Category: Cinema@100

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Cinema@100

Dilip Kumar was a pickle, too

Today’s film stars endorse several products at once. But dig through advertisement archives and you’ll find the most unexpected faces.
by The Editors | editor@themetrognome.in

Advertisements and endorsements are part of a larger game involving a celebrity’s popularity and general attractiveness. The more popular the star, the higher the number of endorsements.

If you thought yesteryear actors didn’t endorse brands, you thought wrong. A lot of Hindi cinema’s popular, and sometimes, unexpected faces endorsed a range of products, from hair cream and cigarettes, from beauty soaps to even pickles! While Ashok Kumar endorsed a suitings brand, perpetually-in-the-dumps Nirupa Roy was once a face for a beauty soap.

But enough talk. Enjoy our slideshow of 15 vintage Bollywood endorsements.

 

(Pictures courtesy satyamshot.wordpress.com, www.facebook.com, post.jagran.com, orkut-html.blogspot.com, memsaabstory.com, cineplot.com, assambiskoot.com)

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Cinema@100

Saira Bano and the summer of ‘99

She felt that the film industry never stood by anyone. Sairo Bano has been Dilip Kumar’s ‘voice’ for years now.
by Humra Quraishi

She has been the unofficial spokesperson for her illustrious husband for years now. And this was a role probably given to her by him in the first place.

dilip kumar and saira banoIn 1999, I knew that the yesteryear golden couple of Hindi cinema – Saira Bano and Dilip Kumar – were in New Delhi. I was keen to interview them, so I tried all the possible sources that could connect me with them. But the closest I could get by way of a source was a homoeopath who was treating the couple. And the closest he could get by way of helping me get an appointment with them was to tell me that they were staying at the Le Meridien Hotel, in a particular suite.

I landed at the hotel lobby, but before I could move towards that particular floor, I could see Saira Bano and Dilip Kumar in the glass lift descending to the lobby.

I rushed towards them, heart beating fast, but before I could begin with my well-rehearsed lines, introducing the homeopath connection by way of introduction, I could see a frown spread across Dilip Kumar’s face. It was obvious that he hated this intrusion, and in chaste Urdu – well, Urdu so chaste that it seemed out of place and filmi – he said that I should have come only and only with a prior appointment, and they being so very busy here in New Delhi, did not have the time to say even a word.

What’s more, he said, if any words had to be spoken, only Saira would do so, not he.

He continued out of the lobby, with his wife and several others who had gathered around to hear him. I believe the two were meeting several important people in Delhi at the time.

It was the summer of 1999. It was a crucial and tense phase for the couple – that was the year of the big political controversy surrounding Dilip Kumar and the Nishaan-e-Imtiaz, which the Pakistani Government had bestowed on him, and which he refused to return. I remember this meeting in great detail even today, particularly in the current political climate.

When I next got a chance to speak to Saira, this was my first question to her. “Why doesn’t your husband return this award? Why keep it when it is causing so much tension?”

She’d replied, “Return it? Are we living in a democracy or is it some sort of dictatorship? How much we are being bullied! Tell me how much of a mess can you take in your life? After all, this award was not given to him now, but it was given last year, in March 1998. Even then, Dilipsaab was so cautious, that he first took permission from our Government and from the Prime Minister.”

I said, “But your critics are crying themselves hoarse, saying that this is 1999, there’s a war with Pakistan so the scenario has changed…”

To that, Saira Bano said, “Tell me, do we now go looking for all those trophies, awards and citations that our cricketers and sportspersons received when they had played in Pakistan? saira and dilipShould we ask them to give back all those awards they’d received earlier? I’m  told that even LK Advani sahib had got some citation from Pakistan…all this talk of returning awards seems petty.”

“Your husband’s critics also point out that Rabindranath Tagore had returned the title that the British had bestowed on him, and in keeping with that action, Dilip Kumar should return this Award,” I said.

“Rabindranath Tagore returned it on his way on a certain occasion. He wasn’t labelled anti-national, nor was he bullied and threatened, like we are being bullied and threatened,” was her terse reply.

“It is said that certain Right-wing political parties in Mumbai are not happy with the social service work you undertook after the Bombay riots of 1992-1993. Is this why you are facing this backlash?” I queried.

She said, “There is a communal trace to the whole issue, but let me add that I do social service for all people, people from different communities. I try to reach out to whoever is in need…And I do so with a group of close friends who belong to different communities; in fact, most of my friends are Hindus. We are not high profile at all, but try to serve in a quiet way…I feel very upset by what’s been happening. Witnessing those riots was a nightmare, and the growing fascism and communalism has hurt me, shattered me. I feel grieved, as though my dream has been broken, my glass been shattered. One hopes that common sense prevails and this growing communalism gets controlled, so that we can all coexist in peace.”

dilipsaira-dec11I mused on this for a while, observing the still beautiful woman who gave interviews in place of her husband, who spoke with such eloquence about facing censure. She often spoke of him as a “man of honour who was bound to be honoured.” Then I reflected, “Usually film stars stand united in times of crisis, but in this present crisis that you and your husband are facing, film stars are maintaining a studied silence. What do you think of this?”

“Have they stood by anyone? Nobody takes a stand these days! Even when Sanju (Sanjay Dutt) was being harassed, the only two people who spoke for him were Shatrughan Sinha and my husband. Even when the film Fire was in trouble, only my husband spoke out on the matter,” she said.

(Pictures courtesy www.merepix.com, ibnlive.in.com, www.bollywoodshaadis.com, photogallery.sandesh.com)

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Cinema@100

The science behind Bollywood’s stereotypes

A research study shows how communities and castes have been stereotyped consistently across our small and big screens, for years.
by Humra Quraishi

pervez dewan There’s something about Parvez Dewan (see pic on left), the J&K cadre IAS officer who is currently officiating as the Secretary, Tourism (Government of India). He has authored several books, written lyrics and undertaken offbeat research on various topics. You can’t not take this man seriously.

Several years ago, he was so intrigued by certain projections of people that he saw on the big and small screens of India, that he undertook a research study to get to the bottom of it. This was 20 years ago. He began collecting data vis-à-vis the media’s portrayal of the various castes and religious groups of the country.

His study was based on 786 Hindi films, 300 episodes of popular television serials and 300 commercials. And the groups that dominantly emerged from the study were Sikhs, Christians, Muslims, Tamilians, Scheduled Castes and Tribes, Sindhis, Marwaris, Parsis, Hyderabadis, Chinese settled in India and Maharashtrians. A study of his research yields some interesting results.

What did Pervez find?
His findings showed that in a great majority of Hindi films, the Christian men are unattractive and invariably seen clutching a bottle of alcohol. “They are also portrayed as petty criminals, as against the gang leaders who are almost always Hindi-speaking Aryan caste Hindus. That presumably signifies power. A Christian man will rarely marry a caste Hindu woman and when he does, the marriage will end in a disaster. On the other hand, Christian women are projected as fair-skinned and generally with loose morals – the smoking, drinking types,” he said.

Muslim men are shown in typically ‘Muslim’ attires. “They are either old, handicapped, subordinate, sterile, impotent or stereotypes in hindi filmshomosexual. If they are not any of these, then they are often fathers of too many children. Less than 20 per cent of the Muslim men are portrayed as young, but even in this category, they are depicted not only as backward but as fundamentalist, mazhab ke pakke types, so much so that many of the opening shots of several films start with a Muslim offering namaaz,” Pervez found. Another trend noticed and a trend which seemed to increase since the release of the film Tezaab, is the portrayal of Muslim men as terrorising the local population.

Sikhs are generally portrayed as well-meaning dullards.

stereotypes in hindi films2Also in all romantic affairs between a Muslim/SC/ST/Christian girl and a caste Hindu boy, it is she who chases the boy and not the other way round. On the other hand, some Muslim film producers/directors have portrayed prostitutes and ‘fast’ women as chaste Hindu women in the films directed and produced by them. Some of the Muslim producers/directors like Nadiadwala, Mehboob and KA Abbas have also portrayed upper caste Hindus as oppressing the lower castes.

Parsis are invariably portrayed as silly and old. The Chinese settled in India are usually evil and shown as gangsters.

Dewan’s findings  also focussed on the biased projection that wasn’t limited to religious minority groups, but included the non-Hindi belt. By and large except for the Hindi-speaking Aryan caste Hindu, nobody seemed to have been spared. And even in this category, the Kayasthas and Kshatriyas seemed to be the safest.

On the other hand, the depiction of Tamilians in the media was perhaps the worst, for they were not only referred to as ‘idli dosa types” but lately they stereotypes in hindi filmsbeen to be shown as dons. And Dewan argued that this is/was factually incorrect, as his survey established that the great majority of dons and bootleggers were not Tamilian Hindus nor Tamilian Christians and Muslims.

His findings also brought into focus the stereotyping of Sindhis and Marwaris as miserly folk. Scheduled Tribe women were often depicted as desperate to get the higher caste Hindu hero. But whilst the ST women are portrayed as clean and forever bathing near river banks, the men were shown as unattractive and dark. Hyderabadis were invariably portrayed as clowns and made the butt of many a joke. Maharashtrians were shown either as domestics or police inspectors.

What do you think of Pervez Dewan’s findings? Tell us in the comments section below.

(Pictures courtesy www.madaboutmoviez.com, movies.ndtv.com, www.santabanta.com, www.screenjunkies.com, www.balconybeats.com, www.lemauricien.com)

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Cinema@100

‘Pakeezah and Umrao Jaan were first made in Pakistan’

Pran Nevile, the man with a passion for musical tribute concerts, talks about organising a music concert night in Pakistan.
by Humra Quraishi

Pran Nevile is passionately obsessed with the bygone era. For one reason or another, this retired diplomat is rather fascinated by the past, and the dominant personalities of the day. This is amply evident from the volumes that he has authored: Love Stories from the Raj, Nautch Girls of India, Beyond the Veil, Rare Glimpses of the Raj, Stories from the Raj: Sahibs Memsahibs and Others, K.L. Saigal: Immortal Singer, and Lahore — A Sentimental Journey.

pran nevileIf one were to move from the books he has authored to the musical programmes he holds, then once again, what strikes you is his focus on stars, singers and performers of yesteryears — right from KL Saigal, Suraiyya and many others who have left a mark on generations of filmgoers. Credit goes to Nevile for putting together ‘gems’ from old music albums, recordings and more.

Pran Nevile, the man
As a retired civil servant he could have sat back and relaxed with the comforts that come with retirement, but he chose to pick up a pen and write. “No, no typing on computers for me,” he once told me. “I have written several books with my pen.”

Nevile is rather obsessed with the bygone era and the characters who flourished then. His focus is on that period, and even the musical programmes he arranges focus on yesteryear stars. Each of these musical evenings has seen a packed auditorium with the audience sitting lost in nostalgia.

Perhaps he is able to strike a chord because he carries a welter of emotions within, something which probably started when he was forced to leave Lahore as a very young man. As he writes in his preface to his book on Lahore, “This book on the Lahore of my days was conceived in the lonely dining room of Hotel Astoria in Geneva in November 1963. I was having breakfast when I heard someone calling out to me in Punjabi, `Motian aleo, Hindustan de o ke Pakistan de?’ (Prince of Pearls, are you from India or Pakistan?)’

“I looked back, responding promptly, `Bashao aao baitho, main Lahore da han‘ (Your Royal Highness, please come and sit down, I hail from Lahore). In no time we became very friendly, a blend as it were, of ghee and khichdi (clarified butter and curried rice) and talked about our glorious city. The conversation released a flood of memories deeply impressed on my mind for decades. I have tried in these pages to commit them on paper.”

The Pakistan angle

And what is refreshing is that in the epilogue, written after he revisited Lahore after several decades, in 1997 and again in 1999, he does not indulge in bitterness or Pak-bashing.
Recently, on May 16 to be precise, I spoke to him in the backdrop of Nawaz Sharif coming to power in Pakistan. Was there, I wondered, a chance of improvement in Indo-Pak ties, and does he plan to take his musical concerts across the borders to the country of his birth?

“I plan to go to Pakistan around September this year,” he said, “and in all probability, I plan to show this documentary I have made there. It is called Indo Pak Musical Journey.”Pakeezah
He chatted on about the similarities in the cinema of the two countries. “When in India we made the film Anarkali, they later made the film in Pakistan with the same title. Then Pakistan made Pakeezah and Umrao Jaan, before these films were made in India (see pic on right). One Pakistani film, Naukar Woti Da, was copied in India totally, scene by scene. The only thing they did was change the title from Punjabi to Hindustani, making it Naukar Bibi Ka.”

I asked him how the common people of both countries could relate and co-exist, and he said, “The bureaucracy doesn’t seem interested in people connecting. What happened to those earlier talks of ‘no visas for senior citizens’? There are so many over 60 years of age keen to visit each other’s countries. All those promises of people visiting each other from across the border…the bureaucracy is not really bothered to see this happen.”

(Pictures courtesy www.thehindu.com, www.lahorelitfest.com, bollyspice.com) 

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Cinema@100

‘I’d love to play a woman’

His debut film was the wildly successful Taare Zameen Par. Vipin Sharma describes Bollywood from the eyes of a newbie.
by Vrushali Lad

Vipin SharmaHe played the stern, unrelenting father in 2008’s Taare Zameen Par (TZP), a story of a dyslexic boy and his travails. Vipin Sharma’s performance made film-goers and the film industry sit up and take notice, especially for the range of emotions he depicted as his character goes from experiencing frustration to confusion to finally, understanding.

In an interview with The Metrognome, Vipin indulged in some frankspeak: on the workings of the industry, why typecasting is dangerous for an actor, how TZP was the story of his childhood, and why he is only looking for antagonist roles.

Excerpts from the interview:

How did ‘Taare Zameen Par’ happen?

After graduating from the National School of Drama, I wanted to travel all over India and abroad. I started my career assisting Ketan Mehta and worked with Naseeruddin Shah very closely. During that time I got fascinated with cinema and wanted to study it.

My quest took me to Europe for a while and then I ended up in Toronto. I think I became sort of disillusioned with acting and Bollywood of the late 80’s and wanted to do something different. In Toronto, I tried different things and finally became an editor after having attended the Canadian Film Centre.

But during all that time acting stayed in my mind and I always thought maybe one day I will go back to it. During one of my visits to Bombay, (actor) Irrfan who is a very dear friend of mine since my NSD days, asked me to see Maqbool and when I saw it, I thought things were changing in Hindi cinema. I went back to Toronto and a chance meeting with one of the most amazing acting teachers I have come across, Jacqueline McClintock from Montreal (who taught Meisner) changed my life. I studied with her for a bit and decided to pack my bags and head to Bollywood. I had no idea what was in store for me. All I knew I badly wanted to act.

What happened then?

Amole (Gupte) was about to start Taare Zameen Par. I met him and he auditioned me for the Hindi teacher and the warden’s roles. I did those but my eyes were on Mr Awasthi’s character (Ishaan Awasthi’s father). I hadn’t read the script but I had helped Amole audition the final ten kids from which Darsheel was selected.

It was during that time I asked Amole about who was going to play the father. Amole told me that since I was a bit dark-skinned, I might not pair well with the boy he had in mind. I asked him to let me prepare a scene and he willingly agreed and gave me the ‘absent note’ scene. I went home and stayed up till 3 am and prepared it.

Next day when I went to Aamir’s office I was looking around to find someone who would tape my scene. Luckily Ritu, who was one of Amole’s assistants, decided to shoot it as there was no one else. I completely forgot about it since Amole had also told me that the role was reserved by Aamir for some of the known actors from the industry. After a month I got a call from him. “Aamir ney tere ko baap bana diya.” (Aamir has made you the father). I didn’t understand what he was saying at first, but slowly it dawned on me. I was barely three months old in Bombay and had bagged a role of a lifetime which was going to change my life. I owe a lot to Aamir and Amole for letting me be a part of it.

 

Your role in TZP was a challenging one. The character stood out for its sternness, its inability to understand what exactly is going on with Ishaan. How did you prepare for this role?

Actually what Ishaan goes through in TZP is what I went through in my childhood. My father never understood me. In those days people used to hear stories of boys running away vipin sharma and darsheel safaryfrom homes to Bombay to become actors and since I used to love watching movies he thought I would also probably run away. So, as a result he sometimes beat me up if I went to see a movie. He hated my movie-going and I always thought he didn’t understand my passion for cinema. He wanted me to join the Railways and I wanted to become an actor. So, in a way TZP is my tribute to my dad whom I now think I didn’t understand. It was his love that was showing in his anger. My tears in the end of the film are for him.

In recent years, actors who play ‘character parts’ – like you did in TZP, or Sanjay Maurya did in Aage Se Right – are being hailed for their breakthrough performances. What does it take for a second lead to hold his own against the main lead?

I like the words ‘second lead’ as I think the ‘character artist’ term is very degrading now. It’s like you are some untouchable. Everyone plays a character in a film. I think it doesn’t take anything except that you play your part with sincerity and commitment against whomsoever is the lead. It could be anyone (playing the lead).

What is the method to your acting?

I would like to believe that I am evolving. There is a long way to go. I try to be honest and convincing. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. I am practicing.

Who is your favourite actor and why?

Irrfan. Not because he is a friend of mine. I remember he used to tell me after we both came out of NSD that he admired my way of acting. Today, I admire him. His simplicity and emotional strength both as a person and as an actor are commendable. I often end up crying when I speak about him in interviews. I feel very close to him.

How did you prepare for your scenes with Aamir Khan in TZP? There were three very powerful scenes you had with him, each showing a different emotion from you. What was the process like?

I actually didn’t prepare except that I made sure I knew my lines. Believe it or not, I had not seen Lagaan when I was shooting for TZP. As a matter of fact I hadn’t seen any of Aamir’s films at that point in time. I think even today I am not familiar with his films prior to TZP. I connected with him during the shoot.

 

My first meeting with him was amazing. He opened his car door for me and that was a very humbling experience. I also remember once I was unable to do a close shot in which only my arm was seen while I slap Darsheel. He came over and asked me to remove my kurta and give it to him. I told him that it was full of my sweat. He said not to worry. I took it off and gave it to him. He wore it. We did the shot and gave it back to me and said, “Here, it is sweatier now.” I too immediately took it back and wore it, thus mixing our respective sweat! I never for a moment felt I was acting with a big star. He never made me feel like it was my first film. He remained simple and like a close friend throughout the shoot.

What are you currently working on?

John Day just got finished. Satyagrah is next while Raanjhana has released. I also wrapped up shooting for Tigmanshu Dhulia’s new film Bullet Raja. Next will be Sudhir Mishra’s Mehrunissa.

What has been the most challenging part of your journey in the film industry so far?

tzpThe film industry wants to use you the way they think is the best. You have to stand up and say, “No, I am much more than this.” After TZP and till today, I fight because everyone thinks I am only capable of playing a stern father. Typecasting has done a huge damage to the Hindi film industry. It happens to directors as well.

Do you think actors in our industry get slotted in particular niches on the basis of their looks?

Yes, that is exactly what I was saying earlier. For example, my favourite role or my dream role would be to play a woman’s role, but no one will think I can do it because for most people, I can only play a strict dad or similar roles.

Which is the one role you would have loved to do?

I actually have never thought of that. Whenever I see a great role, I don’t imagine myself doing it because the actor who has done it is superb. Of course there are dream roles like Hamlet, Othello, Sakharam Binder and the likes that any actor would die for. I am no exception.

Do you agree that this is the best time to be an actor in the film industry? Vipin Sharma

Yes, definitely although in very, very small measures, but the quality of acting IS inching towards what it should be. (The current level of acting is) Honest and not this stupid melodramatic, over-the-top sentimental and crude portrayal of people which is very dangerous, as it creates fake emotions and Bollywood has a huge influence on our society. I just read recently that a mother and her daughter committed suicide because the daughter and her brother didn’t do well in exams. They took pills right in front of each other, one by one. I can imagine how this whole thing must have happened. First the boy took pills and he fainted. The mother walked in, saw the pills and the boy and she took some. Then the daughter entered and she saw them and she took some. Strange, but it is a scene straight from a tear jerker melodrama. But it happened…and it happened in Mumbai just a few days back.

But shoots in Bollywood are full of chaos and a frantic energy surrounds you all the time. Sometimes it is exciting, but quite a lot of the times it drains you out and the quality of the film suffers. Sometimes it’s tragic, as recently on one of the shoots a very young and promising assistant directors died in an accident that could have been avoided.

Please continue…

I am now only looking for antagonist roles in films. I am mostly working with Indie filmmakers in Bollywood now and that is where I am finding my like-mindedness. I don’t hate mainstream cinema but it very rarely offers films that are greatly entertaining and enlightening at the same time. Just aiming to entertain through an art form is shallow and does not contribute much to any society. In a country like India, where there are so many issues that need to be looked into, there is a great need of cinema which reflects that. I am attempting to be part of this New Cinema that is fast emerging here. It’s slow and steady but who knows, it might win the race. I am also slowly going back to performing on stage and soon will be directing my first film as well.

(Pictures courtesy www.santabanta.com, canindia.com, www.bollywoodnewsservice.com, www.rockying.com, indraneilbose.com, www.aajkikhabar.com, www.india-forums.com)

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Cinema@100

‘Bollywood filmmakers have budgets, not sensibility’

Actor Farooque Sheikh speaks on the malaise of money dictating quality in our cinema, when dedication and passion actually should.
by Humra Quraishi

farooq sheikhFarooque Sheikh was the eternal reel sweetheart, the man with more than good looks and a formidable acting talent. He did few films, but made an impact with each one, before moving on to do theatre and television and making a mark there as well.

For somebody who seems to be so soft-spoken on screen, Farooque Sheikh in the flesh comes as a bit of a surprise. He minces no words, spares nobody in his criticism. Recently, he took up the cudgels against the Tamil Nadu Government in favour of Kamal Haasan’s Vishwaroopam, which the Government banned from release despite certification from the Censor Board. “Of what use is the Censor Board if the Government is going to Talibanise films and filmmakers in this fashion?” Sheikh had famously thundered on TV.

I met and interviewed the actor twice, once in the 1990s and then in 2005 when he was speaking at a seminar here in New Delhi. He’d been his usual outspoken self and did not hedge around questions. It is refreshing to find film personalities like him who are not much bothered about political correctness.

Sheikh had a lot to say about the Hindi film industry, and how hypocritical and money-crazy the current generation of filmmakers are.

“Successful filmmakers in Bollywood today have big budgets, but no sensibility or sensitivity. Cinema has become totally commercial, a Farooq Sheikhcommodity to be sold,” he said. “There are no film producers today like K Asif and Guru Dutt and Bimal Roy, or even Mehboob sahib. Mehboob sahib had no money, yet his passion drove him to make films. Bimal Roy lived in a rented accomodation all his life. It took MS Sathyu a full 20 years to repay the loan he took to make Garam Hawa. That level of commitment is missing in today’s film producers. Today, film producers simply go by whether the film will be a box office hit. Maybe because there are too many business interests involved.”

We soon began chatting about stereotyping of communities in Indian cinema. He became quite animated on this subject. “Community perceptions in our films have always been about stereotypes. The Christian girl is a girl dancing or wearing short skirts with signs that she is a ‘fast’ girl. The Parsi is always shown as blundering. The Sikh is either a soldier or a man constantly eating parathas; nobody on screen shows him like Manmohan Singh.

“In the case of Muslims, the characters are hardly believable. Why do they portray the Muslim man always in a lungi and a vest? Or he is a gaddaar. As a token, one of them will be very patriotic so that the entire community is not misunderstood. The other stereotypes, with 300 aadabs in one film and women wearing ghararas or cooking kormas, are also absent in real life Muslim households.”

farooque shaikhHe added that since cinema was popularly perceived to be an entertainment medium, so whatever was shown on the big screen was automatically assumed to be something that need not be taken seriously. “So nobody complains about these stereotypes.” He was also quick to point out that television does have a bigger impact on people’s lives than cinema, and that things shown on TV have sometimes been life-changing in villages.

Who, in his opinion, held out some hope as a filmmaker? “Anand Patwardhan,” he replied. “He has fought the system. And fighting the system is not an easy task.”

Watch a trailer of the charming Chashme Buddoor starring Farooque Shaikh and Deepti Naval:

 

(Pictures courtesy movies.ndtv.com, www.indianetzone.com, www.santabanta.com, www.thehindu.com)

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