FRIDAY, AUGUST 14, 2020 DAILY EXCELSIOR, JAMMU daily Excelsior Established 1965 Rasul Mir - India's First Telefilm Founder Editor S.D. Rohmetra Sudhir Tandon unusual in those days. enough, we got a lot of co-operation from the res- groves, flower fields…now in light, now in shad- Bo veer-na-gai he-maiza-gai idents -- each day our lunch was hosted by a dif- ow.. ukiye Janab!" The rasping sound with La-gai mot gaerzaan ferent household. Yet, on most days, I nearly went Ath Sombal Bagas wan me ditty, Bar coded Revenue Registers a hint of boom stopped me in my Pooli to Cheena-gundkyadrengi, without lunch or had just a morsel. I was the only Ravarim sari doh. "Rtracks towards the exit. I turned Kongihaataipaan. vegetarian in the unit. In the non-vegetarian Yim Ashkatongal pam tatiy, n order to manage scientifically and in transpar- around.A tall, middle-aged man was approaching I'll look for you at Veernag, spread that is lavishly laid out for important Lo lati lo us. His order and his brisk approach alerted the in the garb of an unknown mendicant, guests, which host would think ofincluding any For several days, I looked for you, ent manner, the data in respect of revenue CISF sentries guarding the Srinagar Doordarshan records and to keep at bay, chances of fiddling at Pooli, cheeni-gund, vegetarian stuff? There were, then, some embar- Everywhere in the hyacinth garden. I gate, two of whom came and surrounded us. Drengi. Give me a glimpse, Kongi. rassing moments for both the host and me. The embers there ignited my fire of passion with the actual records to attempt to perpetrate It was the summer of 2010 or 2011. I was vis- But after Kongmal was married off to someone Hurriedly, a glass of milk or a boiled egg or some Oh my love! frauds, it was decided to have bar-coded revenue iting Kashmir after a long time. It was both natural else, Mir wrote some unparalleled poems of sepa- biscuits would be effectuated. or the palpable strains in his body against the and compulsive for me to revisit the Kendra where registers. The decision to this effect having been ration and longing. Working on a measly budget, we could not curb of stillness, and, of course, the picturisation I'd worked about 35 years ago. While I was meet- With this basic storyline in mind, we took afford to hire locations or local props or pay for of the seven songs which were set to music by the taken nearly more than ten months back, there ing some cameramen who had been junior to me in some crucial decisions about our film.As the story any services. Perforce, we had to enlist the local well-known visually challenged composer appears to be no development worth the name in service, Rafeeq Masoodi, the Director of the was primarily about unfulfilled love in a small vil- people for crowd scenes. Though Gani Khan and Ghulam Hasan Sofi were lapped up by the village implementation in this respect on the ground. We Kendra, saw me and came over. After an exchange audiences. The songs sung by Sofi himself, the of greetings and without further ado, he ordered his Artists & crew of TV Centre Srinagar at the graveyard of Rasul Mir during shoot may make no bones about the levels of dismay legendary female singers Raj Begum and staff to immediately shift me and my wife from the of Musical feature Film Rasul Mir Produced by TV Centre Srinagar and directed NaseemAkhtar and noted male singers G.M Rah & hotel we were staying in to his vacant suite in the and dissatisfaction the people in general other- by Bashir Budgami. Ali Muhammad Nishtar were instant hits. wise have in respect of the services provided by DDK premises. Our protestations fell on deaf ears. Working at a breakneck speed, the film was It was the day following when we were exiting the Revenue Department in whatever form and got ready for its telecast on the ensuing the DDK compound that we encountered that Independence Day in 1975. Meanwhile, it was that should have been the motivating factor for cracking order to stop. The spunky man closed in, decided to have a press show before the telecast. the authorities concerned to have the requisite looked intently at me and purred, "Tandon Saheb!" Although, some colleagues had seen bits of the reform introduced at the earliest as most of the Though the man looked familiar - didn't he guard film during the post-production stage leading to the DDK gate ? -- I couldn't recall his name. afavourable buzz, it was the press screening that states have already introduced bar-coded rev- Rahman?Mohd.Sultan? … He began telling the put paid to our anxiety. Rasul Mir got not only enue registers. They have advantages in various CISF men and some others who had gathered by complimentary reviews from the press and the TV forms over the one in practice for decades togeth- then something to this effect, "you don't know audiences alike, but also brought salvation to me. what he has done for our Kashmir!" He went on to Soon, the environment of hostility and resentment er. There is least possibility of any human error, talk about the film Rasul Mir. that had relentlessly shrouded me gave way to being inexpensive in designing , training time of In March 1975, I was posted to DDK, Srinagar The names of the crew and cast are as under : appreciation and regard. The doors that had sud- Rasul Mir employees is considerably reduced, are flexible as the head of the camera department. Two things denly been slammed shut on me were thrown open about the Kendra had struck me acutely: the dingy, Year of Production: 1975.B &W. Duration 75 mts. equally suddenly. The psychological interval and adaptable, data is reliable and assessed fast filthy and slushy canteen, and the highly literate Represented Doordarshan in international TV film festival Golden Prague at between these two moments was long. Very long. and above all these advantageous points are use- and articulate staff, particularly the programme Prague Czechoslovakia in 1978. Though inexplicable, the U-turn was welcome. ful in preventing frauds and manipulations for people,including some camera assistants, who Written, produced and directed by Bashir Budgami. I remained in Srinagar only for a couple of Photography.Sudhir Tandon more months. But the affection of Kashmiris fol- obvious reasons. took pride in debating on myriad subjects and issuesin English. This level of awareness and Audiography: VinodKalra. lowed me. Even decades after the screening of The decision follows constituting of a high articulation in a large band of colleagues hugely Editing .R.G Breed. Rasul Mir, former colleagues and Kashmiris, powered committee to look into the ways and surprised me since I hadn't come across many Lyrics: .Rasul Mir. some of whom I had not even met, would upon Music:.GhulamHasanSofi. measures that could be adopted to bring about such people even in the established Delhi Kendra meeting me, talk about the shots and compositions which had boasted of many luminaries. Cast. Gani Khan, Shama and Others. in the film: that silhouette, Rasul Mir dragging more transparency in the delivery mechanism in Notwithstanding, and as (with apologies to G.B. Singers: Ghulam Hasan Sofi, Raj Beum and Naseem Akhtar, himself in a windstorm [I was told that wind- vogue in respect of providing of public services to Shaw) indiscretion has been better part of my val- G.M Rahi and Ali storms are rare in the valley; in fact, it occurred while we were travelling and on the spur of the the citizens which are hassles free and coupled our when it came to professional matters, I made a lage, we decided not to have any dialogues; the Shama were new comers, they got literally detractive comment in the programme review moment I improvised the shot], Shama's faint with overall improvement in the levels of efficien- feelings, emotions and the pain of separation mobbed as they were respectively playing the smile like clasped hands or her tip-toeing around a meeting about the way an address by the then CM would be conveyed through the protagonists' roles of Rasul Mir and Kongmal. cy in the functioning of the said department . This Sheikh Abdullah had been filmed. Many staff chinar tree et al. I have been surprised time and expressions, metaphors and visual motifs and Even though, no dialogues were exchanged again by the vivid details related by these 'fans' -- was done last year in August and the Committee members were up in arms at the temerity of a mere songs that represented some of Mir's most well- between the doomed lovers, the suffering lumi- cameraman, and that too an 'outsider', to cavil at the details and the shots some of which I had even- gave its findings and suggested among other known verses. Moreover, logistics constraints set- nosity of Shama's (Kongmal) eyes, tired of wait- forgotten. What is this about Kashmiris? Why do the work of an influential producer. In fact, one tled the matter. To go dialogue-less was a daring ing for Rasul measures, introduction of the bar-coded revenue of my own assistants threatened me of dire conse- they retain admiration for a thing for so long?I gamble to take for the first ever feature film to be Tha-rah tha-rah chham ma-rah sha-yad have worked in many Kendras and on many a pres- registers citing various advantages and centring quences at my effrontery.