Bhawana Somaaya

Does a filmmaker retain objectivity to judge his work after the film is completed? My experience says ‘no’. The filmmaker is so emotionally involved with his creation that it is impossible for him to disconnect with his art. Many years ago Manoj Kumar confessed to me in an interview that editing is the most traumatic exercise for a director. “I have put my life and soul in every frame and deleting scenes is like chopping my fingers but I have to do it if I want my end product to be good.”

In the olden days filmmakers had a better way of resolving conflicts. The veterans shared their unfinished work with their contemporaries and asked for suggestions. It is said that Mehboob Khan and BR Chopra frequently exchanged scripts for feedback before going on floors and Bimal Roy held screenings of his first cut for friends before venturing on post production. There are stories about Raj Kapoor holding screenings of all his new films for his staff because their reactions helped him gauge public opinion.

Over the years as filmmaking turned into a business and original ideas became scarce, filmmakers stopped sharing their work and understandably so. The forced isolation had its share of advantages. It helped the producers to become self-reliant and inadvertently more powerful. The best example of this is Yash Raj Films. Thirty-eight years ago when Yash Chopra parted ways with elder brother BR Chopra to launch his own banner he had already proved himself as a director with Dharamputra, Waqt, Ittefaq and Aadmi aur Insaan.

In 1973 he had to prove himself as a producer. In the coming two decades Chopra made mostly hits and some flop films but he never lost his focus. “My job is to continue making films not to analyse them. If I start reacting to the praise and the criticism showered by the media I will expend my energy defending myself and I will not do that. My only regret as a filmmaker is that I made very few films. When I look back on my career today I feel I could have made many more but then that was the trend those days.”

Trends changed and Yash Raj expanded into other businesses like distribution and later music. His son Aditya Chopra joined his father and the duo launched a new chapter in the film business. Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge in 1995 and Mohabbatein in 2000 altered the dynamics of filmmaking at Yash Raj Films. Chopra always attributed his career to his brother BR and never failed to give an opportunity to all his assistants be it Ramesh Talwar in Doosra Aadmi, Manmohan Krishnan in Noorie, Dilip Naik in Nakhuda, Deepak Sarin in Aaina and Naresh Malhotra in Ye Dillagi. Aditya Chopra following in his father’s footsteps went a step ahead and provided a second chance to all his failed protégés. So Sanjay Gadhvi was granted Dhoom 1 and 2 after Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai and Kunal Kohli was granted Hum Tum and Fanaa after Mujhse Dosti Karoge.

2005 was a spectacular year for Yash Raj with Bunty Aur Babli crashing all records followed by yet another entertainer Salaam Namaste and finally Yash Chopra’s own Veer Zaara a decade after Dil To Pagal Hai adding up to a hat-trick for the banner. It was almost as if junior Chopra had mastered a strategy that safeguarded his films (those he directed as well as those he produced) from appearing as stereotypes. He picked contemporary subjects and then spiced them with novel professions for the hero and unfamiliar locations on screen. So it was cop-criminal chase in Goa for Dhoom, unlucky lovers in Paris for Hum Tum, petty thieves in Uttar Pradesh having a blast in Bunty Aur Babli and a chef and a doctor trying out a live-in relationship in Melbourne for Salaam Namaste.

Man-woman relationship remained the focus of all Yash Raj Films from Daag to Darr and later from DDLJ to Band Baaja Baaraat but time and again they experimented with other kind of cinema as well (Kabul Express or Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year).The magic sustained for seven long years but after every high tide is a low tide and Yash Raj Films is no exception to the rule. After the super success of Dhoom 2 and Fanaa in 2006 came a series of disappointments-Ta Ra Rum Pum, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Laaga Chunari Mein Daag and Aaja Nachle in 2007 but all was forgiven when Chak De ruled the box-office and the hearts of millions. Come 2008 and the banner saw two hits (Bachna Ae Haseeno and Rab Ne Bana di Jodi ) sandwiched between a row of failures-Tashan, Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic, Roadside Romeo. In 2009 there was one disaster- Dil Bole Haddipa and two hits- New York and Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year. 2010 was a disaster all the way with Badmaash Company, Pyaar Impossible, Lafangey Parindey sinking without a trace at the box-office.

Something was going terribly wrong somewhere and the banner needed to do serious introspection. In the olden days even the worst films of Yash Chopra made an impact on the audience and the characters engaged you. Not any more, the worst films were completely forgettable and had it not been for the timely hit of Band Baaja Baaraat by Maneesh Sharma in 2011 it was panic hour for YRF touted as the front runner of Hindi cinema. But the darkest cloud has a silver lining and Yash Raj Films has a milestone that is the only example of Indian cinema. Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge is the only film in India to have been running uninterrupted for 16 and half years at Mumbai’s Maratha Mandir theatre. Last week when the single screens enforced a strike to protest reduction in entertainment tax, Chopra was worried he would not be able to complete his dream 1000 weeks of the mega blockbuster but he soon found a solution to the problem. He shifted the screening to two multiplexes- Cinemax in Versova and Gaiety Galaxy in Bandra.

“The love story of Raj and Simran cannot be interrupted” said Yash Chopra. DDLJ for me is more a love story of a father and son than Raj and Simran. Even Aditya Chopra knows that the film could not have completed 1000 weeks without the patience and perseverance of his father Yash Chopra.

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It is an interesting observation because while most female directors in Hindi cinema focus on female protagonists, there are innumerable examples of legendary filmmakers supporting women protagonists. From the Black & White to present times filmmakers have time and again attempted to explore the woman psyche on celluloid.

Poet and lyricist Javed Akhtar has a fascinating theory about directors who make women oriented films. He says he could never pen heroine dominated scripts because his growing up years was bereft of women influences. In contrast, Gulzar also grown up deprived of women influences went on to write and direct some of the most sensitive women subjects of Hindi films.

This week’s column is dedicated to those filmmakers who gave us some unforgettable women icons on the big screen.

On top of the list is of course Bimal Roy. Whether it was the rickshaw puller’s wife in Do Bigha Zameen or the orphan girl in Parineeta, the oppressed wife in Biraj Bahu the director looked at all his characters with compassion. In Madhumati the heroine seeks her own revenge rather than be the hero’s appendage. But Roy’s most heroic portrayals came in Sujata, the touching story of a Harijan girl reared by an upper caste family and her quiet battle for acceptance and finally Bandini, based on a central jail superintendent’s experiences about convicts imprisoned for murder!

Melancholy was a recurring motif in all of Guru Dutt films and women the root cause of the hero’s despair! Often a spectator, his films were pathos-ridden and seldom had a happy ending. Pyaasa told the story of a heart-broken poet loved by two women while Kaagaz Ke Phool was about a married director in love with a young actress. They part ways. The actress becomes a major star while the director disappears into anonymity, eventually dying in a film studio. And finally Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam (produced by Dutt and directed by Abrar Alvi) about a village boy, Bhoothnath’s fascination for the feudal family’s young and beautiful daughter-in- law, chhoti bahu. In all these films Guru Dutt is non judgemental of his characters particularly Sahib Biwi…that captured the decadence of a crumbling feudal family. It was a disturbing glimpse into the life of a bored housewife doomed to monotony, a subject later exploited by Satyajit Ray in Charulata. The lonely housewife obviously wanted more than just making and breaking ornaments. She wanted self-expression!

Self-denial and guilt were recurring emotions in all Hrishikesh Mukherjee films. In Anuradha a renowned singer gives up her career to marry a doctor. After a few years she sinks into depression and begins to review her life. Anupama focussed on a father who despises his daughter because his wife died in childbirth. He holds the daughter responsible for the tragedy and the only time he can express affection to her is when he is drunk. Mukherjee films were about participating in the dreams of his characters so it was cinema for the star-struck teenager in Guddi poetry for the conservative Rama in Jurmana and abandon for Rekha in Khoobsurat. The director disagrees that his women are oppressed. It would be oppression if the doctor was neglecting Anuradha and enjoying her and having a good time himself, but the husband is neglecting himself too. Uma of Abhimaan isn’t asked to leave home, she initiates the separation. She’s more talented than her husband also more mature and therefore makes that extra effort for reconciliation later. He hurts her because he cannot help himself. In Bemisaal Amitabh refused to address Rakhee, his adopted brother’s wife as bhabhi and settles for sakhi, establishing an independent equation with the heroine.

Gulzar describes his films more as a study of human relationships than a gender issue. His protagonists invariably proved the decision-makers. In Parichay it’s the elder sister who initiates a truce with the grandfather. In Khushboo though Hema is wedded to Jeetendra in childhood she has to wait a lifetime for her husband to take her home because every time he arrives to fetch her, he unwittingly happens to hurt her pride. Khushboo is a journey of heartbreaks. In Mausam again it’s the daughter who confronts truth while the father is still waiting for the right moment to reveal his identity to his daughter. Aandhi about a wife seeking her political ambitions was actually about choices and negotiating space in a relationship. Twelve years later, Ijaazat explored the anguish of both the wife and the other woman haunted by the shadows of the past. Instead of taking sides with either of the women the director sympathised with the man. The hero like most men in similar circumstances, does nothing, just watches on, until one woman destroys herself and the other escapes!

Shyam Benegal’s early protagonists, all rural women battled society, system and spouse. The director is non- judgemental of Lakshmi sleeping with the zamindar’s son in Ankur. He empathises with the school master’s wife Sushila in Nishant, motivates Bindu to oppose the system in Manthan, is indulgent of the insecure Urvashi in Bhumika and full of admiration for the courageous Rukminibai in Mandi when the prostitutes manage to build a township in the outskirts of the city.

In the mainstream cinema, filmmaker Vijay Anand appears fascinated with Rosy in Guide for daring to defy her impotent husband with ‘Marco main jeena chahti hoon…’ he encourages to shed her inhibition captured in the evergreen number, ‘Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hain…’ penned by Shailendra. Waheeda Rehman’s character Rosy has no moral hang-ups and makes no concessions for her beloved arrested for forgery. Similarly director Govind Saraiya is far from patronising towards Kumudsundari jilted first by the proficient beloved and later by the illiterate husband in Saraswatichandra. On the contrary, he transfers his anger to his protagonist when she is repeatedly deceived by destiny.

Asit Sen agonises with his skilled nurse, Radha, when she is expected to cure one more mentally unstable patient in Khamoshi and Basu Bhattacharya, an ace at marital relationships, understands his wife’s need for sexual fulfilment in Aastha. In Swami, Basu Chatterjee is amused by Soudamini’s reluctance to adjust in the joint family and BR Chopra empathises with the rape victim in Insaaf Ka Tarazu. Mahesh Bhatt is attracted to the other-woman in Arth but fully aware that sanity and security is with the wife. It is out of respect for her that he lets Pooja opt for a life without an anchor in the climax. She is strong and dignified and can live her life on her terms without a man or religion. Mrinal Sen’s Khandhar, about duty trapped in pain, is an ode to Jamini’s quiet dignity while director Ketan Mehta’s Mirch Masala initiates Sonabai’s fight for chastity.

Over the years, many meaningful woman portrayals have been captured on the small and the big screen. Govind Nihalani’s adaptation of Mahashweta Devi’s novel Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa and earlier Rajkumar Santoshi’s quest for truth in Damini were tributes to women.

Every time we celebrate women power we need to acknowledge the men who made this possible…

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There have been no interesting releases in some time and one wonders if our filmmakers are exhausted of story ideas. Production houses either want to remake old films or adapt foreign films into Indian stories. It is very clear that people no more have original ideas. I was reading an interview of noted Urdu poet Shahryar who wrote lyrics for Muzzafar Ali’s Gaman and Umrao Jaan where he said that Bollywood is a place of illiterates. “They don’t need talented poets and writers but mediocre versifiers.”

Maybe there is some truth in what Shahryar says because even though cinema has time and again borrowed from literature it has never really been able to sustain loyalty from the truly greats. Noted shayars and the litterateurs from different eras have been drawn to the visual medium and experimented with a film or two but almost all of them have gone back to their old medium like Shahryar who went to Aligarh Muslim University to do what he enjoys most– teaching and writing poetry.

Still there have been many extra-ordinary writings made into films. Satyajit Ray made Ghore Baire (Bengali) set in pre-independence India. Based on Rabindranath Tagore’s story about a progressive husband encouraging his wife to step out of the inner confines of her home, and she going on to abusing his trust. He also made Shatranj Ke Khiladi based on a novel by Munshi Premchand, whose Gaban and Godaan were also translated on celluloid.
Premchand’s simple story of a harijan, who dies in a zamindar’s courtyard, also inspired Ray’s Sadgati. The film dwelled on the issue of untouchables. Film actress Hansa wadkar’s autobiography Sangte Aika was ably adapted by Shyam Benegal as Bhumika and Premchand’s other short story about cow-slaughter turning into a curse was used by Girish Karnad for his debut vehicle Godhuli.

Four period films exploring different nuances emerged during the 70s, Barkha Bahar, a not-too-satisfactory depiction of Leo Tolstoy’s Resurrection. Shashi Kapoor’s Junoon was based on Ruskin Bond’s Flight of Pigeons and Tamas, a stirring tele-film by Govind Nihalani on the perils of partition, based on Bhisham Sahni’s novel.

There is an enchanting story of how writer Mirza Haji Ruswa was compelled to write Umrao Jaan. Ruswa, an alcoholic, was in huge debt and desperately in need of money. He went to ask a friend for a loan. The friend agreed on condition that Ruswa wrote a novel for him within a month. A desperate Ruswa agreed, and was literally held a prisoner till he completed the tragic tale of a courtesan exploited by her dear ones. The role was essayed by Rekha in a lifetime performance. Unfortunately the magic did not work the second time around in JPDutta’s film with Aishwarya Rai in the title role many years later.

Among the mainstream writers, Gulshan Nanda has the maximum number of novels translated into films. Patthar Ke Sanam, Neel Kamal, Kati Patang and Daag are some of the prominent titles. Clearly there were many advantages of using literature on celluloid. The filmmaker had a readymade screenplay supported by well-etched, wholesome characters that viewers were familiar with as readers of the book. The disadvantage of a successful book transformed on the big screen was that it raised expectations of the viewer and in 99 cases out of 100 the film was a let down.

Gradually even this was no more a disadvantage. One discovered that more people had stopped reading over the years and the film-going audience was blissfully detached from literature. They were unaware and didn’t care if Ketan Mehta’s depiction of Gustav Flauberts’ Madam Bovary matched with the original in Maya Memsaab or Govind Nihalani’s depiction of Mahashweta Devi’s Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa, was close to the original. They came to theatre with an open mind and accepted or rejected the film on merit.

Understandably a generation influenced by the Hollywood cinema and grown up on a diet of television is more familiar with Indian authors writing in English. Consequently, Such A Long Journey written by Rohinton Mistry, Train To Pakistan written by Khushwant Singh and Dev Benegal’s adaptation of Kiran Nagarkar’s English August despite limited budgets, were patronised by an enthusiastic, niche audience.

In the olden days Bimal Roy was a master at adapting literature into films be it Parineeta or Devdaas. In the later years Basu Chatterjee (Swami) and Gulzar (Khushboo) have borrowed from Sharat Chandra and in present times Vishal Bharadwaj has made it his image to adapt from Shakespeare (Maqbool,Omkara). Some have been successful attempts and some not so successful but the important thing is they are all remembered to this date. To give a few examples Mirza Ghalib in the ’50s, Do Dooni Char in the ’60s, Gulzar’s Mausam based on AJ Cronin’s Judas Tree in the ’70s, Vijaya Mehta’s Pestonjee based on BK Karanjia’s short story in the ’80s, Kalpana Lajmi’s Rudaali based on Mahashweta Devi’s story by the same name, Deepa Mehta’s 1947: Earth borrowed from Bapsi Sidhwa’s Ice Candy Man in the ’90s, and GV Kulkarni’s Kairee, and Manjula Padmanabhan’s Harvest made as Deham by Govind Nihalani at the turn of a century, the list is endless.

I was recently invited for a private screening of Rang Rasiya based on the life of renowned painter Raja Ravi Verma. Adapted from a book the film is extraordinary in execution and content. The film is important not just for the scale and the grandeur of the time gone by but for its effort to remain faithful to the book. It is a privilege to watch such a passionate recount of a genius. If Mirch Masala was sensual, just get ready to be seduced by Rang Rasiya whose every frame is sheer poetry. The film proves that nobody depicts colours as well as Ketan Mehta.

Rang Rasiya is a landmark film because it not only brings back literature in its purest form to the theatre but celebrates a true story that needs to be told and what’s more does full justice to it.

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