Salaam Bollywood

“Insecurity is an overwhelming emotion in any creative profession. In the film industry, it is more so. Film stars are peddlers of emotion and, therefore, there are more emotional wrecks in the film world than in any other place. 
There is shame and scandal, exhibitionism and eccentricity, but there is also energy, a fatal attraction about the world of cinema that is obsessive. Once you've been a part of it you feel incomplete without it.”

The lines were these; refreshingly insightful and holding tight to my flinching concentration. Looking back, I still cannot fathom what made me put my hands on a book lying so aimlessly on a random library desk in college. Searching desperately through the endless neatly stacked books, the frustration was getting onto my nerves. Since time memorial, I had been contemplating to get my hands on another set of books which was not available to me there. And then suddenly, my gaze fell on it.

Photo Courtesy: Internet

Salaam Bollywood by the veteran film journalist Bhawana Somaaya, has proved out to be more than just a 250 page book for me. I can declare with much pride that those 250 pages can be equated to two decades of enriching, life changing journey in the film world I embarked on when I first read the foreword written by Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan. Somaaya, within a matter of days has brought to my knowledge the little and the big ‘dramas’ of the Hindi film world which had always left me puzzled, pumping up my curiosity pressure.

Fortunate enough I have been, to have read the same book which the author herself had gifted the veteran journalist and also my college’s honourable director, Dr. M.V. Kamath. It is her homage to the film world wherein her awkwardness as a newbie film journalist to her immaturity as an editor has been accounted. It also narrates her encounters, sweet as well as bitter, with film actors of all types which taught her innumerable lessons about the way of living in a glamorous world, if not one.

The time when Rishi Kapoor sternly told Neetu Singh,” Once you are a Kapoor, you are not stepping in the studios.” ; the time when Shabana Azmi was ready in a random saree and a ponytail to get promptly hitched to the highly acknowledged lyricist and writer, Javed Akhtar, one fine evening; the time when little Bebo howled endlessly on the sets of one of Bachchan’s films when a fight sequence was being filmed after his fateful accident in the early 1980s; the time when a shy and young Aamir Khan stood nervously outside Dimple theatre where his debut film was being screened; the time when Smita Patil slipped into coma in the arms of Raj Babbar; the time when Dharmendra was teared between his two homes after his marriage to Dream Girl, Hema Malini; the time when Smita, all of 31 and Raj Kapoor’s death got me teary-eyed. I cried as though I was witnessing everything in front of me...and countless other anecdotes.

From the depressing times when Sarika and Kamal Hassan’s relationship was under constant scrutiny to the happy times when Sarika announced her pregnancy to Hassan in Ooty; from the tiring times when Smita would frequently fall ill to the jubilant times when she first fed her baby in spite of feeling feverish; from the celebratory times when Dimple Kapadia returned on the sets to complete the last schedule of Bobby as the superstar Rajesh Khanna’s wife to the worrisome times when she used to leave him every second or third day: the late 70s, 80s and 90s was one roller coaster ride.

Photo Courtesy: Internet

Towards the end, the author also raises many fundamental questions such as why doesn’t the Cine Artists Association (CAA) hold frequent get-togethers and recreation clubs for older artists of bygone era? Why they are not appreciated for their contribution when they are alive rather than remember them only when they become history? Why the CAA couldn’t send a representative to India’s first ever heroine Devika Rani’s funeral in Bangalore? There are glorious moments but then, if you try catching a closer look, lay the flaws as well.

The book was a time machine for me, transporting me into eras I always wanted to see. 

Mandi - Reminiscing old school Hindi cinema

When I was asked to pen down a research paper for my final year project, Shyam Benegal’s much acclaimed movie, Mandi instantly came to my mind sans any clouds of hesitation or doubt. The movie, somehow, holds a very special place in my heart. The piece that is going to follow is something that I wrote almost a year back. Republishing it for the blog has been at the back of my mind ever since. The article will largely attempt at analysing the characters, dialogues and narrative of the film.

A poster of the film. Photo Courtesy: Internet

With a runtime of 162 minutes, Mandi (Marketplace) covers the issues of Indian hypocrisy, female oppression, class oppression, political manipulation, human trafficking, and corruption with rare humour, hard to find in movies addressing heavy issues. Benegal’s style of filmmaking is very intelligent and compelling as is evident from his movies such as Bhumika, Nishant, Ankur, Antardwand, etc. Every character, whether small or big, is crucially important to the plot of the story. One cannot do away with any character as each character adds another layer of meaning to the story, an important feature of parallel cinema. It is very refreshing to view film where no one particular dialogue, sequence or character is without layers. It’s a film heavily loaded with multiple layers of indications, both superficial layer and deeper layer. This makes it very interesting to study a film like Mandi.

The storyline

Mandi (Market Place) is a1983 Hindi movie boasting of an ensemble cast of almost 15 actors who later went on to make national and international mark for themselves. Shabana Azmi(Rukmini Bai), Naseeruddin Shah(Tungroos), Smita Patil(Zeenat), Ratna Pathak(Baby), Om Puri(Ramgopal), Soni Razdan(Nadra), Saed Jaffery(Mr. Agarwal), Kulbhushan Kharbanda(Mr. Gupta), Gita Siddharth(Shanti Devi), Amrish Puri(Baba Khadag Shah), Neena Gupta(Basanti), and introduced Ila Arun and Harsh Patel(Policeman). Based on the Urdu short story Aanandi by writer Ghulam Abbas, the film revolves around Rukmini and the brothel she runs in the heart of a city, an area, Mr. Gupta and Mr. Agarwal wish to convert into a mall. The film is a satirical comedy on politics and prostitution with the underlying themes of human trafficking, Indian hypocrisy, manipulation, lobbying, etc. 

Following is a short clip from the movie.  

Awards

The film won the 1984 National Film Award for Best Art Direction. It created waves around the world with it being selected at Indian Panorama at Filmostav, Bombay 1984, and it also got invited to the Los Angeles Exposition (FILMEX), the Hong Kong International Film Festival 1984, and London Film Festival 1983.

About Shyam Benegal

Shyam Benegal. Photo Courtesy: Internet

Shyam Benegal is a noted film director whose work is central to and instrumental in giving shape to alternative cinema/ new cinema/ Indian new wave/ parallel cinema/ realist cinema. The synonyms are endless as described by endless no. of film critics. Satyajit Ray is considered to be the father of this school of filmmaking which dates back to 1950s. Later, film makers like Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen, Mani Kaul, Girish Karnad, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Ketan Mehta, Girish Kasaravalli and Shyam Benegal carried on the legacy. These filmmakers aimed for a social change and strong commentary through the use of films. The term ‘parallel’ cinema suggests a genre which runs alongside (not literally) the mainstream cinema which is your commercial cinema. Benegal has always been known to make films centred on strong female characters, be it Rukmini and Zeenat in Mandi or Urvashi in Bhumika or Zubeidaa from Zubeidaa. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1976 and the Padma Bhushan in 1991. 

Three shots that shook the entire nation - Rustom

Three shots. Just three shots. That was all that was needed to jostle the nation one fine morning of 1959. The Blitz broke the news to the world with the above headline and continued to carry the news for another three years. Such was the uniqueness of the events; such was the charm it carried that the whole nation keenly followed what was to unfold.The story is from a fairly young and independent India all of 12 years old, the times when Mumbai was still called Bombay and the practice of a bench of jury giving out judgements was still underway, unlike today, where a single judge pronounces the fate of a case. 

The front page of the Blitz newsmagazine that broke the news. Photo Courtesy: Internet

A young Parsi had shot dead another man for having to refuse to marry his wife after having a brief affair with her. The man in question was KM Nanavati, an honest, nation-loving naval officer. The case was one of its kinds, for more reasons than one. The first thing he did after shooting his wife’s lover was to surrender. Surprisingly, the man managed to attract huge crowd support. It is said that the print media played a pivotal role in painting Nanavati as the hero and maligning the lover’s image. This led to the Jury members being influenced (allegedly) by public opinion shaped by the print media.

The front pages of Blitz, the newsmagazine which closely
followed the case for 3 years. Photo Courtesy: Internet

The crux of the arguments thrown by the lawyers was to figure out whether Nanavati shot the lover in the ‘heat of the moment’ or it was a pre-planned, well-thought through murder that was staged. Nanavati was found not guilty by the Bombay sessions court. The case took its course and was reopened in the Bombay High Court and then Supreme Court in the coming three years. The case was a landmark in bringing about important changes in the Indian Judicial system.

A poster of the film. Photo Courtesy: Internet

Akshay Kumar-starrer Rustom, that hit the theatres last weekend, is based on this infamous incidence, but at the same time exercises its creative freedom to the fullest. A lot of details and sequences in the film are tampered with along with the central characters’ names. For example, Rustom (played by Akshay Kumar) fights his own case in the court without a lawyer which did not happen in real life. Nanavati had a lawyer defending him. The prosecution was led by a young Ram Jethmalani back then.

The media influence in shaping the public opinion is evidently shown with Kumud Mishra killing it with his portrayal of a Parsi middle-aged man, running a leading weekly. The tampering with the story line makes it confusing for the viewer to comprehend what exactly unfolded. Akshay Kumar delivers a fine and believable performance as a Parsi naval officer who dots on his wife. Atif Aslam rejuvenates your life with his soul stirring voice in his romantic renditions. 

 

Having an extremely powerful and interest invoking case at hand and an actor of Akshay Kumar’s calibre to bring it across on screen, the film still fails to keep you hooked for long, unlike the promising trailer which had sent my expectations skyrocketing. 

                                          

But, as they say, there is always a silver lining to every cloud. As far as the weekend goes, go for Happy Bhag Jayegi. You won’t regret.