IP Eng Jan-Mar PDF

Vol 23, No.
1 ISSN 0970 5074
JANUARY-MARCH 2009
India
Perspectives
Editor
Vinod Kumar
Assistant Editor
Neelu Rohra
Consulting Editor
Newsline Publications Pvt. Ltd., C-15, Sector 6, Noida-201301
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The Indian B.R. Chopra
Film Industry A FILM MAKER FOR ALL SEASONS
UPENDRA SOOD
Editorial 2 58
Shyam Benegal
PROGENITOR NEW WAVE CINEMA
We bring to our readers this time a special issue on Indian
Cinema. There could not have been a better theme for me to 62
commence my editorial stint as Indian and India-based cinema Gulzar
seem to be the flavour of the season. THE VERSATILE
MAN AND HIS WORLD
India was introduced to ‘moving pictures’ soon after their 66
screening by the Lumierre brothers in Paris. By the end of the
nineteenth century, Indian filmmakers had started making Director’s Cut
THE ONES
documentaries and later exploring the commercial potential Global future for THAT BROKE THE MOULD
of cinema. A journey that began with ‘Raja Harishchandra’ India-based cinema RAUF AHMED
SAIBAL CHATTERJEE
and ‘Alam Ara’ has today led to the largest film industry of 70
the world, diverse in its treatment and coverage of subjects. 4
A melodious melange
The Indian film industry has contributed several masterpieces; Satyajit Ray SHARAD DUTT
a number of filmmakers have left their indelible imprints on THE TIMELESS TEXT BOOK Kannada Cinema
world cinema; and several film personalities are fairly well SWAPAN MULLICK JYOTSNA
73
known across the world. Oscars for A.R. Rahman, Gulzar, and 8 28 Touching the heart
Resul Pookutty testify to the creative and technical talent in the and mind with
country, as ‘Jai Ho’ resonates through the globe. Marathi Cinema words of song
MAYAH BALSE FIROZE RANGOONWALLA
It is impossible to do justice to different facets of the Indian
32 78
film industry in a small publication. We have articles on some
filmmakers and some artistes, to present to you a sample, and Raj Kapoor INTERVIEW
THE ACTOR UNFORGETTABLE Nandita Das
there has been no attempt to be exhaustive. In India we have a
very rich tradition of regional cinema; they have all been doing 36 80
well and making excellent films. The issue includes articles on Nargis
cinema in a few states. Due to constraints of space, we have not THE LEGENDARY
LADY OF INDIAN CINEMA
been able to cover all the languages and offer our apologies.
40
We have tried to bring to you a collage that hopefully would
interest some of you in further exploring Indian cinema through Amitabh Bachchan
THE ANGRY YOUNG MAN
more comprehensive publications, and equally importantly, in OF INDIAN CINEMA
watching more Indian films. 46
I thank all of those who have contributed articles and provided Hindi Film Posters Hema Malini Animation ﬁlms
material for this issue. S.M.M. AUSAJA THE OTHER SIDE OF PARTHA CHATTERJEE
THE DREAM GIRL
Hope you enjoy reading the issue. 16 86
50
Tamil Cinema
March 2009 Shah Rukh Khan
THEODORE BASKARAN
THE KING-SIZE HERO Cover: A.R. Rahman with Oscars
for best musical score and song in
24 54 Slumdog Millionaire.
to reach Rs. 20 billion in 2012 from a current size of Rs. 8.5 billion
The Indian Film Industry in 2007. On a per film average basis, the share from overseas
collections is expected to increase to 16 per cent per film in
AN OUTLOOK 2012 from 12 per cent in 2007. There are several growth drivers
for this segment from increased marketing and selling efforts
internationally, growing popularity of Indian films overseas and
I t is notable that today we speak not of the “film business”, but

of the “film industry”. In a broader sense, the Indian Media &
Entertainment industry is going places. The sector remains
resolute and continues to grow at 17 per cent CAGR (Compound
beyond the Indian Diaspora, several films with themes/locations/
stories based on the Indian Diaspora, increased number of prints
and a significantly more organised distribution plan.
T
Annual Growth Rate), despite the larger economic slowdown. So he home video market is expected to significantly shift in the
what is this growth engine of the Indian economy about? Why next five years given the developments in 2007. Though an
are more and more corporates jumping onto the film financing overall growth of 15 per cent is projected over the next five
bandwagon? years, in line with the previous years, the current rental-market
Firstly, the content business in India is likely to generate over domination is projected to significantly reduce to 25 per cent in
$50 million in the next two years. This growth is expected to come 2012 from 80 per cent in 2007 in favor of the sell-through market.
from the overseas market. The Indian film industry is projected The penetration of home video subscribers is expected to increase
to grow by 13 per cent over the next five years, reaching to from 10 per cent of the pay-TV homes in 2007 to 25 per cent in
Rs. 176 billion in 2012 from the present Rs. 96 billion in 2007, 2012. This translates into an addition of 41 million subscribers
nearly double its present size. In addition to this, India is also fast over the next five year period. 75 per cent of these subscribers are
emerging as an outsourcing base for special effects, gaming, and estimated to be from the sell-through segment.
animation content development. Though the home video subscribers are expected to increase in
Next, the box office figures are healthy and promising. The box the next five years, the sell-through prices are expected to decline
office incomes of the film industry will shift marginally from the over the forecast period from a current average of Rs. 90 in 2007
traditional revenues to the new emerging revenues like home to Rs. 50 in 2012. The average rental price of Rs. 50 is expected to
video market and digital cinema. Though the share of the domestic decline only marginally. The home video market is thus projected
box office is projected to reduce to 70 per cent in 2012, primarily to double its size to Rs. 15 billion in 2012 from the current Rs. 7.5
in favour of overseas and ancillary revenues, the domestic box billion in 2007, translating into a cumulative growth of 15 per cent
office segment itself will grow at 11 per cent cumulatively over the over the five-year forecast period.
next five years to reach an estimated Rs. 123 billion in 2012 from The ancillary revenues comprising of revenues from sale of
the present size of Rs. 72 billion. Increases in the average ticket television rights, internet download rights, mobile rights, re-make
prices will be the primary contributor to this growth, estimated rights, in-film placements, on-screen advertisements, brand
to increase from an all-India average of Rs. 22 in 2007 to Rs. 35 placements etc. will on an overall basis grow by 16 per cent over
in 2012. The number of admissions is projected to rise marginally the next five years to reach an estimated Rs. 18 billion in 2012 from
from the current high base of 3.25 billion tickets sold in 2007 Rs. 8.5 billion in 2007.
to an estimated 3.5 billion in 2012. The overseas collections are ◆
(Source: The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce)
estimated to grow cumulatively at 19 per cent over the next 5 years
INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 2 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 3

Global future
for India-based cinema
SAIBAL CHATTERJEE
D anny Boyle’s hugely entertaining Slumdog Millionaire is the

flavour of the season and not without reason. The superbly
crafted, pulsating rags-to-riches drama has put Mumbai on the
mainstream moviemaking map of the world, besides providing global
exposure to Bollywood-style storytelling, replete with drama, dance,
song and narrative happenstance.
The unique Danny Boyle touch may have raised a straightforward
narrative that employs several Mumbai masala movie plot devices – a
poor slum boy who triumphs over all odds to hit the jackpot on a
television quiz show, separated lovebirds who are reunited on a busy
Mumbai railway platform, a feel-good fantasy that hinges on the role
of destiny in human lives – to a new level of suppleness, but the
fact remains that, in more ways than one, Slumdog Millionaire is the
ultimate ‘Indian’ crossover film.
Slumdog Millionaire (facing page) and Munnabhai MBBS (below).

So what will India’s global film be like? Will it be from Bollywood or
will it be from the Indian Diaspora Directors? One major Mumbai-
based Director who has been working towards carving a global
niche for this kind of cinema is Vidhu Vinod Chopra. The Bollywood
Producer-Director, the man behind the successful Munnabhai films, is
all set to shoot his first Hollywood film, Broken Horses, starring Mickey
Rourke, the veteran actor who was nominated for an Oscar this year
for his performance in Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler. Seasoned
Assamese Director Jahnu Barua, too, is planning a period film to be
shot entirely in the UK with a mixed Indian and British cast. Titled
Homing Pigeons, the film will be targeted at a global audience.
On the other hand, the work of Diaspora Directors reflect the
diversity of the Indian cultural and social landscape to an extent that
mainstream Bollywood movies never quite do. Deepa Mehta, whose
Water reached India seven years after its shoot was violently disrupted
in Varanasi, says: “India gives me the stories; Canada gives me the
freedom to tell those stories.” Though Water was a Hindi-language
film, it was Canada’s official nominee for the best foreign-language
film Oscar last year. Incidentally, Slumdog Millionaire, too, uses Hindi
extensively on its soundtrack.
The world is today a smaller place and Indian émigrés are doing well
for themselves across the globe. As more and more filmmakers of
Indian descent make their presence felt on the international stage with
cinematic essays endowed with global appeal, Bollywood will gear
itself up to provide the Indian equivalent of Crouching Tiger, Hidden
Dragon.
◆
The author is an independent film critic.
Deepa Mehta’s Namesake (top left) and Monsoon Wedding (top right). Deepa Mehta’s Water (left) and Heaven on Earth (right).
Gurinder Chadha’s Bend It Like Beckham (left above & right).
The question of the hour is: are our own homegrown filmmakers
fully equipped to grab the opportunity that Slumdog Millionaire has
created? Can Brand Bollywood travel beyond the expatriate Indian
community in various parts of the world?
For genuine global impact, our cinema has for many years banked
primarily on the efforts of a handful of Indian-origin filmmakers who
are active on the global scene – the likes of Shekhar Kapur, Mira Nair,
Deepa Mehta and Gurinder Chadha. The scenario is beginning to
change for the better and directors like Kapur and Nair have of late
inched decidedly closer to the Hollywood mainstream. Mira Nair’s
Amelia, a biopic about the legendary aviatrix Amelia Earhart who, in
1937, disappeared over the Pacific in a bid to fly around the world,
and Kapur’s big-budget fantasy epic Larklight will hit the screens soon.
Though helmed by Indians, these productions cannot be regarded as
Indian films.

It is only natural, therefore, that the Ray consciousness comes
up with discoveries with the passing of every year. It began in
a humble way with the setting up of the Ray Society in Kolkata
which found eager patrons in America. This has now grown into
a full-fledged programme to give his films a new lease of life
with enhanced audio and visual qualities. This does not mean
that anyone is trying to tamper with the originals. That would
be sacrilege, somewhat like adding new colours or lines to an
Amrita Shergill. All the same, there is a compelling need to ensure
that the original nuances which give Ray’s work a character of its
own: from the frugal music in the background to the outstanding
compositions of every shot. Some well-meaning scholars from
America turned up at the last Kolkata Film Festival with about half
a dozen Rays of different genres whose prints were in a dilapidated
state but which had been restored to their original form. They
may even have gained something from the possibilities of new
technology without letting the technology get the better of the
actual document.
This is something that no other Indian film-maker can claim –
Satyajit Ray that the works are being restored and preserved because they
constitute inevitable study material. If one is talking about an
original screenplay that sets aside the conventional wisdom of
THE TIMELESS TEXT BOOK turning to established fiction, there can hardly be a better example
than Kanchenjangha. He had done two heavy films in the later
SWAPAN MULLICK 50s – Devi and Jalsaghar and had fulfilled a long-cherished dream
to complete the final part of the Apu trilogy after the box-office
S tudents graduating from film schools have tended to lean

towards film-makers who belong to experimental groups
rather than towards the classical masters who represent the
best cinema in their respective countries. It was many years ago
that Penelope Houston had stated in a brilliantly succinct statement
disaster of Aparajito when he felt that he needed to plunge into
an experiment. That was the time he made Kanchenjangha on an
how the world looked at Indian cinema; she said that as long as
someone did not come along to change, Ray’s Bengal would be
cinema’s India. Talk to the young exponents of direction, camera,
editing and sound, passing out of film schools and they would
probably beg to disagree with one of America’s leading film
scholars.
Yet what Houston said more than four decades ago can hardly be
disputed even by the post-Ray generation. Satyajit Ray remains an
icon who is not just revered as a master but, almost 20 years after
his death, remains a reference point for anyone who wishes to
extend his appreciation of the medium regardless of the language
or culture to which he or she belongs. Ray goes beyond words into
a visual magic that transcends the limitations of language or the
geographical borders within which his work generally moved.

Stills from Pather Panchali, 1955. Aparajito, 1956 (top) and Apur Sansar, 1959 (above).
original screenplay using running time to record actual time when If this was one of the films restored, it was because this
members of a family from Kolkata stroll down the misty pathways uncharacteristic adventure had so many complexities including
in the mountains sorting out their inner conflicts. It bombed at the deliberate attempt to place the human experience in a
the box-office then because many saw it as a film ahead of its natural environment. Turn to Sonar Kella (The Golden Fortress)
time. Today, it remains the best possible specimen of a screenplay and one would again run into another text-book piece that the
in which all the voices blend into a splendid orchestra, each as restorers hope will reach film schools all over the world. First,
indispensable as the other and the little pieces in the jigsaw puzzle there is no children’s film by Ray which deserves to be seen
fitting into a magnificent ensemble. as naïve amusement. This and the Goopy Bagha series make

Devi, 1960 (top) and Kanchanjungha, 1962 (above). Abhijan, 1962 (top) and Charulata, 1964 (above).
statements that penetrate adult minds. They are technically so There are two other points that young rebels with the camera,
exciting as to demand repeated viewings. And they move out into with fire in their belly and anger in their hearts tend to overlook.
open spaces that pose a powerful challenge to the cameraman, First, it is no sin to be simple. Today’s enthusiasm for non-
in this case Ray himself. Whether it is the magical use of Subrata narrative techniques often leave one puzzled as to why it ignores
Mitra’s camera in Pather Panchali or the delightful manipulation the discipline of film-making that is the cornerstone of Ray’s
of external sounds or even his uncanny ability to turn rank work (he deleted remarkably little footage on the editing table).
“outsiders’’ into able performers, he controlled every department of He imbibed the story-telling techniques of Hollywood in the
film-making and emphasised that if the director had to be the vital Thirties and reaffirmed that one could put all one’s cinematic,
cog in the wheel, it was imperative that he didn’t slip up on finer aesthetic and even personal ideas into the broad framework that
details and had the whole movie in his head before a single scene the masses understood. Without being the marketing guru that
is shot. today’s so-called creative personalities set out to be, he saw most

Mahanagar, 1963 (top); Shakha Proshakha, 1990 (left) and Ganashatru, 1989 (right). Teen Kanya, 1961 (top); Jalsaghar, 1958 (left) and Nayak, 1966 (right).
of his films being picked up long after their initial runs. He did and Premchand’s Shatranj Ke Khilari without setting the Hooghly
not have to worry about markets and festivals – they came to his on fire.
doorstep.
Today all that is irrelevant. What matters is that Ray offers
Secondly, his work grew from their humble roots to a universal everything to anyone who wants to learn cinema. He had regretted
humanism that ensured their place in history. Whether it was a at one stage having failed to take up science fiction that he so
historical like Shatranj Ke Khilari, a crime thriller like Joi Baba loved and an epic drama that offered another kind of challenge.
Felunath (The Elephant God), an examination of life in a big city Perhaps it is just as well that blockbusters never consumed his
(Mahanagar, Jana Aranya), a sense of compassion prevailed time that he devoted more fruitfully to projects that confirmed his
though he never allowed it to lapse into misplaced romanticism. breadth of vision and an all-embracing spirit of inquiry. Each of
Nor did he allow the phenomenal variety in his works to these became a social event when they reached the theatres, a
suggest that he lacked a philosophy of life. Ray never believed picture of an India that has survived its cultural diversity. And, of
in a committed way of life or thinking. He wrote the series of course, they will remain text-books for film buffs and sources of
detective stories with as much passion as he recreated periods intellectual nourishment long after the curriculum in film schools
from Tagore stories (Charulata, Ghare Baire) with a contemporary has to be changed with the times.
outlook. Long before the Tagore pundits frowned upon any “new ◆
The author is a National Award winning film critic and currently Director of the Satyajit Ray
interpretations’’, Ray turned the final statement of Charulata on its Film & Television Institute, Kolkata.
head and played around with characters in Tagore’s Ghare Baire

Hindi Film Posters
VISUAL CHRONICLES OF CULTURE
There were artists: poster designers who specialized in publicity art
and they were often very popular within the producers’ community,
though somewhat anonymous to the rest of the world. There is a
difference between a poster-designer and a hoarding painter. The
poster-designer is the creative brain behind the visuals one saw on the
S.M.M. AUSAJA film’s advertising media, while a hoarding painter usually enlarges any
one poster design to the hoarding size.
T he fact that Hindi cinema has always had a form of art, besides
the various creative talents involved in filmmaking, has remained
largely hidden over the years. It’s a form of brush-stroke art
that appeared in its publicity material like posters, block-prints, song-
synopsis booklets, slides, lobby cards, and even LP record covers.
Hindi films arrived in 1931 with Ardeshir Irani’s Alam Ara. Since
the Thirties there have been several transitions in the art of poster
designs. Films of thirties were largely theatrical in presentation,
therefore, the emphasis on elaborate costumes can be seen on the
characters depicted in the posters of the Thirties. Also, since films

The Forties and Fifties, with the Bawre Nain (1950), Jogan (1950), self-defeating journey of love and
rise of superstar Ashok Kumar Awara (1951), Baazi (1951), betrayal.
and his natural acting style, Daag (1952), Aah (1953), Do
The Sixties was an era of romantic
gave us films that highlighted Beegha Zameen (1953), Devdas
musicals embedded even in epics
social issues. The family dramas, (1955), Chori Chori (1956),
like Mughal-e-Azam (1960). The
romantic musicals, socio-political Mother India (1957), Pyasa
film’s dialogues played as big a
sagas, and action/stunt films (1957), Anari (1959) and Kaagaz
role in its success as Naushad’s
emerged and overshadowed ke Phool (1959) made waves as
immortal compositions. The
the costume-dramas. So more socially relevant films. Baazi and
posters were distinctively
profile-driven posters arrived Kaagaz ke Phool were attempts
ostentatious as we saw in most
on the walls. Aurat (1940), to elevate Hindi films to the
historicals, but the film was
Nartaki (1940), Bahen (1941), level of technical finesse seen in
essentially a romantic one.
Aadmi (1941), Roti (1942), Hollywood. The posters indicated
Junglee (1961), Saheb Bibi aur
Kismat (1943), Anmol Ghadi what was in store for the viewer.
Ghulam (1962), Dosti (1964),
(1946), Dard (1947), Jugnu For example, in Bahen, a film
Kashmir ki Kali (1964), Guide
(1947), Aag (1948), Andaz (1949) about a brother’s obsessive
(1965), Waqt (1965), Teesri
and Mahal (1949) are some possessiveness about his sister,
Manzil (1966), Jewel Thief
had been branded as symbols Indrasabha (1932), Alibaba aur of the most successful films of the sister was shown dwarfed
(1967), Ram aur Shyam (1967)
of perversion, very few families 40 Chor (1932), Ayodhya ka those years. The posters were under the large shadow of her tall
and Aradhana (1969) were all
ventured to theatres. To combat Raja (1932), Chandidas (1934), simpler and the faces were given brother! Kismat being a noir film
musical success stories despite
this social resistance, the Thirties Ramayan (1934), Anarkali prominence over costumes. With with a near negative protagonist,
their varied plots. The posters
producers focused on mythology, (1935), Hunterwali (1935), Seeta superstars like Ashok Kumar, Ashok Kumar held millions
began to highlight music; in fact
history, fantasy, religion, and Haran (1936), Vidyapati (1937), Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor and captive under his revolver as the
the reprint posters had the hit
folk-tale inspired films. It worked Alladin and the Wonderful Lamp Dev Anand in the limelight, film smashed records across the
songs prominently written on top
to expand their audience. The (1938), Gopal Krishna (1938) their faces were given more country to emerge as the biggest
to indicate to the viewer that the
film posters of those early years and Sohrab Modi’s immortal weight than the other players in success story till we had Sholay!
film posessed hit music.
were full of flamboyant costumes historical Pukar (1939) had the film for purely commercial In Devdas, Dilip Kumar and his
and the biggest success stories visually appealing posters, full of reasons. In the Fifties the same alcohol bottle on the posters The Seventies began the era of
belonged to these genres. Notably elaborate costumes. trend continued. Babul (1950), took the viewer to the hero’s the Angry Young Man as Amitabh

Bachchan rose like a meteor Kaalia, Coolie, Aakhree Raasta, Lastly, we need to applaud the
and emerged as the biggest-ever Agneepath, Hum, Khuda Gawah designers and painters who
star the industry ever saw. The and Lal Badshah. have given us such delightful
Seventies, Eighties and Nineties images across decades. The
In the Thirties, Forties and Fifties,
belonged to him in terms of foremost designer who ruled for
there were lithographic posters. three decades was D.D. Neroy.
popularity, making him a ‘Star
The lithographic press gave way And there were many talented
of the Millennium’ (in a global
to the offset press and the posters names and entities like Tilak,
opinion poll commissioned by
of the Seventies and Eighties Diwakar Karkare, Mulgaonkar,
the BBC). Romance and music
were mostly offset prints. The D.R. Bhosle, Pamart, Pandit Ram
took a back seat as the posters
began to display a variety of Nineties popularized the digital Kumar Sharma, S.M. Pandit, Faiz,
action images: from guns, press. Consequently, by the end and many more. These were
machine-guns and knives to of Eighties, the era of hand- exceptionally gifted artistes who
poses of stars – mainly Amitabh – painted posters ended, replaced depicted a visual journey of
in combat positions. Such was the by the digitally composed images Indian culture on posters across
extent of Amitabh’s influence that appearing on the posters. With decades. They are unsung, and
even the established romantic the end of the hand-painted we need to celebrate them if we
stars were forced to pick up posters, came the realization to celebrate the art of posters in
the gun – like Dev Anand treat the originals as pieces of art, India.
◆
(Johnny Mera Naam, Des Pardes, thereby making the hand-painted The author is a noted film-historian and
Lootmaar), Rajendra Kumar poster of any film from the cinema memorabilia collector.
(Gora Aur Kala), Dharmendra Thirties to the Eighties objects of

(Yaadon ki Baarat, Hukumat), art. The craze for collecting such
Dilip Kumar (Shakti, Vidhaata, posters began in the Nineties and
and Duniya). Amitabh’s anger has gained momentum in the
simmered on posters from new millennium. Today, these
Zanjeer and Deewaar to Sholay, posters are being auctioned at art
Don, Muqaddar ka Sikandar, houses, galleries and premium
Kaala Patthar, Laawaris, auction houses globally.

After Independence film artistes
Tamil Cinema gravitated towards the Dravidian

movement, whose leaders offered
DIARY OF A SOCIETY ON CELLULOID them recognition and patronage.
Many of the leading lights of
THEODORE BASKARAN the party, like C.N. Annadurai
and M. Karunanidhi, were
themselves playwrights and
T he limelight on composer
A.R. Rahman should draw
attention to Tamil cinema
that nursed him and honed
his skills. Barely a year after
areas, riding piggyback on
rural electrification schemes of
post-independent India. Touring
talkies, another unique feature
often acted in plays. The
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
that grew out of the Dravidian
movement, facilitated the
of Indian cinema, took films advent of the phenomenon
the Lumiere brothers screened into remote rural areas. Today, of the star politician in India.
their moving pictures in Paris, with 2548 cinema houses, films M.G. Ramachandran, the best
cinema was introduced in enjoy a high exposure rate in known star-politician and later
Madras (now Chennai) in 1897. Tamil Nadu. Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
The first silent film in South
had, in fact, acted in patriotic
India, Keechakavatham (The Like other cinemas of India,
plays and was a khadi-wearing
Slaying of Keechaka) was made early Tamil films were all
Congress sympathizer in his
in 1916 by Nataraja Mudaliyar mythological, with a series of
younger days. The interaction
in Madras, marking the birth excuses for songs. This was
between Tamil cinema and
of Tamil cinema. It was in the a legacy from the company
politics has attracted academic
Fifties that the hold of cinema drama. Within a few years of Nadodimannan, 1958 scholars from all over the world.
on the Tamil people increased the arrival of talkies film music
A good reference work is Tamil
as it penetrated deep into rural grew into an independent aural entertainment and increased though a mythological, had a Cinema: The Cultural Politics
the hold of cinema on people. song praising Gandhi. Soon, of India’s Other Film Industry
Parasakthi, 1952
The gramophone industry, cinema became an instrument (Routledge London 2008) edited
coupled with the availability of political propaganda and by S. Velayutham of Sydney
of inexpensive machines, many film artistes began taking University.
popularized film songs. direct part in politics. Some
went as delegates to National One of the distinctive
A prominent feature of Tamil Congress sessions and many characteristics of cinema in
cinema is its interaction with appeared on political platforms. India is its subservience to the
politics. How did it begin? One of the stars of the Thirties, spoken word. In Tamil cinema,
When sound came to Tamil K.B. Sundarambal, campaigned this was a legacy of the stage
cinema, in 1931 with Kalidas, for the Congress. She was the and it was accentuated when
the artistes from company first film artiste in India to enter dialogue writers from the DMK
drama moved into the studios. the legislature, in 1958, as a became active in films. Long
They were already highly Congress nominee in Chennai. monologues with alliterative
politicized, having formed This interaction, between film sentences became popular,
an active part of the freedom artistes and cinema, continues as in the film Parasakthi
struggle. They brought with to the present day. Two stars, (The Goddess), 1952. These
them their ideology and a Vijayakanth and Sarathkumar, monologues are remarkably
penchant for political activism. each floated a political party like formal speeches. Even the
For instance, the film Kalidas, recently. camera angles were such that

school boys, clearly reflected
the influence of European
cinema. He later went on to
make Veedu (Home), 1988, the
story of a middle class family
struggling to build a house.
Mahendra adapted a literary
work to make Udhiripookal
(Scattered Flowers), 1979. A
few young filmmakers who
trained under these directors
individuated and made movies,
extending the frontiers of Tamil
cinema. Balu was one such who
has made films like Sethu, 1999.
And there was Cheran whose
film Autograph, 2005, endeared
Sivaji Ganesan, rivals both itself to the Tamil public.
in films and in politics. They
Today the Tamil film industry
had both built up a huge
has matured, along with
following with thousands
Kannada, Malayalam and
of fan clubs functioning as
Telugu film industries into
surrogate party units. MGR
a vibrant industry which
specialized in swashbuckling
provides employment and
roles. His Nadodimannan
entertainment to a vast section
(Vagabond king), 1958, was
of the population. Tamil cinema
characteristic of this genre. Sivaji
has enjoyed a reputation
Ganesan on the other hand
for being both the pioneer
featured in melodramas such
and the launchpad for new
as Pavamannippu (Forgiveness
technologies, new actors,
of Sins), 1961. The films that
successful story formulae etc
came during this period were
for the entire southern film
formulaic, the characters
industry. The presence of world
stereotyped and acting stylized.
class film labs and infrastructure
A critic observed: “Bedevilled as at Chennai has also contributed
Dasavatharam, 2008 Tamil films are by the Big Two, 16 Vayathinile, 1977 (top) and Veedu, 1988.
to the leadership role that
the story of every year is the Tamil film industry plays in the
the characters appeared to be form and as gramophone discs. story of what films they made there were signs of change with
addressing the vast multitude Thus, cinema, as handled in a new generation of filmmakers south. Now with A.R. Rahman,
and who outscored the other a talent nurtured in the Chennai
in the cinema house. The these films, was almost like an at the box office. Aesthetics do making their mark. Bharathi
importance given to the spoken extension of literature, instead Raja, through his 16 Vayathinile Hollywood making it big in the
not enter into the discussion at real Hollywood, Tamil films will
words tended to eliminate of belonging to its own realm. any point for aesthetics here is (At the age of 16), 1977, focused
camera mobility and rendered on rural Tamil Nadu. Balu really get a global exposure.
subordinate to economics.” ◆
performance immobile. In fact, For three decades Tamil cinema Mahendra’s Azhiyatha kolangal The author is a noted writer and cinema
was in the shadow of two As the influence of the two stars historian.
dialogues of a few of these (Enduring Patterns), 1979, a
films were published in book stars, M.G. Ramachandran and began to wane in the Seventies, story centring around three

Kannada Cinema
A WHIFF OF SANDALWOOD
JYOTSNA
C olloquially referred to as Sandalwood, the cinema of Karnataka

encompasses movies made in Karnataka. The emergence of
talking pictures in regional languages of South India in 1931
saw the release of the first talkie in Kannada in 1934 Sati Sulochana,
followed by Bhakta Dhruva. Both Sati Sulochana and Bhakta Dhruva
were major successes.
The most popular actor in Kannada films was the late Dr. Rajkumar.
An accomplished singer and a performer with versatile acting
capabilities, his era was thronged with superb comedian actors, music
composers, directors, lyricists, script writers and cinematographers
who collectively brought what is now regarded as the golden era of
Kannada cinema. Dr. Rajkumar, originally known as ‘Mutturaju’, had to
his credit over 200 films. His debut film with Gubbi Virnna’s Bedara
Kanappa in 1954 established him as a mythological hero overcoming
the severest test of conscience to prove his devotion to his ideals. The
movie proved to be a blockbuster and signalled the arrival of a new
star. It also launched comedian Narasimharaju and director G.V. Iyer.
Bedara Kanappa, 1954
Gejje Pooje, 1970

Sadly, even after the success of Bedara Kanappa, the Kannada film
industry remained stagnant. Lack of financiers, technicians and studios
proved to be a hindrance to film making.
Rajkumar’s public adulation and identification was peerless. His

early retirement stunned his fans who treated him as a demi-god.
Predictably, the septuagenarian was forced out of his self-imposed
exile by his fans and Shabdavedi, his comeback movie, saw the
thespian performing once again. He received the prestigious Dada
Saheb Phalke Award in 1995 for his outstanding contribution to
Kannada film industry. Rajkumar was one of the few actors in world
cinema who had an illustrious classical singing and stage acting career
throughout simultaneously.
The 1970s and 80s is heralded as the Golden Age of Kannada cinema.
It was also the period that witnessed the birth of alternate cinema
or parallel cinema. Shankar Nag, in the late 70s, made his own
mark with the internationally-acclaimed Malgudi Days along with
some commercial hits. Sandesh Nagraj made his presence felt with
his off-beat films. Sunil Kumar Desai vowed the audience with his

industry. The year 2005 witnessed
stupendous box office success
for the Kannada film industry.
Starting with Shivarajkumar starrer
Jogi, which grossed Rs. 70 crore
at the box office, films like Anna
Tangi (grossed Rs 50 crores),
Gowramma, Amruthadhare,
Deadly Soma, Nenapirali
performed well at the box office.
An estimated four of every five
releases had succeeded at the
box office. The profits soared and
the industry flourished like never
before.
Mungaru Male released in
2006, shattered all records
Tabarana Kathe, 1987
of the Kannada film industry
versatility whereas Dinesh Babu Kaadu (1973), Ondanondu grossing Rs. 75 crores. In 2008,
redefined the art of story-telling. Kaladalli (1978), M.S. Sathyu’s the Kannada film industry
T.S. Nagabharana’s involvement Kanneshwara Rama (1977), saw many firsts. A number of
in Jaanapada and historical Chithegu Chinthe (1978), Pattabhi films were released outside the
melodramas, Kodlu Ramakrishna Rama Reddy’s Samskara (1970) state and even abroad. Gaja,
for his subjects based on common were some of the important Buddhivantha and Navagraha
man and narrative stories, Phani movies of this decade. This became huge hits. The success
Ramachandra with his comic decade also witnessed the rise of of the film industry is obvious
flicks, Rajendra Singh Babu ,all Puttanna Kanagal, who is widely by the fact that the average
brought Kannada cinema its acknowledged as the greatest budget for Kannada films is
much deserving recognition. director in Kannada film history. now between Rs. 5-10 crores as
His movies like Bellimoda, Gejje against Rs. 1-2 crore just three
B.V. Karanth’s Chomana Dudi, Pooje, Sharapanjara Sakshatkara, years ago. The fragrance of
an evocative film on caste Nagara Havu bought new style Sandalwood continues to spread
distinctions spearheaded the of film making which acted as a far and wide.
Kannada parallel cinema. Girish ◆
bridge between commercial and The author is a noted writer and
Kasaravalli’s first film Ghata parallel cinema. documentary film maker.
Shraddha in 1977, won him
the National award for best The current star of the Kannada
film. He has won the National film industry is Shivarajkumar,
award for best film four times who started his career with a
including his latest film Dweepa. hatrick of superhits. Actresses like
Bhavya, Mahalaxmi, Sudharani,
His award winning films include
Thara, Vanitha Vasu, Anjana,
Akramana (1979), Mooru
Shruti too made their presence
Dhaarigalu (1981), Tabarana
felt over time with sterling
Kathe (1987), Bannadha Vesha
performances.
(1989), Mane (1989), Kraurya
(1996), Taayi Saaheba (1998) and The recent years have been
Dweepa (2002). Girish Karnad’s good times for the Kannada film Ghata Shraddha, 1977

remembered today as the
Marathi Cinema father of Indian cinema and
a prestigious award named
SCALING NEW HEIGHTS after him, is bestowed on
those luminaries from the film
MAYAH BALSE
world who have distinguished
themselves in the field of
T here is a fable in the Indian epics, in which a clever squirrel

waits for an army of ants to laboriously bring grains of sugar
to a hole in the bark of a tree. The clever squirrel then barges
his way in to eat the hoard of grain and occupies the niche too. This
is what has happened to Marathi cinema over the years, vis-a-vis
cinema.
The mantle for making films,
thereafter, fell on Prabhat Film
Company, owned exclusively
Hindi cinema. The powerful and muscular Hindi giant has nudged by Maharashtrians, which took
Marathi films from supremacy in their own territory. The birthplace the movement forward with
of Marathi films has become the stronghold of Bollywood’s Hindi classics having moral values
film industry. and emotional resonance,
the notable ones being Sant
Ironically, it was a Marathi “maanoos” who was responsible for
Tukaram, the first film in India
laying the foundation of cinema itself in India. It was Dadasaheb
to bag the best film award in
Phalke, a Maharashtrian, who envisioned making the first ever
l927 at the Venice Film Festival.
indigenous Indian film – a silent movie called Raja Harishchandra,
a story about a high-principled king who was willing to sacrifice his Prabhat Films produced the first
kingdom and his family to gain the grace of the gods. The gods were Marathi talkie, Ayodhyecha Raja
so impressed they gave him back what he had lost. in 1932, fast on the heels of
the first Hindi talkie Alam Ara
Raja Harishchandra was the first home-grown Indian production
which was made a year earlier,
and the corner-stone of the film industry. Dadasaheb Phalke is
by Imperial Film Company and
directed by Ardeshir Irani.
Stills from Ayodhyecha Raja, 1932
It was over two decades later
in 1954 when the National
Awards were launched for the
first time, that P.K. Atre’s Marathi
film Shyam chi Ayee won the
President’s Gold Medal. It was
a cinematic rendering of Sane
Guruji’s emotional novel.
Marathi cinema bloomed after
that, with the advent of names
like V. Shantaram, Sudhir
Phadke, Raja Paranjpe Master
Vinayak and others. Directors
like Ashok Mane churned out
films focusing on the widely
Raja Harishchandra (left top);

Sant Tukaram (middle) and
Shyam chi Ayee (left).

become better. For example,
Ankush Chaudhary’s Sade Made
Teen, released in November
2007 made with a budget of
Rs. One crore is reputed to have
earned more than Rs. 3 crore.
Today big corporates like Zee
Talkies and ABCL are interested
in investing in Marathi films and
promoting this genre of regional
film. Today, Marathi films have
successfully become a Rs. 100
crore plus industry.
Marathi films have often
represented India honorably
abroad. Valu, directed by
Umesh Kulkarni was the first
Marathi movie to be screened
at the International Film Festival
popular Marathi folk art Maati Maay (above). Valu (right top) and of Rotterdam. It was the only
Sade Made Teen (below).
form, the tamashas. Also in Indian film to be given four
vogue were traditional family In the 80s, Ashok Saraf, Sachin screenings at the festival and
dramas of Raj Dutt and Datta Pilgaonkar, Laxmikant Berde also received the Hubert Bals
Dharamadhikari, which told and Mahesh Kothare ruled Fund. Chitra Palekar’s Maati
stories of emotional conflict, in a the roost. Their comedies Maay, starring Nandita Das,
realistic environment. Rustic and sparkled on the silver screen. won the Prix du Jury Graine
urban audiences enjoyed both This was a different kind of Cinephage Award at the 30th
genres of films. entertainment, minus the double Cretil’s International Women’s
entendres of Dada Khondke Film Festival in Paris, France.
Later in the 70s, comedy with and proved exceedingly popular Marathi films have come a long
double entendres and earthy as grandparents could watch way from their fledgling days
jokes catered to another kind of these films even in the company of Dadasaheb Phalke’s silent
audience who loved this genre of their grandchildren. It was same environment. But Hindi cinema, in this case, just another era. With corporate houses and
even when it bordered on the soon after this that Marathi films had larger budgets, studio in Mumbai. cricket icons entering the field
vulgar. Dada Khondke handled theatre raced ahead of Marathi bigger stars, more audience, and awards galore, it surely
this format to perfection and cinema, with bold themes and greater reach. Marathi films It was only after a series of means a new era of success
had his audiences in splits. great acting. While Marathi with their niche audiences and conferences, airing of grievances, for Marathi cinema. The army
But some squeamish people plays earned accolades and therefore, low budgets faced and serious brainstorming that of ants it seems, have made a
frowned on these films as they appreciation, Marathi cinema tough times. The other regional things began to look better. State comeback into the squirrel’s
felt they would corrupt the struggled for recognition on the language films in their respective subsidies for Marathi films were den, but reconciled to sharing
young. Apparently the young fringes. states, like Bengal and South hiked upward; the government small tit-bits with the Hindi
did not mind it one bit, though India, apparently had more stipulated that multiplexes must monolith.
the family elders were extra- There was a reason for this. clout and prospered. Further, have substantial number of ◆
The author is a noted writer for films and
protective of their progeny who Marathi films were up against successful Marathi film stars Marathi film screenings to qualify TV serials.
were banned from seeing such the juggernaut of Hindi films, and technicians trotted over to for subsidies, etc. Following
films. which were nurtured in the the greener pastures of Hindi these incentives things have

Raj Kapoor
Raj was only eleven when he mile return journey to the same to see Jaddanbai), he could be
made his first film, Inquilab, in location the next day. But Raj just dismissed quite contemptuously
1935, where the stars were his carried on, and this time for good by Nargis. “A fat blue-eyed
father and Durga Khote. This was measure, caught the hero’s beard pinkie has visited me,” she told
THE ACTOR UNFORGETTABLE followed by a Debaki Bose film, in the clapperboard and it came her friend, Lettitia. Kapoor was,
After the Earthquake. Prithviraj off. Sharma lost his temper and on the other hand, awestruck.
was none too pleased when Raj, slapped Raj Kapoor in front of He later recalled, “She had been
having failed his matriculation, the whole unit. frying pakodas when I rang the
and struggling with Latin, told bell. And when she opened the
his father that he would rather Afterwards, Sharma felt wretched door she accidentally brushed her
learn from the university of life’, over his loss of temper and spent hand with basean (a yellowish
which meant going into films to a sleepless night worrying about paste) on it to cover her hair.”
produce, direct, and act. it. Raj was, after all, his friend’s Raj Kapoor was so overwhelmed
son and he was working for free. that he rushed back to the studio
Raj got a break in films with The next morning Sharma called and asked for Nargis to be written
Kidar Sharma in 1947. It was Raj into his office. It is said that into the script. He would never
Prithviraj who had persuaded his the marks of the slap could still forget the scene. More than a
friend, Kidar, to take on his son. be seen on Raj’s skin, although quarter century later in 1973, with
Sharma was filming Vish Kanya. this may be retrospective Nargis long out of Raj Kapoor’s
But as Sharma recalls, before imagination. What is undeniable, life and a new sensation, Dimple
giving the clap for the shot, Raj however, is that Sharma gave him Kapadia, being introduced in
would always comb his hair and a cheque for Rs. 5000 and signed the teen hit Bobby, there was a
pose in front of the camera and him up as the hero of his next scene in which Raj, played by
only then give the clap. That venture, Neel Kamal, which also
R aj Kapoor was undoubtedly the most complex man Indian cinema

has produced-a man who fell in love with his leading ladies, one of
whom not only inspired his studio but financed some of his early
films The eldest son of Prithviraj, Raj had such blue eyes and white skin
that often, while walking home from school, he would be mistaken for
day, Sharma wanted to take a
close-up as the sun was going
down and had told Raj not to
comb his hair for, if the sunset
introduced Madhubala to Hindi
cinema.
When Raj Kapoor came calling

Raj Kapoor’s son Rishi Kapoor,
goes to Bobby’s house and
she answers the door casually
dressed, her hair disheveled.
was missed, it would mean on Nargis at her flat, quite Raj Kapoor would later say,
a white boy and taken away to a restaurant and fed by whites, while
having to make a forty to fifty unannounced (he had come “Nargis was my inspiration, meri
his darker brother, Shammi, would sit outside the restaurant watching
his older brother gulp down the food. Early in life he suffered the sphoortti [my energy]. Women
Jagte Raho
sort of tragedy that might well have scarred him. Raj was about six have always meant a lot in my
when his four-year-old brother, Bindi, ate rat poison and died, while life, but Nargis meant more than
a second brother, Devi, also died a fortnight later, probably from anybody else. I used to always
pneumonia. Raj had to fetch his father, as Bindi lay dying. He would tell her Krishna is my wife and
never stop mourning his brothers. This may explain why, throughout she is the mother of my children.
his childhood, he craved food and was therefore, rather plump. I want you to be the mother of
my films.”
And it was in order to protect himself that he assumed the role of a
comedian: Raj Kapoor had admired many
a Hollywood director. However,
I soon picked up the most natural defence mechanism-the one used one man who towered over all
by all the great jokers of the world. I learnt that the more one resisted for Kapoor, and who was his
being a target, the more one suffered.
mentor for Awara, and all his
Prithviraj was already the great actor of Indian stage and screen by the other films, was Charlie Chaplin.
time Raj grew up. Raj Kapoor kept away from the stage because he Dev Anand described how he
feared being seen as his father’s son, whereas in films he could be his and Kapoor went to see Chaplin
own man. in Montreux. As Oona played on

the piano, they talked for three country-the downtrodden, the reaching out to millions around
hours, with Raj sitting on the man beaten for no fault of his the world, there was another
Indian Cinema: The Bollywood Saga by Dinesh Raheja (Roli Books)

ground in Chaplin’s backyard, own. What drew me to Chaplin’s Indian who would make an even
almost literally at his feet. They films was Chaplin himself; the greater impact on the world of
had come by bus and, as they hobo, the bum, the common man. cinema, what many would call
boarded the bus to leave, Anand I was not drawn to him so much the real cinema, as opposed to
says, “Raj kept looking back at because of his get-up but because the tinsel town of Bollywood.
the receding figure of Chaplin, of the simplicity-of the little man That was Satyajit Ray, now these
which got smaller and smaller. and his human emotions. How great men of Indian cinema fell
Raj raised his hand and shouted, he enjoyed life, even though he out badly. As it happened, the
‘Hey, little fellow, bye, bye. We was so poor. There was so much quarrel took place outside India,
love you.’ of Chaplin that affected me, the when both were being feted for
thought process behind all of his their movies.
Kapoor, who had seen all the
beliefs. I think his hobo was one
Chaplin movies would later say, Benegal takes up the story:
of the greatest characters ever
“What inspired me in his work
conceived.” The Bombay film industry always
was the little man and when
thought that Ray was not doing
I began my career then I saw The very title Awara (Vagabond),
Shri 420 right by India. Raj Kapoor and he
the little man all around in our tramp-had strong echoes of
had a big spat once. Raj Kapoor’s
Chaplin, as did the character Even Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s
film, Jaagte Raho, was directed by
Awara Raju, which Kapoor played Cancer Ward had a reference
Shambu Mitra, a famous Bengali
in a very Indian version, with to it, with the character Zoya
theatre director who had the
his trousers rolled up, wearing described as being much taken
same stature as Ray in cinema.
torn shoes, and a trilby, which by the film: “her whole body
Shambu made the fIlm and it
he doffed at everyone who writhing to the urge of the
won Raj Kapoor an award in the
passed by. Raj moved his lips as popular song she began singing
1964 Karolvy Vary film festival,
Mukesh sang ‘Awara Hoon… ’. from a recent Indian film. A-va-
the same year that Aparajito won
And the whole nation sang with rai-ya-ya! A-va-rai-ya-a-a!”
the Golden Lion in Venice. They
him. By the time Raj Kapoor was met up at some meeting where
being feted in Moscow, he was both were being felicitated.
It was the Marxist writer, Khwaja
on his way to making the film So Ray said it was a great
Ahmad Abbas, who had written which Satyajit Ray considered his recognition for Bengali cinema.
the Awara story .When Abbas best, Shri 420. The title itself was
proposed the idea to Raj Kapoor, Raj Kapoor said, ‘Why Bengali,
a Raj Kapoor joke. This film also
Hollywood was in the middle of are you not an Indian? Why do
displayed his nationalism in songs
its McCarthy witch-hunt against you say you are a Bengali film-
like ‘Mera joota hai Japani.’
communism. Awara was not maker?’
only a hit in India but a movie Kapoor had always used his
family in his movies. In Awara, Ray said, ‘I am a Bengali film-
that travelled the world-Turkey, maker.’
Iran, the Arabic world, and the judge was played by
Eastern Europe – creating box Prithviraj, the young Raj by his Raj Kapoor said, ‘Why can’t you
office records. Millions across the brother, Shashi, and the little boy say you are an Indian film-maker?
globe joined Indians in singing shown in the tide sequence, was For god’s sake.’
Rishi, his own boy. In Shri 420, ◆
Mukesh’s song of the Awara. Extracted from Bollywood: A History by
The Soviet Union is said to have his children played an even more Mihir Bose, Lotus Collection-Roli Books,
made a massive distribution of significant part. New Delhi, 2006.
Awara, dubbed into a number of While Raj Kapoor was becoming

its languages. the first Bollywood superstar and

Mr and Mrs Dutt By Namrata Dutt Kumar and Priya Dutt (Roli Books)
Nargis
THE LEGENDARY LADY OF INDIAN CINEMA
M om was given two names when she was born. Her Muslim
mother called her Fatima Abdul Rashid, while her Hindu father
named her Tejeshwari Uttamchand Mohanchand. But the world
knew her as Nargis. Fatima was born on 1 June 1929 in Calcutta. She
was the daughter of Uttamchand Mohanchand who belonged to a
wealthy Rawalpindi family, and the famous and talented thumri singer
Jaddanbai, who came from Chilbilla, a small village in Uttar Pradesh.
Mohan Babu was studying to be a doctor and was supposed to go to
London when he became entranced by Jaddanbai. It is said he heard
her singing, perhaps in Calcutta or Lucknow, and fell instantly in love.
In order to marry her, he became a Muslim and took the name Abdul
Nargis in Mehboob’s Mother India – a classic that became a watershed in the history
of Indian Cinema (facing page)

Rashid. However, throughout sect, who were said to have
his life, he was called Mohan fought alongside the family of
Babu. He was converted to Islam Prophet Mohammed in the war
by the famous freedom fighter of Karbala, way back in the 7th
Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad. century, when they were also
Mohan Babu paid a high price called “Hussaini Brahmins.”
for his love as he had chosen
to marry Jaddanbai despite the Mohan Babu and Jaddanbai had
outrage and protests of his family. a colourful and adventurous
Subsequently, he was disowned life full of song, music and
and disinherited by them. He was cinema, moving from Calcutta
a Mohyal Brahmin and, ironically, to Lahore, and then finally
when Mom married Dad, she settling down in Bombay on
also married a Mohyal Brahmin. the coast of the Arabian Sea in
So life had come a full circle in 1934, when Mom was five years
a span of just 30 years. This is old. Here, Grandmother set up
an extraordinary coincidence a production house and soon
because the Mohyals are a small became the first woman in India
to be a producer, scriptwriter, of Mom’s strength was inherited

music composer, actor and from her mother, she was also
singer. In no time an entourage in awe of her. After all, it was
of relatives and aspiring film Jaddanbai who supported the
stars mushroomed around her family through her film career,
and she became a huge film whereas Mohan Babu, alas,
personality in Bombay during the wasn’t good at business, despite
30s and 40s. Despite Jaddanbai’s having tried his hand at many
wealth and fame, Fatima was things. Yet he was happy to be
brought up in the Islamic faith, behind the scenes and remained
growing up in a close-knit family a pillar of support for his wife
atmosphere along with her two who had enormous skill and
older brothers, Akhtar and Anwar creative talent. Her achievements
Hussain. Young Fatima was were many at a time when having
known to all as Baby, though the a professional life was rare for
name on the door to the family’s a woman. Chateau Marine, the
home read Fatima Abdul Rashid. building on Marine Drive in
which she had a spacious ground
In contrast to Dad’s troubled
floor flat, was the hub of many
and difficult childhood, Mom
cultural activities and she actively
was brought up in great comfort,
promoted film-makers and
surrounded by domestic help and
musicians.
chauffeur-driven cars. She was
very close to her father who was Sometimes we feel distressed
a softhearted and happy-go-lucky to think Mom didn’t really have
Nargis in Mehboob Khan’s Taqdeer (right).
Her performances reflected natural and man. On the other hand, her much of a childhood. She may
modern style of acting (facing page). mother, Jaddanbai, was a strong- have lived in some luxury, but
Photographs courtesy: Mr and Mrs Dutt by
Namrata Dutt Kumar & Priya Dutt,
willed lady, a pivotal figure in when she was only five she had
Roli Books the household. Though much to start working, albeit in her

mother’s movies. From that early until the time her children came 1953), she had acted in 46 films
age, and renamed “Baby Rani” along? in the lead role. Coincidentally
for the screen, she continued it was once again a Mehboob
working for the next 25 years. Everything changed dramatically production, Mother India (1957)
Mom did manage to continue for Mom when she was cast as that completely changed Mom’s

her education till she was 14, the lead heroine of the aptly life both professionally as well as
attending school at Queen Mary’s named Taqdeer (Fate, 1943), personally. On the professional
in Nanachowk, South Bombay directed by the legendary front, the making of the film
where, because her name was Mehboob Khan. Mom was only marked the end of her long
Fatima, she was affectionately 14 and reluctant to abandon association with the RK Films’
called “Fatty”. A popular student, her studies, harbouring dreams banner; on the personal front,
she excelled in drama and sports. of becoming a doctor, a dream she met the man she would
Like her father, she once had her father had not fulfilled. But soon marry. In Mother India,
dreams of becoming a doctor Mehboob Khan thought of a ruse Mom plays Radha, the wife of
and shared with him a thirst for and asked her to come to the Shyamu, a farmer, while Dad
knowledge. She was a voracious studio merely to watch Motilal on was cast as her rebellious son
reader, and absorbed herself set. There, she was dressed in a Birju. This was a role he got by
in books and it was through sari by Mehboob Khan’s wife, the chance, as initially he was to
reading that she learnt much actress Sardar Akhtar, and before play the role of Radha’s eldest
about the world. But was the loss Mom knew it, she was handed a Another still from Taqdeer son, Ramu (eventually played
of childhood reflected in how page of dialogue and the great by Rajendra Kumar). But as luck
throughout her early years and cameraman Fardoon Irani, who shot. Mom impressed everyone. She was never resentful of her would have it, at the last minute,
later in adult life she collected coincidentally filmed her in her In an interview with Mohan Bawa role as breadwinner at an age the role of Birju fell into Dad’s
dolls from all over the world first film Taalash-e-Haq, took the (Actors and Acting, 1978), Mom when so many of her friends lap. Given the disparity in their
recalled this incident, adding were still enjoying the carefree status in the world of films – she
Raj Kumar and Nargis in Mother India that it was the first time she had pleasures of childhood. was an established star and he, a
ever worn a sari and so kept newcomer – they did not strike
tripping. One thing led to another Young Fatima, or “Baby” as up a friendship, though Mom was
and Mehboob Khan convinced she was fondly called, was always known to interact with the
her to opt for the movies. He escorted everywhere by her whole unit effortlessly. She never
believed the letter “N” was lucky driver Kasambhai and personal had airs and was never stuck
for him and changed her name to maid Ameenabai. When Mom up. Dad always described Mom’s
“Nargis.” was already a big star, Dad was presence as regal, “You couldn’t
still at college. In an interview, say anything frivolous around
It proved fortuitous for him and he recalled how each morning, her and whenever she entered
for her as well. Soon hoardings before attending college, he and the set everyone fell silent. It was
bearing her new name in his friends would sit on a Marine her charisma. Yet with all this,
glittering letters were seen all Drive parapet right opposite she was unusually simple and
over the country. Offers for film Chateau Marine where Mom unassuming.”
roles poured in and gradually lived, waiting for her white Railey ◆
Mom became the main provider to go by. Obviously she never Extracted from Mr and Mrs Dutt: Memories
of her parents, by Namrata Dutt Kumar &
for the family. From Baby Rani looked at them, but they waited Priya Dutt, Roli Book, New Delhi, 2007.
she had become the star Nargis for a glimpse of her and, as he
and won a large fan following, put it, “especially her gorgeous
but had lost her childhood car.”
forever. Mom, like Dad, had a
strong sense of responsibility and By the time she met Dad
felt happy when helping others. (probably sometime around

anywhere in the world. He is a Bachchan’s skill, says film-maker Kapoors. Harivanshrai would go
bigger star than anybody today Govind Nihalani, was that his to Prithviraj’s stage performances
on the planet, anywhere in acting summed up the mood and then, at the backstage
the world. As an actor, he is as of the nation as, in an earlier soirees, recite his poems which
respected as Olivier or Geilgud generation, Raj Kapoor’s movies Prithviraj liked. But when in
in Britain for the quality of his had done: 1969, Amitabh came to Bombay
performance. looking for work he did not make
Any kind of image attributed to
his way to R.K. Studios, preferring
an actor, like the Angry Young
Interestingly, the character to try and make it without “pull,”
Man, concerns not only that actor,
Bachchan played in his first as the Indians put it.
but also the environment that
movie success, Zanjeer, to an
prevails in that period of history Amitabh was brought up strictly,
extent reflected the political
in which people are functioning. which may explain why he
style Mrs Gandhi so successfully
adopted in 1969. This was of However, reflecting the times he was shy and had problems
a person who was part of the was born in, he was very nearly with simple tasks like entering
system but yet against it. The film given the name of Inquilab a restaurant on his own. This
would set the pattern for many of (revolution), having been born shyness was to plague him in
Bachchan’s movies that followed, on October 11, 1942, just as his early days as a struggling
and gave the films of the 1970s India was in the midst of the film actor. Once, he had to
the convenient short-hand title Quit India movement. Amitabh’s meet actor Manoj Kumar for an
of the decade of the angry father, Harivanshrai Bachchan, assignment, and Kumar asked
young man. Bachchan was the wanted to call his son Inquilab, him to come to the Filmistan
brooding loner, with very little but accepted poetess Sumitra Studios where he was shooting
time for song and dance, and no Nandan Pant’s suggestion of at the time. Every day for a
hesitation in taking the law into Amitabh, which comes from Amit week, Bachchan went all the
Amitabh Bachchan his own hands to ensure justice, and Abha .The Bachchans were way to the studio, only to falter
which the system had failed also well connected to the rising at the gates, unable to walk in,
to provide, was meted out to Bollywood establishment. His undone by shyness. Surprisingly,
THE ANGRY YOUNG MAN OF INDIAN CINEMA deserving criminals. family was very friendly with the despite his superstar status, and
after years in cinema and many
O n February 15, 1969, a gangly 27-year-old, uncommonly tall Zanjeer live programmes, he still admits
for an Indian, certainly for an Indian actor, arrived in Bombay to being extremely shy and an
determined to make it in movies and that very day he got his introvert, a trait that is often
chance. That film flopped, but success could not be denied to him; it mistaken for arrogance.
came four years later with a movie that was seen as a landmark new The family was not exactly rich.
film, and soon the star was to revolutionize Bollywood. That young Bachchan senior earned Rs 500
man was Amitabh Bachchan. It is tempting and quite feasible to write
a month and they neither had
the history of Bollywood since 1973, when Bachchan had his first
a fridge nor a ceiling fan and,
hit with Zanjeer, with Bachchan as its central character. Since 1973,
in the intense northern Indian
there has only been one actor. Even today, at sixty-four such is his
summer heat, his mother would
domination of Bollywood that, when he decided to play the teacher
flood the floor with water to cool
of a deaf and dumb girl in the movie Black, in 2005, he not only
the room and place ice slabs
produced a triumph, but a movie that charted new territory for both
before the rickety table-fan to
himself, and for Bollywood.
cope with the afternoon heat.
Shyam Benegal told me:
The Bachchans recall that there
There is not a figure remotely comparable, not just in Bollywood, but was never too much money for
in no theatre or cinema business do you have an equivalent figure entertainment, but the parents

gawkiness.” This was Bachchan’s
first real success, where he
had shown undoubted acting
ability.
The making of the film was

beset with problems. Pran, who
played the Pathan, a villain
who befriends the policeman as
he seeks justice, was in many
senses the central selling-point
of the film, being the established
star. But, on the first day of the
shooting, he threatened to walk
out when he discovered he had
to sing a song. The song and
the words had not been given
to him in advance and, having
been cast as the eternal villain
of Bollywood for almost three
Bollywood Today by Kaveree Bamzai (Roli Books)

Anand decades, it was well-known in
the industry that Pran Sahib,
clearly directed the children to recited his father’s verses all the as he was called, did not do
what they felt was wholesome time, a practice Madhu attributes songs and dances, and all that
entertainment. Calcutta did to the quality of Bachchan’s running round trees. Mehra
provide him more opportunities voice. When, in Shatranj Ke had to rush to Pran’s house to
for amateur dramatics. It was Khiladi, Satyajit Ray wanted plead with him, saying without
his brother, Ajitabh, who someone for the voice-over him the film would not work
encouraged Bachchan’s film narration, he turned to Bachchan, as Amitabh as a hero was not a
ambitions and took pictures of and his baritone voice became a bankable box office proposition.
him outside Calcutta’s Victoria character in that film. But it was Deewar that marked
Memorial, sending them to the Black his most successful period.
Filmfare-Madhuri talent contest. Bachchan deliberately decided Bachchan may have established
But nothing happened, and it to play the doctor who looks Khanna. Imagine him dying... it’s Bachchan’s performance won the brand of angry young man
seemed Amitabh’s life would after the dying cancer patient, an enormous thing... the nation him his first Filmfare Award with Zanjeer but it really took off
be a continual series of failures; Anand, played by Khanna in the will cry their hearts out for him.” for Best Supporting Actor but, in Deewar.
after all, the man who has film called Anand. Bachchan’s That, says Bachchan, is just what while critics finally took notice, ◆
happened. “The very fact that I’d Extracted from Bollywood: A History by
probably one of the best voices motivation was if he played off and were even complimentary, Mihir Bose, Lotus collection-Roli Books,
in Bollywood failed tests as an the super star he would get some been teamed with Rajesh Khanna, none of them thought he New Delhi, 2006.
announcer for All India Radio, attention. Mehmood, whose the greatest idol, gave me a would be anything other than
brother Anwar Ali had become semblance of importance and a strong character actor, at best
both in English and Hindi. The
a great friend-it was through respectability.” a 1970s version of Balraj Sahni.
problem always was he was
a “Lumbu,” just too tall for an him that Bachchan became a The last scene showed Bachchan, But, at least this was a change
Indian actor to have any front paying guest at the sprawling the brooding, sensitive, doctor from the relentless bad notices
line actress wanting to play Mehmood home and got to know watching as Khanna, who Bikram Singh, film critic of
opposite him. Off the screen Mehmood, acting in Bombay had borne his suffering with a The Times of India, gave him
he was still the well brought-up to Goa-advised him, “Design smile and shown great spirit in who, as Bachchan says “always
young public schoolboy. He your performance round Rajesh adversity, dies. harped on my gaunt face and

at outdoor stints. Through of the tatu kazhi on the having friends but because she
Khushboo, Kinara and later floor, which she describes as was extremely shy, she did not
Meera I have been privy almost hypnotic. Triveni Kala know how to cultivate them.
to many bonding moments Sangam was a prominent dance ‘When I saw other children
between the two women. There academy in Delhi and it was playing in the neighbourhood
was always a lot of banter considered a privilege to be I wondered what they laughed
on the sets when they were tutored by Guru Ramaswami about. I could not fathom their
together... She was the only one Pillai. Hema looked forward to joys and I am sure they found
I think with whom Hema had these classes, but she did not me equally baffling. There
her defences completely down. want to dance all the time. Like were times when I wanted to
other children, she wanted to be like them and play mischief,
What is intriguing about Hema
play; to stand by the window something that provoked my
is that her reserves build up
and stare at the passers-by, mother.’
just as suddenly. Strangers
to laze around and listen to
were always uncomfortable Today as a Member of Parliament
the gossip of the old women;
about being in her presence who frequently visits the
or simply tag along with her
and she did not make any capital, Hema often finds herself
brothers. However, her rigorous
effort to put them at ease. searching for that little girl she
routine allowed little scope for
She once confessed to me left behind in the familiar lanes
such indulgence.
that she tried not to be so of their old abode. It’s been
restrained but when in public, Hema was so well versed in over four decades now but
her body language altered by these dances that even if she Hema can still recall her sense
Hema Malini reflex action. I remember her

expression when she said so.
was just woken from sleep, she
could perform them with her
of wonderment and isolation. “I
was so withdrawn, almost living
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DREAM GIRL At that moment she had looked eyes closed. By then, slightly in my fantasy as a child. Our
and felt completely helpless. defiant, Hema insisted that house had a beautiful painting
sketched by Amma – of baby
T here are no doubts that in the history of Hindi cinema Hema

Malini has had the longest reign as a number one star. No
heroine before or after her has enjoyed her position or power
and it’s to her credit that she has never misused her superstardom.
On the contrary, despite several limitations and hurdles she has
With her classic Indian features
and fairly traditional grooming,
one associates her with a certain
conservative quality. It is only
she would dance only behind
closed doors. ‘Once inside my
room, I would loudly sing the
song and thump my feet on the
Krishna playing in Vrindavan.
We still have that painting in our
home in Chennai. This painting
for some strange reason
when you interact with her floor faking the impression that
pushed herself to the optimum level to explore varied mediums I was dancing, when in fact I always gave me great solace.
that you discover that she is
like television, direction and at the moment Parliament. was only doing the footwork Every time I was confused or
not only progressive but also
without the accompanying hand frightened, I imagined myself
The media projects her as a traditional woman but her choices in has a good sense of humour.
movements. being Krishna’s playmate in
life prove that she is more liberal than most of the slogan-shouting There is a natural grace to her
Vrindavan... It was a restless
feminists we know about. Her unconventional marriage could not that makes her travel through
She studied at the Madrasi phase. There was no reason to,
have occurred without her conviction to walk the path untrodden. fragile, complex experiences
Higher Secondary School along but I felt anxious... Time has
And the fact that she has been able to sustain this deviant with restraint and poise. Her
with her older siblings but abated all those fears. Today,
relationship tells a lot about her courage and endurance. life is about someone who has
had little interaction with her when I’m more reassured,
transformed every obstacle into
There is a side to Hema’s personality that is very gregarious and classmates. If she was not at I want to hold the little girl’s
an opportunity.
affectionate which she takes great care to not reveal to outsiders. school, then she was engrossed hand and protect her. I want
I have seen glimpses of her effervescence at my shootings. Her Hema cannot recall a defining in her homework. Moreover, to tell her, ‘Don’t be afraid...
closest companion those days was her aunt (her mother’s youngest moment, but she gradually when she finished her lessons, you had to endure all you did,
sister) popularly addressed as Shanta Aunty by Hema’s colleagues. began to enjoy dance. She she had to go for her dance because I had to emerge from
I called her Captain Aunty because she always wore the sun cap became addicted to the beat class. Sometimes she missed you’...”

lady with jokes. Soon the culprit
was caught, and the trolley
restarted. Says Hema, ‘Even
today, when I see the film, the
fear of that scene returns... It’s
funny how memories associated
with movies come rushing
when you see an old clipping
or a photograph.’
She was the reigning queen of
Hindi cinema and almost all
Hema Malini by Bhawana Somaaya (Roli Books)

the leading heroes of that time,
Dharmendra, Jeetendra, Sanjeev
Kumar to name a few, held a
torch for the dazzling beauty.
Sometimes there were innocent
episodes on the sets when the
co-star could not contain his
attraction and openly flirted
with her. Sometimes confessions
were subtler, expressed via
Hema Malini and Dharmendra scribbled notes and eye contact.
At times there were messages
As luck would have it, all the raja...’ was shot in a sky trolley sent through Hema’s personal
top banners signed up Hema at Rajgir situated 100 kms south- staff, make-up man and
for their films. She did Madan east of Patna. The actors had to hairdresser and on a couple of
Mohla’s Sharafat and Vijay travel by the ropeway, the only occasions there were serious
Anand’s Johnny Mera Naam, mode of transport to reach the proposals carried over by family
both big hits. About Johnny location, the Buddhist temple members or colleagues.
Mera Naam, she says, it was situated on the other side of the
Hema believes that there is
the right film at the right time mountain. On the way, director no dearth of stimulation in an
with the right cast. Dev Anand Vijay Anand spontaneously artiste’s life but the euphoria
and she starred in eight films decided to shoot a few lines on comes with a penalty. The
together after Johnny Mera the ropeway too. For a compact excitement brings along with
Naam released in 1970. Tere frame, he made Hema sit on it innumerable and unforeseen
Hema Malini by Bhawana Somaaya (Roli Books)
Mere Sapne in 1971, Shareef Dev Anand’s lap. The distance pressures. And nobody can help
Badmash, Chupa Rustam and to the destination was only a you ride out this turbulence.
Joshila in 1973, Amir Garib few minutes, but a prankster Still, the enchantment is worth
in 1974, Jaaneman in 1976, on location, switched off the it. Opportunity knocks on your
Sachche Ka Bol Bala in 1989 and current. The trolley came to a door once and your fortune is
decades later Censor in 2001, but halt and the pair was stranded in recognizing those chances.
somehow none could match the in mid-air. Hema, who has an ◆
magic of Johnny Mera Naam. inherent fear of heights, was
Extracted from Hema Malini by
Bhawana Somaaya, Lotus Roli,
Johnny Mera Naam’s petrified. To distract her, Dev New Delhi, 2007.
memorable song, ‘O mere Anand entertained his leading

Bollywood, making it next to would be very lucky – prophetic which was exactly what Shah
impossible for an outsider to get words as it turned out, of Rukh’s parents wanted for their
a toe into the Bollywood door. course. Home for the child Shah children. An incident that Shah
Today, he is the favourite of Rukh was at Rajinder Nagar, a Rukh has related in several
the industry’s top banners and colony in New Delhi, where he television and print interviews
many producers say that they and his elder sister Shehnaaz illustrates his solid middle-class
cannot imagine making a film were brought up by their father upbringing. When he was four
without him. It was a different Meer Taj Mohammad, a lawyer years old, he threw a rock at a
story when he started his career and businessman, and mother boy in his colony, who began
in films as an ordinary-looking, Latif Fatima, a magistrate and to bleed profusely. Later that
not-too-tall, mop-haired young social worker. Shah Rukh has night, the boy’s drunken father
man – nobody could have described his father in interviews came to Shah Rukh’s home with
predicted that he would be one as a 6.2 feet tall, good-looking a knife, threatening to kill the
of India’s biggest and highest man, with grey eyes and brown four-year-old, but Shah Rukh’s
paid superstars. Or maybe, it hair. Very well-read and well father did not turn a hair. Instead
was written in the stars... educated, with Master of Arts he sent Shah Rukh out to talk
and law degrees, he was fluent to the raging man, and the child
Shah Rukh Khan was born on
in six languages. He was also, in apologized to him, managing to
2 November 1965 at the Talwar
his time, the youngest freedom calm him down.
Nursing Home in New Delhi. He
fighter against the British
was born with the umbilical cord As a child, Shah Rukh was
colonialists.
entangled around his neck. The bright, naughty and fond of
nurse attending to his mother The young Shah Rukh was
Shah Rukh Khan

sports. He was weak in Hindi,
then remarked that this was a sent to study at St. Columba’s either scoring very low marks
sign indicating that the child High School, New Delhi, an or failing in the subject. Instead
THE KING-SIZE HERO was blessed by Lord Hanuman institution run by Irish priests of scolding him, his mother told
(the Hindu god worshipped who believed in discipline and him that if he got full marks in
I f it’s true that every age gets the hero it deserves, then Shah Rukh in the form of a monkey) and a high standard of education, Hindi, she would take him to
Khan is the hero of the globalized Information Age, with an image see a Hindi film in a cinema
Stills from Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (below & following pages)
that cuts across international boundaries to reach the Indian hall, something he had never
diaspora and fans all over the world. The term ‘superstar’ was coined experienced. The bait was
in Bollywood, for Rajesh Khanna. Amitabh Bachchan inherited the attractive enough for him to
title, earning labels such as Big B, Angry Young Man and Supremo and

work hard at his Hindi and get
then Shah Rukh Khan took over the crown, entering the Bollywood full marks. His reward, his first
hall of fame, with sobriquets of his own, such as King Khan, Badshah visit to the cinema, must have
(Emperor) Khan and King of Bollywood. triggered off the acting impulse
Most of Shah Rukh Khan’s films are moneyspinners even before they in the child, because Shah Rukh
are made, their success a foregone conclusion because he is the star Khan considers this experience a
playing the leading role, inviting almost maniacal adulation from fans. turning point in his life.
With about sixteen years in cinema to his credit, he is already a legend. In school, he was more
An icon as king-sized as Shah Rukh Khan would not be able to walk interested in sports, such as
down the street in any country where there is a Bollywood-crazy
cricket, hockey, football and
population, without being mobbed.
athletics, than in studies and
Beginning his acting career away from films, he is the only theatre hoped to become a sportsman
and television star who went on to become a movie superstar. He capable of representing
entered the film industry when the sons of earlier stars were ruling his country in international

the overseas circuit. Nostalgic-
for-home NRIs were enchanted
by the film – the portrayal of
Indian customs, rituals and
idyllic rural life, the values of
respect for elders and fidelity
in love as followed by Indians,
were irresistible – and since
then, all Shah Rukh Khan films
have done wonderfully well
overseas, where he has a huge
King Khan by Deepa Gahlot (Roli Books)
King Khan by Deepa Gahlot (Roli Books)

fan base.
The phenomenon has been
captured in an interesting
documentary, The Outer World
of Shah Rukh Khan, by British-
Indian filmmaker, journalist
and writer Nasreen Munni
Kabir, who followed Shah Rukh
and his star entourage on his
competitions. Electronics was on the playground prevented without bothering about whether MTV Youth Idol award, and Temptations World Tour in 2004.
one of his favourite subjects, him from taking up his first love his image as a married man more recently, the MTV Style Shah Rukh would be walking
which probably explains his as a career. He went on to join would affect his nascent career Icon Award. The actor who was down the street or into a hotel
ease with gadgets and gizmos the Master of Arts course at the as a film actor. considered not-too-handsome lobby like a normal tourist,
today. English was the other Mass Communication Research when he came into the industry, when suddenly an Indian would
Shah Rukh’s own mother died
favourite, which eventually led Centre, Jamia Milia Islamia in is now considered sexy and spot him, do a double take, and
in 1991, very shortly before he
to the theatre. He spent a few New Delhi, aiming to make good-looking. His face has in no time at all a group of fans
got married. He has often said
years with Barry John’s Theatre advertising films one day but acquired more character, his would be tailing him. This fan
that his one regret in life is that
Action Group in Delhi and acted could not get his degree because personality more charisma as he worship prompted a Guardian
his parents were not alive to
in a number of plays. It was of insufficient class attendance. has grown older, entering the writer to comment that he
see his wedding or success. In
Barry John, a British theatre dreaded forties, and yet there is makes “Beatlemania look like
In Delhi, while performing for November 1997, a son, Aryan,
director who lives and works an ageless boyish quality about a librarian’s convention,” And
both television and theatre, Shah was born and three years later,
in New Delhi, who told him he him. a security guard in Shah Rukh’s
Rukh was also wooing the pretty in May 2000, daughter Suhana
was meant for films. entourage on this tour adds:
Gauri Chibba, a Hindu girl. Shah was born, completing the family. About Shah Rukh Khan’s
“Even Brad Pitt would not get
Shah Rukh’s father died when Rukh is a Muslim, and because The star is as caring a father as youthful look, Yash Chopra
this kind of public adulation”.
he was only 15. His mother of the difference in religions, he is a husband, and all the free adds in an avuncular manner,
time he has is spent with his “He doesn’t do anything right, Karan Johar is sure that very
had to work hard to raise the Gauri’s family disapproved of
family. he smokes too much, he hardly soon Shah Rukh will begin
children, but never let them their relationship. Shah Rukh
sleeps, he eats anything, mostly directing films too. “He is
want for anything. After getting never gave up trying to charm In a relatively short career
chicken, still he doesn’t seem to buzzing with ideas all the time.”
through school, he joined Delhi her relatives – a real-life story span, Shah Rukh has won
University’s Hansraj College, very similar to his hit film age.” As Shah Rukh Khan enters a
every award possible (except
from where he graduated in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge the National Award), and was Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge new phase of his career, is
Economics. He played sports in (The Braveheart Will Take the awarded a Padma Shri in 2005, was a blockbuster, not just in everyone ready for surprises...?
◆
college too but a back injury and Bride). On 25 October 1991, by the Government of India, India (where it swept up the Extracted from King Khan by Deepa Gahlot,
knee problem sustained while Shah Rukh married Gauri, at the same time winning the major film awards) but also in Roli Books, New Delhi 2007

Law in Nikaah, rehabilitation of
prostitutes in Sadhana, widow
remarriage in Ek hi Raasta or the
hand of fate in Waqt. Each film
addressed some issue, its fallouts
and solutions.
Chopra reached the pinnacle

of his professional life with
the Dilip Kumar-Vyjayantimala
starrer Naya Daur (1957). The
film exhibited the Nehruvian
look to a newly independent
country and the responsibility
of its people towards nation-
building. Appreciating his
B.R. Chopra
directorial skills in the film,
Pandit Nehru wrote a letter to
him: “Last evening I saw your
A FILM MAKER FOR ALL SEASONS picture Naya Daur. Prince
Philip of England who is in
UPENDRA SOOD India wanted to see a good
picture on a village in India.
Somebody suggested the name
B aldev Raj Chopra, an M.A.

in English literature from
Government College,
Lahore migrated to India in
the wake of the Partition. The
B.R. Chopra formed his own
production company B.R. Films
in 1955 with the cherished
intention of making purposeful
cinema for family audiences. He
of your picture. I was very tired
and did not like to sit for three
hours but I thought I could be
with Prince Philip for a few
minutes and could come back
trauma of witnessing families made a significant contribution after the picture got going. But
victimised during the Partition to promote excellence in Indian the picture was so compelling
never left him and in all his films cinema, particularly towards that I sat through the whole
family bonds always found a fostering goodwill in society. film and enjoyed it thoroughly.
special place. A doyen of Hindi Each movie broke new ground The photography was excellent
cinema, he not only raised the winning critical acclaim and Scenes from Humraaz and the direction superb. The
medium to the position of a awards. He became the first
atmosphere of the village was
potent tool for social change but recipient of the National Award The eminent producer-director Substance was the hallmark. really very nice.”
also ensured that the subjects as Best Director for his film firmly believed that films were Under no circumstances, did he
were a commercial success. Humraaz (1968). He was also not merely about jugglery with compromise with the story. This At a time when interspersing
The cash box could never go conferred with the ‘Udyog Ratan money. A film, he believed, was largely because he himself 10 to 12 songs with the script
out of money at the cinemas on Award’ by President Giani Zail addressed itself to the society had started his career as a writer. was mandatory, he made the
a B.R. Film release. Superstars Singh in recognition of his and it was the duty of the Each movie broke some new songless Kanoon in 1960. This
like Dilip Kumar, Sunil Dutt, outstanding contribution in the film makers to make healthy ground whether it was adultery did not mean that Chopra was
Meena Kumari, Mala Sinha, field. Film making thus became and wholesome films with a in Gumraah, the politics of averse to songs and music. In
Vyjayantimala, Rajesh Khanna, recognised as an industry good story and social message. rape in Insaaf Ka Tarazu, fact, his films carried a number
Amitabh Bachchan always looked through the efforts of people The script, to him, was the the position of women in the of the finest songs in Hindi
forward to working with him. like him. yardstick for a successful film. context of Muslim Personal films with poets like Sahir

The late Eighties saw the arrival
of one of the most popular
TV serials, Mahabharat, by
him which spearheaded a
string of religious serials on
the small screen. He opted for
Dr. Rahi Masoom Raza to pen
the dialogues for the serial.
Many wondered whether it was
a good idea. But, Dr. Raza’s
dialogues turned out to be
the highlight of the serial.
Mahabharat became the first
Indian TV serial to enter the
Guinness Book of Records
for creating a world record
for having been seen by the
highest number of viewers. The
serial won many more awards
and became a hallmark in the
history of the small screen. The
nanogenarian and recipient of
the 1998 Dada Saheb Phalke
award had not lost his Midas
touch. Few know that the
superhit family drama Baghban
that he produced was his
brainchild.
Baldev Raj Chopra remained
Naya Daur (top) and Nikaah (above) Pati Patni aur Woh (top) and Baghban (above) true to his art and life till the
end. He passed away at the age
Ludhianvi and Yogesh coming several socially viable and it destroyed my dreams of a grounds. He played a major box of 94 in November 2008 after a
out with some of their best financial top grossers like Dhool joint family.” Dastaan (1972) office gamble when he gave prolonged illness leaving behind
poetic creations. Songs like Ka Phool (1959), Waqt (1965) and Karm (1977) failed at the Zeenat Aman, who was typecast B.R. Films as one of the most
Saathi Haath Badhana (Naya and the first colour multi-starrer box office. However with rare as a glamdoll till then, the role successful production companies
Daur), Chalo ek baar phir se production, Aadmi Aur Insaan determination, he embarked of a lifetime in Insaaf Ka Tarazu to have stood the test of time
(Gumraah), Aurat ne janam (1969) and Ittefaq (1969). The on his next directorial venture, where she played a rape victim equally known for its TV serials
diya mardon ko (Sadhana) and 70s saw BRs personal and the evergreen comedy film who guns down the offender. as well as for motion pictures.
professional life facing rough This film also saw the rise of Raj ◆
Dil ke armaan aasooyon me beh starring Sanjeev Kumar-Vidya The author is a noted TV programme maker
gaye (Nikaah) are timeless. One weather. After almost two Sinha, Pati Patni aur Woh. This Babbar and Deepak Parashar in and former Assistant to the late B.R. Chopra.
can see young girls and boys decades, Yash Chopra branched superhit brought the smile back tinsel town. The film became a
asking for the music CDs of the out and went on to make on his face. jubilee hit winning a number of
films in the market even today. films independently. This left awards. B.R. Chopra’s honesty
BR shattered. He was quoted Chopra did not restrict his of intention was palpable in
An association with his younger saying, “I was on sleeping yearning only to the stories, he everything he did with total
brother, Yash Chopra, yielded pills for six months because chose to venture into restricted commitment to the script.

Shyam Benegal the ‘subaltern subject’ in cinema,
a figure of importance in the
revival of revisionist history and
PROGENITOR NEW WAVE CINEMA cultural studies – and in whom is
embodied the idea of looking at

history from below. In October
S hyam Benegal is considered the father of parallel, or Indian

new wave cinema in India. Indeed, the history of this politically
conscious film movement with realist premises more or less
coincides with Benegal’s career span close to 30 years commencing
in 1974.
1988, during the Guardian lecture
at the National Film Theatre in
London, Benegal said:
“These themes of economic

Benegal’s films offer an ‘alternative’ history of India as well as an disparity, caste system – after
example of film-making practice from the margins. This is a history a while I saw them no longer
that challenges assumptions about national progress and provokes in a linear way, but in a much
considerations of the consequences of this development. Now more complex manner. I asked
55 years after Independence, while a younger generation celebrates am I just sloganeering – surely
consumer culture, Benegal still draws attention to realities of Indian life there is a deeper reality. These
that are airbrushed out of the rosy images conjured up by Bollywood themes have metamorphosed
for the benefit of a global market. And Benegal has been doing this into something else, not only
right from his first film. Ankur (1974) made use of the background do I look at the ‘other’, but
A still from Shyam Benegal’s Junoon.
of peasant revolt in Southeast India, while his latest project about somewhere I start looking at
the controversial leader Subhas Chandra Bose looks at the nationalist other parallel cinema directors. His style of film-making places myself and my own relationship
movement and the problems of leadership in the freedom fight. One of his strongest points him in the parallel cinema to my environment.”
Constantly drawing upon voices from the margins, Benegal has is his ability to gather people genre, although Benegal himself
Benegal is also both famed and
discovered some of the best acting talents in Indian films, a and keep them in a repertory is impatient with arbitrary
remarkable as a male director
veritable gallery of dramatic actors whose names have become of films, while maintaining a categorizing of cinema. Although
who places women at the centre
synonymous with parallel cinema – Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, democratic spirit in the unit. he began with independent
of so many of his films. He has
Naseeruddin Shah, Anant Nag, Om Puri and others. These Benegal’s production schedules producers, Benegal has also
unceasingly raised questions
performers appear and reappear as in a repertory company, exhibiting usually last between four and had his work produced by
about gender exploitation in a
unique strengths and talents from film to film and in the works of six weeks, during which time cooperatives and state ministries.
patriarchal society. His work
he prefers to take his entire unit He has been described as a
radically challenges middle-class
on location to interact with local maker of development films
morality and pre-conceived
people and improvise with the in the Nehruvian vision, but
notions of womanhood as ideal
script. the surprising variety of his
wife and mother, sometimes
work belies this statement. His
When he first moved to Bombay drawing censorious responses
increasing restlessness with
in 1963, Benegal turned down as he did with Ankur and
narrative styles has taken his
Bollywood: A History by Mihir Bose (Roli Books)
the offer to assist his cousin Guru Bhumika (1977). Mainstream

oeuvre beyond realistic linear
Dutt in his productions. He was industry wallahs condemned his
drama, and his familiarity
convinced that those were not subjects as un-Indian, whereas
with literature has often led
the films he wanted to make: feminists alleged that his female
to delightful experiments in
‘People make films according characters were portrayed too
narrative style and craftsmanship
to individual sensibilities. The much as victims. Yet the very
such as Kondural Anugraham
existing formal style was not credibility of his characters – so
(1977) and Suraj Ka Satwan
suitable – I had no wish to often doubly marginalized by
Ghoda (1992).
work on design-made films. But caste and gender – invests
eventually all work is part of the In choosing to tell stories of the them with deep dignity. In the
same river.’ oppressed, Benegal represents Guardian lecture at London’s

National Film Theatre in October directors in the year 1979. In the sexual repression in Kondura /
1988, when speaking to Derek 1970s, Benegal was being feted Anugraham (1977).
Malcolm, Benegal highlighted internationally for his work, but
Benegal himself is openly critical
another aspect of his empathy by by the mid-1980s he was accused
about films being reduced
pointing to the problems posed of being too pragmatic, making
to mere entertainment and
by virtuous female stereotypes films with careless speed.
their complete lack of context
Shyam Benegal by Sangeeta Dutta (Roli Books)

for the ‘woman’ in Indian society:
Where does Benegal stand in There is still a place for other
‘Her virtue is in being the good
relation to his predecessors? In stories and other ways of
mother, wife, sister – a set of
the 1950s and 1960s, the four big telling them. Benegal remains
essential roles woman has to
directors in Bombay films were the leading exemplar of the
play which is a terrible kind of
Mehboob, Raj Kapoor, Bimal countermovement that survived
oppression; a glorification not
Roy and Guru Dutt. Benegal’s into the 1990s and beyond, with
allowing the woman any choice.’
oeuvre comes closest in some his portrayals of real people and
Shyam Benegal has had a prolific respects to the concerns of Bimal concerns, as opposed to the
career, having made about 900 Roy, with their mutual interests escapist fantasy world offered in
films. Over 28 years, there have in class and gender themes and Bollywood films. Although new
been 20 features and several the linking of film and literature. Smita Patil and Amrish Puri in Bhumika cinema has been pronounced
television series, including the More frequently, Benegal has dead by some, Benegal continues
epic Discovery of India. The been considered a successor (IPTA) formed in 1943 by the unavoidable presence of to make films reflecting his
features are perhaps surprising in to Satyajit Ray. Ray’s Pather progressive writers, playwrights the powerful Indian commercial own sensibility. Benegal himself
their variety, from the politically Panchali (1955) was one of the and film people. film industry, against which his considers this decline in parallel
inflected early films to brilliant formative influences on Benegal’s He is probably the only practice could be said to have cinema and comments:
narrative experiments. Benegal’s ideas about cinema. And there is film-maker in India who has defined itself. As Ankur went
into production in 1973, the “Every movement has a certain
later work has not always much to link the two afterwards. consistently made films with
hugely successful teen romance peaking state, then it plateaus
matched the cinematic vision This tradition itself can also be stories outside the region in
Bobby, directed by Raj Kapoor, and starts to erode. Because
of the earlier works that led considered a development of the which he lives. While building
appeared on screens across these are really vanguard
the International Film Guide to aesthetic principles of the Indian on the tradition of those earlier
the country. At the same time, motions, directional movements,
cite him as one of the five best People’s Theatre Association filmmakers, he has also extended
Prakash Mehra’s Zanjeer (Chains) after which the job is done in
their concerns more deeply many ways. If it is worth it,
Sadhu Meher and Shabana Azmi in Ankur and widely throughout the marked the introduction of
Amitabh Bachchan as the angry then it gets absorbed into the
great variety of regional and mainstream. See for instance
national subcultures, dialects and young man. Nasir Hussain’s
Yaadon Ki Baraat (1973), a today’s film-makers like Rathnam,
traditions. Priyadarshan and Varma –
vendetta /lost-and-found story,
Benegal’s popularity in the their films offer accessible
was hugely successful in 1974
West is second only to Ray’s. entertainment and connect to
when Ankur was released. Both
Beginning with the stirring life. They would not have been
teen romance and the vendetta
Shyam Benegal by Sangeeta Dutta (Roli Books)
impact of Ankur in the Berlin possible without the influence of

films provide stark contrasts to
Film Festival and its European our kind of realism.”
Benegal’s work. There were ◆
distribution, Benegal’s films other contrasts, too. The family Extracted from Shyam Benegal by
travelled widely to international values represented by Yash
Sangeeta Datta, Lotus-Roli, New Delhi 2002.
festivals and markets. The Chopra’s Kabhi kabhi (1976),
eloquent director became one of with its romance, weddings,
the best cultural ambassadors of song and dance, seem a
India worldwide.
world away from Benegal’s
Looming over Benegal’s shoulder searing analysis of the tragic
throughout his career has been consequences of superstition and

the village of Dina in Jhelum was pulled out of St Stephen’s was completely at variance with
district before the Partition ripped College in the middle of his first Gulzar’s. The aspiring poet was
Punjab apart, had to ensure that term there and sent off by his told in no uncertain terms that a
all his near and dear ones got a father to the bustling western formal education and a degree in
fair chance to begin life afresh. Indian metropolis so that he Chartered Accountancy was to be
could find a long-term toehold his principal pursuit in Bombay.
The Life and Cinema of Gulzar by Saibal Chatterjee (Rupa & Co.)
Sardar Makhan Singh’s own
there for himself.
immediate family was large There were times when Jasmer
enough by itself. He had nine Gulzar’s elder brother, still a Singh could not contain his rage.
children – three from his first bachelor, had a single room What particularly rankled the
wife, one (Gulzar) from his accommodation in Parel, besides young poet was that these angry
second wife (who passed away a permanent room in the admonishments would often
when her son was only an downtown West End Hotel. Gulzar be delivered in the presence of
infant) and five from his third moved into the room in Krishna other family members and even
and current marriage. The influx Nivas, Parel, central Bombay. He outsiders. Words like nikamma
of duress-driven relatives only had already begun to contribute (good for nothing) and anpadh
added to the strain. poems to Urdu magazines like (illiterate) were constantly hurled
Beesvi Sadi and Shama. at him both by his father and his
In mid-1949, another quirk
brother.
of fate impacted Gulzar’s life. Jasmer Singh, like any concerned
The budding poet, having just elder brother, probably had the When his patience ran out on
completed his matriculation from interests of his younger sibling one particularly bitter occasion,
Delhi United Christian School, at heart, but his outlook on life Gulzar snapped back at his
Gulzar
THE VERSATILE MAN AND HIS WORLD
Gulzar with Suchitra Sen during the making of Aandhi
G ulzar’s significance as a
filmmaker stems from the
singularity of his vision. In
a movie industry that is propelled
A voracious reader, he would
devour any literary material
that he could lay his hands on.
For, if anything, he wanted to
be a writer. The Partition of
largely by the desire for making
a box office killing, he dares to India in 1947 unleashed forces
make films for the love of making that turned the family’s rented
them. He tells stories because accommodation in old Delhi’s
he has tangible insights to share Sabzi Mandi area into a veritable
with his audience. He writes refugee camp. During those
lyrics because he is a poet forever cataclysmic years, Gulzar lived in
keen to give free rein to his this house with his stepmother,
imagination. Gulzar is also one having relocated from a small,
of the Mumbai film industry’s last idyllic west Punjab village where
surviving links with the golden he had spent his early childhood.
era of Hindi cinema. He carries The patriarch of the Sikh family,
within his artistic persona the Gulzar’s businessman father,
seeds that were sown by mentor Sardar Makhan Singh Kalra, who
Bimal Roy. had the foresight to migrate from

elder brother: “Ek din aapke bal Mr Bakshi was only too happy to The bewitchingly lilting Mora
bachche meri kitaabe padenge leave Gulzar to his own devices. gora ang lai le/Mohe shyam rang
(One day your children will read That suited the poet fine: the dai de was born after five days
my books)”. As it has transpired, administrative work that he of concerted effort. When the
he wasn’t wrong. had to do at the garage wasn’t song was ready, Gulzar recited
particularly taxing or time- it to S.D. Burman. The latter was
The inflexible ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’
consuming. hugely pleased with the young
laid down by his brother soon
poet’s effort. Having secured
began to smother Gulzar. Gulzar Through Debu and Basu,
the music composer’s approval,
was left with no option – he Gulzar also met the gifted Salil
Gulzar told him that he would
walked out of his brother’s house Chowdhury. He had become now show the song to Bimalda.
and took up a room in the a member of the Progressive
remote suburb of northern Writers Association (PWA), a Sachinda asked Gulzar: “Tumhe
Bombay, Four Bungalows, body of modern litterateurs that gaana aata hai (Can you sing)?”
where his house was shared by was headquartered in poet Ali “No,” Gulzar replied, “I cannot.”
Debu Sen, a Bengali language Sardar Jafri’s house. Gulzar was So Sachinda forbade Gulzar
journalist who went on to also an active participant in to take the song to Bimal Roy.
become one of the assistants of the proceedings of the Punjabi “I will sing it to him myself,”
leading filmmaker Bimal Roy. Sahitya Sabha, an organisation was his diktat. It was during
Basu Bhattacharya was a close that counted such towering these sittings that Gulzar first met
friend of Debu’s and, therefore, personages as Rajinder Singh S.D. Burman’s son, Pancham –
a frequent visitor to the Four Bedi and Balraj Sahni among Rahul Dev Burman to the world
Bungalows bachelor’s pad. its members Gulzar also moved – who was to become a lifelong
into the folds of the leftist Indian friend and professional associate.
Gulzar abandoned his education
Peoples’ Theatre Association Gulzar with ‘Pancham’
by the end of the second year As luck would have it, Burman
(IPTA).
in college. But if he had indeed patched up with Shailendra
opinion and they were not on Gulzar’s reply was a prompt and
acquired a degree, Gulzar might It was Gulzar’s continuing after Mora gora ang lai le was
talking terms. Work on the film’s unequivocal no. His intrinsic
have ended up as a teacher in brushes with staunch Communist recorded and Gulzar was in
musical score had come to a aversion to a career in films was
some nondescript school or intellectuals – and his own urge grave danger of being left out in
standstill. still intact.
college. Fate obviously had other, to wear a hat – that led to his the cold. But Roy had a highly
far bigger plans for him. discarding the turban that he Bimal Roy ordered Debu Sen So the Bandini stalemate acute sense of fairplay. He was
wore until then. to look for a new lyricist. continued. A desperate Debu convinced that it would be
Gulzar made another crucial
Debu could not obviously see sent word to Shailendra himself, unethical to cut Gulzar out of the
shift: he joined a motor If the occasional ridicule heaped
beyond Gulzar. Gulzar was seeking his intervention. scene completely after he had
garage at Bombay Central as upon him by his family members
duly summoned. Pointing to the Shailendra knew Gulzar because bailed out the Bandini unit at
its administrator. The owner was disheartening, the company
poet, the avuncular Roy asked of their common association with such short notice.
of Vichare Motors, Sudarshan of his friends was a constant ◆
Debu in Bengali “Bhadralok ki the Bombay Youth Choir. When Extracted from Echoes & Eloquences:The Life
Bakshi, was a frequent visitor to source of hope and sustenance
Vaishnav kobita jaanen (Does the established lyricist heard that and Cinema of Gulzar by Saibal Chatterjee,
Jasmer Singh’s paint shop and he for the young man. It was just Rupa, New Delhi, 2007.
the gentleman understand Gulzar’s reluctance sprang from a
was familiar with Gulzar. one such friend, Debu Sen, who
Vaishnavite poetry)?” Debu smiled disdain for film industry folk, he
introduced him to Bimal Roy.
Gulzar had a way with paints and told Bimalda that Gulzar was indignantly confronted the latter:
just as much as he did with Roy was making Bandini at the conversant with Bengali. The “What do you think you are? Do
words. Precision was an essential time with Ashok Kumar and veteran director was distinctly you think everybody who works
prerequisite for a car painting job Nutan in the cast. The film’s embarrassed. He turned to the in films is a fool?” The words
and Gulzar never failed to get music director Sachin Dev twenty-something poet and stung Gulzar to the quick. He
the composition of colours and Burman and lyricist Shailendra asked: “Gaana likhna hai (Do relented and agreed to write the
shades right. had had a serious difference of you want to write a song)?” song.

completely broke away from his father’s established set-up and
Director’s Cut formed his own team of talented youngsters. The result was the
film, Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (QSQT), inspired by Shakespeare’s
THE ONES THAT BROKE THE MOULD… Romeo and Juliet, which took the box-office by storm in 1988,
breaking the stranglehold of the action-vendetta syndrome which
RAUF AHMED
had held sway in the Amitabh Bachchan era.
The success of QSQT emboldened more young filmmakers to
I n the mid-80s when Amitabh Bachchan’s larger-than-life

presence had faded out of the Hindi screen in a huff, Bollywood
was left gasping for a new icon, a fresh formula to replace
the ‘Angry Young Man saga’ he had sustained for more than a
decade. The me-too incarnations epitomised by the likes of Mithun
go against the tide. The new order worked on the belief that
audiences no longer entered cinema halls just to drool over their
idols. They were looking for exciting diversions. Mansoor was
followed by Sooraj Barjatya. Like Mansoor, he chose to go against
Chakraborty and Anil Kapoor could not really recreate the magic at the tide of action-based films to make a teenage love story, Maine
the box office. Pyar Kiya in 1989. With an unknown heroine, Bhagyshree, and a
reluctant hero, Salman Khan, the director in his early 20s turned
The situation called for a drastic reorientation. That’s when a steady an innocuous love story into a blockbuster. He followed it up
progression of newcomers – actors, directors and technicians – with Hum Aapke Hai Koun, which went on to rewrite box office
most of them in their twenties, saw their opportunity and began history, surpassing even the unprecedented collections of the ‘70s
taking over every aspect of filmmaking in Bollywood. The blockbuster Sholay.
enterprising new breed represented more than just a generational
A year later, Aditya Chopra, came up with another simple, youthful
change. They represented a paradigm shift in Bollywood. They
film without sex and violence, to rewrite box office records!
cleverly and successfully rewrote the conventional script of the
Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayege made intercontinental romance a fad
Hindi cinema to give it a new dimension. The ‘new cinema’ of
and its success prompted even Aditya’s father veteran filmmaker
the new order simultaneously pleased the critics and the majority
Yash Chopra to change tracks in his new film Dil To Pagal Hai,
audiences without outraging conventional cinematic values. In
which introduced jazz ballet and Shiamak Davar to Hindi cinema.
this new order, stars weren’t seen as box office gods. Instead,
Even Subhash Ghai, a die-hard adherent to the conventional form
well-written scripts and imaginative presentation formed the
and formula, was shaken into making a Pardes and Taal.
bedrock of success.
From the same Yash Chopra School, emerged another wonder
The first to break the mould was a US-educated computer wizard, kid, Karan Johar in 1998. His Kuch Kuch Hota Hai brought to life
Mansoor Khan. Though he hailed from a “filmy” family, Mansoor a fantasy world inhabited by beautiful people who slugged Pepsi
Mansoor Khan Sooraj Barjatya Aditya Chopra Karan Johar Nikhil Advani Vidhu Vinod Chopra

A MELODIOUS
MELANGE
SHARAD DUTT
T he Hindi film industry has kept its links with music right from
the very first talkie to contemporary works. Before the advent of
the Talkies, live music was played in cinema halls. When Khan
Bahadur Ardeshir Irani produced Alam Ara, the first talkie, in 1931, a
revolution of sorts took place in the field of film music. The film had
seven songs and Wazir Mohammad Khan became the first playback
singer of Hindi films with his Dede Khuda Ke Naam Pe Pyaare.
Ram Gopal Varma Rajkumar Hirani Farhan Akhtar The very next year, renowned classical vocalist Vinayakrao Patwardhan
sang and acted in the film Madhuri and, for the first time, four records
from cans, dressed like hip his gifted assistants, Rajkumar came into the market. It was New Theatres that created the two
MTV veejays and married their Hirani. He blooded another of sensational singing stars: Kundan Lal Saigal and Kanan Devi. Saigal
campus sweethearts without his assistants, Pradeep Sarkar, as became the superstar of the 1930s after the release of Devdas in 1935.
their parents talking caste or a full-fledged director with the Balam Aye Baso More Man Mein and Dukh Ke Din Beetat Nahi from
class. Johar not only made sensitive Parineeta. Devdas and Kanan Devi’s songs Ae Chand Chhup Na Jana and Duniya
films but also introduced other Toofan Mail became a craze among music lovers.
The Bollywood of the
talented youngsters like Nikhil millennium has given us stars Another studio that made a mark in the field of film music was
Advani and Tarun Mansukhani. like Farhan Akhtar. His debut Prabhat Film Company of Pune. Bombay Talkies owned by Himanshu
Today, Johar is among the film Dil Chahta Hai (2002) Rai discovered Saraswati Devi (Khursheed Minocher Homji) who
most influential filmmakers in set Akhtar apart as the most composed music for its films. She used the voices of Devika Rani and
Bollywood . innovative of the emerging Ashok Kumar in the famous song of Achhut Kanya, Main Ban Ki
young directors. He surprised Mughal-e-Azam
The Bollywood of the late
everyone by switching to acting
nineties also saw re-emergence
in Rock On! and even singing
of two exceptionally talented Zoya Akhtar in it. He came up with another
men: Ram Gopal Varma and
impressive performance in Zoya
Vidhu Vinod Chopra. Ram short non-fiction film category.
Akhtar’s Luck By Chance.
Gopal Varma redefined the Though not always so lucky
concept of the Bollywood at the box office, Chopra’s Today, in the afterglow of
100 Bollywood Films by Rachel Dwyer (Roli Books)

heroine with his Rangeela, and films have stood out for their Slumdog Millionaire, there is
then redefined the concept individuality and cinematic a lot of attention on directorial
of film making in Bollywood values, like the Amitabh talent in Bollywood. As the
with his “factory approach” to Bachchan starrer, Eklavvya world’s largest film industry
creative work. On the other (which was India’s official entry matures into international
hand, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, was to the Oscars in 2006) and the production values, the onus will
a film studies graduate whose two Munnabhai adventures be on the brood of directors
talent was never in doubt. His which he produced. Only a to take Indian films to global
An Encounter with Faces was filmmaker of his predilections heights.
◆
the first ever Indian film to be would have backed the last The author has served as Editor of several
nominated for an Oscar in the two films directed by one of film magazines.

Chidiya which became an instant The 1940s witnessed music in Bhartrihari, especially Duaaen Kyon Maangu. The other his best was yet to come. Baiju Rang De Basanti.
hit. Anil Biswas, gave memorable amalgamation of folk music with the song Chanda Des Piya Ke Pas hit song of this film Chanda Ja Re Bawra (1952) bagged him the
and Roohi Roohi Dil Mein have
music in the early films of Hindi film music. Master Ghulam rendered by Ameerbai Karnataki Ja Re was sung by Lata. Naushad first Filmfare Award. Naushad
made an ever-lasting impression.
Mehboob Khan, most notably Roti Haider introduced folk music and a duet sung with Surendra Ali made his debut with Prem will always be remembered for
The late 1940s witnessed the
and Aurat. Later on, he composed and gave a break to Shamshad Bhiksha De De Maiya Pingla, Nagar in 1940, but it was his use his music in Shabab (1955) and
emergence of S.D. Burman and
popular music for Kismet (1943). Begum in Khajaanchi (Saavan became chartbusters in the 1940s. of folk music in Ratan (1944) Mughal-e-Azam (1960).
Shankar-Jaikishan. With them
Its patriotic song, Door Hato Ae Ke Nazaare Hain Aaha Aaha), that created waves. Its songs,
Khemchand Prakash’s music in Naushad introduced Mohammad came a new batch of lyricists.
Duniya Walo created waves and Noorjahan in Khandan (1942) especially Ankhiya Milake sung
Mahal mesmerized the entire Rafi, Suraiya, Shyam Kumar and Majrooh Sultanpuri, Sahir
some of its other songs such as and Lata Mangeshkar in Mazboor by Zohrabai Ambalewali, was
nation and its song Aayega Uma Devi (Tuntun) to film music. Ludhianvi, Rajinder Krishna,
Dheere-Dheere Aa Re Badal and (1948). Pandit Amar Nath a great hit and could be heard
Aanewala became the hallmark He worked with K.L. Saigal in Hasrat Jaipuri and Shailendra
Ghar-Ghar Mein Diwali Hai too composed memorable music for in every household. Naushad
of Lata Mangeshkar’s singing. He only one movie – Shahjahan belonged to this crop of lyricists.
became great hits. Anil Biswas film Dasi. Khemchand Prakash gave memorable music in Anmol
introduced Mukesh and Talat gave music in Tansen starring also introduced Kishore Kumar Ghadi, Shahjahan (1946), Mela – but its songs Jab Dil Hi Toot The credit of introducing Western
Mahmood. K.L. Saigal and Khursheed. His in Ziddi with a song Marne Kee (1948) and Dillagi (1949). But Gaya, Gham Diye Mustaqil music goes to C. Ramachandra.

Do Bhigha Zamin, Madhumati, Sun Sun Sun Sun Jalima with too became a hit. After Dil
Parakh’s music which he Md. Rafi in Aar Paar and Mr. and Se’s number Chal Chhaeeya
composed for Bimal Roy remains Mrs. 55? Nayyar used Punjabi folk Chhaeeyan, Rahman has never
immortal. brilliantly (Ude Jab Jab Zulfein looked back. After Lagaan, Taal,
Teri and Reshmi Salwar Kurta Rang De Basanti and now with
Jaidev also emerged as a

Jali Ka). Slumdog Millionaire A.R. Rahman
promising music director in the
has proved that he is the best.
mid-Fifties. With the music of The music of 1950s and 60s
Hum Dono, Mujhe Jeene Do and belonged to a golden era, while The 21st century music composers
Reshma Aur Shera, he enlivened the music of 1970s struggled to – Ismail Darbar and Shantanu
the music scene but it was create its own identity. Moitra – have brought the melody
short-lived. back. Monty Sharma, in Sawariya
The fourth generation of music
(2008) and Vishal-Shekhar in Om
O.P. Nayyar did a hatrick with directors comprise Bappi Lahri,
Shanti Om have given hopes to
Aar Par, C.I.D, and Mr. and Mrs. Rajesh Roshan and A.R. Rahman.
music lovers that melody will
55. Geeta Dutt sang her best Rahman offered a new kind of
remain the queen of film music.
for O.P. Nayyar. Who can forget a music. A song from the film, ◆
Dil Chahta Hai (above) and Lagaan (facing page). the lilting tunes Babu Jee Dhire Dil Hey Chhota Sa, became an The author served with Doordarshan
and is a noted writer on cinema winning
Chalna and Ye Lo Main Hari Piya instant hit. Rangeela was his National Award for Best Author twice.
Songs like Aana Meri Jan Sunday all sung by Lata Mangeshkar. and Udhar Tum Hasin Ho and first Hindi film and its score
Ke Sunday in Shehnai (1947), Khayyam staged a comeback with
Mere Piya Gaye Rangoon in Yash Chopra’s Kabhi Kabhi and
Patanga and Ina Mina Dika in received his crowning glory with
Asha (1954) offer a glimpse into Umrao Jaan and Razia Sultan in
his versatility. 1980s.
Shankar Jaikishan made their In the 1950s , Roshan composed
debut with Raj Kapoor’s hits for Kidar Sharma’s Baware
Barsaat and thus began a long Nain. In this film he used folk
journey with the RK banner music in the song Sun Beri
that threw up hit after hit up Balam Sach Bol Re Ib Kya Hoga.
to Mera Naam Joker. The duo His composition Mujhe Sach Sach
composed lovable music for Bata Do (Mukesh and Geeta),
Dilip Kumar’s Daag (Ae Mere Dil Teri Duniya Mein Dil Lagta Nahi
Kahin Aur Chal) sung by Talat (Mukesh) were written by Kedar
Mahmood in 1952. Sharma himself and still flash in
Ghazal was a less popular the memories of music lovers.
genre in film music till Madan If Shankar Jaikishan were loyal

Mohan came on the scene. His to Raj Kapoor, S.D. Burman and
compositions in Adalat (1958) later R.D. Burman remained with
Unko yeh shikayat hai ki and Yun Dev Anand till the end. Sachin
hasraton ke daag sung by Lata Dev Burman gave memorable
and in Dekh kabira roya (1957) music for Bimal Roy’s Devdas,
Humse aya na gaya sung by Talat Sujata and Bandani. He also
Mehmood became memorable made compositions for Guru
ghazals. He composed classics Dutt’s Pyasa and Kagaz ke Phool.
like Mai ree kaise kahoo, Hum
hai mata-e-koocha o bazaar Salil Chowdhary’s music was
ki tarah and Baiyan na dharo a blend of the east and west.

Touching
the heart and mind
Then came the mythologicals,
historicals, family dramas and
the biographicals, each with its
ko (A woman gives birth to
man and he puts her in the
market place)” and “Jinhe naaz
film people being amused about
“Hawaon pe likh do hawaon
ke naam”. The populistic
with words of own type of lyric and music. hai Hind par woh kahan hai Anjaan and later his son Sameer
song
There were cheer-boosters and (Where are those people who along with Anand Bakhshi and
pain-relievers in lyrics crooned are proud about India)” echoed other recent ones are like the
by Saigal, Ashok Kumar, the plight of Indian women. On modern ballad writers of today’s
Devika Rani, Kanan Devi and the other more popular front, common man and woman.
FIROZE RANGOONWALLA faith-cures in the ‘abhangs’ of the Shailendra and Hasrat ‘Jodi’ Some have even moved down
V. Phadnis of Sant Tukaram, did wonders for Raj Kapoor to the ‘disco-khisko’ youngsters
T
he “word” is eternal… singing Raj Kapoor’s “Awara of Prabhat Films. Similar films and folklore too in Teesri attached to re-mixes, with noisy
it remains… long after hoon” in accented tones. And gems were penned by Arzoo Kasam. instruments.
everything else has in the gullies and bylanes of Lucknow and Kidal Sharma
O
f course, some of the Bells have tolled for the lyric
passed. The ‘shabda’, ‘alfaaz’ Delhi, where Hindi-Urdu is from the New Theatres banner.
most memorable verses to be devalued and made
or ‘Kalaam’ of the good film the lingua franca, the words Ever-lasting ‘mukhdar’ by were written for the inaudible by loud synthesised
lyric lasts much after the film, are interchanged to suit the Shakeel Budayuni and Majrooh two epics, Mother India and music. You can only swing and
its stars and other components singers’ own urges, fancies and Sultanpuri throbbed in all Mughal-e-Azam by Shakeel. sway to the tunes of wizard
have been forgotten. situations. youthful hearts. “Hum aaj kahin Patriotism had its lyrical A.R. Rahman but cannot catch
Indians have a weakness Our lyric writers from the first dil kho baithe (Today I lost my outbursts in veiled freedom the words if you want to sing.
for the song and poem. talkie onwards have grasped heart somewhere)” and “Tu fights against the British rule: Even from the Slumdog song
This is a mindset; sourced this aspect of the lyric and have kahe agar jeevan bhar (If you “Dur hato ai duniyawalon you can only pick up “jai ho”
from India’s deep heritage played upon it. As is to be say, I will croon songs all my Hindustaan hamara hai (Move and little more. How much have
of literature and culture. We expected from a society infused life)” from Mehboob’s Andaz out you people of the world, lyrics changed from the metallic
take the lyric home… to with religion like India, the have gathered an evergreen India is ours)”. Poet Pradeepji’s words of Modi’s Mirza Ghalib
our heart, mind, soul, our first recorded film song was: appeal. The movie mughal Quit India call aroused our or of Umrao Jaan done by the
relationships, our drawing “Dey dey khuda ke naam pe himself in his naive way used nationalism and he inspired elusive Shahryar for Muzaffar
rooms, kitchens and Indian pyare (Give in God’s name if a couplet for his banner logo: children too with “Iss mitti se Ali’s film! And does not a
Idol stages. you have the power, my friend. “Wohi hota hai jo manzure tilak karo” from Jagriti. He cheerful Dev Anand lip-moving
Lyricist: Joseph David, Alam khuda hota hai”, linking could also drive us to tears over to “Main zindagi ka saath
The process of identification
Ara)”. But it was the romantic hammer and sickle with total martyrs. It was a case of writer, nibhata chale gaya” still bring a
works strong and fast with
lyric in the tales of legendary reliance on God for whatever not the singer, over the classic spring to your step?
the lyric, especially in Hindi-
lovers, which became the happens. “Ai mere watan ke logon”. The
Urdu. It may not even be Any guesses which type of
most popular. Films like Shirin evoking of sadness was not so
understood deep down in the Sahir Ludhianwi’s leftism lyrics will last the longest in
Farhad, Laila Majnu, Heer much for the voice but words
southern parts of India, or was stronger and more bitter collective public psyche?
Ranjah, turned from stage-plays like, “Remember those who did ◆
vast swathes of Central Asia or (‘talkhiyan’). So too his social The author is a film historian and author of
into films, became super-hits not return home”.
China. But it is repeated and comment: “Rehne ko ghar several books on Indian films.
hummed long after cinema, in 1931-32 due to their profuse nahin hai, sara jahaan hamara In later years, Gulzar and Javed
radio or TV have stopped content of songs. The craze (Cannot get a house to stay, Akhtar adopted a sensitive and
transmitting or broadcasting. peaked with 70 songs in Indra the whole world is ours)”. tender approach. Gulzar had his
I have heard a Japanese lady Sabha. “Aurat ne janam diya mardon home-made touch. I remember

INTERVIEW
expanding my experiences, being connected with the real world, not

feeling insecure as I am not in any race and having the freedom to
live life on my own terms has been well worth it. I have instinctively
anchored towards projects that I could relate to, that resonated with
my interests, concerns and dilemma. There have been some films
that didn’t turn out the way I had imagined them to. But I am happy
that I at least made those choices for honest reasons. What I look for
is a good script, a director who can translate that into an interesting
cinematic experience and a role that’s challenging and relatable. Often,
all these things don’t come together as there are many factors involved
in film making. All said and done, it is a gamble. But, the only thing
I can confidently say is that the criteria for choosing a film has not
been based on any other reason other than the ones mentioned above.
You seem to gravitate towards regional directors, is it because
of greater realism in that cinema?
I have never classified films as art or commercial, Hindi or regional.
I do films that resonate with my sensibilities, in which ever genre it
Nandita Das directing Naseeruddin Shah for her first film Firaaq.
Nandita Das
Your father is an artist and your mother a writer. How much
did their artistic nuances influence your personality?
When you grow up with a certain artistic sensibility it becomes part of
you as it is deeply internalized. As a child our forms of entertainment
were going to classical music concerts, dance performances,
exhibitions… in fact never films! I am sure all those exposures have
become part of our sub-conscious sensibilities. I am sure they helped
me in making Firaaq, as filmmaking requires working with different
art forms. Also my parents gave us (my brother and I) a lot of freedom
to ask questions and make our own decisions. That freedom and space
we got definitely has a big impact on the choices we are making in
our life.
What are the parameters you keep in mind while accepting a
role?
My decision of doing selective films, in languages other than Hindi, or
to live in Delhi and not in Bombay, was an explicit choice. Of course
you gain some and lose some. But what I have gained, in terms of

The journey of making Firaaq
has pushed my boundaries
and by this I don’t mean only
creatively. As an actor one
doesn’t realize how much
more goes into a film than just
the shoot. Also having gone
through this experience I feel,
a film is not the sum total of its
parts. Directing entails making
choices and decisions at every
step and taking responsibility
for all its aspects. There are
100 odd people who work on
the shoot and as a director,
you become like a parent! Also
the post production has many
technicalities and learning all
of that on the job, was both
challenging and exciting.
Being an actor myself definitely
helped my interactions with
the actors in the way one could
communicate to them. On the
sets as an actor, it was always
exciting to watch the rest of the
crew work towards shaping up a
scene. Often I would get involved
in different aspects of the shoot
or simply observe. Slowly the
desire to tell stories, the way
I wanted to, started growing
stronger. So I thought maybe
making a film and going through
all its phases would be more
Mani Ratnam’s Kannathil Muttha Mitthal, Tamil (top) and Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Govind Nihalani’s Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa, Hindi (top) and
Naalu Pennungal, Malayalam (above). Kavitha Lankesh’s Deveeri, Kannada (above). satisfying.
What was the most

maybe. When I look back at the Could you describe your dedication and perfectionism How did your own transition challenging part of directing
30 odd films I have done, many experience of working with is a real pleasure. His style of to directing come about? Firaaq?
of which are regional films, Adoor Gopalakrishnan? working is rather unique where
that they needed to make less not many people in the cast For me, in many ways acting Going from acting to directing
compromises with the form and I have shot more films in and crew know much about the to directing was a natural is like jumping straight from
content they chose. Of course Kerala than in Bombay and I film! When I did ‘Four Women’ I progression. But directing 5th grade to doing a PhD! There
they are always struggling with feel very much at home in that seem to have been the lucky one is far more consuming and are hundreds of factors that
budgets and marketing issues and milieu. Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s amongst the actors – who at least obviously very different from need to be dealt with and I
so the vision doesn’t translate into involvement in his work is knew what the story and my role acting, as it challenges every doubt I have ever multi-tasked
a reality. 200% and to see that level of were! aspect of one’s personality. in this way. Directing is far more

consuming, as it challenges odds and from the responses
every aspect of one’s personality. received so far from the around
Firaaq is not an easy film as the world, I can only say I am
there are 5 different stories, so overwhelmed.
with a tight schedule and budget,
As an actress, which films of
every 5-6 days you are with
yours do you look back on
a new set of actors, in a new
with fondness?
location, and need a different
headspace to deal with a new There are many. Out of the
story. But I am really glad that 30 I have done, I would say I
the film got made against all look back on 20 odd films with
Mrinal Sen’s Amar Bhuvan, Bengali (left & right below); Suman Ghosh’s Podokkhep,
Bengali (bottom) and Deepa Mehta’s Earth, Hindi/English (facing page).
fondness, and it brings a smile for his relentless energising and work with Soumitrada
to my face for different reasons. shooting style; Santosh Sivan (Chatterjee). You see how
Sometimes the journey was for being so spontaneously different projects have been
good and sometimes the film creative and having such a important to me for different
was important in what it wanted fantastic team to work with; reasons!
Adoor Gopalakrishnan, for his ◆
to say, even though it may not Ms. Nandita Das is a well known actress.
have turned out the way one had uncompromising puritanical Firaaq, is her debut film as a Director.
approach to cinema; Shyam
imagined. For me, the journey is
Benegal for his intellect and
as important as the end so I can’t
warmth. And also first-time
really separate the two. To name
directors like Chitra Palekar
a few, there was Deepa (Mehta)’s and Kavitha Lankesh, for their
Fire which had an intimate cast passion and commitment (and
and crew; Mrinalda’s film because now I know how difficult it is
he’s such a special person, with to make your first film!); And
thousands of stories that I so Suman Ghosh’s film for the
loved listening; Mani Ratnam, opportunity to get to know

Indian audiences, wary of subsequently read Valmiki’s business, thanks largely due to
novelty, did not go in droves to Ramayana in Japanese and ten the Japanese connection.
see the film. It may have done different versions of it; all in his
The story of Indian animation
better with non-resident Indian mother-tongue.
films is quite old. Mandar
audiences abroad.
Ram Mohan, a former Mallik, a Bengali of some
The story of feature-length staffer of Films Division of means, went to Germany in the
animation films made by India and trained in 1930s and came back with a
Indians for a theatre release animation techniques by Claire 35 mm cine camera which also
began with Ram Mohan’s H. Weeks of Walt Disney allowed single-frame exposures.
Ramayana based on the Studies, USA, produced an What he did until he met
ancient Hindu epic. It was elegant 2-D version of in the early 1960s, a very
produced by Yugo Sako, Ramayana, released in promising young artist,
a Japanese, who had first 1990, thanks to his Japanese Ganesh Pyne in Calcutta (now
visited India in 1985, seen producer’s support. Need Kolkata), is not known.
the archaeological excavation one add Ram Mohan’s
site near Ayodhya and Ramayana did pretty good He got his young protégé to
do some films, including one
about a naughty black
cat. Pyne’s efforts in animation
Animation films
cinema, financed by Mallik,
were reportedly quite
competent and touched by droll
await animated audiences humour. Ganesh Pyne gave up
animation films quite early in
his career and went on to be a
PARTHA CHATTERJEE celebrated painter.
T here was a time when movie halls reserved Sunday mornings The reverse is true of Ishu
for children and animation films. At the end of the show, the Patel who graduated from the
sparkle in the eyes of the kids said it all. Those days are gone Maharaja Sayaji Rao University,
and animation movies today are watched and enjoyed by all. Baroda with a Bachelor of Fine
Arts (BFA) degree. He then
India, with its surfeit of computer wizards, could have played went to the National Institute of
a dominant role in animation movies but commercial success – Design (NID), Ahmedabad, to
perhaps, we love our flesh-and-blood heroes and heroines more study animation. In 1970, he
than painted, wooden characters – has eluded producers of such joined the National Film Board
movies. One such movie is Anil Kaul’s Bhaggmati. It is a curious of Canada and his journey as a
mix of live-action and 2-D animation and narrates the story of distinguished animator began.
Bhaggmati, a banjaran or gypsy with whom the Sultan of Deccan
Over time, he mastered 2-D and
falls in love. In its non-animation parts, that is one hour and five
3-D film animation and acquired
minutes of its two hours and forty minutes length, it features Tabu,
an international reputation. His
contemporary Indian cinema’s finest dramatic actress.
bold, experimental approach
What makes Bhaggmati unique is that 110 people, slogged for won him laurels at various
three years to create 7,50,000 hand-drawn frames inspired, at least reputed film festivals. Afterlife
in part, by old Indian miniature paintings. The quality of animation (1979), for example, had
done by artists of Zee Television is of international standards. plasticine figure on glass,

Phal S. Girota
lit from below and then about the monkey-God from
animated. Other productions of the Ramayana was directed by
Patel include The Bead Game V.G. Samant, Silver Toon and
(1978), Paradise/Paradise Milind Ukey who had also
(1986), and Divine Fate (1994). written the script. Actor Mukesh
Khanna lent his voice for the
Ishu Patel’s concerns are moral,
narration. Singeetham Srinivasa
ethical and philosophical. His
Rao made Ghatoth Kach in
work touches upon Buddhist
2008, which features two kinds
philosophy and Indian
of animation styles.
mythology. Concepts like free
will, freedom and equality figure 3-D animation has not caught
in his films as do ecological on in India as yet. In America,
issues. He is appreciated for 3-D animation films like Shrek
his subtle use of colour and and Toy Story have become
pithy musical scores contributed huge hits and competed with
by Indian, Japanese and live-action films. In 2-D
American musicians. Patel lives animation, Lion King and
Phal S. Girota
abroad though he has taught in Sleeping Beauty are but two
India at his alma mater, NID. examples of super hits in
recent years. Animation
Animation film making in cinema, in the country, is still
India, as elsewhere, has moved shackled to myth and legend,
from film (celluloid) to video which lend themselves to
and allied digital technology flowing lines to make the
thus increasing its technical 2-D animator’s work sparkle.
range immensely and reducing Tales rooted in the past, if
considerably the backbreaking treated conventionally in terms
labour required earlier in frame- of script ideas, do not rake up a
by-frame cine animation. The controversy. Indian mainstream
earlier method entailed the animation films – though
drawing, colouring of each streets ahead of its live-action
separate frame and then its counterpart in aesthetics – is
photography on a single actually equally conventional in
frame of film. One had to be a thought. In fact, an ever-
millionaire producer like Walt increasing market may bring
Disney to run a huge studio about a welcome change.
with hundreds of artists and ◆
The author is a noted film maker and critic.
technicians to create feature- directed by B.G.N. Pawan
length narratives. Chandra, Rudra Matsa and
Hyderabad-based Pavel studios Charan Reddy Desai. The style
has made a 90-minute animation used to illustrate the frames was
film entitled, Little Pandavas inspired by Japanese Manga
comics.
Phal S. Girota
through its animation division. It

was produced by Nitin Sidam- Sahara India Pariwar released
Setty and Rudra Matsa and Hanuman in 2005. The story
INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 88

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Vol 23, No.

1 ISSN 0970 5074

I t is notable that today we speak not of the “film business”, but

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 2 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 3

D anny Boyle’s hugely entertaining Slumdog Millionaire is the

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 4 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 5

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 6 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 7

S tudents graduating from film schools have tended to lean

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 8 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 9

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 10 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 11

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 12 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 13

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 14 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 15

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 16 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 17

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 20 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 21

(Gora Aur Kala), Dharmendra Thirties to the Eighties objects of

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 22 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 23

Tamil Cinema gravitated towards the Dravidian

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 24 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 25

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 26 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 27

C olloquially referred to as Sandalwood, the cinema of Karnataka

Gejje Pooje, 1970

Rajkumar’s public adulation and identification was peerless. His

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 28 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 29

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 30 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 31

T here is a fable in the Indian epics, in which a clever squirrel

Raja Harishchandra (left top);

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 32 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 33

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 34 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 35

R aj Kapoor was undoubtedly the most complex man Indian cinema

When Raj Kapoor came calling

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 36 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 37

Indian Cinema: The Bollywood Saga by Dinesh Raheja (Roli Books)

Awara, dubbed into a number of While Raj Kapoor was becoming

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 38 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 39

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 40 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 41

to be a producer, scriptwriter, of Mom’s strength was inherited

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 42 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 43

Indian Cinema: The Bollywood Saga by Dinesh Raheja (Roli Books)

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 44 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 45

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 46 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 47

Indian Cinema: The Bollywood Saga by Dinesh Raheja (Roli Books)

Bollywood Today by Kaveree Bamzai (Roli Books)

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 48 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 49

Hema Malini reflex action. I remember her

T here are no doubts that in the history of Hindi cinema Hema

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 50 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 51

Hema Malini by Bhawana Somaaya (Roli Books)

memorable song, ‘O mere Anand entertained his leading

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 52 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 53

Shah Rukh Khan

Indian Cinema: The Bollywood Saga by Dinesh Raheja (Roli Books)

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 54 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 55

King Khan by Deepa Gahlot (Roli Books)

King Khan by Deepa Gahlot (Roli Books)

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 56 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 57

Chopra reached the pinnacle

B aldev Raj Chopra, an M.A.

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 58 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 59

INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 60 INDIA PERSPECTIVES JANUARY-MARCH 2009 61

Indian Cinema: The Bollywood Saga by Dinesh Raheja (Roli Books)

S hyam Benegal is considered the father of parallel, or Indian

“These themes of economic

the offer to assist his cousin Guru Bhumika (1977). Mainstream