 |
|
| ARTS TRIBUNE | Friday, February 8, 2002, Chandigarh, India |
Bhagwan Dada died on Monday
Turning listenables into watchables
The return of Urdu on TV? |
|
Bhagwan Dada died on
Monday
Bhagwan Abaji Pandav, better known as Bhagwan or
Bhagwan Dada, was acknowledged as an ace comic actor. His musical
film, "Albela", released in 1951, has stood the test of
time. Even today, in this jet age of electronic entertainment, crowds
go hysterical every time they hear Shola jo bhadke, dil mera dhadke
... or Bholi surat dil ke khote, naam bade aur darshan chhote...
from the film. Whether it is at a film awards function, the disco, the
dandiya or weddings, the songs of "Albela" are a must. In
fact, every major star from Amitabh Bachchan and Govinda to Mithun
Chakraborty and Rishi Kapoor has copied Bhagwan-style slow-moving
dancing in their movies. Bhagwan was different from our concept of a
romantic hero. He was portly, slow-moving and had bulging eyes. But in
"Albela" he clicked well with Geeta Bali. "Albela"
had a simple and uncomplicated storyline. A poor man from an orthodox
family dreams of becoming a "kalakar". People laugh at his
ambitions and his family is indifferent. But he comes into contact
with a well-known female singer who recognises the tremendous talent
and never-say-die spirit of the man and encourages him. The film has
sparkling Geeta Bali in the female lead while producer-director
Bhagwan himself plays the hero. He is ideally cast as the simple man
who loves music and singing and is determined to make a mark for
himself. The movie went on to become a major hit mainly due to its
melodious tunes composed by C. Ramachandra who was a close personal
friend of Bhagwan. They were discussing the film while sitting at a
Churchgate restaurant in Mumbai and C. Ramachandra promised to give
music "for the love of it." And sure enough, he gave one
lilting tune after another for "Albela". The rest is
history. The film became a super hit and Bhagwan had everything he had
dreamt of — money, fame and friends. But Bhagwan had begun life
very differently. Son of a textile mill worker, his childhood in the
labour areas of Parel and Dadar in Mumbai was bereft of any luxury. He
was a wide-eyed admirer of the silent cinema and worshipped Master
Vithal who was the star of the day. He used to dream of emulating his
stunt and fight scenes. Forced to give up studies after the fourth
standard, Bhagwan did odd jobs, but his aim was clear — to join
films. He joined a local gym to build up his muscles, and there was a
time when he looked like Rambo. He haunted the studios hoping he
would be discovered. Finally, in 1930, he got a break. Producer Siraj
Ali Hakim gave him a comedian’s role in the silent film "Bewafa
Aashiq," based on "The Hunchback of Notre Dame". The
film was a hit, but he was without offers for eight months because it
was believed that he was really a hunchback! Then Bhagwan met
Chandravarkar Pawar who gave him work in three silent movies. In 1934
he made his first talkie "Himmat-e-Mardan". After that he
joined another company and directed a film called "Bahadur
Kisan", with Hansa Wadkar as the heroine. The movie again was a
big hit. During the shooting of the film, he had taken a lanky young
man, Chitilkar Ramachandra, as his assistant. He gave him a break as a
music director in the three. Tamil films he directed in Madras. He
used to call him Anna and there began their long association during
which C. Ramachandra, out of gratitude, gave him Hindi film
industry’s all-time favourite songs for "Albela,"
including one of the loveliest loris Dhire se aaja ri, ankhiyan
mein.... Thereon Bhagwan directed and acted in films like "Dosti",
"Jalan", "Criminal", "Bhedi Bangla" and
so on. It was a period when action films were popular. Bhagwan and
Fearless Nadia were public idols and crowds thronged theatres where
their films were shown. He also acted as a hero in "Bade
Sahib", "Daamad", "Ghazab", "Ram Bharose"
and "Bhoole Bhatke". His film "Bhedi Bangla" was
a suspense and horror film. Nobody had tried that genre before.
Everybody ridiculed the idea. But Bhagwan was confident. He completed
the film in three months flat. All cameramen and directors in the
industry queued up to see its special effects. V. Shantaram was very
impressed. Most of the dubbing, recording and trials for his films
were done at Famous Studios. Raj Kapoor was a regular visitor there.
Bhagwan always took special care to see that no outsiders were allowed
during a trial, but the moment he entered the auditorium, Raj would be
there before him. He liked "Bhedi Bangla" very much,
particularly a dance sequence. He urged Bhagwan to move from stunt
films to socials as he had a wonderful technique. At about the same
time C. Ramachandra too suggested that he give up "dishum-dishum"
type of films and concentrate on social themes. The result was
"Albela". The film was in tune with the newly independent
India. Both the young and the old loved it and it ran for more than 50
weeks at the theatres where it was shown. Why, at some centres, it was
more popular than even Raj Kapoor’s "Barsaat"! However,
efforts to repeat the "Albela" magic fizzled with such
spin-offs as "Labela" and "Jhamela", which were
miserable flops. His film "Sahme Hue Sapney" didn’t
survive beyond the first show. Then he suffered a heavy loss while
making "Hanste Rehna" with Kishore Kumar. He had invested
his own money, pawned his wife’s jewellery and withdrawn all his
life’s savings. But half way through, Kishore started dilly-dallying
and "behaving crazily" and the project had to be
shelved. All this taught Bhagwan Dada some bitter lessons. His large
circle of friends, who ate, drank and made merry at his expense,
slowly deserted him. His sea-facing Juhu bungalow with 25 rooms along
with his fleet of seven cars (one for each day of the week) had to be
sold. The family moved to a two-room set in a chawl at Dadar. In his
last days he was being looked after by his unmarried daughter and the
family of his youngest son, who is a sound recordist. A veteran actor
of about 600 films in the course of more than five decades, Bhagwan
continued to get bits and pieces roles in films like "Sindbad the
Sailor", "Goonj", "Chori Chori", "Taraana",
"Ek Se Badh Kar Ek", "Sharabi" etc. But ultimately
he gave up as he could not adapt to the indiscipline of the present
set-up. The Cine Artistes’ Association and the Indian Motion Picture
producers’ Association were paying him Rs 3,000 and Rs 5,000,
respectively, for the past few years. Bhagwan had some of the
artistes like Sunil Dutt, Johnny Lever and Satyen Kappu visiting him.
He was in particular grateful to Dilip Kumar who would stop his car
and honk whenever he passed by his window and would not move till they
greeted each other. Some other industry folks too would salute him on
the odd occasion he attended a public function. Some years ago, he
was honoured with the Shanta Hublikar Award for a life-time
contribution to cinema. At another function, he received a souvenir
from the state culture Minister, Mr Pramod Navalkar. The audience
cheered him wildly when Bhagwan removed his glasses, rolled his eyes
and did a jive on the stage. It was indeed an unforgettable moment. |
||
Turning listenables into watchables With a conceptual upheaval in the world of music, after
which songs are more watched and less listened to, music video
directors create an integral part of the package offered by pop
artistes. Singers get most of the bouquets and brickbats for their
efforts, but the labour put in by music video directors contributes
considerably to the popularity of chartbusters. Visualisation of the
presentation of pop numbers has become highly specialised. Among the
names that stand out in this field is that of Kookie Gulati. Starting
off with promos of music videos, he has carved a niche for himself in
a short span of time. Top names in the pop firmament like Gurdas
Mann, Daler Mehndi, Alisha Chinai, Hema Sardesai, Manmohan Waris and
Sukhbir have benefited from his creative skills. Even playback
stalwarts Alka Yagnik and Sonu Nigam have got videos for their audio
albums directed by this vibrant youth. He has also churned out videos
for DCS, Shubha Mudgal, Milan Singh, Sonali Vajpayee, A.S. Kang and
Jazzy B. Kookie staunchly believes in the dignity of labour. He
understands and appreciates the role each member of the production
unit plays in the final outcome. Though he has shot many videos
abroad, it is the region that attracts him. He is particularly keen to
tap the pristine beauty of Himachal Pradesh for his ventures. He runs
the firm Kreative Heights with close friend Jay Shewakramani. They
have made film promos for "Albela", "Kya Kehna",
"Jaanam Samjha Karo", "Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai",
"Hello Brother", "Aashiq and Kunwara". Among their
new assignments are "Raaz", "Kya Yehi Pyar Hai"
and "Haan Maine Bhi Pyar Kiya". They have also ventured into
commercials and television production. Kookie opines that each
individual project should be handled by the right team to ensure
quality. Committed to professionalism, he strives to add originality
to every product. Working day in and day out, though very demanding,
keeps him going.
|
 |
SIGHT
&
SOUND The
driver was from Amroha in UP and he was smiling. "My wife is a BA
in Urdu and if Mulayam Singh comes back, she will get a job in a
school to teach Urdu." A sad reminder of how this rich and elegant Indian
language has been politicised. Why should it depend on Mulayam Singh
for a teacher to get a job? Some of the best writers of Urdu were and
are Sikhs and Hindus. And I gather that Munshi Premchand wrote in Urdu
(Arabic) script. I have heard Urdu spoken beautifully in Assam, Bengal
(where DD has bulletins in Urdu) in Andhra Pradesh, everywhere in the
Northern India and, of course, in Mumbai, where some of the best
writers for the cinema write stories, screenplays and lyrics in a
subtle mix of Hindi and Urdu and include Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs.
Indeed, if there is a national language in India, it is and always has
been the language of the Hindi cinema, which is understood all over
India. And if required for a period film, the Mumbai cinema can rise
to the greatest heights in both Sanskritised Hindi and pure Urdu, if
there is such a thing, so greatly have the two languages enriched each
other and co-existed in peace and dignity. Many years ago, when
Indira Gandhi was PM and Inder Gujral was Minister for I and B, a note
came from Indira Gandhi to the ministry asking for an Urdu Service to
be started immediately. She made it clear that it should avoid
propaganda except in news bulletins and commentaries. Because it was
not meant only for the large number of Urdu-speaking and loving
citizens of India, beginning from Bengal, UP, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh
and Maharashtra to the whole of northern India, but also, she
suggested, we should give listeners in Pakistan the best of Indian
culture—notably classical music, literature, including Urdu poetry
some of whose best exponents were Indian and, for popular fare, of
course filmi geet. At that time Pakistan radio did not have a
programme for farmers, so that was included as well. She suggested,
and I have seen the note in her handwriting, that the service should
be entrusted to one of three people, Balraj Sahni, Khwaja Ahmad Abbas
or Iqbal Malik. Sahni and Abbas declined, because they were too
committed professionally elsewhere, so the choice fell on Iqbal Malik,
who was already in AIR. Since he was my husband, our orderly and
peaceful flat was soon invaded by his team outside office hours, and
Iqbal would sit up at night working on blueprints over my protests.
But when the Urdu service was launched, it became a smash hit. Not
only all over India, but across the border. Fan mail poured in like a
deluge. Radio Pakistan soon started a programme for farmers and a
programme of Urdu poetry, as AIR had done. Propaganda was kept to the
minimum, and the healthy competition which ensued was entirely to the
gain of this great language as well as viewers. Particularly
Pakistanis, who saw Indian culture at its best and realised the fact
that Urdu was an Indian language although they had been fed on the
myth that it was a "Muslim" language and their copyright and
national language. So politicians on both sides who project this myth
are not only belittling the language but, as I said, selfishly
politicising it. All these thoughts came to mind as I watched the
Urdu channel of ETV at some length last week. Mr Ramoji Rao, who is a
very canny media man, has triumphantly ventured outside the South (the
southern language satellite channels take care of themselves anyway
and have driven DD into a corner) and ETV has launched channels in
several non-southern languages. I can certainly vouch for the success
of their Bengali channel. And now, the Urdu channel, under the able
direction of Shama Zaidi, is doing for and with Urdu what DD should
have done long ago. I am afraid I cannot read the Arabic script, but
understand enough of Urdu now to say that they are giving excellent
programmes of Urdu poetry, some interesting plays and, of course, the
best of film songs. And I have seen no signs of political bias, least
of all in their news bulletins. Wake up, DD. As usual an independent
channel has beaten you to it. And, once again, the Indian politicians
and government have missed their cue. Just ask that driver from
Amroha. |
