The concept of Bhabhi Maa emerged in films when the director cast a younger heroine to portray maternal feelings and the best examples of these characters were, Meena Kumari in Bhabhi Ki Choodiyaan and Nutan in Chhota Bhai. After so many years, I have not gotten over the beautiful Meena Kumari rising at day break going about her household chores, singing ‘Jyoti kalash chalke…’ while her little devar besotted with her, follows her everywhere. Bhabhi Maa worked not full time but over time and never asked for her dues!

In Chhota Bhai, Nutan has punished her mischievous devar to stand on one foot on the terrace, and he does uncomplainingly. It is only while serving dinner to the family that Nutan realizes that the little boy is still on the terraces and races up the staircase to plead forgiveness. It is a heart-wrenching scene and after all these years, the memory of it brims my eyes with tears. The message being that that woman of the house symbolizes authority and there’s no opposing her!

I disagree that Hindi cinema stereotyped mothers, on the contrary, we saw innumerable shades of the character over the decades both in the art house and in the mainstream cinema. In Mrinal Sen’s Khandahar Jamini/Shabana Azmi lives alone in the ruins with an old, invalid mother and despite the over powering gloom in their lives, Jamini’s optimistic mother hopes that Niranjan will someday come and marry his ageing daughter. He does not.

To be concluded

There is a possibility that the idea of celebrating women was inspired from India. Our mythology has venerated women, the Devi in all her incarnations and our cinema has put the supreme woman, the mother on a pedestal from time immemorial.

In present times when all of us have become obsessed with empowerment, the original naari shakti, that is the homemaker, both on screen and in real life, is feeling isolated and nobody seems to notice that she is suffering from low self-esteem.

Therefore, I dedicate this week column to all the homemakers on the big screen who made me smile, sometimes fear and cry and sometimes, want to protect too.

On top of the list is the kohl-eyed Sulochana singing ‘Nanhi kali sone chali…’ to her newborn in Bimal Roy’s Sujata, all the time overlooking the other baby of a lower caste, who has by coincidence landed in a Brahmin household. What I remember of the sequence is the husband conning the wife to believe that the other baby is feverish and Sulochana unthinkingly touches the ‘untouchable’. The more Sulochana disconnects herself with Sujata, the more determined Sujata is determined to win her affection.

To be concluded

Yesterday was Anupam Kher’s birthday and today is Women International Day  so I present the actor and the female gaze.

In Saransh, his wife Rohini Hattangadi and he give shelter to a young couple in their home and when they discover that Soni Razdan is pregnant, the couple is convinced that the unborn is the soul of their departed son.  In Vijaya Mehta’s Rao Saheb Rao, a young barrister, returns from England with progressive ideas to reform his village. He is sympathetic and attracted to a young widow/ Tanvi Azmi and we are made to believe that he will marry her and set an example for others but he is unable to translate his ideals into action.

In Tezaab, Shyam Lal lives off the earnings of his daughter/ Madhuri Dixit, a dancer and when she opposes him, he gets physically violent with her. In Sansar Kher after a conflict with his older son, divides the mansion with a line drawn in the centre of the hall, separating Raj Babbar and Rekha from the rest of the family but in a crisis, Kher’s wife, Seema Deo has to trespass the line and aid her daughter-in-law and Anupam Kher isn’t willing to forgive her.

Mahesh Bhatt’s Daddy was about an alcoholic father/ Anupam Kher struggling to give up drinking for the sake of his daughter/ Pooja Bhatt, the character rises and falls and rises again determined to gain his self-respect and win back the love of his daughter. In Lamhe he is the friend who advises Sridevi to unload her feelings to Anil Kapoor whom she secretly loves but cannot share her feelings with anybody. Anupam Kher senses her conflict and supports her without judgements.

But Yash Chopra was one up on him and cleverly shot multiple scenes with the actor in the prevailing time thereby making it impossible for him to escape the continuity. By the time Rishi realized what had happened it was too late and it is a different story that by the time he returned from his trip, Rishi was looking forward to shooting Kabhi Kabhie.

Today, Kabhi Kabhie is unimaginable without Rishi Kapoor and for that matter without Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor or Raakhee. Neetu Singh played Waheeda Rehman’s illegitimate daughter and Simi Garewal- Parikshit Sahni played Neetu’s foster parents. It is so many years but the songs and the scenes of the film are entrenched in our memories.

Till as long as he lived, Kabhi Kabhie remained close to Yash Chopra’s heart and even though he has made so romantic films, there is none to match the fragrance of Kabhi Kabhie. He always said, “It’s not money but love that drives people and even as we talk, somebody, somewhere, is expressing love to someone, somewhere”

When the film was getting cast, while the older set of actors confirmed agreements easily, Yash Chopra had a tough time convincing Rishi Kapoor for the role. He declined the role outright, saying he wasn’t willing to play second fiddle to senior heroes. There was no other big star in Rishi Kapoor generation to suit the part and Chopra was seriously worried. He pleaded Shashi Kapoor to influence his nephew and Kapoor promised to bring Rishi on the sets and he did. 

Before the long outdoor in Kashmir, there was a short schedule in Mumbai to make the team comfortable and Shashi Kapoor reported for his shoot accompanied by a sulking Rishi. The young actor was literally bullied into shooting a scene by the older men. Rishi was flying out of the country next morning for a month and determined to not return to Kabhi Kabhie sets for sure.

To be continued

Chopra commenced the shooting of Deewar and in between launched Kabhi Kabhie with a grand mahurat. In 1975 Deewar was released and declared superhit and soon after, the unit left for month long schedule to Kashmir for the shooting.

“Those days were different; the unit traveled and worked together like a large family and shooting was more like a picnic” recalled Yash Chopra in one of the many interviews I did with him in my long career. He said he was always exploring ideas and one idea that haunted him was about what happens to a person who marries a partner he does not love? The poet/ Amitabh Bachchan in his film Kabhi Kabhie become a bitter man, while Pooja/ Raakhee falls in love with her husband/ Shashi Kapoor.

“Most Indian women are like Pooja; they place their family before themselves but men react differently and Kabhi Kabhie was about perspectives and how they affect our quality of life. It was also about different generations expressing love in different ways. So, while the Amitabh-Raakhee’s romance is shayrana laced with Shahir Ludhianvi’s poetry, Shashi Kapoor and Raakhee are a cheerful couple and Neetu Singh -Rishi Kapoor more aggressive and energetic in expression.”

To be continued

Forty-five years ago, on 27 February, Yash Chopra released its first multi starrer, Kabhi Kabhie. The filmmaker had been obsessed with the subject for a long time and shared the idea with many heroes, including Rajesh Khanna during the making of Daag but the film was finally offered to Amitabh Bachchan.

Originally the film was to begin shooting in 1974 and release in 1975 but the combination of so many star dates was getting difficult and, in the meantime, Salim Javed shared a script with Chopra that blew his brains, Deewar.

The trio together went to meet Amitabh Bachchan on his sets and Bachchan was so enamored by the idea of the don that he suggested to Chopra that they shoot Deewar before Kabhi Kabhie and that’s what happened.

To be continued

Today, when I watch Nutan’s old films I am overwhelmed with her magical moments on the celluloid.  I want to turn the clock and bring her back to ask her what was she thinking when Shubha Khote was singing to her ‘Baat baat mein rutho na’ in Seema. Were they real tears or mixed with glycerin when Sunil Dutt whispered ‘Jalte hain jiske liye’ over the telephone in Sujata? What was she feeling romancing the rain with ‘Kali ghata chaye mora jeeya ghabraye’ and who taught her to flirt with the moon in ‘Mora gora aang lay le’? 

I want to tell her that she boarded the wrong boat in Bandini for had she chosen Dharmendra; she would have lived happily ever after. I want to tell her that she was priceless in ‘Dil ka bhanwar kare pukar’ Paying Guest because even though the song is rendered by Dev Anand what stays with me are her twinkling eyes. I want to say so many things, will you give me an opportunity Nutan?

Concluded