Marking Movie's High Moment
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SUNDAY TIMES OF INDIA, NEW DELHI APRIL 15, 2012 SPECIAL REPORT 17 MY ROLE MODELS A heritage mission to restore all audio- video tapes of our Marking movie’s films, a museum of cinema, a single- window clearance high moment for locations in the aside for this mission in the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-2017) and its archives will BOOKMARK country. Grand be set up in a hilly area to protect films from temperature and humidity. Five classics from plans are underway The first of its kind Museum of In- literature made into dian Cinema is also in the offing. “The memorable films to mark 10 decades museum will be housed in two buildings at the Films Division premises in Mum- R K Narayan's The Guide: Irrfan picks the films and the roles that of movies in the bai. The heritage building of Gulshan Dev Anand gave the he would have grabbed without a Mahal, a popular filming location, should performance of a lifetime second thought land of cine lovers be completely ready by December and the new, modern building should get ready NAYAK | Satyajit by next year,” says Varma. Other plans Ray's evocative Archana Khare Ghose | TNN include a single window clearance for film has Uttam film locations in the country, a float ded- Kumar playing a hen Dadasaheb Phalke icated to the centenary at the next year’s matinee idol with spooled the reel of Raja Republic Day parade, a postal stamp, and an effortless Harishchandra on May people’s participation in the celebrations charm. Truly an 3, 1913 at Coronation through a website being put together by unforgettable Cinema in Mumbai, lit- the National Film Archives of Pune. The in this Navektan classic. W Also made in English character that tle would he have real- celebrations will go beyond Indian shores was brilliantly ized that he was winding the tape for an through prestigious festivals — India has where Nobel prize winner perceived industry that would go on to be the big- already been declared the partner coun- Pearl S Buck co-wrote the gest common denominator of his coun- try at next year’s Cannes Film Festival. screenplay TARANA | Dilip sahab plays a young doctor try’s identity in the decades to come. While the industry as well as popular in this 1951 classic Premchand's Shatranj Ke Little would he have known that it would television channels that run on films ei- Khiladi: Sanjeev Kumar JUKTI TAKKO AAR GAPPO | A memorable traverse every possible barrier in this ther completely or partially are yet to give and Saeed Jaffrey smoked role of an alcoholic essayed by Ritwik Ghatak pluralist country and become what final shape to their plans, insiders are pipes and played the veteran actor Farooq Sheikh describes beginning to feel the high that should game of kings in this Ray- as the “largest cultural amalgamation reach its crescendo in the next few directed poignant story of of India.” months. Says Shabana Azmi, “One hun- Oudh’s fall As the industry that Phalke gave birth dred years is a huge marking time and to unwittingly with his first film enters it’s a good opportunity to look at the way Rabindranath Tagore's its centenary year, the country is ready the industry has evolved. One of the most Nashto Neer: Charulata, to pay an enduring tribute to the date he important changes that have taken place Satyajit Ray’s classic on immortalized with the first public screen- in these 100 years is the way women are forbidden love, had ing of the first full-length Indian portrayed in cinema. Today, actresses get Madhabi Mukherjee in the feature film. to portray roles of independent, working performance of a lifetime From this year onwards, the National girls, which is heartening even though Film Awards will be given away annually we have a long way to go.” on May 3, unlike in the past when it didn’t Azmi, however, rues the fact that our have any fixed date; the honours were films are beginning to tamper with “the DEEWAR | Amitabh Bachchan's angry young usually done in September-October. The unique Indian identity of song and man has been an inspirational character new permanent pin on the film calendar dance routines. Indian cinema should is only a part of the celebrations that the not do away with it completely as these DEV D | Dev is a ministry of information and broadcast- make us different from the world. It’s character that ing is set to announce at the ceremony part of our DNA.” stands out in my for the 59th National Film Awards in Prasoon Joshi seems to be on the same Ruskin Bond's A Flight of memory for the Delhi this May 3. A package to officially wavelength when he says, “As a song Pigeons: Shyam Benegal way it has been kickstart the centenary celebrations is writer, I think this event should reserve converted the novella into written and already in place and other projects are a special mention for songs as the country Junoon, a love story in the conceptualised likely to be added as the year progresses. wouldn’t have known what to sing on in- backdrop of 1857 revolt. “As part of the celebrations, we will numerable evenings of antakshari and Who wouldn’t die or kill NAYAKAN | The set in motion an ambitious and massive bonfires without the poets and lyricists for the young Nafisa Ali? lead role in this film project, the National Heritage Mission, who gave words to the philosophy of the was immensely powerful to digitalize and restore all audio-video common man through unforgettable Thakazhy Shivashnakar tapes of Indian films that we would be songs.” Besides the song, films have given Pillai's Chemmeen: An all- SPARSH | The character of the blind man able to lay our hands on. This is over and much more to all of us — as Joshi says, time Malayalam classic on played by Naseeruddin Shah is a role that above the digitization work that is al- the films have given us ways in which to the lives of fishermen and comes along maybe once in a lifetime ready taking place,” informs Uday Kumar celebrate, talk, behave, express and even the sea. Unforgettable —Meenakshi Sinha Varma, secretary, I&B ministry. He adds carry our total beings. music by Salil Choudhury that a fund of Rs 500 crore has been set Let the festivities begin. COOKS & CONDUCTORS Before they were stars And these, dear listeners, are BADDIES & BABES Why we love our villains and vamps AKSHAY KUMAR | RAJINIKANTH | Catching some of our sweetest songs AMRISH PURI | HELEN | For being Waiter, cook, mar- bullets by the teeth, For his perfect Indian cinema's Best patriotic song | Aao ki talash hai (Barsaat ki Raat, tial arts instruc- flipping cigarettes and rendition of the golden girl, who bachchon tumhe dikhaen 1960) tor...Khiladi Kumar lighting them in mid-air megalomaniac danced her way into jhaanki Hindustan ki (Jagriti, has tried his hand while beating up goons Best cabaret | Monica o my Mogambo in Mr our collective 1954) at multiple profes- and outrunning trains darling (Caravan, 1970) India. Not just consciousness with a sions are just a few of the Best cynical number | Jinhe him, even we sensuousness that has Best classical number | Laga wonders he can naaz hai Hind par woh kahan were happy. been difficult to chunri mein daag (Dil Hi to DEV ANAND | During perform today... hain (Pyaasa, 1957) India khush hua! replicate. Item girls, Hai, 1963) World War II, the but before he keep on trying! Best bhajan | Man evergreen hero had a job became 'God' Best sharabi song | tarpat hari darshan at the Military Censor's to millions, Yeh kya hua, kaise PRAN | For putting 'life' into each of ko aaj (Baiju Office in Bombay, Rajini was a hua, kab hua his characters and effortlessly Bawra, 1952) reading soldiers' letters simple bus (Amar Prem, transiting from villainous roles to that conductor Best bouyant 1972) of characters with heart of gold, like The the unforgettable Sher Khan of Zanjeer RAAJ KUMAR | in Bangalore number | Best folk easy drawl and the Yahoo, chahe number | mannerisms were koi mujhe Chalat musafir BINDU | For probably perfected SMITA PATIL | junglee kahe moh liyo re being Mona during 'Jaani' Kumar's With her emotive (Junglee, 1961) pinjre wali muniya darling, the stint with the Bombay face and strong diction skills, she Best item number | (Teesri Kasam, 1966) moll that has police in the 1940s become almost was a hit on the Munni badnam hui Best comic song | All izz a metamphor PREM CHOPRA | The small screen as darling tere liye (Dabangg, well (Three Idiots, 2009) well, working for 2010) for female man who could send Best song by a non-singer a number of sidekicks in shivers down your spine Best children's song | Lakdi ki actor | Mere paas aao mere years as a Hindi cinema with his lopsided grin kathi, kathi pe ghoda, ghode doston (Mr Natwarlal, 1979) and trademark dialogue newsreader on ki dum pe jo maara hathoda Best ode to nation | Mere delivery style, was Doordarshan in (Masoom, 1983) working with The Times the 1970s desh ki dharti sona ugle AJIT | Sara shahar inhe loin ke naam of India till the late 1960s Best qawwali | Na to carvaan (Upkar, 1967) se janta hai. Need we say more? Little cinema begins to dream big Kings of the provinces Indian regional cinema has its own superstars A new breed of film- Byari (2011) A lot of interesting M G Ramachandran (Tamil) A megastar in the makers is combining work is happening world of Tamil films as well as politics.