Rakesh Dixit
Septuagenarian Jaiprakash Choksey writes with passion and intellectual farvour on Indian cinema. Being an insider- he has been film distributor, script writer and producer of some not-so-successful films—Choksey embellishes his narrative with interesting nuggets and trivia about the century-old industry.
His daily column ‘Parde Ke Peeche’ in Dainik Bhaskar offers a fine blend of history, anecdotes, literature, biography, sociology, economy and psychology of the 100-year-long journey of the cinema. He diligently endevours to provide historical perspective to the current trends, stardom, idiosyncrasies and changing mores of the cinema and its driving forces, while contextualizing the narrative to the present.
The language is lucid, if, at times, didactic. The immensely popular column has been offering well-informed insight into the cinema for over 13 years. His trademark writing style is unmistakable in his book, ‘Mahatma Gandhi Aur Cinema’ as well.
Divided into 12 chapters, the 191-page book has broadly two narratives running parallel. One briefly traces socio-political history of the freedom struggle with Mahatma Gandhi at the centre. The other deals with the evolution of the India cinema, beginning almost from the time when the Mahatma had returned India from South Africa. The author juxtaposes the two narratives to interpret how the precepts and practices of the Mahatma have kept influencing the filmmakers, both Indian and foreigner alike.
Significantly, while the Gandhi’s distaste for the cinema remained unshakable, a sizeable number of filmmakers — from V Shantaram to Raju Hirani– consciously imbued their celluloid ventures with Gandhian teachings. It is a delicious irony that Gandhi, who could not sit through till end the only film—Ram Rajya—he was made to watch in 1944, was a source of inspiration for a galaxy of filmmakers down the ages for their meaningful cinema. It is, though, also true that many films, either based on Gandhi or influenced by Gandhian values, flopped.
Nevertheless, the author passionately argues that their less-than-expected success is by no means an indication of irrelevance of Gandhi and his philosophy.
The book, which was released with great fanfare by film writer Salim Khan in November, 2012, in Mumbai, is as much a homage to Gandhi as it is to the stalwarts of the India cinema beginning from the doyen Dhundiraj Govind Falke.
Like in his column, Choksey has kept the two narratives non-linear. He delectably evokes anecdotes and incidents of different times together to accentuate gradual loss of innocence in the cinema. Ideas and characters from classic literature get seamlessly woven in his grand narrative.
Since the book is not a chronological narration of the history of cinema, Dada Sahab Falke, Amir Khan, Raj Kapoor, V Shataram, Mehbob Khan, Vidhu Vinod Chopra and other icons of the cinema keep propping up from chapter to chapter. Ditto with themes. Hindu-Muslim unity, crass commercialization, rural-urban divide, woman emancipation are some of the themes the writer seems obsessed with. His rhetorical lamentation on moral decay in the society at times sounds a bit sanctimonious. Also, he seems to stretch imagination a bit too far in interpreting Gandhian influence on some of the films that dealt with the issues dear to Gandhi.
Notwithstanding minor flaws, the book is a powerful evocation of interesting people and times down the ages. It richly illustrates Gandhi as a towering moral force whose ideas may or may not have been imbibed by the film makers consciously but their films had to have his influence all the same. Gandhiism was, after all, too dominant an idea for idealistic filmmakers not to be swayed by it. Moreover, till at least sixties, it made good commercial sense for filmmakers to imbue their cinema with Gandhian ideals because the masses simply adored the Mahatma.
His main ideas about communal harmony, removal of untouchability or conversion of the bad into good through sheer moral persuasion resonated just too well with the spectators. So, films based on such themes- and they were not insignificant in number –proved, unsurprisingly, a great success.
Choksey’s recurring grouse is that creeping crass commercialization after the end of the Nehru era put paid to such idealistic ventures of filmmakers of the yesteryears.
However, doyens like Mehboob Khan, Raj Kapoor, V Shantaram, Bimal Roy etc kept the flame aglow. Choksey is unabashedly delighted to note that filmmakers like Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihlali, Raju Hirani and Aamir Khan became glorious torch-bearers of the idealism the stalwarts of the fifties and sixties had depicted in their cinema.
In fact, Choksey is so enamoured of Amir Khan’s films such as ‘Laagan’, ‘Rang De Basanti’,” Three idiots” and his serial ‘Satyamev Jayate” that he has devoted a full chapter eulogizing the super star.
The book begins with beginning of the Indian cinema. In the first chapter—Mahatma Gandhi Aur cinema—he recalls wistfully how Hindu religion was a major determinant of Gandhi’s personality as well as Dada Sahab Falke’s cinema. Both were born with a year’s difference. The first Indian film ‘Raja Harishchandra” was produced in 1913. Incidentally, the mythological character of Harishchandra had greatly influenced Mohan Das during his childhood. .
The author argues that Clarian call of the Mahatma to the masses to become bold and fearless hugely benefited the cinema in its formative years. He mentions in this context Gandhi’s powerful speech in Banaras in 1916 in the function to mark foundation of the BHU.
According to Choksey, the masses, particularly the working class, felt adequately emboldened following the Gandhi’s call to shed fear and came out of their homes in drove to watch mythological movies in run-down but burgeoning cinema halls across India. The first decade of the Indian cinema (1913-1922) saw production of 91 films and all were mythological.
The films veered to social themes (Chapter two—non-cooperation movement and cinema) as Gandhi’s footprints deepened across the country.
This was the period when the first World War had just ended and Gandhi’s fast-growing appeal among the masses had convinced him that the time was ripe to wage a sustained war against the British regime. He had sensed furore among Indian Muslims against allied forces’ war on Caliph of Turkey. Thus, Khilafat movement was conceptualized as a potent weapon to trouble the British on one hand and forge Hindu-Muslim unity, on the other. The movement evoked widespread turmoil in India.
Debaki Bose was one of the thousands of youths who heeded the Gandhi’s call and quit college. Later he produced a film “ Chandidas” which was based on love story between a Brahmin man and washerwoman. Gandhi’s influence on the film was unmistakable.
Around this time, another idealist film maker V Shantaram emerged on the cinema firmament. He would play a long innings and produce-direct several films, many of which had an indelible Gandhian mark.
Another significant film which bore the imprint of Gandhian teaching on untouchability was Ashok Kumar-starrer “Acchut Kanya”(1936).V Shantaram’s “ Dunia Na Mane”(1937) on mismatch marriage between a minor girl and aged widower was also inspired by Gandhi’s call to remove inequality in the society.
When the cinema found its voice, Gandhi’s message through films became bolder and easier to comprehend. In chapter 3(cinema and voice of society), Choksey writes that voice had entered the cinema in 1927 with advent of first talkie in America-‘Jazz Singer’.
First Indian talkie film was Ardesher Irani’s ‘Alam Aaara’ which was released on March 14,1931. In the same year Charlie Chaplin met Mahatma Gandhi in London. Four years later, Charlie Chaplin would produce the classic’ Modern Times’ depicting dehumanizing effects of the machine.
The film endorsed Gandhi’s opposition to rampant mechanization. Thus, the all- time great filmmaker tacitly acknowledged influence of Gandhi who he had met in London.
In fact, most of Chaplin’s 70 films, notably,” the Kids”, ‘City Lights”, “Lime Lights” champion the cause of human compassion which was central to the Gandhi’s philosophy.
The chapter 4–contribution of Gandhian movement to cinema; films based on woman emancipation—points out to significant departure from the past about the way the burgeoning film industry had functioned till then. The forties was marked by arrival of share market player Chandulal shah in the cinema arena. He brought commercialization in the cinema. His ventures were a sharp break from mythology-based films which had been dominating the cinema.
However, filmmakers such as V Shantaram remained steadfastly committed to meaningful cinema espousing Gandhian values. His film,’Amar Jyoti’ was a portrayal of revolt of the heroin against her drunkard husband. This was the period when a large number of women had cast off inhibition to take part in the freedom movement.
Shantaram’s another production ‘Padosi’ reflected Hindu-Muslim unity, another powerful message of the Mahatma. Sohrab Modi’s ‘Pukar’ created a massive flutter as it showed emperor Jahangir punishing his beloved wife on a complaint of a poor Hindu woman.
But the most revolutionary film was’ Roti’ by Mehboob Khan which subtly exposed the divide and rule policy of the British and strengthened the Gandhi’s cause. Mehboob’s another film ‘Nazma’ was way ahead of its time; it depicted a progressive Muslim woman who opposes veil and eventually manages to win over the conservative in-laws.
By the mid-forty communist –inspired Indian Peoples Theatre Association (IPTA) had focused more on peasants and their plight in plays and films. Gandhain idealism was less pronounced in films of the Marxist artistes but they too did not completely divorce their art from core Gandhian values.
Next chapter– A spiritual tragedy—is less about films and more about the tragic developments that led to partition of the country and, subsequently, Gandhi’s assassination. It is an elaborate lamentation on the pernicious rise of communalism. The author sounds too much carried away by the historical factors behind the growing conflicts between the two communities to offer a dispassionate interlink between the cinema and politics of the period.
Writer’s grief continues in the next chapter 6— Nehru era: golden period of Indian cinema—even though, paradoxically, it was shown by him as golden period for the Indian cinema.
The chapter begins with Nehru’s “trust with destiny” speech on the midnight of 14-15 august 1947. The film industry faced initial roadblocks after independence as leaders like C Rajgopalachari and Morarji were too prudish to encourage cinema. They considered cinema world of sins. Entertainment tax on films was as high as 150% in some states. The Censor Board was rather too strict.
But the odds did not daunt many filmmakers and number of movie production continued to increase.
In this period Gandhian ideology was not as much visible as Nehrvian socialism was on the cinema. Nehru was the darling of the masses. The socio-political milieu was suffused with optimism. However, the undercurrent of Gandhian idealism continued to motivate filmmakers like V Shantaram. His film on dowry-Dahej — melodramatically depicted suicide by the heroin ,whose poor father fails to satisfy the greed of the daughter’s in-laws. Kedar Sharma’s film Jogan went a step further. In the film, a debauch landlord marries off his talented and beautiful sister to a rich family in the hope of improving his own poor financial condition. The heroin rebels and renounces the world to become a Jogan.
The fifties was marked by three developments of far reaching significance for the film industry; the holding of the first international film festival, SK Patil report on the industry and screening of classic film ‘Awara’. Raj Kapoor-starrer ‘Awara’ would in years to come become a huge success internationally, particularly in the then USSR.
In 1955, Satyajit Ray produced Pather Panchali. This one film altered the grammar of the Indian cinema. Ray made a total 28 film till he breathed last in 1991. Realism in the Indian cinema based on writings of noted Bangla authors is an unmatched contribution of Ray which greatly influenced successive directors in varying degrees.
Although the realism in the Ray’s films had no direct relation with Gandhian ideology, the starkness of poverty in India jolted the masses from the slumber induced by the escapism that characterized and continues to characterize Indian films.
The best and by far the most shocking revelation of the wretchedness of the Indian peasantry, however, was shown by Mehboob Khan in his all-time great film ,’Mother India’. The film bore the imprint of Marxism and Gandhiism in equal measure.
V Shantaram’s ‘Do Ankhe ,Barah Haath’ was a quintessential Gandhain film. Inspired by the Gandhian thoughts, the jailer in the film sets out to reform six hardened criminals. He sacrifices himself in the noble mission.
From Nehru’s death to Emergency (chapter 8) was a period when most remarkable films on bold social themes got made.
The chapter dwells at length on the representative films of the period such as ‘Guide’, ‘Teesari Kasam’, ‘Satyakaam’ which are redolent of Gandhian morality.
However, the writer wisely refrains from interpreting the films of the period in terms of Gandhian values. Bucolic beauty of the Indian rural life and growing dehumanization caused by migration of the population towards the cities find ample resonance in several notable films of the period.
Choksey rues the fact that the onset of economic liberalization in early nineties brought about certain hedonistic changes in the cinematic experiences and preferences of the masses which sadly manifested themselves in low viewership of the films on Gandhi.
He refers to ‘the Making of the Mahatma ‘ by Shyam Benegal to buttress his point. Although made with due diligence and exhaustive research on Gandhi’s years in South Africa, the film did not do well commercially.
Kamal Hasan’s film “Hey Ram”, with Naseeruddin Shah cast as Gandhi also proved a flop. Several other films on Gandhi too had the similar fate.
But, the writer notes with optimism, that Gandhi was reinvented by Raju Hirani who gave a delicious, if hilarious, twist to the Mahatma’s message in cult film “ Lage Raho Munna Bhai”.
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