Celluloid Bravado
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I keep so busy, leaving in the morning and returning around midnight." Vijay Anand, popularly known as "Goldie", said that had there been few more months of the Shukla regime, the film industry would have collapsed. There was no dialogue between the two sides, with Shukla and company behaving like stick-wielding policemen while the movie people crouched and grovelled at the awesome power. Rules were changed cap- riciously compelling producers to make and re-make their movies. The Censor Board in Bombay was like a cipher, sending every- thing to Delhi. Vijay Anand deplored the fact that a film depicting J.P. as a traitor was circulated and 6lms on Chandrashekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh were banned during the emer- gency. They were afraid, he felt, to let people see such heroic resistance to tyrannical "tioldie" Anand, Danny Denzongpa and Shatrughan Sinha-when the stars took srdes authority. A 6lm projecting bureaucratic corruption, which was based on Gogol's FILM INDUSTRY play Inspector General and produced by Chetan Anand, had been awaiting clearance at Shukla's desk for the last six months. CELLULOID BRAVADO Vijay Anand said that Morarji Desai had not shown any sympathy for the Barring a few self-motivated Indira with the advice that it would be better if problems of film industry when he was enthusiasts, who are now in the .throes of he entered into an agreement to do program- Chief Minister of Bombay or Deputy Prime acute embarrassment, Bombay's punch- mes on A.I.R. and Doordarshan. He did Minister and Finance Minister at the Centre. drunk filmdom is hopping mad at the way not comply. Shukla called a meeting of "But he is supposed to have mellowed and it was hounded, harassed and humiliated 6lm artistes and wanted Dev Anand to we hope and expect that we have a friend during the emergency by Vidya Charan attend. He did not go. Since then he was in him." The actor also hoped that all the Shukla and his hatchetmen in the Union a marked man. police officers planted in the Information Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Dev Anand said he was harassed and and Broadcasting ministry would be weeded Now that his propaganda-cum-persecution humiliated when he tried to meet Shukla in out. apparatus have been thrown out of the connection with permission for shooting in Some other comments from other window, India's Hollywood is rejoicing. London for his film Desh Pardesh. He personalities of the film world: It was Pran who first gave expression repeatedly tried for an appointment but Pran said: "The victory of the Janata to the film industry's simmering resentment was stalled with the reply that he would party is a victory of the janata. Let this by publishing a guarded statement in Screen hear from the Minister's side, which he election be a warning to the future ruling on March 11. His example and the strong never did. Eventually he was told that an party, whichever it may be, to fulfil the currents of the Janata wave encouraged appointment was difficult and that he must promises made to the people, who are fed leaders of the industry to come out for the wait at the Minister's office and take a up of empty slogans. I bow my head to the first time, on March 13, against "misuse" chance. When ultimately Dev Anand met one and only Jayaprakash Narayan. Janata of censorship, raw stock supply and the Shukla in his o5ce, a Congress candidate zindabad". film export scheme to "bully and black- (a "bidi king") was also there, "and I got V. C. Shukla --being called the 'Indian mail" the film people into becoming tools the impression that my problems would be Goebbels' of the Congress party's political propa- solved if I canvassed for the candidate". ganda. Dev Anand, Pran, Shatrughan Sinha, Acwrding to the actor, soon after the Vijay Anand, Danny Denzongapa, Prakash international film festival he got a telephone MehrB, Rajendranath, Devendra Goel, R. C. call from an income tax officer advising Kumar, Subodh Mukherji, Dr Gandotra, him to attend Sanjay Gandhi's meetings. Atma Ram and Shreeram Bohra, President After the elections were announced, "several of the Indian Motion Pictures Producers' telephonic attempts" were made from Association, participated in a pro-Janata Shukla's side with the purpose of pressuriz- party election rally near Santa Cruz. ing him to canvass for the Congress. But With the lid eventually off, anger, his brother had forewarned him and he bottled up for the last 20 months, is now made himself unavailable. flowing out like lava. Asked whether after his participation Dev Anand, India's ageless matinee in the Janata party meeting on March 13 he idol, described the emergency as a dark had received threatening telephone calls night, a nightmare, an insult to the people. from some income tax bigwig, Dev Anand He had also been the victim of some arm- replied in the negative, but added: "They twisting by the Shukla-controlled Ministry. dare not try that with me. In any case, One day he received some forms for signing even if they tried, I would not know because G. P. Sippy, President of the All-India mending a brewery licence to a film Film Producers Council, said that for 20 producer ;" months the industry had lived "under the Investigation of a murder case was atmosphere of threat". Different tactics were conducted in a "most improper, impartial emplojed to browbeat the industry into and perfunctory manner" to save three submission. Films passed by the censors friends of Dharmalingam. were recalled, others were deliberatly delayed Though the report was formally pre- at Delhi, raw stock was not released. A sented to the special session of the Rajya production called Mein Ashik Hoon Baharon Sabha only on March 2, its conclusions ffi, which was shooting in Switzerland, had come to be published as a "leak," was suddenly stopped mid-stream. The same the censorship act notwithstanding, the was the fate of at least three other Opposition had, therefore, accused the ruling productions. Congress party for exploding a time bomb The plight of Kishore Kumar six months on the eve of the Lok Sabha elections ago, when his songs were banned on the All ffirunanidhi- victim of political vendetta ? with the deliberate purpose of maligning India Radio because of Sanjay Gandhi's its admittedly formidable challenger, DMK, puerile wrath and were restored only after similar allegations, mainly against Karuna- in Tamil Nadu. an abject apology, is well known. Now it nidhi and other ministers in the DMK is known that Shukla did a Kishore Kumar government. on several of Kishore Kumar's professional Came the emergency and the DMK's colleagues. ambivalence followed by the dismissal of -Arvind Bhandari the state government. A decision on the issue (of allegations) under consideration Out In The RAW SARKARIA COMMISSION was finally taken on February 3, 1976 when Judge Sarkaria was appointed to function as , It is simply called RAW. Yet in the few Karunanidhi -Partially a single member of the commission to years of its existence it had acquired the Guilty probe the allegations. The wide ranging reputation of being India's most dreaded charges could provide the themes for a secret service. It not only spelt "Big Brother is M. G. Ramachandran, an ace in the series of cine thrillers on hush-hush deals, watching you", the Research and Analysis star-spangled politics of Tamil Nadu, murder cover ups, big scale bribery and Wing (RAW) had become an institution by portrays in all his fiims the beleaguered the like. itself. Answerable to no one except the but ultimately successfid hero. This has DMK tried to make out that the Prime Minister. enabled him to build up his image as a investigation was an act of political vendetta. While news reports of this totally un- determined foe of injustice, particularly Waverers in the DMK quit the party as known organization first appeared in 1972, among his countless fans who pack the the Commission went about its work. The the average reader took it to be a figment of front benches to watch his films. It is they allegations made during the commission's the reporters' imaginatidn. "We are an who provide the hardcore support in his inquiry against the dismissed ministers got under-developed country", an angry reader real-life political role. In this, his opponents wide and extensive publicity, even with wrote, "how is it possible to have an orga- are his former colleagues in the DMK the Centrally imposed censorship fully nization which combines the sophistication and the issues he would want his fans to be operative. of the CIA, FBI and KGB." This fortnight convinced are the same for which they The Sarkaria commission has found the RAW was again in the news as in their cheer him as the swashbuckling hero on allegations of corruption and misuse of pre-election campaigns some opposition can- the screen. The recently-released Sarkaria official status against Karunanidhi and some didates promised a ''full inquiry into its commission report has come in handy as of his erstwhile colleagues established in working". part of the scenario. respect of some charges. It has termed Set off against this was the news that Supreme Court judge Ranjit Singh Sar- evidence against them "cogent, convincing the soft-spoken 63-year-old ex-police officer karia's findings related to part of the allega- and reliable". The report relates to seven who headed RAW since its inception had tions which Ramachandran made as early of the 28 allegations under investigation.