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After the silent films, when the
first talking movies rolled out of the studios, they weren't
just talking, they came out singing full throttle. Alam Ara,
India's first "talkie", narrowly beating Shirin
Farhad to the claim, was released in 1931.
Producer-director Ardeshir Irani was far-sighted enough to
recognise the historical potential of sound films, and moved
heaven and earth to make sure his film was the first to be
released.
In 1935 Devdas
— a key film in Bollywood and Indian history —
directed by P.C. Barua and starring K.L. Saigal was released.
Earlier in 1928 it had been filmed by Naresh Mitra and was
twice remade in Telugu. In 1955 it was yet again remade by
Barua's cameraman Bimal Roy who brought fame and glory to
Dilip Kumar.
The book not
only chronologically gives the summary of the films, it also
lets out some interesting incidents. Like for Barua's Devdas,
Rai Chand Boral and Pankaj Malik were said to have mystical
musical mantras embedded in them; one song was believed
to be capable of lighting lamps if sung flawlessly — a feat
K.L. Saigal was said to have accomplished during filming!
Another mythology has sprung up around each and every version
of the film, and there are tales of mysterious mishaps during
the productions. Even present-day remake, starring Shah Rukh
Khan in the title role, is plagued by stunt accidents, a
bizarre fan incident and its producer being jailed
indefinitely. The myth is that it's hard as hell to make this
film, but if made it's a surefire-winner. It had held true for
all 10 versions so far, so it will be interesting to see if it
holds good for the newest remake as well.
More
little-known tidbits: how may of us knew that Nargis had
turned down Raj Kapoor's request to play an older woman in an
untitled film; but after the breaking up of her alleged
romantic attachment to him, she accepted Mehboob Khan's offer
to play a woman twice her age in Mother India. And good
for her, as it turned out to be the greatest female role in
Bollywood history. In fact, recently Nargis was even voted as
the Best Actress of the Millennium for this one single role!
Another
landmark film Sahib Biwi aur Ghulam too had another
starcast. Guru Dutt with the failure of Kagaz ke Phool had
descended into alcohol and depression. He had refused to
direct Chaudvin ka Chand and later did not even want to
act in Sahib Biwi.... Luckily for him, the hero's role
was turned down by Shashi Kapoor and even Biswajit !
Similarly, Nargis refused to play the role of Chhoti Bahu because
Guru Dutt had previously dropped her husband Sunil Dutt from
film Raaz. Well, Nargis's loss was Meena Kumari's gain, and
what a gain! Sahib Biwi aur Ghulam was the first Hindi
film to openly deal with the issue of a woman's sexual
dissatisfaction — the Chhoti Bahu confronts her
husband and accuses him of neglecting her needs in a scene
that shocked audiences.
The author
writes in detail about the arrival of a new, angry, bitter,
hard-hitting Bollywood. Nobody embodied the bad new Bollywood
more than a tall, gangly young man with a baritone voice. His
name — Amitabh Bachchan. And things would never be the same
again. The movie Zanjeer changed Hindi film history and
catapulted its cast and crew into superstardom overnight —
writers Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, Akhtar, Prakash Mehra and
of course Bachchan.
Regarding Sholay,
Banker advises the reader : "If you had to see just
one Hindi film in your life, just one, then see Sholay."
Indeed, it's considered the most perfect Hindi film ever
made!
Never going
far from the central theme 'Bollywood', the author refers to
important films made on off-beat topics. So we have Arth
bringing out the naked insight into man-woman relationships; :Jaane
Bhi Do Yaaron in the tradition of Hollywood mad-chase
epics like It's a Mad, Mad Mad World; Ankush, a rare
Maharashtrian/Mumbai subject; Raja dealing with the
frustrating terrorist problem and so on.
Then two
other landmarks — Baazigar and Aankhen. While Baazigar
was the first film to show a hero murdering the heroine, Aankhen
created the first modern, comic hero of Bollywood :
Govinda.
In the midst
of the song and dance, traditional films Hum Aapke Hain
Kaun, Dilwale Dulhaniyan Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai
etc is Bandit Queen. More harrowing than the on screen
horrors was the knowledge that every Indian viewer had, that
all this was real, that it still happens today in villages
around the country.
The author
equally well sums up the beauty of hits Kaho Na ... Pyar
Hai, Gadar, a Love Story and Oscar-nominee Lagaan.
In most of the cases he brings out what viewers have
always felt, but couldn't put in so many words.
But some
errors in the book that can't escape a die-hard film buff : In
Do Bigha Zameen the heroine does not die at the end of
the story as mentioned by the author; in Waqt the three
brothers — Raaj Kumar, Sunil Dutt and Shashi Kapoor — do
not fall for the same girl Sadhana, the last-mentioned is
paired with Sharmila Tagore; Bobby, in the film by the same
name, was the granddaughter of the former nanny Mrs Braganza
and not her daughter; and in Sholay, Jaya Bhaduri
escapes the massacre as she had gone to the temple with the
servant and not to her parents' home.
One also
feels that the landmarks could have excluded some of the films
described like Trishul, Betaab, Ghayal, Kuch
Kuch Hota Hai and perhaps Mohabattein. Or they
could have been given less footage, I mean newsprint.
Conversely,
how could the author leave out one of the golden classics of
Hindi films — Guide? A film way ahead of its times it
would certainly have been rated as a 5/5 entry. And what about
Aradhana, the movie which made Rajesh Khanna a rage and
gave us our first superstar? I remember girls screamed every
time he appeared on the silver screen and many wrote letters
to him with pens dipped in their blood!
But, what the hell, the book
is highly readable and can be considered a prized possession
of a true movie-buff.
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WHO
can think of India without thinking of its wonderful mad world
of Hindi films? The two are just inseparable. Even today films
are entertainment No. 1. You just can't have enough of them.
Surprisingly then, there aren't many books, let alone many
worth reading, on the subject. But now, Penguin Books have
come out with a handy pocket book appropriately titled Bollywood
by author Ashok Banker to give you an insight into the
colourful kitsch world of Bollywood fantasy and melodrama.
