What I Learnt From Hindi Films

Life is song and dance- if you don't appreciate these, you have not lived (Osho has said much the same thing somewhere).

Good music can take you through bad times..try it. Zindagi ek safar hai suhaana..

Happy endings are possible

(particularly with good editing, because then you decide the ending).

The cops cannot solve all your problems- you have to make an effort too. Same with God!

Looking good can make you feel good..even others looking good on screen, when you know they have used make-up.

Philosophy is easier to disseminate through a well-made film, than through other means- zindagi badi honi chahiye, lambi nahin, babu moshaay! (film Anand, circa 1970).

Corollary to the above- through good songs as well. Zindagi ke safar mein guzar jaate hain jo makaam, woh phir nahin aate, or Aanewala pal, jaanewala hai, ho sake to isme zindagi guzaro, pal jo yeh jaanewala hai. Or, Zindagi ittefaq hai (from Aadmi aur Insaan)

Hrishikesh Mukherjee- Birth Anniversary Tribute

He was, in my view, one of the finest directors of films. His sense of what worked on screen was impeccable. Watch any of his classics, and you might agree. Anand, for instance, is forever etched in my mind, though I first saw it in the early 70s when it was released. Every scene is a lesson in film-making. The dialogue, the acting, and everything else seems perfect. He was minimalistic, and no scene stretched beyond what was needed.

It is no joke to make a comedy. It was not one, but many that he made, in a fashion I have not seen since then. Gol Maal with Amol Palekar in a "double character" (and a manic Utpal Dutt) can make you roll on the floor. So can Chupke Chupke. He was also good in serious cinema, like Namak Haraam, or Abhimaan.

His early films, like Biwi aur Makaan were good, though not as popular as his other films. Satyakaam was one about a man who never gave up his principles in life-played very convincingly by Dharmendra. Bawarchi was a later film about a warring joint family brought together by a jolly cook who works for them, brilliantly played by Rajesh Khanna.

Hard guy to follow..he set very high standards. 

Rajesh Khanna- A Phenomenon

Celebrity worship comes easy to us- Sport and Films being obvious candidates. So here goes, an ode to one of Bollywood's most popular "superstars".

Rajesh Khanna was not immediately successful, and had a couple of so-so films before he hit the big time with Shakti Samanta's Aradhana. Kishore Kumar and Rafi, along with SD Burman's tunes, lifted this film into the mega-hit-sphere, and Sharmila Tagore and Farida Jalal also played their roles. The songs are a hit even today, close to 50 years after they were composed- Gunguna rahe hain bhaware, Mere sapnon ki rani, Roop tera mastana, Kora kagaz tha yeh man mera, ...all classics. The debonair RK sang Baagon mein bahar hai with Farida Jalal in his second avatar in the film too.

Then followed a string of films in which he excelled, including Bawarchi, Amar Prem, Dushman, Hathi Mere Sathi, Aap ki Kasam, Mere Jeevan Sathi, Safar, Souten, Namak Haraam, and my favourite, Anand. Many were memorable, and most had great music. Kishore Kumar had a second meteoric (singing) innings in parallel with Rajesh Khanna's rise (except Anand, where Manna Dey and Mukesh sang for him).

Until Amitabh and the angry young man persona took over, RK represented the Age of Romance.

Endearing Film Characters

The two profs in Chupke Chupke are not professorial at all, and are funny in the extreme. Dharmendra and Amitabh in  roles that paralleled Sholay in quality, for me.

Sunil Dutt as Bhola in Padosan, Saira Banu as his haughty but music-loving neighbour.

Mehmood as a Charlie-Chaplin look-alike in Aulad. He sings "Jodi hamari jamega kaise jaani, hum to hain angezi, tum ladki Hindustani"with Aruna Irani in the film.

Om Prakash as Jijaji in Chupke Chupke, a lover of Shuddh Hindi.

Ramesh Deo and Seema Deo in Anand. Very real, and beautifully portrayed.

Jaya Bhaduri in Mili-slightly over-the-top, but her character was like that.

Keshto Mukherjee in all his films, playing a drunkard.

Soorma Bhopali aka Jagdeep in Sholay.

Pran as a Pathan in Zanjeer. Yaari hai imaan mera yaar meri zindagi, he sings in the film, and how!

Rajesh Khanna in Bawarchi-the goodness of his character comes through in each frame.

Deven Verma and Sanjeev Kumar in Angoor. Fabulously innocent.

Naseer and Ravi Baswani in Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro. Satish Shah in the same film.

Saeed Jaffrey in Chashme Baddoor.

Zeenat Aman in Hare Rama Hare Krishna, as the girl who gets into drugs.

Shreyas Talpade in Iqbal.

Circuit (Arshad) in Munnabhai MBBS.

Aditi (Genelia D'souza) in Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na played an easy-going teen. Reminded me of Ayesha Takia in Socha Na Tha.

Abhay Deol and Diana Penty in Happy Bhag Jayegi impressed me a lot.

The two girls in Dangal were great.

Kangana in Queen was also one of the best.

The World of Hrishikesh Mukherjee- Book Review

I thought I knew everything about him. But this book was revealing, to say the least. Many of his movies I have seen, but many others I came to know about. Musafir, Biwi aur Makaan (delightful comedy available on Youtube), Anuradha (starred Leela Naidu and Balraj Sahni), Anupama (this has my favourite song- Dheere dheere machal aye dil-e-beqaraar), and many more.

Dharmendra plays hero in his Satyakam, a story of an idealistic man who will not compromise on his values, and suffers in a world of corruption and compromise. The same Dharmendra plays a comic role (role of his life?) in Chupke Chupke, an all-time favourite film of mine.

Hrishikesh Mukherjee appeals to me for one more reason. He was a GREAT editor. His movies have an economy of shots that you rarely see in Hindi films. Many films are classics, and can be watched multiple times, such as Bawarchi, Gol Maal, Naram Garam, Khubsoorat.

The author brings out many little things about his films and working style- David playing sutradhaar (narrator/link-man) in many films, smaller characters getting prominence along with lead actors (Lalita Pawar or Johny Walker in Anand), his discipline on the sets.

Anari (typical Raj Kapoor) was directed by him, and so was Buddha Mil Gaya, a muder mystery! He used Deven Varma well in many films. He also used many different music directors in his films, and was modern in his thoughts about relationships (In Khubsoorat, Rekha calls the elderly Ashok Kumar 'boyfriend'). His characters had an everyday feel, you find them believable, and sometimes outrageously funny. He never had villains in his films-didn't need them. People with quirks were good enough (Utpal Dutt the moustache-worshipper in Gol Maal).

A superb read!

Great Art and Money - An Inverse Relationship?

Not too sure if this hypothesis holds, but it's worth hypothesising. Is there an inverse relationship between good/great art and money? Is the penniless artist struggling for survival just a stereotype? Is tragedy a part of an artist's life, mostly?

The hypothesis is inspired by a movie I saw on TV after maybe two decades. The movie is Rajnigandha. It was made by Basu Chatterjee in the early seventies and remains one of my favourite films. The budget would have been modest, no big stars, sets or ostentation of any sort. It had lovely music, good technique (Vidya Sinha speaking with herself often, imagining or re-imagining herself alternately with the two men in her life, symbolism through the bouquet of flowers) and a simple, riveting story. If you compare it with expensive, crass extravaganzas churned out by the dozen, this one warms your heart (at least mine) any day.

Another movie made in the same period was Anand, by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Rajesh Khanna was paid a limited amount though he was a star of sorts, and the tight screenplay, wonderful dialogue, great acting from all the actors (I remember Ramesh Deo and Seema speaking some homely Marathi-mixed dialogue, Lalita Pawar in the role of a lifetime, Johny Walker likewise). Absolutely brilliant!

A third example, and I will rest my case. Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro from the eighties. Ravi Baswani and Naseeruddin Shah, Satish Shah and Om Puri, Bhakti Barve or any of the other characters, they all were just right, Neena Gupta added the oomph without any effort, and it made for wonderful viewing. A top-class comedy. Kundan Shah never directed anything better.

Now I will await your views.

Braggitis

I have noticed a new disease afflicting millions of people. It started in the developed world (whatever that may mean), and is threatening to envelope the under-developed world (whatever THAT may mean) in a tight embrace. It is called Braggitis, and it can be transmitted through the air, water, earth, or any known method of transmitting these things. Hot air is generally found in the vicinity of the Bragger- one who suffers from Braggitis, I mean.

Here is how it works. Say, a human in close proximity to you says,

You know, the other day, I was admitted into Escorts (name of a hospital, in case you get wrong ideas) for a colonoscopy after an endoscopy."

Your likely response when you are a victim of Braggitis,

" Oh, that is nothing. I am continuously being injected with 3 vials a day for acute rhinitis, right now."

Response to this might border on the ludicrous, for example,

"Oh, I didn't know a rhino bit you. You just came from Kaziranga?"

But even if the other person is sober, he may still be a victim himself, of the same affliction as you. In which case, he would say,

" Why, in my family, no one has crossed fifty without getting at least a bypass done."

Response, " My wife is having an IVF done from Dr. Shah, the famous specialist at Apollo."

The counter attack, " My uncle in Kolkata went to Escorts (these infernal escorts are everywhere-can't be shaken off) for an angio (a fashionable shortened form for angiography or angioplasty) , you know, and they told him he had to get three stents in right away, or else he wouldn't be around for his daughter's wedding."

And so on. You get the point? Bragging rights are now based on which brand of hospital, which great doctor, you went to, and maybe how many tubes were inserted into your nose.

I only wish I had lymphosarcoma of the intestines, like Rajesh Khanna did in Anand. Looks hard to beat, no?

Yogesh

This man was almost unknown to even guys who saw Bollywood movies by the dozens. He appeared in song credits sporadically, but was not talked about afterwards, like other lyricist bandhus (brothers). Probably was a shy recluse, not a go-getter. But look at the lyrics he wrote. In a word, amazing.

Anand- Kahin door jab din dhal jaaye, saanjh ki dulhan badan churaye, chupke se aaye and Zindagi kaisi hai paheli, kabhi to hasaye, kabhi ye rulaye

Rajnigandha- Rajnigandha phool tumhare mehke yun hi jeevan mein, and even better, Kai baar yun hi dekha hai, yeh jo man ki seema rekha hai, man todne lagta hai

Chhoti Si Baat- Na jaane kyun, hota hai yeh zindagi ke saath, achanak ye man, kisi ke jaane ke baad kare phir uski yaad...

and Rimjhim gire saawan, from Manzil, and the Baaton Baaton Mein songs like Uthe sabke kadam dekho rum pum pum, and Na bole tum na maine kuch kaha.

These days lyricists are not even credited in TV shows and radio shows. Is it because they write forgettable stuff?

Anand Revisited in Air India

I was in for a triple surprise on the Pune Delhi flight, Air India. It had an entertainment system, it worked, and they screened Anand- one of my favourite films. I was lost in the movie, with great acting, editing and direction- and story!

But this is about the bit actors, more than the hero, who of course was fabulous with his message of don't worry, be happy. From Johnny Walker playing the mythical 'Murarilal' whom Anand is always looking for, to Ramesh Deo (the doc treating him) and Seema (his wife), Lalita Pawar the matron, Durga Khote, Sumita Sanyal, Dara Singh the friendly pehelwan, they are all sewn together into a seamless whole, with an anchor in Amitabh Bachchan's supporting character of Dr. Banerjee, the strong, silent, helpless spectator of Anand's impending demise. The dialogue is impeccable, and the songs are a treat, after all these years.

One can only marvel at this brilliantly philosophical film by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, which delivers a knockout message, one which we struggle to imbibe.

The Emperor of All Maladies- Book Review

The book (about Cancer) is stunning, in the amount of research it condenses into its pages. Incredibly, it is written like a whodunit. A little long, in this case it's understandably so. To go from a Persian Queen diagnosed with cancer to the most modern treatments and the biology of the cell- which is the cause or at least the promoter of cancer in a human body, is no joke. And immense amount of research seems to have gone into fighting it too.

It reminded me of Bill Bryson's book in which he has recreated the history of nearly everything. Absorbingly told, it is a no-holds-barred tale of politics, biology, chemistry, medicine, despair, hope and everything in between. At least, an understanding of cancer seems to be within grasp, and the fundamental changes that happen in the cell that goes crazy enough to multiply uncontrollably seem to have been mapped.

Complex as the disease and its manifestations are, partly because the gene mutations are constantly evolving themselves, so there could be a new one as soon as you have conquered an old, there is a ray of hope, and some forms of cancer are far less deadly today.

Maladies are of two major types. Lifestyle induced, and genetic. The genetic ones cannot be treated today, except in fits and starts or with lifelong medication and controls. The lifestyle-induced ones can be prevented or cured by changing your lifestyle, naturally. But this is a choice. For me, the old movie 'Anand' with Rajesh Khanna as the patient with incurable lymphosarcoma of the intestine but spreading sunshine in all the lives that touch him, was an incredible way to look at all maladies, and life. Amen!