Remembering Shailendra

Suhana safar aur yeh mausam haseen… Yeh mera diwanapan hai…Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai…

Yesterday, 30th August was Hindi cinema’s celebrated lyricist Shailendra’s 97th birth anniversary.

Born in Rawalpindi and reared in Mathura, it is said that as a child Shailendra was forever scribbling in his note book.

When he got older, he started reciting at mushairas and it was here that filmmaker Raj Kapoor spotted him.

Kapoor was so moved by his fiery poem ‘Jalta Hai Punjab’ that he offered to buy it instantly for his debut film Aag.

But Shailendra, a member of the left wing IPTA declined and so Kapoor smiled and said, “If you change your mind, knock on my door”.

A fictionalized version of the moment was years later represented in Kapoor’s film Mera Naam Joker.

A home I have been visiting since the 90s is Neetu and Rishi Kapoor. The first time they brought home Ganpati, Ranbir and Riddhima were little kids, over the years they moved into their new bungalow and since last two years, their temporary apartment but the deity home remained consistent, a silver temple dressed in fineries and served with sugar free sweets.
 
Two years ago, it was during the festival (when above picture was clicked) that Rishi Kapoor went through his tests and and last year, for the first time the family wasn’t home to welcome the deity. Will the deity come home to Neetu Kapoor this year, I don’t know, will I visit the family nevertheless, I think so, will it ever be the same without Rishi Kapoor, I don’t think so!
 
Concluded

A film I cannot get out of mind is Marathi film Ventilator where the opening credits portray all the sounds and images associated with the festival in all its colours and splendour! The end credits repeat the grandeur when the patriarch recovers and the family is ready to bring the deity home.
 
Talking of hosting the idol, so many of our film folks have for years, brought the deity home. Some, to their work place, some to their abode, some, quietly and some in all its glory. Singer Nitin Mukesh has all the celebs visiting him and it is a home filled with music, food and colour.
 
Anil Kapoor’s wife Sunita makes it a special evening with fragrance and lights( above pic at her home) Sanjay Leela Bhansali prefers a Gujarati lunch that carries forward to teatime and sometimes dinner. There is a special costume and special design for Bhansali Ganesha and it is personally supervised by Sanjay’s mother Leelaben.
 
To be continued

For director Mukul Anand the final day visarjan was a premise for a dramatic climax in the 1990 Agneepath whereAmitabh Bachchan is stabbed amidst huge crowds bidding farewell to the deity at the seashore. For Ram Gopal Varma, it was exposing the hero as a criminal in Satya/ 1998 as he is dragged on a noisy street and his beloved Urmila Matondkar looks on shell shocked!

For Aditya Chopra the deity was a trigger for romance in Dil Toh Pagal Hai /1997. Madhuri’s dance teacher Aroona Irani notices attraction between the lead pair and senses their hesitation to confess it and therefore gifts identical Ganesha idols to both Shah Rukh and Madhuri Dixit separately telling them that he will guide them to love and he does.

While animation film My Friend Ganesha celebrates bonding between the deity and a child, for filmmakers Farhan Akhtar and Karan Johar, the festival was an occasion to include a song featuring Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan in the remakes of Don and Agneepath.

To be continued

Every year, come Ganesh Chaturthi and all the pandals begin to play Ganpati songs. This year is different because of the pandemic but that does not stop us from remembering Ganpati songs in our movies. For all the celebrations associated with the deity strangely there are not as many significant songs / scenes projecting the God of wisdom on screen and which explains why we are still playing the same old songs like ‘Deva ho deva’ from the 1980 release Humse Badhkar Kaun or ‘Murti Ganesh ki, andar daulat desh ki’  from Takkar where Jeetendra, Sanjeev Kumar and Vinod Mehra  expose  the villains who have hidden the temple treasures inside the idols placed inside the truck.

In 1981 Shyam Benegal’s Kalyug was the first film to portray the immersion procession in all its glory where in hero Shashi Kapoor is caught in the festival traffic. The chaos on the street reflects the turbulence in his heart.

Sunil Dutt’s Dard Ka Rishta in 1983, inspired from his personal life was about battling cancer where Baby Khushboo while on the hospital senses the Lord coming home. The father brings the idol to her hospital bed and Khushboo dies in peace.

To be continued

Looking back, none of my books have been an easy journey. There were hurdles in the process of writing or in the process of pitching or in the process of releasing them but finally the obstacles were overcome. I was visiting my sister in Ahmedabad when two young boys came to meet me with an idea. They had done extensive research on garbh sanskar and wanted me to do a book for them.

My first thought was but I have no experience of motherhood so how can I write a book on the subject but they were convinced I was the right candidate and so got down to doing the job. I followed their conviction and, in the process, began enjoying the journey.

Creation of human life is a magical experience. While our ancestors described it as a blessing from the Almighty, our Vedas and Upanishads dictate that everything that happens in the universe is predetermined from the moment the foetus takes root in the uterus.

It is a misconception that the child begins to learn after he/she is born. The child begins absorbing learning from his/her surroundings as a foetus. Everything that happens to the mother during the nine months of pregnancy directly or indirectly affects the baby’s mental, intellectual and spiritual growth.

It is researched that millions of new mind-cells develop every moment inside the womb of a mother and if they are not immediately directed to the outer world, these cells become dormant. Therefore, it is imperative that pregnant women are enlightened on the subject of Shaping of Seed – Ancient Wisdom of Garbh Sanskar so that they make optimum use of the information and nurture their unborn.

The credit for the green and mauve book cover goes to Publisher Deepika of Aslan Reads.

So, what story am I telling you next week? Aah, is not going to be a book story because for that you will have to wait till October.

It is not going to be Sepia Stories and maybe not in this space either, nevertheless the blog continues and those keen to follow can log onto www.bhawanasomaaya.com/ blog

Chalo Cinema in Gujarati is a collection of my columns written for Dainik Bhaskar and translated from English into Gujarat by the publication. The book is published by Navbharat Sahitya Bhandar and was released at a glittering event in Ahmedabad at the hands of Aruna Irani, a legend in Gujarati cinema.

Chalo Cinema is actually my fifth experience into Indian language translations. The first book to be translated was Take 25 into Marathi and published by Mehta Publishing House in 2004. The publisher came home with the writer, I approved of the idea and a few months later he came home with the copy of the book, as simple as that.

Salaam Bollywood was serialized in Screen when I was attached to the publication and also in Gujarati paper Samakaleen, part of the Indian Express Group later the in Gujarati translation was published by Navneet Publishers in 2005 followed by Macmillan India Ltd coming up with the Hindi translation of Amitabh The Legend as Ek Jivit Kinvadanti in 2007 and  finally Hema Malini  Biography by Ameya Prakashan in Marathi in the year 2008.