Nandita’s foray into commercial cinema
Subha J. Rao
A week after "Aks’’, her first big-banner film, opened to lukewarm response, actress Nandita Das says its success or failure will not change her life. Sitting on a low divan in her sun-bathed home, a casual-looking Das says, "I do not sign a film thinking it will become a hit or a flop. 

Nandita’s foray into commercial cinema
Subha J. Rao

A week after "Aks’’, her first big-banner film, opened to lukewarm response, actress Nandita Das says its success or failure will not change her life.

Sitting on a low divan in her sun-bathed home, a casual-looking Das says, "I do not sign a film thinking it will become a hit or a flop. That is always a gamble. I enjoyed the making of ‘Aks’, it was a whole new experience.’’

Asked if people did not relate to her character Supriya, who is married to a much older man and is devoted to her family, Das says, "Such relationships exist in society and if it is done in a believable manner, it will be accepted. And despite everything, Supriya had a mind of her own.’’ Das told UNI in an interview.

"But, you see, when the length of a film has to be reduced, sometimes the nuances of characters also get lost. In ‘Aks’, a few scenes that would have helped the viewer understand Supriya better went under the editing table. But, it is a director’s medium, he has a larger vision and ultimately it is what the director wants,’’ she adds.

"I was a little unsure about the storyline and took over four months to decide if I wanted to do the movie,’’ says the actress who brought back the dusky look to the silver screen.

"One difference that struck me while working in such a big project was the large set up. Sometimes one tends to get lost,’’ she says.

Talking about her commercial viability, Das admits she cannot pull the regular crowds to the theatre. "But, I am happy doing the kind of movies I do,’’ she says.

Every actor has his or her limitation in terms of physical framework. Is she referring to "Lagaan"? Aamir Khan wanted her to do the role, but the director felt her eyes were too intelligent for her to play an innocent village belle.

"Gracy Singh is wonderful in the movie,’’ Das says. "Maybe Ashutosh exactly knew what kind of heroine he wanted.’’

When the conversation drifts to her movies with Deepa Mehta —"Fire" and "Earth", Das says she enjoyed making both.

She feels "Earth" did not do good business because it did not fit into a "preconceived genre of filmmaking’’. "People did not know if it was an art film because Deepa and I were connected with it or a commercial one because of songs and Aamir’s presence,’’the actress adds.

Talking about her body of work, Das says most of her films are yet to be properly released. "I have done lots of regional cinema, those are not released across the country. So people do not know about them,’’ she explains.

She has started shooting for Mani Ratnam’s next Tamil flick with Chakravarty, Madhavan and Simran. "Mani Ratnam has such energy. We work from six in the morning to seven in the evening, and he is so full of spirit, the actors do not feel tired. He is a passionate director, who gives space and inspires his actors to try out new things,’’ she says.

Another Tamil film she has signed up for is "Azhagi’’ directed by Thangar Bachan.

Ask her why she does women-centric films and Das says it is entirely sub-conscious. "Concerns, dilemma and personal likes and dislikes can reflect in the choice of films ,’’ she explains.

When quizzed about how it was working with women directors —Deeveri with Kavita Lankesh and the two movies with Deepa — Das says it is difficult to answer in black or white. "Women bond very well, maybe because we go through similar experiences, share certain sensibilities,’’ she admits. "This does not mean that men cannot make sensitive films about women’s issues", Das says.

"I do not mind doing roles with negative shades provided the film is positive and progressive, she says. "Like in Shyam Benegal’s ‘Hari Bhari’. I did not entirely like the character of Afsana, who seems shallow, selfish, too religious... But he told me that I should do different roles and look at them as an actress, not just with personal likes and dislikes.’’

There are various ways of approaching a character, says Das. "I mostly react to a character spontaneously, intuitively. But finally what you see on the screen is a combination of how you perceive the character and what the director wants you to do,’’ she adds.

One thing she rues about her tight schedule is that she no longer has enough time to conduct long workshops for children. "Maybe, I will take some time off next year, she says.

About her role as a "social activist’’, Das says she has done too little to be called that. "I do what I can, primarily to retain my sanity,’’ she adds.

"Coming back home to Delhi is peaceful and my reality check. Away from the world of films, I am with my parents (painter Jatin Das and publisher Varsha Das) and friends,’’ Das says.

Her forthcoming releases in Hindi are Mahesh Manjrekar’s "Pitah" with Sanjay Dutt and "Lal Salaam" — a film about the naxalite movement. She has started shooting for "Supari", in which she plays an underworld don.

Das says she could not accept an offer from Dreamworks as she had already allotted dates to Mahesh Manjrekar and Rituparno Ghosh. "Just my luck. Unfortunately, Ghosh had to push back his dates for some reason.’’

"I don’t want to do a foreign film only because it is foreign, as sometimes, it can stereotype Indian characters. But, I am definitely open to interesting projects from anywhere in the world,’’ she says.

Jagmohan Mundra’s "Bawandar", based on the true-life story of Bhanwri Devi, is due for commercial release and das says she is happy with the way the movie has turned out. "Bawandar is a sincere film,’’ she says.

"I was disturbed while shooting for the gangrape sequence, though. Not as an artiste, but as a woman, as a person. I wanted to meet the inspiration, not to copy her mannerism, but what was she made of, to have the courage to live through such an experience,’’ Das explains.

When asked if her cameo of a teacher in "Rockford" brought back memories of her four-month stint in Rishi Valley school, Das said she just shot four days for the film. ‘’the stint at Rishi Valley was one of the best periods in my life. The vast expanse, loving students...They made a great combination. You taught because you enjoyed teaching, they learned because they wanted to learn.’’

She learnt a whole lot of crafts like block printing and pottery there. The latter is still an interest.

Does she miss home? "I do wish I could come home on a Sunday instead of living in a hotel room, as all my work takes me out of home and the city I live in. But the short Delhi trips compensate for that,’’ she says.

Das also plans to do a play next year. "Talks are on. Maybe, I will do it next year,’’ she adds.

Ask her about "Water’’, that is shelved as of now, and Das says tonsuring her head for the movie was a liberating experience. "I have always worn my long hair in a straight, boring fashion. I have never been experimental. I used to keep touching my bald pate to feel the newness of it all,’’ she adds. UNI

SIGHT & SOUND
It is all a question of manners
Amita Malik

Rightly or wrongly, both tempers and emotions have run very high on the media before, during and after the famous Summit. Politicians, interviewers, anchors, official spokespersons (some of whom have gone silent or run away after one-liners) have been behaving very abnormally indeed and some quite unlike their public image. Take for instance, the Pakistan High Commissioner in India, Mr Qazi, normally an unflappable, cheerful and courteous gentleman. One could not have believed that he could outshout Sushma Swaraj, but he did, and both shouted simultaneously so I doubt if either heard what the other was saying. One almost anticipated a UP Assembly style microphone-throwing match, but fortunately, lapel mikes are difficult to throw. But the viewer not only had a hard time listening but I know some people have been switching off in the past few days whenever a discussion on the summit popped up, which is most of the time.

Then Barkha Dutt, whose "We the People" was nothing short of chaotic the Sunday before, not only out-talked her experts and the audience, but said with several distinguished people present: "If you don’t stop (shouting) I’ll have to use the whip." Not the sort of language, even in jest, from someone constantly touted as "award winning" (for the Janki Devi Award for Women). I would like to mention in the context of anchors that from NDTV alone Prannoy Roy has won most international and national awards worth winning, Rajdeep Sardesai has won the Asian TV and Sanskriti awards. The team which produces programmes for BBC has won an Asian TV Award, Pankaj Pachauri has won the coveted Statesman award for Rural Reporting, and the SAJA Award by Columbia University for Best Asian Journlist of the year. Prannoy controls his "Question Time India" with authority, a civilised language and a smile, Rajdeep’s "The Big Fight" is kept within control by a time-fixed format. "Sawal Aapka" and news interviews by Pankaj (even the Qazi-Sushma Swaraj one) are done without the anchor ever losing his cool. None of their awards needs mentioning to viewers who appreciate a programme without the anchor out-talking the participants or wielding the whip rather than admiring their credentials. Sorry Barkha, but this was not one of your best.

After all that, one is almost glad to be back with KBC, the syrupy "Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi" drooling over each other, India losing cricket matches and the attack on Colombo airport by Tamil Tigers, with all its visual horror. One enjoyed the getaway to the large screen in a crowded cinema house to watch all three hours 45 minutes of "Lagaan".

In the middle of all this bedlam, some people do worry about the weather and they are getting a very tough deal all round. The newer Star News weather girls race through their droll at a speed which leaves Schummacher far behind, and in mindless sing-song manner which made a young teenager remark. "I bet if you asked them what they had read a minute ago they wouldn’t know". The Princess Royal (also known as the Rani Sahiba) of DD with the flowing tresses, reads the news like a Shakespeare sonnet and the rest like an audition before the National School of Drama. The Zee girls have a hard time with the names of places and the "Aaj Tak" girls are too worried about what they should wear for which programme (leaning more toward the West via Karol Bagh) to make us enjoy the weather bulletins on TV, which we do watch when the seductive Anuradha Srinivasan is around, even if there is a storm coming up. So please, all channels can we get the weather news in the manner Barkha Dutt would advise: "Calm down, calm down".

AUDIOSCAN
Jagjit, Javed and pathos
ASC

SOZ (HMV): Jagjit Singh is to ghazal singing what Javed Akhtar is to writing. When the two titans team up, there is bound to be magic. This album presents that in eight different shades.

One is not sure if it is deliberate or not, but both of them display a common trait. Javed here writes poetry with no flourishes; its beauty lies in its deceptive simplicity:

or savour this:

Jagjit complements the quality with equally low-key singing. When it is heard the first time, it is rather difficult to appreciate its merit. But the oftener you play them, the more the ghazals grow on you.

In keeping with the mood of the album, the jacket is printed in sepia colours. It gives the lyrics of all songs, along with the meaning of "difficult" Urdu words. Do words like "aashiqui" really need to be translated?

GHALIB GHAZALS (Venus): Ghalib has been rendered by so many ustads that a new delineation is a difficult task. In this album, music director Rajesh Reddy makes such a bold attempt. Talat Aziz and Roop Kumar Rathod sing under his baton while the music for Mehdi Hasan has been rendered by Mujahid Hussain and for Ghulam Ali, by Rafique Hussain and Ustad Barkat Ali Khan.

Mehdi Hasan’s Muddat Hui hai … is simply out of this world. Ghulam Ali displays that quality through Aah ko chahiye …

It goes to the credit of Talat Aziz and Roop Kumar Rathod that they have not let these titans overshadow them totally. The former sings Yeh na thi hamari kismat … and Yeh hum jo hizr mein… while Rathod lends his voice to Dil hi to hai…, Rone se aur… and Har ek baat pe …

Equally impressive is a commentary on Ghalib written by Nida Fazli and narrated by Brij Bhushan.

SOFT INSTRUMENTALS (Tips): Once certain songs become certified hits, their tunes sink into public memory. Just look at the way people latch on to the lyrics of songs the moment a few snatches from them are played on TV programmes.

To cash in on the popularity of such hits, Tips have come out with a series of three albums of the instrumental rendering of some big hits.

Since the series is called soft instrumentals, the songs have been played on the guitar, keyboard and violin by Tabun Sutradar at exceptionally slow place. That makes the fast A.R.Rahman songs almost unrecognisable, but enhances the charm of those by Pankaj Udhas. The third album is devoted to the songs of R.D.Burman.

Among the Rahman hits, those from "Taal" and "Rangeela" dominate. All 12 Burman hits are from different films.

In the case of Pankaj Udhas, as many as 36 tunes have been used, divided into 12 topics such as "falling in love", "first peg", "celebration" and "intoxication".