason for this. clout and prospered. Further, have substantial number of ◆ The author is a noted writer for fi lms and protective of their progeny who Marathi fi lms were up against successful Marathi fi lm stars Marathi fi lm screenings to qualify TV serials. were banned from seeing such the juggernaut of Hindi fi lms, and technicians trotted over to for subsidies, etc. Following fi lms. which were nurtured in the the greener pastures of Hindi these incentives things have

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 34 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 35 Raj was only eleven when he mile return journey to the same to see Jaddanbai), he could be made his fi rst fi lm, Inquilab, in location the next day. But Raj just dismissed quite contemptuously Raj Kapoor 1935, where the stars were his carried on, and this time for good by Nargis. “A fat blue-eyed father and . This was measure, caught the hero’s beard pinkie has visited me,” she told THE ACTOR UNFORGETTABLE followed by a fi lm, in the clapperboard and it came her friend, Lettitia. Kapoor was, After the Earthquake. Prithviraj off. Sharma lost his temper and on the other hand, awestruck. was none too pleased when Raj, slapped Raj Kapoor in front of He later recalled, “She had been having failed his matriculation, the whole unit. frying pakodas when I rang the and struggling with Latin, told bell. And when she opened the his father that he would rather Afterwards, Sharma felt wretched door she accidentally brushed her learn from the university of life’, over his loss of temper and spent hand with basean (a yellowish which meant going into fi lms to a sleepless night worrying about paste) on it to cover her hair.” produce, direct, and act. it. Raj was, after all, his friend’s Raj Kapoor was so overwhelmed son and he was working for free. that he rushed back to the studio Raj got a break in fi lms with The next morning Sharma called and asked for Nargis to be written Kidar Sharma in 1947. It was Raj into his offi ce. It is said that into the script. He would never Prithviraj who had persuaded his the marks of the slap could still forget the scene. More than a friend, Kidar, to take on his son. be seen on Raj’s skin, although quarter century later in 1973, with Sharma was fi lming Vish Kanya. this may be retrospective Nargis long out of Raj Kapoor’s But as Sharma recalls, before imagination. What is undeniable, life and a new sensation, Dimple giving the clap for the shot, Raj however, is that Sharma gave him Kapadia, being introduced in would always comb his hair and a cheque for Rs. 5000 and signed the teen hit Bobby, there was a pose in front of the camera and him up as the hero of his next scene in which Raj, played by only then give the clap. That aj Kapoor was undoubtedly the most complex man Indian cinema venture, Neel Kamal, which also Raj Kapoor’s son , day, Sharma wanted to take a has produced-a man who fell in love with his leading ladies, one of introduced to Hindi goes to Bobby’s house and close-up as the sun was going whom not only inspired his studio but fi nanced some of his early cinema. she answers the door casually R down and had told Raj not to fi lms The eldest son of Prithviraj, Raj had such blue eyes and white skin dressed, her hair disheveled. comb his hair for, if the sunset When Raj Kapoor came calling that often, while walking home from school, he would be mistaken for was missed, it would mean on Nargis at her fl at, quite a white boy and taken away to a restaurant and fed by whites, while Raj Kapoor would later say, having to make a forty to fi fty unannounced (he had come his darker brother, , would sit outside the restaurant watching “Nargis was my inspiration, meri sphoortti [my energy]. Women his older brother gulp down the food. Early in life he suffered the sort of tragedy that might well have scarred him. Raj was about six have always meant a lot in my when his four-year-old brother, Bindi, ate rat poison and died, while life, but Nargis meant more than a second brother, Devi, also died a fortnight later, probably from anybody else. I used to always pneumonia. Raj had to fetch his father, as Bindi lay dying. He would tell her Krishna is my wife and never stop mourning his brothers. This may explain why, throughout she is the mother of my children. his childhood, he craved food and was therefore, rather plump. I want you to be the mother of my fi lms.” And it was in order to protect himself that he assumed the role of a comedian: Raj Kapoor had admired many a Hollywood director. However, I soon picked up the most natural defence mechanism-the one used one man who towered over all by all the great jokers of the world. I learnt that the more one resisted for Kapoor, and who was his being a target, the more one suffered. mentor for Awara, and all his Prithviraj was already the great actor of Indian stage and screen by the other fi lms, was . time Raj grew up. Raj Kapoor kept away from the stage because he Dev Anand described how he feared being seen as his father’s son, whereas in fi lms he could be his and Kapoor went to see Chaplin own man. in Montreux. As Oona played on

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 36 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 37 the piano, they talked for three country-the downtrodden, the reaching out to millions around hours, with Raj sitting on the man beaten for no fault of his the world, there was another ground in Chaplin’s backyard, own. What drew me to Chaplin’s Indian who would make an even almost literally at his feet. They fi lms was Chaplin himself; the greater impact on the world of had come by bus and, as they hobo, the bum, the common man. cinema, what many would call boarded the bus to leave, Anand I was not drawn to him so much the real cinema, as opposed to says, “Raj kept looking back at because of his get-up but because the tinsel town of Bollywood. the receding fi gure of Chaplin, of the simplicity-of the little man That was Satyajit Ray, now these which got smaller and smaller. and his human emotions. How great men of Indian cinema fell Raj raised his hand and shouted, he enjoyed life, even though he out badly. As it happened, the ‘Hey, little fellow, bye, bye. We was so poor. There was so much quarrel took place outside India, love you.’ of Chaplin that affected me, the when both were being feted for thought process behind all of his their movies. Kapoor, who had seen all the beliefs. I think his hobo was one Chaplin movies would later say, Benegal takes up the story: of the greatest characters ever “What inspired me in his work conceived.” The fi lm industry always was the little man and when Indian Cinema: The Bollywood Saga by (Roli Books) thought that Ray was not doing I began my career then I saw The very title Awara (Vagabond), Shri 420 right by India. Raj Kapoor and he the little man all around in our tramp-had strong echoes of had a big spat once. Raj Kapoor’s Chaplin, as did the character Even Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s fi lm, Jaagte Raho, was directed by Awara Raju, which Kapoor played Cancer Ward had a reference Shambu Mitra, a famous Bengali in a very Indian version, with to it, with the character Zoya theatre director who had the his trousers rolled up, wearing described as being much taken same stature as Ray in cinema. torn shoes, and a trilby, which by the fi lm: “her whole body Shambu made the fIlm and it he doffed at everyone who writhing to the urge of the won Raj Kapoor an award in the passed by. Raj moved his lips as popular song she began singing 1964 Karolvy Vary fi lm festival, Mukesh sang ‘Awara Hoon… ’. from a recent Indian fi lm. A-va- the same year that Aparajito won And the whole nation sang with rai-ya-ya! A-va-rai-ya-a-a!” the Golden Lion in Venice. They him. By the time Raj Kapoor was met up at some meeting where being feted in Moscow, he was both were being felicitated. It was the Marxist writer, Khwaja on his way to making the fi lm So Ray said it was a great Ahmad Abbas, who had written which Satyajit Ray considered his recognition for Bengali cinema. the Awara story .When Abbas best, Shri 420. The title itself was Raj Kapoor said, ‘Why Bengali, proposed the idea to Raj Kapoor, a Raj Kapoor joke. This fi lm also are you not an Indian? Why do Hollywood was in the middle of displayed his nationalism in songs you say you are a Bengali fi lm- its McCarthy witch-hunt against like ‘Mera joota hai Japani.’ communism. Awara was not maker?’ only a hit in India but a movie Kapoor had always used his family in his movies. In Awara, Ray said, ‘I am a Bengali fi lm- that travelled the world-Turkey, maker.’ Iran, the Arabic world, and the judge was played by Eastern Europe – creating box Prithviraj, the young Raj by his Raj Kapoor said, ‘Why can’t you offi ce records. Millions across the brother, Shashi, and the little boy say you are an Indian fi lm-maker? globe joined Indians in singing shown in the tide sequence, was For god’s sake.’ Rishi, his own boy. In Shri 420, ◆ Mukesh’s song of the Awara. Extracted from Bollywood: A History by The Soviet Union is said to have his children played an even more Mihir Bose, Lotus Collection-Roli Books, New Delhi, 2006. made a massive distribution of signifi cant part. Awara, dubbed into a number of While Raj Kapoor was becoming

Indian Cinema: The Bollywood Saga by Dinesh Raheja (Roli Books) its languages. the fi rst Bollywood superstar and

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 38 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 39 Mr and Mrs Dutt By Namrata Kumar Priya (Roli Books) Nargis THE LEGENDARY LADY OF INDIAN CINEMA

om was given two names when she was born. Her Muslim mother called her Fatima Abdul Rashid, while her Hindu father Mnamed her Tejeshwari Uttamchand Mohanchand. But the world knew her as Nargis. Fatima was born on 1 June 1929 in Calcutta. She was the daughter of Uttamchand Mohanchand who belonged to a wealthy Rawalpindi family, and the famous and talented thumri singer Jaddanbai, who came from Chilbilla, a small village in . Babu was studying to be a doctor and was supposed to go to London when he became entranced by Jaddanbai. It is said he heard her singing, perhaps in Calcutta or Lucknow, and fell instantly in love. In order to marry her, he became a Muslim and took the name Abdul

Nargis in Mehboob’s Mother India – a classic that became a watershed in the history of Indian Cinema (facing page)

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 40 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 41 Rashid. However, throughout sect, who were said to have his life, he was called Mohan fought alongside the family of Babu. He was converted to Islam Prophet Mohammed in the war by the famous freedom fi ghter of Karbala, way back in the 7th Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad. century, when they were also paid a high price called “Hussaini Brahmins.” for his love as he had chosen to marry Jaddanbai despite the Mohan Babu and Jaddanbai had outrage and protests of his family. a colourful and adventurous Subsequently, he was disowned life full of song, music and and disinherited by them. He was cinema, moving from Calcutta a Mohyal Brahmin and, ironically, to , and then fi nally when Mom married Dad, she settling down in Bombay on also married a Mohyal Brahmin. the coast of the Arabian Sea in So life had come a full circle in 1934, when Mom was fi ve years a span of just 30 years. This is old. Here, Grandmother set up an extraordinary coincidence a production house and soon because the Mohyals are a small became the fi rst woman in India

to be a producer, scriptwriter, of Mom’s strength was inherited music composer, actor and from her mother, she was also singer. In no time an entourage in awe of her. After all, it was of relatives and aspiring fi lm Jaddanbai who supported the stars mushroomed around her family through her fi lm career, and she became a huge fi lm whereas Mohan Babu, alas, personality in Bombay during the wasn’t good at business, despite 30s and 40s. Despite Jaddanbai’s having tried his hand at many wealth and fame, Fatima was things. Yet he was happy to be brought up in the Islamic faith, behind the scenes and remained growing up in a close-knit family a pillar of support for his wife atmosphere along with her two who had enormous skill and older brothers, Akhtar and Anwar creative talent. Her achievements Hussain. Young Fatima was were many at a time when having known to all as Baby, though the a professional life was rare for name on the door to the family’s a woman. Chateau Marine, the home read Fatima Abdul Rashid. building on Marine Drive in which she had a spacious ground In contrast to Dad’s troubled fl oor fl at, was the hub of many and diffi cult childhood, Mom cultural activities and she actively was brought up in great comfort, promoted fi lm-makers and surrounded by domestic help and musicians. chauffeur-driven cars. She was very close to her father who was Sometimes we feel distressed a softhearted and happy-go-lucky to think Mom didn’t really have Nargis in ’s Taqdeer (right). Her performances refl ected natural and man. On the other hand, her much of a childhood. She may modern style of acting (facing page). mother, Jaddanbai, was a strong- have lived in some luxury, but Photographs courtesy: Mr and Mrs Dutt by Namrata Dutt Kumar & Priya Dutt, willed lady, a pivotal fi gure in when she was only fi ve she had Roli Books the household. Though much to start working, albeit in her

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 42 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 43 mother’s movies. From that early until the time her children came 1953), she had acted in 46 fi lms age, and renamed “Baby Rani” along? in the lead role. Coincidentally for the screen, she continued it was once again a Mehboob working for the next 25 years. Everything changed dramatically production, Mother India (1957) Mom did manage to continue for Mom when she was cast as that completely changed Mom’s her education till she was 14, the lead heroine of the aptly life both professionally as well as attending school at Queen Mary’s named Taqdeer (Fate, 1943), personally. On the professional in Nanachowk, South Bombay directed by the legendary front, the making of the fi lm where, because her name was Mehboob Khan. Mom was only marked the end of her long Fatima, she was affectionately 14 and reluctant to abandon association with the RK Films’ called “Fatty”. A popular student, her studies, harbouring dreams banner; on the personal front, she excelled in drama and sports. of becoming a doctor, a dream she met the man she would Like her father, she once had her father had not fulfi lled. But soon marry. In Mother India, dreams of becoming a doctor Mehboob Khan thought of a ruse Mom plays Radha, the wife of and shared with him a thirst for and asked her to come to the Shyamu, a farmer, while Dad knowledge. She was a voracious studio merely to watch on was cast as her rebellious son reader, and absorbed herself set. There, she was dressed in a Birju. This was a role he got by in books and it was through sari by Mehboob Khan’s wife, the chance, as initially he was to reading that she learnt much actress , and before play the role of Radha’s eldest Indian Cinema: The Bollywood Saga by Dinesh Raheja (Roli Books) about the world. But was the loss Mom knew it, she was handed a Another still from Taqdeer son, (eventually played of childhood refl ected in how page of dialogue and the great by Rajendra Kumar). But as luck throughout her early years and cameraman Fardoon Irani, who shot. Mom impressed everyone. She was never resentful of her would have it, at the last minute, later in adult life she collected coincidentally fi lmed her in her In an interview with Mohan Bawa role as breadwinner at an age the role of Birju fell into Dad’s dolls from all over the world fi rst fi lm Taalash-e-Haq, took the (Actors and Acting, 1978), Mom when so many of her friends lap. Given the disparity in their recalled this incident, adding were still enjoying the carefree status in the world of fi lms – she Raj Kumar and Nargis in Mother India that it was the fi rst time she had pleasures of childhood. was an established star and he, a ever worn a sari and so kept newcomer – they did not strike tripping. One thing led to another Young Fatima, or “Baby” as up a friendship, though Mom was and Mehboob Khan convinced she was fondly called, was always known to interact with the her to opt for the movies. He escorted everywhere by her whole unit effortlessly. She never believed the letter “N” was lucky driver Kasambhai and personal had airs and was never stuck for him and changed her name to maid Ameenabai. When Mom up. Dad always described Mom’s “Nargis.” was already a big star, Dad was presence as regal, “You couldn’t still at college. In an interview, say anything frivolous around It proved fortuitous for him and he recalled how each morning, her and whenever she entered for her as well. Soon hoardings before attending college, he and the set everyone fell silent. It was bearing her new name in his friends would sit on a Marine her charisma. Yet with all this, glittering letters were seen all Drive parapet right opposite she was unusually simple and over the country. Offers for fi lm Chateau Marine where Mom unassuming.” roles poured in and gradually lived, waiting for her white Railey ◆ Mom became the main provider Extracted from Mr and Mrs Dutt: Memories to go by. Obviously she never of her parents, by Namrata Dutt Kumar & for the family. From Baby Rani looked at them, but they waited Priya Dutt, Roli Book, New Delhi, 2007. she had become the star Nargis for a glimpse of her and, as he and won a large fan following, put it, “especially her gorgeous but had lost her childhood car.” forever. Mom, like Dad, had a strong sense of responsibility and By the time she met Dad

Indian Cinema: The Bollywood Saga by Dinesh Raheja (Roli Books) felt happy when helping others. (probably sometime around

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 44 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 45 anywhere in the world. He is a Bachchan’s skill, says fi lm-maker Kapoors. Harivanshrai would go bigger star than anybody today , was that his to Prithviraj’s stage performances on the planet, anywhere in acting summed up the mood and then, at the backstage the world. As an actor, he is as of the nation as, in an earlier soirees, recite his poems which respected as Olivier or Geilgud generation, Raj Kapoor’s movies Prithviraj liked. But when in in Britain for the quality of his had done: 1969, Amitabh came to Bombay performance. looking for work he did not make Any kind of image attributed to his way to R.K. Studios, preferring an actor, like the Angry Young Interestingly, the character to try and make it without “pull,” Man, concerns not only that actor, Bachchan played in his fi rst as the Indians put it. but also the environment that movie success, Zanjeer, to an prevails in that period of history Amitabh was brought up strictly, extent refl ected the political in which people are functioning. style Mrs Gandhi so successfully which may explain why he adopted in 1969. This was of However, refl ecting the times he was shy and had problems a person who was part of the was born in, he was very nearly with simple tasks like entering system but yet against it. The fi lm given the name of Inquilab a restaurant on his own. This would set the pattern for many of (revolution), having been born shyness was to plague him in Bachchan’s movies that followed, on October 11, 1942, just as his early days as a struggling and gave the fi lms of the 1970s India was in the midst of the fi lm actor. Once, he had to the convenient short-hand title Quit India movement. Amitabh’s meet actor for an of the decade of the angry father, Harivanshrai Bachchan, assignment, and Kumar asked young man. Bachchan was the wanted to call his son Inquilab, him to come to the brooding loner, with very little but accepted poetess Sumitra Studios where he was shooting time for song and dance, and no Nandan Pant’s suggestion of at the time. Every day for a hesitation in taking the law into Amitabh, which comes from Amit week, Bachchan went all the his own hands to ensure justice, and Abha .The Bachchans were way to the studio, only to falter Amitabh Bachchan which the system had failed also well connected to the rising at the gates, unable to walk in, to provide, was meted out to Bollywood establishment. His undone by shyness. Surprisingly, THE ANGRY YOUNG MAN OF INDIAN CINEMA deserving criminals. family was very friendly with the despite his superstar status, and after years in cinema and many n February 15, 1969, a gangly 27-year-old, uncommonly tall Zanjeer live programmes, he still admits for an Indian, certainly for an Indian actor, arrived in Bombay to being extremely shy and an Odetermined to make it in movies and that very day he got his introvert, a trait that is often chance. That fi lm fl opped, but success could not be denied to him; it mistaken for arrogance. came four years later with a movie that was seen as a landmark new The family was not exactly rich. fi lm, and soon the star was to revolutionize Bollywood. That young Bachchan senior earned Rs 500 man was Amitabh Bachchan. It is tempting and quite feasible to write a month and they neither had the history of Bollywood since 1973, when Bachchan had his fi rst a fridge nor a ceiling fan and, hit with Zanjeer, with Bachchan as its central character. Since 1973, in the intense northern Indian there has only been one actor. Even today, at sixty-four such is his summer heat, his mother would domination of Bollywood that, when he decided to play the teacher fl ood the fl oor with water to cool of a deaf and dumb girl in the movie Black, in 2005, he not only the room and place ice slabs produced a triumph, but a movie that charted new territory for both before the rickety table-fan to himself, and for Bollywood. cope with the afternoon heat. Shyam Benegal told me: The Bachchans recall that there There is not a fi gure remotely comparable, not just in Bollywood, but was never too much money for in no theatre or cinema business do you have an equivalent fi gure entertainment, but the parents

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 46 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 47 gawkiness.” This was Bachchan’s fi rst real success, where he had shown undoubted acting ability. The making of the fi lm was beset with problems. , who played the Pathan, a villain who befriends the policeman as he seeks justice, was in many senses the central selling-point of the fi lm, being the established star. But, on the fi rst day of the shooting, he threatened to walk out when he discovered he had to sing a song. The song and the words had not been given to him in advance and, having been cast as the eternal villain of Bollywood for almost three Indian Cinema: The Bollywood Saga by Dinesh Raheja (Roli Books) Anand decades, it was well-known in the industry that Pran Sahib, clearly directed the children to recited his father’s verses all the as he was called, did not do what they felt was wholesome time, a practice attributes songs and dances, and all that entertainment. Calcutta did to the quality of Bachchan’s running round trees. Mehra provide him more opportunities voice. When, in Shatranj Ke had to rush to Pran’s house to for amateur dramatics. It was Khiladi, Satyajit Ray wanted plead with him, saying without his brother, Ajitabh, who someone for the voice-over him the fi lm would not work encouraged Bachchan’s fi lm narration, he turned to Bachchan, as Amitabh as a hero was not a ambitions and took pictures of and his baritone voice became a bankable box offi ce proposition. him outside Calcutta’s Victoria character in that fi lm. by Kaveree Bamzai (Roli Books) Bollywood Today But it was Deewar that marked Memorial, sending them to the Black his most successful period. -Madhuri talent contest. Bachchan deliberately decided Bachchan may have established But nothing happened, and it to play the doctor who looks Khanna. Imagine him dying... it’s Bachchan’s performance won the brand of angry young man seemed Amitabh’s life would after the dying cancer patient, an enormous thing... the nation him his fi rst Filmfare Award with Zanjeer but it really took off be a continual series of failures; Anand, played by Khanna in the will cry their hearts out for him.” for Best Supporting Actor but, in Deewar. ◆ after all, the man who has fi lm called Anand. Bachchan’s That, says Bachchan, is just what while critics fi nally took notice, happened. “The very fact that I’d Extracted from Bollywood: A History by probably one of the best voices motivation was if he played off and were even complimentary, Mihir Bose, Lotus collection-Roli Books, in Bollywood failed tests as an the super star he would get some been teamed with , none of them thought he New Delhi, 2006. announcer for , attention. , whose the greatest idol, gave me a would be anything other than both in English and Hindi. The brother Anwar Ali had become semblance of importance and a strong character actor, at best respectability.” problem always was he was a great friend-it was through a 1970s version of . a “Lumbu,” just too tall for an him that Bachchan became a The last scene showed Bachchan, But, at least this was a change Indian actor to have any front at the sprawling the brooding, sensitive, doctor from the relentless bad notices line actress wanting to play Mehmood home and got to know watching as Khanna, who Bikram Singh, fi lm critic of opposite him. Off the screen Mehmood, acting in Bombay had borne his suffering with a , gave him he was still the well brought-up to -advised him, “Design smile and shown great spirit in who, as Bachchan says “always young public schoolboy. He your performance round Rajesh adversity, dies. harped on my gaunt face and

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 48 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 49 at outdoor stints. Through of the tatu kazhi on the having friends but because she Khushboo, Kinara and later fl oor, which she describes as was extremely shy, she did not I have been privy almost hypnotic. Triveni Kala know how to cultivate them. to many bonding moments Sangam was a prominent dance ‘When I saw other children between the two women. There academy in Delhi and it was playing in the neighbourhood was always a lot of banter considered a privilege to be I wondered what they laughed on the sets when they were tutored by Guru Ramaswami about. I could not fathom their together... She was the only one Pillai. Hema looked forward to joys and I am sure they found I think with whom Hema had these classes, but she did not me equally baffl ing. There her defences completely down. want to dance all the time. Like were times when I wanted to other children, she wanted to be like them and play mischief, What is intriguing about Hema play; to stand by the window something that provoked my is that her reserves build up and stare at the passers-by, mother.’ just as suddenly. Strangers to laze around and listen to were always uncomfortable Today as a Member of Parliament the gossip of the old women; about being in her presence who frequently visits the or simply tag along with her and she did not make any capital, Hema often fi nds herself brothers. However, her rigorous effort to put them at ease. searching for that little girl she routine allowed little scope for She once confessed to me left behind in the familiar lanes such indulgence. that she tried not to be so of their old abode. It’s been restrained but when in public, Hema was so well versed in over four decades now but her body language altered by these dances that even if she Hema can still recall her sense refl ex action. I remember her was just woken from sleep, she of wonderment and isolation. “I Hema Malini expression when she said so. could perform them with her was so withdrawn, almost living THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DREAM GIRL At that moment she had looked eyes closed. By then, slightly in my fantasy as a child. Our and felt completely helpless. defi ant, Hema insisted that house had a beautiful painting sketched by Amma – of baby here are no doubts that in the history of Hindi cinema Hema With her classic Indian features she would dance only behind Krishna playing in Vrindavan. Malini has had the longest reign as a number one star. No and fairly traditional grooming, closed doors. ‘Once inside my We still have that painting in our Theroine before or after her has enjoyed her position or power one associates her with a certain room, I would loudly sing the home in Chennai. This painting and it’s to her credit that she has never misused her superstardom. conservative quality. It is only song and thump my feet on the for some strange reason On the contrary, despite several limitations and hurdles she has when you interact with her fl oor faking the impression that always gave me great solace. pushed herself to the optimum level to explore varied mediums that you discover that she is I was dancing, when in fact I Every time I was confused or like television, direction and at the moment Parliament. not only progressive but also was only doing the footwork frightened, I imagined myself has a good sense of humour. without the accompanying hand The media projects her as a traditional woman but her choices in being Krishna’s playmate in There is a natural grace to her movements. life prove that she is more liberal than most of the slogan-shouting Vrindavan... It was a restless that makes her travel through feminists we know about. Her unconventional marriage could not She studied at the Madrasi phase. There was no reason to, fragile, complex experiences have occurred without her conviction to walk the path untrodden. Higher Secondary School along but I felt anxious... Time has with restraint and poise. Her And the fact that she has been able to sustain this deviant with her older siblings but abated all those fears. Today, life is about someone who has relationship tells a lot about her courage and endurance. had little interaction with her when I’m more reassured, transformed every obstacle into There is a side to Hema’s personality that is very gregarious and classmates. If she was not at I want to hold the little girl’s an opportunity. affectionate which she takes great care to not reveal to outsiders. school, then she was engrossed hand and protect her. I want I have seen glimpses of her effervescence at my shootings. Her Hema cannot recall a defi ning in her homework. Moreover, to tell her, ‘Don’t be afraid... closest companion those days was her aunt (her mother’s youngest moment, but she gradually when she fi nished her lessons, you had to endure all you did, sister) popularly addressed as Shanta Aunty by Hema’s colleagues. began to enjoy dance. She she had to go for her dance because I had to emerge from I called her Captain Aunty because she always wore the sun cap became addicted to the beat class. Sometimes she missed you’...”

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 50 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 51 lady with jokes. Soon the culprit was caught, and the trolley restarted. Says Hema, ‘Even today, when I see the fi lm, the fear of that scene returns... It’s funny how memories associated with movies come rushing when you see an old clipping or a photograph.’ She was the reigning queen of Hindi cinema and almost all the leading heroes of that time, Dharmendra, , to name a few, held a torch for the dazzling beauty. Sometimes there were innocent episodes on the sets when the co-star could not contain his attraction and openly fl irted with her. Sometimes confessions

Hema Malini by (Roli Books) were subtler, expressed via Hema Malini and Dharmendra scribbled notes and eye contact. At times there were messages As luck would have it, all the raja...’ was shot in a sky trolley sent through Hema’s personal top banners signed up Hema at Rajgir situated 100 kms south- staff, make-up man and for their fi lms. She did Madan east of Patna. The actors had to hairdresser and on a couple of Mohla’s and travel by the ropeway, the only occasions there were serious Anand’s Johnny Mera Naam, mode of transport to reach the proposals carried over by family both big hits. About Johnny location, the Buddhist temple members or colleagues. Mera Naam, she says, it was situated on the other side of the Hema believes that there is the right fi lm at the right time mountain. On the way, director no dearth of stimulation in an with the right cast. Dev Anand spontaneously artiste’s life but the euphoria and she starred in eight fi lms decided to shoot a few lines on comes with a penalty. The together after Johnny Mera the ropeway too. For a compact excitement brings along with Naam released in 1970. Tere frame, he made Hema sit on it innumerable and unforeseen Mere Sapne in 1971, Shareef Dev Anand’s lap. The distance pressures. And nobody can help Badmash, Chupa Rustam and to the destination was only a you ride out this turbulence. Joshila in 1973, Amir Garib few minutes, but a prankster Still, the enchantment is worth in 1974, Jaaneman in 1976, on location, switched off the it. Opportunity knocks on your Sachche Ka Bol in 1989 and current. The trolley came to a door once and your fortune is decades later Censor in 2001, but halt and the pair was stranded in recognizing those chances. somehow none could match the in mid-air. Hema, who has an ◆ magic of Johnny Mera Naam. Extracted from Hema Malini by inherent fear of heights, was Bhawana Somaaya, Lotus Roli, Johnny Mera Naam’s petrifi ed. To distract her, Dev New Delhi, 2007.

Hema Malini by Bhawana Somaaya (Roli Books) memorable song, ‘O mere Anand entertained his leading

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 52 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 53 Bollywood, making it next to would be very lucky – prophetic which was exactly what Shah impossible for an outsider to get words as it turned out, of Rukh’s parents wanted for their a toe into the Bollywood door. course. Home for the child Shah children. An incident that Shah Today, he is the favourite of Rukh was at Rajinder Nagar, a Rukh has related in several the industry’s top banners and colony in New Delhi, where he television and print interviews many producers say that they and his elder sister Shehnaaz illustrates his solid middle-class cannot imagine making a fi lm were brought up by their father upbringing. When he was four without him. It was a different Meer Taj Mohammad, a lawyer years old, he threw a rock at a story when he started his career and businessman, and mother boy in his colony, who began in fi lms as an ordinary-looking, Latif Fatima, a magistrate and to bleed profusely. Later that not-too-tall, mop-haired young social worker. Shah Rukh has night, the boy’s drunken father man – nobody could have described his father in interviews came to Shah Rukh’s home with predicted that he would be one as a 6.2 feet tall, good-looking a knife, threatening to kill the of India’s biggest and highest man, with grey eyes and brown four-year-old, but Shah Rukh’s paid superstars. Or maybe, it hair. Very well-read and well father did not turn a hair. Instead was written in the stars... educated, with Master of Arts he sent Shah Rukh out to talk and law degrees, he was fl uent was born on to the raging man, and the child in six languages. He was also, in 2 November 1965 at the Talwar apologized to him, managing to his time, the youngest freedom Nursing Home in New Delhi. He calm him down. fi ghter against the British was born with the umbilical cord colonialists. As a child, Shah Rukh was entangled around his neck. The bright, naughty and fond of nurse attending to his mother The young Shah Rukh was sports. He was weak in Hindi, Shah Rukh Khan then remarked that this was a sent to study at St. Columba’s either scoring very low marks sign indicating that the child High School, New Delhi, an or failing in the subject. Instead THE KING-SIZE HERO was blessed by Lord Hanuman institution run by Irish priests of scolding him, his mother told ( god worshipped who believed in discipline and him that if he got full marks in f it’s true that every age gets the hero it deserves, then Shah Rukh in the form of a monkey) and a high standard of education, Hindi, she would take him to Khan is the hero of the globalized Information Age, with an image see a Hindi fi lm in a cinema Stills from Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (below & following pages) Ithat cuts across international boundaries to reach the Indian hall, something he had never diaspora and fans all over the world. The term ‘superstar’ was coined experienced. The bait was in Bollywood, for Rajesh Khanna. Amitabh Bachchan inherited the attractive enough for him to title, earning labels such as Big B, Angry Young Man and Supremo and work hard at his Hindi and get then Shah Rukh Khan took over the crown, entering the Bollywood full marks. His reward, his fi rst hall of fame, with sobriquets of his own, such as King Khan, Badshah visit to the cinema, must have (Emperor) Khan and King of Bollywood. triggered off the acting impulse Most of Shah Rukh Khan’s fi lms are moneyspinners even before they in the child, because Shah Rukh are made, their success a foregone conclusion because he is the star Khan considers this experience a playing the leading role, inviting almost maniacal adulation from fans. turning point in his life. With about sixteen years in cinema to his credit, he is already a legend. In school, he was more An icon as king-sized as Shah Rukh Khan would not be able to walk interested in sports, such as down the street in any country where there is a Bollywood-crazy cricket, hockey, football and population, without being mobbed. athletics, than in studies and Beginning his acting career away from fi lms, he is the only theatre hoped to become a sportsman and television star who went on to become a movie superstar. He capable of representing

entered the fi lm industry when the sons of earlier stars were ruling Indian Cinema: The Bollywood Saga by Dinesh Raheja (Roli Books) his country in international

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 54 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 55 the overseas circuit. Nostalgic- for-home NRIs were enchanted by the fi lm – the portrayal of Indian customs, rituals and idyllic rural life, the values of respect for elders and fi delity in love as followed by Indians, were irresistible – and since then, all Shah Rukh Khan fi lms have done wonderfully well overseas, where he has a huge fan base. The phenomenon has been captured in an interesting documentary, The Outer World of Shah Rukh Khan, by British- Indian fi lmmaker, journalist and writer , who followed Shah Rukh King Khan by Deepa Gahlot (Roli Books) King Khan by Deepa Gahlot (Roli Books) and his star entourage on his competitions. Electronics was on the playground prevented without bothering about whether MTV Youth Idol award, and Temptations World Tour in 2004. one of his favourite subjects, him from taking up his fi rst love his image as a married man more recently, the MTV Style Shah Rukh would be walking which probably explains his as a career. He went on to join would affect his nascent career Icon Award. The actor who was down the street or into a hotel ease with gadgets and gizmos the Master of Arts course at the as a fi lm actor. considered not-too-handsome lobby like a normal tourist, when he came into the industry, when suddenly an Indian would today. English was the other Mass Communication Research Shah Rukh’s own mother died is now considered sexy and spot him, do a double take, and favourite, which eventually led Centre, Jamia Milia Islamia in in 1991, very shortly before he good-looking. His face has in no time at all a group of fans to the theatre. He spent a few New Delhi, aiming to make got married. He has often said acquired more character, his would be tailing him. This fan years with Barry John’s Theatre advertising fi lms one day but that his one regret in life is that personality more charisma as he worship prompted a Guardian Action Group in Delhi and acted could not get his degree because his parents were not alive to has grown older, entering the writer to comment that he in a number of plays. It was of insuffi cient class attendance. see his wedding or success. In dreaded forties, and yet there is makes “Beatlemania look like Barry John, a British theatre November 1997, a son, Aryan, In Delhi, while performing for an ageless boyish quality about a librarian’s convention,” And director who lives and works was born and three years later, both television and theatre, Shah him. a security guard in Shah Rukh’s in New Delhi, who told him he in May 2000, daughter Suhana Rukh was also wooing the pretty entourage on this tour adds: was meant for fi lms. was born, completing the family. About Shah Rukh Khan’s Gauri Chibba, a Hindu girl. Shah “Even Brad Pitt would not get The star is as caring a father as youthful look, Shah Rukh’s father died when Rukh is a Muslim, and because this kind of public adulation”. he was only 15. His mother of the difference in religions, he is a husband, and all the free adds in an avuncular manner, is sure that very had to work hard to raise the Gauri’s family disapproved of time he has is spent with his “He doesn’t do anything right, soon Shah Rukh will begin children, but never let them their relationship. Shah Rukh family. he smokes too much, he hardly sleeps, he eats anything, mostly directing fi lms too. “He is want for anything. After getting never gave up trying to charm In a relatively short career chicken, still he doesn’t seem to buzzing with ideas all the time.” through school, he joined Delhi her relatives – a real-life story span, Shah Rukh has won age.” University’s Hansraj College, very similar to his hit fi lm every award possible (except As Shah Rukh Khan enters a from where he graduated in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge the National Award), and was Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge new phase of his career, is Economics. He played sports in (The Braveheart Will Take the awarded a in 2005, was a blockbuster, not just in everyone ready for surprises...? ◆ college too but a back injury and Bride). On 25 October 1991, by the , India (where it swept up the Extracted from King Khan by Deepa Gahlot, knee problem sustained while Shah Rukh married Gauri, at the same time winning the major fi lm awards) but also in Roli Books, New Delhi 2007

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 56 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 57 Law in Nikaah, rehabilitation of prostitutes in Sadhana, widow remarriage in Ek hi Raasta or the hand of fate in Waqt. Each fi lm addressed some issue, its fallouts and solutions.

Chopra reached the pinnacle of his professional life with the Dilip Kumar-Vyjayantimala starrer Naya Daur (1957). The fi lm exhibited the Nehruvian look to a newly independent country and the responsibility of its people towards nation- building. Appreciating his directorial skills in the fi lm, Pandit Nehru wrote a letter to B.R. Chopra him: “Last evening I saw your A FILM MAKER FOR ALL SEASONS picture Naya Daur. Prince Philip of England who is in UPENDRA SOOD India wanted to see a good picture on a village in India. Somebody suggested the name aldev Raj Chopra, an M.A. B.R. Chopra formed his own of your picture. I was very tired in English literature from production company B.R. Films and did not like to sit for three BGovernment College, in 1955 with the cherished hours but I thought I could be Lahore migrated to India in intention of making purposeful with Prince Philip for a few the wake of the Partition. The cinema for family audiences. He minutes and could come back trauma of witnessing families made a signifi cant contribution after the picture got going. But victimised during the Partition to promote excellence in Indian the picture was so compelling never left him and in all his fi lms cinema, particularly towards that I sat through the whole family bonds always found a fostering goodwill in society. fi lm and enjoyed it thoroughly. special place. A doyen of Hindi Each movie broke new ground The photography was excellent cinema, he not only raised the winning critical acclaim and Scenes from Humraaz and the direction superb. The awards. He became the fi rst medium to the position of a atmosphere of the village was recipient of the National Award potent tool for social change but The eminent producer-director Substance was the hallmark. really very nice.” also ensured that the subjects as Best Director for his fi lm fi rmly believed that fi lms were Under no circumstances, did he were a commercial success. Humraaz (1968). He was also not merely about jugglery with compromise with the story. This At a time when interspersing The cash box could never go conferred with the ‘Udyog Ratan money. A fi lm, he believed, was largely because he himself 10 to 12 songs with the script out of money at the cinemas on Award’ by President Giani Zail addressed itself to the society had started his career as a writer. was mandatory, he made the a B.R. Film release. Superstars Singh in recognition of his and it was the duty of the Each movie broke some new songless in 1960. This like Dilip Kumar, , outstanding contribution in the fi lm makers to make healthy ground whether it was adultery did not mean that Chopra was , , fi eld. Film making thus became and wholesome fi lms with a in Gumraah, the politics of averse to songs and music. In Vyjayantimala, Rajesh Khanna, recognised as an industry good story and social message. rape in Insaaf Ka Tarazu, fact, his fi lms carried a number Amitabh Bachchan always looked through the efforts of people The script, to him, was the the position of women in the of the fi nest songs in Hindi forward to working with him. like him. yardstick for a successful fi lm. context of Muslim Personal fi lms with poets like Sahir

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 58 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 59 The late Eighties saw the arrival of one of the most popular TV serials, Mahabharat, by him which spearheaded a string of religious serials on the small screen. He opted for Dr. Rahi Masoom Raza to pen the dialogues for the serial. Many wondered whether it was a good idea. But, Dr. Raza’s dialogues turned out to be the highlight of the serial. Mahabharat became the fi rst Indian TV serial to enter the Guinness Book of Records for creating a world record for having been seen by the highest number of viewers. The serial won many more awards and became a hallmark in the history of the small screen. The nanogenarian and recipient of the 1998 Dada Saheb Phalke award had not lost his Midas touch. Few know that the superhit family drama Baghban that he produced was his brainchild. Baldev Raj Chopra remained Naya Daur (top) and Nikaah (above) (top) and Baghban (above) true to his art and life till the end. He passed away at the age Ludhianvi and Yogesh coming several socially viable and it destroyed my dreams of a grounds. He played a major box of 94 in November 2008 after a out with some of their best fi nancial top grossers like Dhool joint family.” Dastaan (1972) offi ce gamble when he gave prolonged illness leaving behind poetic creations. Songs like Ka Phool (1959), Waqt (1965) and (1977) failed at the , who was typecast B.R. Films as one of the most Saathi Haath Badhana (Naya and the fi rst colour multi-starrer box offi ce. However with rare as a glamdoll till then, the role successful production companies Daur), Chalo ek baar phir se production, determination, he embarked of a lifetime in Insaaf Ka Tarazu to have stood the test of time (Gumraah), Aurat ne janam (1969) and Ittefaq (1969). The on his next directorial venture, where she played a rape victim equally known for its TV serials diya mardon ko (Sadhana) and 70s saw BRs personal and the evergreen comedy fi lm who guns down the offender. as well as for motion pictures. professional life facing rough This fi lm also saw the rise of Raj ◆ Dil ke armaan aasooyon me beh starring Sanjeev Kumar-Vidya The author is a noted TV programme maker gaye (Nikaah) are timeless. One weather. After almost two Sinha, Pati Patni aur Woh. This Babbar and Deepak Parashar in and former Assistant to the late B.R. Chopra. can see young girls and boys decades, Yash Chopra branched superhit brought the smile back tinsel town. The fi lm became a out and went on to make jubilee hit winning a number of asking for the music CDs of the on his face. fi lms in the market even today. fi lms independently. This left awards. B.R. Chopra’s honesty BR shattered. He was quoted Chopra did not restrict his of intention was palpable in An association with his younger saying, “I was on sleeping yearning only to the stories, he everything he did with total brother, Yash Chopra, yielded pills for six months because chose to venture into restricted commitment to the script.

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 60 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 61 the ‘subaltern subject’ in cinema, a fi gure of importance in the Shyam Benegal revival of revisionist history and PROGENITOR NEW WAVE CINEMA cultural studies – and in whom is embodied the idea of looking at hyam Benegal is considered the father of parallel, or Indian history from below. In October new wave cinema in India. Indeed, the history of this politically 1988, during the Guardian lecture conscious fi lm movement with realist premises more or less at the National Film Theatre in S London, Benegal said: coincides with Benegal’s career span close to 30 years commencing in 1974. “These themes of economic Benegal’s fi lms offer an ‘alternative’ history of India as well as an disparity, caste system – after example of fi lm-making practice from the margins. This is a history a while I saw them no longer that challenges assumptions about national progress and provokes in a linear way, but in a much considerations of the consequences of this development. Now more complex manner. I asked 55 years after Independence, while a younger generation celebrates am I just sloganeering – surely consumer culture, Benegal still draws attention to realities of Indian life there is a deeper reality. These that are airbrushed out of the rosy images conjured up by Bollywood themes have metamorphosed for the benefi t of a global market. And Benegal has been doing this into something else, not only right from his fi rst fi lm. Ankur (1974) made use of the background Indian Cinema: The Bollywood Saga by Dinesh Raheja (Roli Books) do I look at the ‘other’, but A still from Shyam Benegal’s Junoon. of peasant revolt in Southeast India, while his latest project about somewhere I start looking at the controversial leader Subhas Chandra Bose looks at the nationalist other parallel cinema directors. His style of fi lm-making places myself and my own relationship movement and the problems of leadership in the freedom fi ght. One of his strongest points him in the parallel cinema to my environment.” is his ability to gather people genre, although Benegal himself Constantly drawing upon voices from the margins, Benegal has Benegal is also both famed and and keep them in a repertory is impatient with arbitrary discovered some of the best acting talents in Indian fi lms, a remarkable as a male director of fi lms, while maintaining a categorizing of cinema. Although veritable gallery of dramatic actors whose names have become who places women at the centre democratic spirit in the unit. he began with independent synonymous with parallel cinema – , , of so many of his fi lms. He has Benegal’s production schedules producers, Benegal has also , Anant Nag, and others. These unceasingly raised questions usually last between four and had his work produced by performers appear and reappear as in a repertory company, exhibiting about gender exploitation in a six weeks, during which time cooperatives and state ministries. unique strengths and talents from fi lm to fi lm and in the works of patriarchal society. His work he prefers to take his entire unit He has been described as a radically challenges middle-class on location to interact with local maker of development fi lms morality and pre-conceived people and improvise with the in the Nehruvian vision, but notions of womanhood as ideal script. the surprising variety of his wife and mother, sometimes work belies this statement. His When he fi rst moved to Bombay drawing censorious responses increasing restlessness with in 1963, Benegal turned down as he did with Ankur and narrative styles has taken his the offer to assist his cousin Guru Bhumika (1977). Mainstream oeuvre beyond realistic linear Dutt in his productions. He was industry wallahs condemned his drama, and his familiarity convinced that those were not subjects as un-Indian, whereas with literature has often led the fi lms he wanted to make: feminists alleged that his female to delightful experiments in ‘People make fi lms according characters were portrayed too narrative style and craftsmanship to individual sensibilities. The much as victims. Yet the very such as Kondural Anugraham existing formal style was not credibility of his characters – so (1977) and Suraj Ka Satwan suitable – I had no wish to often doubly marginalized by Ghoda (1992). work on design-made fi lms. But caste and gender – invests eventually all work is part of the In choosing to tell stories of the them with deep dignity. In the

Bollywood: A History by Mihir Bose (Roli Books) same river.’ oppressed, Benegal represents Guardian lecture at London’s

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 62 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 63 National Film Theatre in October directors in the year 1979. In the sexual repression in Kondura / 1988, when speaking to Derek 1970s, Benegal was being feted Anugraham (1977). Malcolm, Benegal highlighted internationally for his work, but Benegal himself is openly critical another aspect of his empathy by by the mid-1980s he was accused about fi lms being reduced pointing to the problems posed of being too pragmatic, making to mere entertainment and by virtuous female stereotypes fi lms with careless speed. their complete lack of context for the ‘woman’ in Indian society: Where does Benegal stand in There is still a place for other ‘Her virtue is in being the good relation to his predecessors? In stories and other ways of mother, wife, sister – a set of the 1950s and 1960s, the four big telling them. Benegal remains essential roles woman has to directors in Bombay fi lms were the leading exemplar of the play which is a terrible kind of Mehboob, Raj Kapoor, Bimal countermovement that survived oppression; a glorifi cation not Roy and . Benegal’s into the 1990s and beyond, with allowing the woman any choice.’ oeuvre comes closest in some his portrayals of real people and Shyam Benegal has had a prolifi c respects to the concerns of Bimal concerns, as opposed to the career, having made about 900 Roy, with their mutual interests escapist fantasy world offered in

fi lms. Over 28 years, there have in class and gender themes and Shyam Benegal by Sangeeta Dutta (Roli Books) Bollywood fi lms. Although new been 20 features and several the linking of fi lm and literature. Smita Patil and in Bhumika cinema has been pronounced television series, including the More frequently, Benegal has dead by some, Benegal continues epic Discovery of India. The been considered a successor (IPTA) formed in 1943 by the unavoidable presence of to make fi lms refl ecting his features are perhaps surprising in to Satyajit Ray. Ray’s Pather progressive writers, playwrights the powerful Indian commercial own sensibility. Benegal himself their variety, from the politically Panchali (1955) was one of the and fi lm people. fi lm industry, against which his considers this decline in parallel infl ected early fi lms to brilliant formative infl uences on Benegal’s He is probably the only practice could be said to have cinema and comments: narrative experiments. Benegal’s ideas about cinema. And there is defi ned itself. As Ankur went fi lm-maker in India who has “Every movement has a certain later work has not always much to link the two afterwards. into production in 1973, the consistently made fi lms with peaking state, then it plateaus matched the cinematic vision This tradition itself can also be hugely successful teen romance stories outside the region in and starts to erode. Because of the earlier works that led considered a development of the Bobby, directed by Raj Kapoor, which he lives. While building these are really vanguard the International Film Guide to aesthetic principles of the Indian appeared on screens across on the tradition of those earlier motions, directional movements, cite him as one of the fi ve best People’s Theatre Association fi lmmakers, he has also extended the country. At the same time, ’s Zanjeer (Chains) after which the job is done in their concerns more deeply many ways. If it is worth it, and Shabana Azmi in Ankur and widely throughout the marked the introduction of Amitabh Bachchan as the angry then it gets absorbed into the great variety of regional and mainstream. See for instance national subcultures, dialects and young man. ’s Yaadon Ki Baraat (1973), a today’s fi lm-makers like Rathnam, traditions. and Varma – vendetta /lost-and-found story, their fi lms offer accessible Benegal’s popularity in the was hugely successful in 1974 entertainment and connect to West is second only to Ray’s. when Ankur was released. Both life. They would not have been Beginning with the stirring teen romance and the vendetta possible without the infl uence of impact of Ankur in the Berlin fi lms provide stark contrasts to Film Festival and its European our kind of realism.” Benegal’s work. There were ◆ distribution, Benegal’s fi lms other contrasts, too. The family Extracted from Shyam Benegal by travelled widely to international values represented by Yash Sangeeta Datta, Lotus-Roli, New Delhi 2002. festivals and markets. The Chopra’s Kabhi kabhi (1976), eloquent director became one of with its romance, weddings, the best cultural ambassadors of song and dance, seem a India worldwide. world away from Benegal’s Looming over Benegal’s shoulder searing analysis of the tragic

Shyam Benegal by Sangeeta Dutta (Roli Books) throughout his career has been consequences of superstition and

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 64 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 65 the village of Dina in Jhelum was pulled out of St Stephen’s was completely at variance with district before the Partition ripped College in the middle of his fi rst Gulzar’s. The aspiring poet was apart, had to ensure that term there and sent off by his told in no uncertain terms that a all his near and dear ones got a father to the bustling western formal education and a degree in fair chance to begin life afresh. Indian metropolis so that he Chartered Accountancy was to be could fi nd a long-term toehold his principal pursuit in Bombay. Sardar Makhan Singh’s own there for himself. immediate family was large There were times when Jasmer enough by itself. He had nine Gulzar’s elder brother, still a Singh could not contain his rage. children – three from his fi rst bachelor, had a single room What particularly rankled the wife, one (Gulzar) from his accommodation in Parel, besides young poet was that these angry second wife (who passed away a permanent room in the admonishments would often when her son was only an downtown West End Hotel. Gulzar be delivered in the presence of infant) and fi ve from his third moved into the room in Krishna other family members and even and current marriage. The infl ux Nivas, Parel, central Bombay. He outsiders. Words like nikamma of duress-driven relatives only had already begun to contribute (good for nothing) and added to the strain. poems to Urdu magazines like (illiterate) were constantly hurled Beesvi Sadi and Shama. at him both by his father and his In mid-1949, another quirk brother. of fate impacted Gulzar’s life. Jasmer Singh, like any concerned

The Life and Cinema of Gulzar by Saibal Chatterjee (Rupa & Co.) The budding poet, having just elder brother, probably had the When his patience ran out on completed his matriculation from interests of his younger sibling one particularly bitter occasion, Delhi United Christian School, at heart, but his outlook on life Gulzar snapped back at his

Gulzar with during the making of THE VERSATILEGulzar MAN AND HIS WORLD

ulzar’s signifi cance as a A voracious reader, he would fi lmmaker stems from the devour any literary material Gsingularity of his vision. In that he could lay his hands on. a movie industry that is propelled For, if anything, he wanted to largely by the desire for making be a writer. The Partition of a box offi ce killing, he dares to India in 1947 unleashed forces make fi lms for the love of making that turned the family’s rented them. He tells stories because accommodation in old Delhi’s he has tangible insights to share Sabzi Mandi area into a veritable with his audience. He writes refugee camp. During those lyrics because he is a poet forever cataclysmic years, Gulzar lived in keen to give free rein to his this house with his stepmother, imagination. Gulzar is also one having relocated from a small, of the Mumbai fi lm industry’s last idyllic village where surviving links with the golden he had spent his early childhood. era of Hindi cinema. He carries The patriarch of the Sikh family, within his artistic persona the Gulzar’s businessman father, seeds that were sown by mentor Sardar Makhan Singh Kalra, who

Bimal Roy. had the foresight to migrate from The Life and Cinema of Gulzar by Saibal Chatterjee (Rupa & Co.)

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 66 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 67 elder brother: “Ek din aapke bal Mr Bakshi was only too happy to The bewitchingly lilting Mora bachche meri kitaabe padenge leave Gulzar to his own devices. gora ang lai le/Mohe shyam rang (One day your children will read That suited the poet fi ne: the dai de was born after fi ve days my books)”. As it has transpired, administrative work that he of concerted effort. When the he wasn’t wrong. had to do at the garage wasn’t song was ready, Gulzar recited particularly taxing or time- it to S.D. Burman. The latter was The infl exible ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ consuming. hugely pleased with the young laid down by his brother soon poet’s effort. Having secured began to smother Gulzar. Gulzar Through Debu and Basu, the music composer’s approval, Gulzar also met the gifted Salil was left with no option – he Gulzar told him that he would walked out of his brother’s house Chowdhury. He had become now show the song to Bimalda. and took up a room in the a member of the Progressive remote suburb of northern Writers Association (PWA), a Sachinda asked Gulzar: “Tumhe Bombay, Four Bungalows, body of modern litterateurs that gaana aata hai (Can you sing)?” where his house was shared by was headquartered in poet Ali “No,” Gulzar replied, “I cannot.” Debu Sen, a Sardar Jafri’s house. Gulzar was So Sachinda forbade Gulzar journalist who went on to also an active participant in to take the song to . become one of the assistants of the proceedings of the Punjabi “I will sing it to him myself,” leading fi lmmaker Bimal Roy. Sahitya Sabha, an organisation was his diktat. It was during was a close that counted such towering these sittings that Gulzar fi rst met friend of Debu’s and, therefore, personages as Rajinder Singh S.D. Burman’s son, Pancham – a frequent visitor to the Four Bedi and Balraj Sahni among Rahul Dev Burman to the world Bungalows bachelor’s pad. its members Gulzar also moved – who was to become a lifelong into the folds of the leftist Indian Gulzar abandoned his education The Life and Cinema of Gulzar by Saibal Chatterjee (Rupa & Co.) friend and professional associate. Peoples’ Theatre Association by the end of the second year Gulzar with ‘Pancham’ (IPTA). As luck would have it, Burman in college. But if he had indeed patched up with opinion and they were not on Gulzar’s reply was a prompt and acquired a degree, Gulzar might It was Gulzar’s continuing after Mora gora ang lai le was talking terms. Work on the fi lm’s unequivocal no. His intrinsic have ended up as a teacher in brushes with staunch Communist recorded and Gulzar was in musical score had come to a aversion to a career in fi lms was some nondescript school or intellectuals – and his own urge grave danger of being left out in standstill. still intact. college. Fate obviously had other, to wear a hat – that led to his the cold. But Roy had a highly far bigger plans for him. discarding the turban that he Bimal Roy ordered Debu Sen So the Bandini stalemate acute sense of fairplay. He was wore until then. to look for a new lyricist. continued. A desperate Debu convinced that it would be Gulzar made another crucial Debu could not obviously see sent word to Shailendra himself, unethical to cut Gulzar out of the shift: he joined a motor If the occasional ridicule heaped beyond Gulzar. Gulzar was seeking his intervention. scene completely after he had garage at Bombay Central as upon him by his family members duly summoned. Pointing to the Shailendra knew Gulzar because bailed out the Bandini unit at its administrator. The owner was disheartening, the company poet, the avuncular Roy asked of their common association with such short notice. of Vichare Motors, Sudarshan of his friends was a constant ◆ Debu in Bengali “Bhadralok ki the Bombay Youth Choir. When Bakshi, was a frequent visitor to source of hope and sustenance Extracted from Echoes & Eloquences:The Life Vaishnav kobita jaanen (Does the established lyricist heard that and Cinema of Gulzar by Saibal Chatterjee, Jasmer Singh’s paint shop and he for the young man. It was just the gentleman understand Gulzar’s reluctance sprang from a Rupa, New Delhi, 2007. was familiar with Gulzar. one such friend, Debu Sen, who Vaishnavite poetry)?” Debu smiled disdain for fi lm industry folk, he introduced him to Bimal Roy. Gulzar had a way with paints and told Bimalda that Gulzar was indignantly confronted the latter: just as much as he did with Roy was making Bandini at the conversant with Bengali. The “What do you think you are? Do words. Precision was an essential time with Ashok Kumar and veteran director was distinctly you think everybody who works prerequisite for a car painting job in the cast. The fi lm’s embarrassed. He turned to the in fi lms is a fool?” The words and Gulzar never failed to get music director Sachin Dev twenty-something poet and stung Gulzar to the quick. He the composition of colours and Burman and lyricist Shailendra asked: “Gaana likhna hai (Do relented and agreed to write the shades right. had had a serious difference of you want to write a song)?” song.

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 68 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 69 completely broke away from his father’s established set-up and Director’s Cut formed his own team of talented youngsters. The result was the fi lm, (QSQT), inspired by Shakespeare’s THE ONES THAT BROKE THE MOULD… Romeo and Juliet, which took the box-offi ce by storm in 1988, breaking the stranglehold of the action-vendetta syndrome which RAUF AHMED had held sway in the Amitabh Bachchan era. n the mid-80s when Amitabh Bachchan’s larger-than-life The success of QSQT emboldened more young fi lmmakers to presence had faded out of the Hindi screen in a huff, Bollywood go against the tide. The new order worked on the belief that was left gasping for a new icon, a fresh formula to replace audiences no longer entered cinema halls just to drool over their I idols. They were looking for exciting diversions. Mansoor was the ‘Angry Young Man saga’ he had sustained for more than a decade. The me-too incarnations epitomised by the likes of Mithun followed by . Like Mansoor, he chose to go against Chakraborty and could not really recreate the magic at the tide of action-based fi lms to make a teenage love story, Maine the box offi ce. Pyar Kiya in 1989. With an unknown heroine, Bhagyshree, and a reluctant hero, , the director in his early 20s turned The situation called for a drastic reorientation. That’s when a steady an innocuous love story into a blockbuster. He followed it up progression of newcomers – actors, directors and technicians – with Hum Aapke Hai Koun, which went on to rewrite box offi ce most of them in their twenties, saw their opportunity and began history, surpassing even the unprecedented collections of the ‘70s taking over every aspect of fi lmmaking in Bollywood. The blockbuster Sholay. enterprising new breed represented more than just a generational A year later, , came up with another simple, youthful change. They represented a paradigm shift in Bollywood. They fi lm without sex and violence, to rewrite box offi ce records! cleverly and successfully rewrote the conventional script of the Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayege made intercontinental romance a fad Hindi cinema to give it a new dimension. The ‘new cinema’ of and its success prompted even Aditya’s father veteran fi lmmaker the new order simultaneously pleased the critics and the majority Yash Chopra to change tracks in his new fi lm , audiences without outraging conventional cinematic values. In which introduced jazz ballet and Shiamak Davar to Hindi cinema. this new order, stars weren’t seen as box offi ce gods. Instead, Even , a die-hard adherent to the conventional form well-written scripts and imaginative presentation formed the and formula, was shaken into making a Pardes and Taal. bedrock of success. From the same Yash Chopra School, emerged another wonder The fi rst to break the mould was a US-educated computer wizard, kid, Karan Johar in 1998. His brought to life . Though he hailed from a “fi lmy” family, Mansoor a fantasy world inhabited by beautiful people who slugged Pepsi

Mansoor Khan Sooraj Barjatya Aditya Chopra Karan Johar Nikhil Advani Vidhu Vinod Chopra

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 70 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 71 A MELODIOUS MELANGE

SHARAD DUTT

he Hindi fi lm industry has kept its links with music right from the very fi rst talkie to contemporary works. Before the advent of Tthe Talkies, live music was played in cinema halls. When Khan Bahadur Ardeshir Irani produced Alam Ara, the fi rst talkie, in 1931, a revolution of sorts took place in the fi eld of fi lm music. The fi lm had seven songs and Wazir Mohammad Khan became the fi rst playback singer of Hindi fi lms with his Dede Khuda Ke Naam Pe Pyaare.

Ram Gopal Varma The very next year, renowned classical vocalist Vinayakrao Patwardhan sang and acted in the fi lm Madhuri and, for the fi rst time, four records from cans, dressed like hip his gifted assistants, Rajkumar came into the market. It was that created the two MTV veejays and married their Hirani. He blooded another of sensational singing stars: Kundan Lal Saigal and . Saigal campus sweethearts without his assistants, , as became the superstar of the 1930s after the release of Devdas in 1935. their parents talking caste or a full-fl edged director with the Balam Aye Baso More Man Mein and Dukh Ke Din Beetat Nahi from class. Johar not only made sensitive Parineeta. Devdas and Kanan Devi’s songs Ae Chand Chhup Na Jana and Duniya Toofan Mail became a craze among music lovers. fi lms but also introduced other The Bollywood of the talented youngsters like Nikhil millennium has given us stars Another studio that made a mark in the fi eld of fi lm music was Advani and Tarun Mansukhani. like Farhan Akhtar. His debut Prabhat Film Company of . owned by Himanshu Today, Johar is among the fi lm (2002) Rai discovered Saraswati Devi (Khursheed Minocher Homji) who most infl uential fi lmmakers in set Akhtar apart as the most composed music for its fi lms. She used the voices of and Bollywood . innovative of the emerging Ashok Kumar in the famous song of Achhut Kanya, Main Ban Ki young directors. He surprised The Bollywood of the late Mughal-e-Azam everyone by switching to acting nineties also saw re-emergence in Rock On! and even singing of two exceptionally talented in it. He came up with another men: and impressive performance in Zoya Vidhu Vinod Chopra. Ram short non-fi ction fi lm category. Akhtar’s . Gopal Varma redefi ned the Though not always so lucky concept of the Bollywood at the box offi ce, Chopra’s Today, in the afterglow of heroine with his , and fi lms have stood out for their Slumdog Millionaire, there is then redefi ned the concept individuality and cinematic a lot of attention on directorial of fi lm making in Bollywood values, like the Amitabh talent in Bollywood. As the with his “factory approach” to Bachchan starrer, Eklavvya world’s largest fi lm industry creative work. On the other (which was India’s offi cial entry matures into international hand, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, was to the Oscars in 2006) and the production values, the onus will a fi lm studies graduate whose two Munnabhai adventures be on the brood of directors talent was never in doubt. His which he produced. Only a to take Indian fi lms to global was fi lmmaker of his predilections heights. ◆ the fi rst ever Indian fi lm to be would have backed the last The author has served as Editor of several fi lm magazines. nominated for an Oscar in the two fi lms directed by one of 100 Bollywood Films by Rachel Dwyer (Roli Books)

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 72 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 73 Bollywood Today by Kaveree Bamzai (Roli Books) Bollywood Today

Chidiya which became an instant The 1940s witnessed music in Bhartrihari, especially Duaaen Kyon Maangu. The other his best was yet to come. Baiju . hit. , gave memorable amalgamation of folk music with the song Chanda Des Piya Ke Pas hit song of this fi lm Chanda Ja Re Bawra (1952) bagged him the and Roohi Roohi Dil Mein have music in the early fi lms of Hindi fi lm music. Master Ghulam rendered by Ameerbai Karnataki Ja Re was sung by Lata. Naushad fi rst Filmfare Award. Naushad made an ever-lasting impression. Mehboob Khan, most notably Roti Haider introduced folk music and a duet sung with Ali made his debut with Prem will always be remembered for The late 1940s witnessed the and Aurat. Later on, he composed and gave a break to Shamshad Bhiksha De De Maiya Pingla, Nagar in 1940, but it was his use his music in Shabab (1955) and emergence of S.D. Burman and popular music for Kismet (1943). Begum in Khajaanchi (Saavan became chartbusters in the 1940s. of folk music in Ratan (1944) Mughal-e-Azam (1960). Shankar-Jaikishan. With them Its patriotic song, Door Hato Ae Ke Nazaare Hain Aaha Aaha), that created waves. Its songs, came a new batch of lyricists. Duniya Walo created waves and Noorjahan in Khandan (1942) Khemchand Prakash’s music in especially Ankhiya Milake sung Naushad introduced Mohammad , Sahir some of its other songs such as and in Mazboor Mahal mesmerized the entire by Zohrabai Ambalewali, was Rafi , , Shyam Kumar and Ludhianvi, Rajinder Krishna, Dheere-Dheere Aa Re Badal and (1948). Pandit Amar Nath nation and its song Aayega a great hit and could be heard Uma Devi (Tuntun) to fi lm music. and Shailendra Ghar-Ghar Mein Diwali Hai too composed memorable music for Aanewala became the hallmark in every household. Naushad He worked with K.L. Saigal in belonged to this crop of lyricists. became great hits. Anil Biswas fi lm Dasi. Khemchand Prakash of Lata Mangeshkar’s singing. He gave memorable music in Anmol only one movie – Shahjahan introduced Mukesh and Talat gave music in Tansen starring also introduced Ghadi, Shahjahan (1946), Mela – but its songs Jab Dil Hi Toot The credit of introducing Western Mahmood. K.L. Saigal and Khursheed. His in Ziddi with a song Marne Kee (1948) and Dillagi (1949). But Gaya, Gham Diye Mustaqil music goes to C. Ramachandra.

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 74 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 75 Do Bhigha Zamin, , Sun Sun Sun Sun Jalima with too became a hit. After Dil Parakh’s music which he Md. Rafi in Aar Paar and Mr. and Se’s number Chal Chhaeeya composed for Bimal Roy remains Mrs. 55? Nayyar used Punjabi folk Chhaeeyan, Rahman has never immortal. brilliantly (Ude Jab Jab Zulfein looked back. After , Taal, Teri and Reshmi Salwar Kurta Rang De Basanti and now with also emerged as a Jali Ka). Slumdog Millionaire A.R. Rahman promising music director in the has proved that he is the best. mid-Fifties. With the music of The music of 1950s and 60s Hum Dono, Mujhe Jeene Do and belonged to a golden era, while The 21st century music composers , he enlivened the music of 1970s struggled to – and Shantanu the music scene but it was create its own identity. Moitra – have brought the melody short-lived. back. , in Sawariya The fourth generation of music (2008) and Vishal-Shekhar in Om O.P. Nayyar did a hatrick with directors comprise Bappi Lahri, Shanti Om have given hopes to Aar Par, C.I.D, and Mr. and Mrs. Rajesh and A.R. Rahman. music lovers that melody will 55. Geeta Dutt sang her best Rahman offered a new kind of remain the queen of fi lm music.

Bollywood Today by Kaveree Bamzai (Roli Books) Bollywood Today for O.P. Nayyar. Who can forget a music. A song from the fi lm, ◆ Dil Chahta Hai (above) and Lagaan (facing page). the lilting tunes Babu Jee Dhire Dil Hey Chhota Sa, became an The author served with Doordarshan and is a noted writer on cinema winning Chalna and Ye Lo Main Hari Piya instant hit. Rangeela was his National Award for Best Author twice. Songs like Aana Meri Jan Sunday all sung by Lata Mangeshkar. and Udhar Tum Hasin Ho and fi rst Hindi fi lm and its score Ke Sunday in Shehnai (1947), Khayyam staged a comeback with Mere Piya Gaye Rangoon in Yash Chopra’s Kabhi Kabhi and Patanga and Ina Mina Dika in received his crowning glory with Asha (1954) offer a glimpse into Umrao Jaan and Razia Sultan in his versatility. 1980s. Shankar Jaikishan made their In the 1950s , Roshan composed debut with Raj Kapoor’s hits for Kidar Sharma’s Baware Barsaat and thus began a long Nain. In this fi lm he used folk journey with the RK banner music in the song Sun Beri that threw up hit after hit up Balam Sach Bol Re Ib Kya Hoga. to . The duo His composition Mujhe Sach Sach composed lovable music for Bata Do (Mukesh and Geeta), Dilip Kumar’s Daag (Ae Mere Dil Teri Duniya Mein Dil Lagta Nahi Kahin Aur Chal) sung by Talat (Mukesh) were written by Kedar Mahmood in 1952. Sharma himself and still fl ash in was a less popular the memories of music lovers. genre in fi lm music till Madan If Shankar Jaikishan were loyal Mohan came on the scene. His to Raj Kapoor, S.D. Burman and compositions in Adalat (1958) later R.D. Burman remained with Unko yeh shikayat hai ki and Yun Dev Anand till the end. Sachin hasraton ke daag sung by Lata Dev Burman gave memorable and in Dekh kabira roya (1957) music for Bimal Roy’s Devdas, Humse aya na gaya sung by Talat Sujata and Bandani. He also Mehmood became memorable made compositions for Guru . He composed classics Dutt’s Pyasa and Kagaz ke Phool. like Mai ree kaise kahoo, Hum hai mata-e-koocha o bazaar Salil Chowdhary’s music was

ki tarah and Baiyan na dharo a blend of the east and west. by Kaveree Bamzai (Roli Books) Bollywood Today

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 76 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 77 Then came the mythologicals, ko (A woman gives birth to fi lm people being amused about Touching historicals, family dramas and man and he puts her in the “Hawaon pe likh do hawaon the biographicals, each with its market place)” and “Jinhe naaz ke naam”. The populistic the heart and mind own type of lyric and music. hai Hind par woh kahan hai Anjaan and later his son Sameer with words of There were cheer-boosters and (Where are those people who along with Anand Bakhshi and pain-relievers in lyrics crooned are proud about India)” echoed other recent ones are like the song by Saigal, Ashok Kumar, the plight of Indian women. On modern ballad writers of today’s Devika Rani, Kanan Devi and the other more popular front, common man and woman. FIROZE RANGOONWALLA faith-cures in the ‘abhangs’ of the Shailendra and Hasrat ‘Jodi’ Some have even moved down V. Phadnis of Sant Tukaram, did wonders for Raj Kapoor to the ‘disco-khisko’ youngsters he “word” is eternal… singing Raj Kapoor’s “Awara of Prabhat Films. Similar fi lms and folklore too in Teesri attached to re-mixes, with noisy it remains… long after hoon” in accented tones. And gems were penned by Arzoo Kasam. instruments. Lucknow and Kidal Sharma Teverything else has in the gullies and bylanes of f course, some of the Bells have tolled for the lyric from the New Theatres banner. passed. The ‘shabda’, ‘alfaaz’ Delhi, where Hindi-Urdu is most memorable verses to be devalued and made or ‘Kalaam’ of the good fi lm the lingua franca, the words Ever-lasting ‘mukhdar’ by were written for the inaudible by loud synthesised lyric lasts much after the fi lm, are interchanged to suit the O Budayuni and Majrooh two epics, Mother India and music. You can only swing and its stars and other components singers’ own urges, fancies and Sultanpuri throbbed in all Mughal-e-Azam by Shakeel. sway to the tunes of wizard have been forgotten. situations. youthful hearts. “Hum aaj kahin Patriotism had its lyrical A.R. Rahman but cannot catch Indians have a weakness Our lyric writers from the fi rst dil kho baithe (Today I lost my outbursts in veiled freedom the words if you want to sing. for the song and poem. talkie onwards have grasped heart somewhere)” and “Tu fi ghts against the British rule: Even from the Slumdog song This is a mindset; sourced this aspect of the lyric and have kahe agar jeevan bhar (If you “Dur hato ai duniyawalon you can only pick up “jai ho” from India’s deep heritage played upon it. As is to be say, I will croon songs all my Hindustaan hamara hai (Move and little more. How much have of literature and culture. We expected from a society infused life)” from Mehboob’s Andaz out you people of the world, lyrics changed from the metallic take the lyric home… to with religion like India, the have gathered an evergreen India is ours)”. Poet Pradeepji’s words of Modi’s Mirza our heart, mind, soul, our fi rst recorded fi lm song was: appeal. The movie mughal Quit India call aroused our or of Umrao Jaan done by the relationships, our drawing “Dey dey khuda ke naam pe himself in his naive way used nationalism and he inspired elusive Shahryar for Muzaffar rooms, kitchens and Indian pyare (Give in God’s name if a couplet for his banner logo: children too with “Iss mitti se Ali’s fi lm! And does not a Idol stages. you have the power, my friend. “Wohi hota hai jo manzure tilak karo” from . He cheerful Dev Anand lip-moving khuda hota hai”, linking could also drive us to tears over to “Main zindagi ka saath The process of identifi cation Lyricist: Joseph David, Alam hammer and sickle with total martyrs. It was a case of writer, nibhata chale gaya” still bring a works strong and fast with Ara)”. But it was the romantic reliance on God for whatever not the singer, over the classic spring to your step? the lyric, especially in Hindi- lyric in the tales of legendary happens. “Ai mere watan ke logon”. The Urdu. It may not even be lovers, which became the Any guesses which type of evoking of sadness was not so understood deep down in the most popular. Films like Shirin Sahir Ludhianwi’s leftism lyrics will last the longest in much for the voice but words southern parts of India, or Farhad, Laila Majnu, Heer was stronger and more bitter collective public psyche? like, “Remember those who did ◆ vast swathes of Central Asia or Ranjah, turned from stage-plays (‘talkhiyan’). So too his social into fi lms, became super-hits not return home”. The author is a fi lm historian and author of China. But it is repeated and comment: “Rehne ko ghar several books on Indian fi lms. hummed long after cinema, in 1931-32 due to their profuse nahin hai, sara jahaan hamara In later years, Gulzar and Javed radio or TV have stopped content of songs. The craze (Cannot get a house to stay, Akhtar adopted a sensitive and transmitting or broadcasting. peaked with 70 songs in Indra the whole world is ours)”. tender approach. Gulzar had his I have heard a Japanese lady Sabha. “Aurat ne janam diya mardon home-made touch. I remember

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 78 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 79 INTERVIEW

expanding my experiences, being connected with the real world, not feeling insecure as I am not in any race and having the freedom to live life on my own terms has been well worth it. I have instinctively anchored towards projects that I could relate to, that resonated with my interests, concerns and dilemma. There have been some fi lms that didn’t turn out the way I had imagined them to. But I am happy that I at least made those choices for honest reasons. What I look for is a good script, a director who can translate that into an interesting cinematic experience and a role that’s challenging and relatable. Often, all these things don’t come together as there are many factors involved in fi lm making. All said and done, it is a gamble. But, the only thing I can confi dently say is that the criteria for choosing a fi lm has not been based on any other reason other than the ones mentioned above. You seem to gravitate towards regional directors, is it because of greater realism in that cinema? I have never classifi ed fi lms as art or commercial, Hindi or regional. I do fi lms that resonate with my sensibilities, in which ever genre it

Nandita Das directing Naseeruddin Shah for her fi rst fi lm .

Nandita Das

Your father is an artist and your mother a writer. How much did their artistic nuances infl uence your personality? When you grow up with a certain artistic sensibility it becomes part of you as it is deeply internalized. As a child our forms of entertainment were going to classical music concerts, dance performances, exhibitions… in fact never fi lms! I am sure all those exposures have become part of our sub-conscious sensibilities. I am sure they helped me in making Firaaq, as fi lmmaking requires working with different art forms. Also my parents gave us (my brother and I) a lot of freedom to ask questions and make our own decisions. That freedom and space we got defi nitely has a big impact on the choices we are making in our life. What are the parameters you keep in mind while accepting a role? My decision of doing selective fi lms, in languages other than Hindi, or to live in Delhi and not in Bombay, was an explicit choice. Of course you gain some and lose some. But what I have gained, in terms of

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 80 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 81 The journey of making Firaaq has pushed my boundaries and by this I don’t mean only creatively. As an actor one doesn’t realize how much more goes into a fi lm than just the shoot. Also having gone through this experience I feel, a fi lm is not the sum total of its parts. Directing entails making choices and decisions at every step and taking responsibility for all its aspects. There are 100 odd people who work on the shoot and as a director, you become like a parent! Also the post production has many technicalities and learning all of that on the job, was both challenging and exciting. Being an actor myself defi nitely helped my interactions with the actors in the way one could communicate to them. On the sets as an actor, it was always exciting to watch the rest of the crew work towards shaping up a scene. Often I would get involved in different aspects of the shoot or simply observe. Slowly the desire to tell stories, the way I wanted to, started growing stronger. So I thought maybe making a fi lm and going through all its phases would be more ’s Kannathil Muttha Mitthal, Tamil (top) and ’s Govind Nihalani’s , Hindi (top) and Naalu Pennungal, Malayalam (above). ’s Deveeri, Kannada (above). satisfying. What was the most maybe. When I look back at the Could you describe your dedication and perfectionism How did your own transition challenging part of directing 30 odd fi lms I have done, many experience of working with is a real pleasure. His style of to directing come about? Firaaq? of which are regional fi lms, Adoor Gopalakrishnan? working is rather unique where that they needed to make less not many people in the cast For me, in many ways acting Going from acting to directing compromises with the form and I have shot more fi lms in and crew know much about the to directing was a natural is like jumping straight from content they chose. Of course than in Bombay and I fi lm! When I did ‘Four Women’ I progression. But directing 5th grade to doing a PhD! There they are always struggling with feel very much at home in that seem to have been the lucky one is far more consuming and are hundreds of factors that budgets and marketing issues and milieu. Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s amongst the actors – who at least obviously very different from need to be dealt with and I so the vision doesn’t translate into involvement in his work is knew what the story and my role acting, as it challenges every doubt I have ever multi-tasked a reality. 200% and to see that level of were! aspect of one’s personality. in this way. Directing is far more

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 82 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 83 consuming, as it challenges odds and from the responses every aspect of one’s personality. received so far from the around Firaaq is not an easy fi lm as the world, I can only say I am there are 5 different stories, so overwhelmed. with a tight schedule and budget, As an actress, which fi lms of every 5-6 days you are with yours do you look back on a new set of actors, in a new with fondness? location, and need a different headspace to deal with a new There are many. Out of the story. But I am really glad that 30 I have done, I would say I the fi lm got made against all look back on 20 odd fi lms with

Mrinal Sen’s Amar Bhuvan, Bengali (left & right below); Suman Ghosh’s Podokkhep, Bengali (bottom) and Deepa Mehta’s Earth, Hindi/English (facing page).

fondness, and it brings a smile for his relentless energising and work with Soumitrada to my face for different reasons. shooting style; (Chatterjee). You see how Sometimes the journey was for being so spontaneously different projects have been good and sometimes the fi lm creative and having such a important to me for different was important in what it wanted fantastic team to work with; reasons! Adoor Gopalakrishnan, for his ◆ to say, even though it may not Ms. Nandita Das is a well known actress. have turned out the way one had uncompromising puritanical Firaaq, is her debut fi lm as a Director. approach to cinema; Shyam imagined. For me, the journey is Benegal for his intellect and as important as the end so I can’t warmth. And also fi rst-time really separate the two. To name directors like Chitra Palekar a few, there was Deepa (Mehta)’s and Kavitha Lankesh, for their Fire which had an intimate cast passion and commitment (and and crew; Mrinalda’s fi lm because now I know how diffi cult it is he’s such a special person, with to make your fi rst fi lm!); And thousands of stories that I so Suman Ghosh’s fi lm for the loved listening; Mani Ratnam, opportunity to get to know

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 84 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 85 Indian audiences, wary of subsequently read Valmiki’s business, thanks largely due to novelty, did not go in droves to in Japanese and ten the Japanese connection. see the fi lm. It may have done different versions of it; all in his The story of Indian animation better with non-resident Indian mother-tongue. fi lms is quite old. Mandar audiences abroad. , a former Mallik, a Bengali of some The story of feature-length staffer of Films Division of means, went to in the animation fi lms made by India and trained in 1930s and came back with a Indians for a theatre release animation techniques by Claire 35 mm cine camera which also began with Ram Mohan’s H. Weeks of Walt Disney allowed single-frame exposures. Ramayana based on the Studies, USA, produced an What he did until he met ancient Hindu epic. It was elegant 2-D version of in the early 1960s, a very produced by Yugo Sako, Ramayana, released in promising young artist, a Japanese, who had fi rst 1990, thanks to his Japanese Ganesh Pyne in Calcutta (now visited India in 1985, seen producer’s support. Need Kolkata), is not known. the archaeological excavation one add Ram Mohan’s site near Ayodhya and Ramayana did pretty good He got his young protégé to do some fi lms, including one about a naughty black cat. Pyne’s efforts in animation cinema, fi nanced by Mallik, were reportedly quite Animation fi lms competent and touched by droll humour. Ganesh Pyne gave up await animated audiences animation fi lms quite early in his career and went on to be a PARTHA CHATTERJEE celebrated painter.

here was a time when movie halls reserved Sunday mornings The reverse is true of Ishu for children and animation fi lms. At the end of the show, the Patel who graduated from the Tsparkle in the eyes of the kids said it all. Those days are gone Maharaja Sayaji Rao University, and animation movies today are watched and enjoyed by all. Baroda with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree. He then India, with its surfeit of computer wizards, could have played went to the National Institute of a dominant role in animation movies but commercial success – Design (NID), , to perhaps, we love our fl esh-and-blood heroes and heroines more study animation. In 1970, he than painted, wooden characters – has eluded producers of such joined the National Film Board movies. One such movie is Anil Kaul’s Bhaggmati. It is a curious of Canada and his journey as a mix of live-action and 2-D animation and narrates the story of distinguished animator began. Bhaggmati, a banjaran or gypsy with whom the Sultan of Deccan Over time, he mastered 2-D and falls in love. In its non-animation parts, that is one hour and fi ve 3-D fi lm animation and acquired minutes of its two hours and forty minutes length, it features , an international reputation. His contemporary Indian cinema’s fi nest dramatic actress. bold, experimental approach What makes Bhaggmati unique is that 110 people, slogged for won him laurels at various three years to create 7,50,000 hand-drawn frames inspired, at least reputed fi lm festivals. Afterlife in part, by old Indian miniature paintings. The quality of animation (1979), for example, had done by artists of Zee Television is of international standards. plasticine fi gure on glass,

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 86 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 87 lit from below and then about the monkey-God from animated. Other productions of the Ramayana was directed by Patel include The Bead Game V.G. Samant, Silver Toon and Phal S. Girota (1978), Paradise/Paradise Milind Ukey who had also (1986), and Fate (1994). written the script. Actor Mukesh Khanna lent his voice for the Ishu Patel’s concerns are moral, narration. Singeetham Srinivasa ethical and philosophical. His Rao made Ghatoth Kach in work touches upon Buddhist 2008, which features two kinds philosophy and Indian of animation styles. mythology. Concepts like free will, freedom and equality fi gure 3-D animation has not caught in his fi lms as do ecological on in India as yet. In America, issues. He is appreciated for 3-D animation fi lms like Shrek his subtle use of colour and and Toy Story have become pithy musical scores contributed huge hits and competed with by Indian, Japanese and live-action fi lms. In 2-D American musicians. Patel lives animation, Lion King and abroad though he has taught in Sleeping Beauty are but two India at his alma mater, NID. examples of super hits in

recent years. Animation Phal S. Girota Animation fi lm making in cinema, in the country, is still India, as elsewhere, has moved shackled to myth and legend, from fi lm (celluloid) to video which lend themselves to and allied digital technology fl owing lines to make the thus increasing its technical 2-D animator’s work sparkle. range immensely and reducing Tales rooted in the past, if considerably the backbreaking treated conventionally in terms labour required earlier in frame- of script ideas, do not rake up a by-frame cine animation. The controversy. Indian mainstream earlier method entailed the animation fi lms – though drawing, colouring of each streets ahead of its live-action separate frame and then its counterpart in aesthetics – is photography on a single actually equally conventional in frame of fi lm. One had to be a thought. In fact, an ever- millionaire producer like Walt increasing market may bring Disney to run a huge studio about a welcome change. with hundreds of artists and ◆ The author is a noted fi lm maker and critic. technicians to create feature- directed by B.G.N. Pawan length narratives. Chandra, Rudra Matsa and -based Pavel studios Charan Reddy Desai. The style has made a 90-minute animation used to illustrate the frames was fi lm entitled, Little Pandavas inspired by Japanese Manga through its animation division. It comics. was produced by Nitin Sidam- Sahara India Pariwar released

Setty and Rudra Matsa and Hanuman in 2005. The story Phal S. Girota

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 88