Book Review of Amol Palekar's Memoirs

 It's called Viewfinder in English. I read the Marathi version.

It has a lot of content that I was not aware of. I liked it for its personal tone and insights into how theatre works in Marathi and Hindi at least. Both mainstream and parallel categories. He also interacted with Bengali playwrights, and directed Badal Sircar's plays like Juloos. 

He has a soft corner for Jaidev, who scored music for Gharonda and Ankahee (he also co-produced this with Jayant Dharmadhikari, my BIL). 

His attempts to get out of the boy next door characters in Hindi films, and attempts to make films about taboo topics including LGBT starring subjects gets a mention. Also how Nana Patekar got after him for that role in Thoda Sa Roomani Ho Jaayen. And did it so well!

Hrishikesh Mukherjee (Gol Maal, Naram Garam) and he shared a bond. And of course, Basu Chatterjee, who gave him 3 hits in a row- Rajnigandha, Chhoti si Baat and Chitchor.

Those who like theatre, and his kind of films will enjoy this memoir.

People Next Door

 These are further sub-divided into the Boy Next Door and the Girl Next Door. In films, for example, many of the hero/heroine characters are made of fantasy, with qualities you rarely encounter in one human. And they are flawless. Except when Basu Chatterjee made films like Rajnigandha. He had Amol Palekar and Vidya Sinha play two simple and relatable human beings, who could have been your next door neighbours, without any superhuman qualities in fights or dancing or anything else. 

On the other hand, there's plenty of talent, beauty, etc. to be found next door (not literally but in your circle of acquaintances) if you care to look. From my encounters with my own students and alumni (and colleagues), I am constantly made aware of this fact. They know so many things, that I have never heard of. They have talent for entrepreneurship, or for some fine art, or sport, often. Or they are experts in game-playing/gaming (in a positive sense), and so on. Some are into acting, modelling, writing, painting, and what not.

My point is simply, that fantasy has its place, but people who make a difference in our lives are right next to us, if we just care to look around, So start looking, and befriending them...you might just learn something new.

Biographies-1

Read a nice collection of filmi biographies by a Marathi journalist. These include interesting people like Salim Khan, Basu Chatterjee, Shamshad Begum, B.R. Ishaara, Rajendranath, and Nanda.

Salim Khan is from Indore. He narrates his early attempts to become an actor, and how he got into script-writing, into a partnership with Javed and delivered blockbusters like Deewar, Sholay, and Don. His breakup with Javed and lack of support from Amitabh and others cost him about 4 years in which he had no work. His love marriage with a Hindu girl is also a part of his life story, and his second marriage to Helen, in his own words. His hands-off approach towards his sons stands out.

Basu Chatterjee always made films that were believable, and extremely funny at times. Shaukeen, a story of three old men trying to reinvent a love-life was hilarious, for instance. Rajnigandha, Chitchor and Chhoti si Baat were all path-breaking comedies/simple stories. Amol Palekar became a household name, playing the boy-next-door in all three. Most were made on a shoe-string budget, proving that good films can be low-cost.

He started with a good story, and then wrote a screenplay around it. His skills at it attracted Dharmendra, Hema, Jeetendra and others to work with him, not always suuccessfully. He also made a Pygmalion/My Fair Lady remake with Dev Anand and Tina Munim called Man Pasand. His Khatta Meetha, and Baton Baton Mein were also very well-made. In TV serials, he made two that stood out. Rajni, about everyday problems faced by a housewife (gave Priya Tendulkar instant fame) , and Byomkesh Bakshi, a dhoti-clad detective played by Rajat Kapur. Hrishikesh Mukherjee was his contemprary who made similar films.

To be continued...

The Comedians

I mean the directors, not the actors, though some of them were both.

In Hollywood, the first guy that comes to mind is Woody Allen. He made several good films, one as recently as a couple of years ago. Most of these had wonderful humour, mostly about human relationships, but also a lot of other things. Sometimes dark humour, but very witty. And delivered with deadpan expressions. A genius.

A very different kind of humour (in your face, slaspstick) is to be found in Mel Brooks' films. Usually spoofs on something (Silent Movie was about Hollywood itself), I still remembers scenes from films of his I watched many years ago-Blazing Saddles (spoof on Western Cowboy movies), History of the World (about major events in history), To Be Or Not To Be (on Hitler), and a Star Wars spoof called Spaceballs. I remembered the last again while watching The Martian recently.

Closer home in India, directors of good comedy were Basu Chatterjee and Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Both masters of situational humour, they made between them, great films like Chupke Chupke, Chhoti Si Baat, Shaukeen, Gol Maal and Naram Garam. Angoor by Gulzar was another great comedy. Though not known for comedy, Satyen Bose's Chalti ka Naam Gaadi with Kishore Kumar was an excellent romantic comedy. So was Padosan, directed by Jyoti Swaroop. Mehmood's role in it was immortal, on of the best ever.