Songs as History

They say, songs of a nation signify the thought of the nation and songs of a period signify the period. Mementoes of this truth can be found everywhere -scattered like the golden dust that was at some remote time of our history scattered on the beaches of Sind and still concentrated in a quantity and with a molarity that can only be defined by the fact that such must have been the thoughts of the people of that period.....

Furthermore, nothing attracts and impacts human mind and consciousness as deeply and as vividly as the song. Why? Because with a strong core and a vivid imagination, a song literally soars over the minds and takes the mind to realms that can only be imagined and not explained..... The song is indeed the opium of the consciousness and  as is said in Hindi:

Jahan Na Pahunche Ravi.... Wahan Pahunche Kavi!

(Where even the sunlights of the sun fail to penetrate, there also the lofty imagination of the poet can enter)

And so it is borne out.... even Religions as diverse and different from each other like Islam and Hinduism, have used the concept of poetry (the essence of a song) to further their claims.... Every Ayat in the Holy Quran is sheer poetry and so is every mantra in the Rig Veda a delightful song.....

Hindi Films have also not been uneffected by such emotions - the birth of independence and the lefting leanings of the early leaders of our country was well reflected not only in our movies such a Do Beegha Zameen (Bimal Roy), Hum Log (Zia Sarhadi), Mother India (Mehboob Khan), and Daera (K Asif) in Hindi, Meghe Dhake Taara (Rithwik Ghatak) and the Apu trilogy (Satyajit Ray) in Bengali and many other such movies but was also reflected in the music of the period...... And today, it's the music which is still ruling even when even classics as great as the aforementioned have been forgotten in the humdrum of normal life....

Lyrics by such great notables like Majrooh, Sahir, Shailendra and Kavi Pradeep are the greatest treasures that carry a deep story of the social scars and triumphs of those days, the ambitions and the disappointments of those times and the dreams and the realities of that era....

So while Kavi Pradeep goes ful throttle on the Partition and the Hindu-Muslim divide by such brilliant ditties like:

Aaj Ke Insaan Ko Kya Ho Gaya?
Iss Ka Puraana Pyaar Kahan Par Ho Gaya?

or,

Dekh Tere Sansaar Ki Haalat, Kya Hogi Bhagwaan!
Kitna Badal Gaya Insaan, Kitna Badal Gya Insaan!

one is forced to admit and admire the passion of the poet and also feel deep in his heart the anguish of a heart sundered by an artificial partition..... this is how the world will remember those days of the Indian Holocaust when more than 10 million people were sacrificed in the ceremonial fires that gave birth to two nations, each arising from the womb of it's mother, by killing the mother, much like the scorpion tears apart his mother's womb to live his own life......

Or look at Sahir as he talks about the disillusionment with the political scenario and society in 1957, in his celebrated song.....

Ye Mahlon, Ye Takhton, Ye Taajon Ki Duniya
Ye Daulat Ke Bhuke Rawaajon Ki Duniya
Ye Insaan Ke Dushman Samaajon Ki Duniya
Ye Duniya Agar Mil Bhi Jaaye To Kya Hai?

Can there be a more brilliant indictment of the society than the afore-mentioned? This is the voice of an idealist and this will signify what the dreams of the social revolutionaries was and how they looked at society.... But again it's the same poet that proudly celebrates the sovereignty and suzerainty of this country, while hoping that things will turn out better in this song from 1963

Ab Koi Gulshan Na Ujdhe, Ab Watan Aazaad Hai
Rooh Ganga Ki, Himalay Ka Badan Aazaad Hai

These are the songs that will remain in the consciousness of India as the faces of the Indian society and how people reacted to it in those days....

So there was frustration and there was hope, like in India, it has always been, both pessimism and optimism sleeping with each other, both these strands were fully entwined with each other and still independant....

It can only be the poet who can taunt even the high and mighty of the country... Sample this song by Gulzar from 1975, taunting the great Indira Gandhi herself of whom an acolyte called Baruah noted," Indira is India and India is Indira."

Salaam Kijiye Aali Janaab Aaye Hain,
Paanch Saalon Ka Dene Hisaab Aaye Hain

(A brilliant taunt on the politicians who meet once in 5 years like long-lost brothers and then disappear like some Indian version of the Halley's comet)

Even Nehru's policy of democracy and Patel's thoery of integration of princely states was shrewdly put in a song in 1956 by the irrepressible and great Shailendra, when he wrote.....

Honge Raaje, Raaj Kunwar, Hum Bigde Dil Shezaade
Hum Sinhasan Par Jaa Biatthen, Jab-Jab Karen Iraade

(A veiled but clear ultimatum to the princely states)

But the song that makes me smile, is the song that speaks about what an Indian is.... his spirit, his confidence and his self-assurance that even if today the world looks at him with derision, tomorrow, it will venerate him with dignity....

Mera Joota Hai Japani,
Ye Patloon English-Taani,
Sar Pe Laal Topi Rusi,
Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani

Today his shoes may be imported from Japan (accepting frankly that industries in this country are still undeveloped, Today even his shame may be wrapped by British fabric (alluding to years of subjugation and colonialism by Britain), Today his head may carry a Russian cap (alluding to those times when everyone was talking of socialism and communism and leftist ideology was the vogue.... Russia was trying to enforce it's politics and policies on India) still the heart that underlay the shoe, the cap and the pant was definitely Indian and would not brook any interference.....

India would develop as it wanted, as it desired and as it preferred

The Curse of Unemployment - My Thoughts on Naukri (1954)

One of the most enduring (across the constraints of time and space and even cultures and religions), almost-catastrophic, and major fear for an adult individual in today’s fast moving and highly consumerist society is the fear of losing employment, the fear of not being able to sustain a lifestyle that considers credit cards, limousines, health spa, laptops and all such other accessories as mandatory necessities of life and not an item of luxury. The stark truth is that in a society wherein your last pay cheque is your signature (and for many an identity), where EMI’s run the roost and burgeoning bills are a part and parcel of normal existence, a loss of employment can very well be a source of interminable terror. This is especially true of times as drastic as today's and scenarios as bleak as today's..... What would one do if tomorrow he wakes up and finds that all the money that he has cannot get him even a decent INR 5 glass of Sugarcane juice on the by lanes? 


Without a regular source of income, how many of us would actually be at the luxury to write reviews or for that matter any kind of blogs sitting in air-conditioned parlours while savouring sips of cool vodka (or Coca-Cola for teetotalers like me) while the world goes on in it’s own unmindful cycle of ups and downs… … certainly not my man-Friday who earns alms for a salary (as per records it’s INR 1800 per month) and certainly not me, though I do earn admittedly a little more than his salary. 


But jokes apart, does one know, what is the pain of unemployment? 


When parents refuse to acknowledge you as the son, when you become a burden on your siblings, when your better half taunts you or when your girl friend ignores you, then is the real import of the impact of being witohut a job brought out in the open.... When those who loved you when you provided for them, call you a parasite, first clandestinely, then whisperingly and then openly; then you understand the import of the situation...... This is unemployment and all men fear this more than even the loss of potency...... 


It may surprise some of our eminent economists but the fact remains that unemployment has since long been a scourge of the youth, despite thier theoretical mumbo-jumbo and many a creative and talented individuals have met their Waterloo at the hands of this indefatigable enemy. Although the problem forms a subset in many movies and in some has also been the cause or rationale for carrying the movie forward, very few movies and movie mughuls have dared take the demon by its’ horns and make a moving copy of celluloid from the same. 


One of the few stalwarts who dared to cage this demon for cinematic purposes was the great Bimal Roy and here we are discussing his epoch-making but long-forgotten Naukri. Unfortunately, Naukri never could capture the imagination of the public the way, a Do Beegha Zameen (one of the greatest movies ever made in India) or Madhumati (one of the most awesome movies of Hindi Cinema) could.... and it was obvious, it would not..... The middle class has been notorious of always trying to live in a world of fantasy, a world of it's own cages disguised as windows, one that exists ephemerally only in the sub-conscious of a class that only can hold it's head high with a turban bestowed or pushed down by another.... how could such a class, accept the pain and frustrations of it's own realities? Indeed, this was what failed Naukri..... Ankush, made in 1986 had to take the protagonist and put him in the lower middle class milieu to gain acceptance from this fickle class..... For the middle class, issues are what happen with others...... our existence is the BEST!


Naukri was one of the first movies to center on the plight of the educated unemployed youth desperately trying to earn their livelihood through decent means. The desperation and frustration of a common man trying to stay true to his ideals as well as earn the basic necessities for his family is so well documented that every man who watches this movie is instantly transported back for some time into a similar time from his or her own past. Every man while watching this classic would be reminded of one bleak day in his or her life when the spectre of life was held hostage to the compromise of circumstance. 


Here I am reminded of a brilliant couplet by the great Sahir, which can capture very well the mood of pain and frustration of the man who has no employment but many responsibilities.....

Taalim Hai Adhuri, Milti Nahin Majuri,
Kis-Kis Ko Hum Sunaayen Rashq-E-Jihaan Humaara

In the title role, Kishore Kumar as Rattan, the protagonist trying desperately to secure employment delivers one of his most efficient and restrained performances. This is Kishore long before he made his mark as a comedian and the great actor revels in a role that shows him in a rare serious light. The idealism of a young man, the frustration of an unemployed and the helplessness of a brother, a son and a lover are so well documented that your heart goes out for him. The scene wherein he receives a letter intimating him of a sanatorium’s acceptance of his sick sister as an inmate alongside another that carries the news of her death makes for a heart-wrenching moment (the postal department was equally efficient in those times). Equally brilliant is the climax when he tries to commit suicide, being unable to face his love after being fired from a job for being true to his ideals. One has to just watch him perform and he will vouch for the fact that Kishore did utmost injustice to his fans and the acting community at large by not paying cognizance to the enormous talent that God chose to bestow on him.

Sheila Ramani as Seema, the girl who dares to love an unemployed person and to top it all, also decides to spend her life with him against all conventional wisdom manages to stay true to her script. Sheila was more of a glamour doll than an actor in her heydays and this is one of the few roles in which she gets to prove her mettle. Although she leaves a lot more to be desired in her enactment of the role, she does manage to do justice to do role to a part that is sketchy at best. The scene wherein she convinces Kishore to a life of struggle and her constant co-operation is a scene worth appreciating both for her performance as well as the chemistry between the lead actors, the cinematographer as well as the director.

Among the supporting actors, the great Kanhaiyalal again proves why class is permanent and form temporary. In a rare positive role, the thespian pulls out all stops to prove his versatility and the scene wherein he lies to save Kishore is stamped ‘Kanhaiyalal’ all over it. It’s indeed unfortunate that Hindi cinema has chosen to forget such greats in a bid to worship and honour hunks and bimbettes as legends. Among the other actors, it’s a pleasure watching Mehmood as a pickpocket in a cameo performance long before he was acknowledged as a great actor. Achala Sachdev as the mother and Noor as the sick sister also manage to perform true to the requirements of the role.

Salil Chowdhary disappoints with the music which although sweet on the ears fails to impart its own philosophy on the listener. Although the song “Chota Sa Ghar Hoga” by Kishore Kumar does bring in a feeling of optimism and hope to a frustrated soul and Geeta Dutt manages to carry us on the wings of first love in “Jhoome Re Kali”, on the whole the album is more of a situational album and there are few ditties that one would remember long after the gramophone has been silenced.

Bimal Roy again proves why despite the presence of great stalwarts like Mehboob, Asif, Gulzar and others in the Hindi film industry, none can ever dislodge the great director from his position of eminence as first among equals when it comes to direction…. that many of the later greats actually were trained under his eagle eye is by itself proof of his excellence and eminence as a director but that is rudimentary considering that a director of his stature does not need testimony of his students for his excellence. Every movie of his from Do Beegha Zameen to Bandini has it’s own moments – moments which put the entire film in perspective and make it impossible for both the masses and the classes to extricate itself easily from its brilliant splendour.

This brilliance is reflected in Naukri as well and one of the best scenes in this film shows the starkness of human necessity when confounded with life in its darkest hue. In a scene reminiscent of human frailty and the complete erosion of the social and political structure of the day, Kishore after seeing a man commit suicide rushes to the deceased’s office hoping to secure that job for self, only to learn that the man committed suicide after being dismissed from the job. Another interesting scene, which depicts the helplessness of the common man, is the scene wherein Kishore Kumar goes for an interview, only to be told that the job has already been assigned to the Manager’s relative.

Although these scenes hardly stand out as something different they are in fact the microcosm of the entire film in a few frames. The frustration, the depression and the helplessness of a talented man roaming wanton on the streets of a metropolitan city is mirrored in each and every frame and every man will definitely be able to empathize with the scores of millions who teems the streets of these cities looking for that elusive employment, straining their ears for that sweet call all while hoping that someday they will get the job they rightly deserve. And this continues for days, weeks, months and years on end till either they tire out or life tires them out. 

Only one voice that speaks out repeatedly… only one sound that can be heard incessantly– "Naukri Chaahiye … Kaam Chaahiye… Zindagi Chaahiye."

To my friends and colleagues out there, I wish to state the following:

Maana Ke Abhi Tere-Mere Armanon Ki Keemat Kuchh Bhi Naheen
Mitti Ka Bhi Hai Kuchh Mol Magar, Insaanon Kee Keemat Kuchh Bhi Naheen

Insaanon Ki Izzat Jab Jhoote Seekon Mein Naa Tauli Jaayegi
Woh Subah Kabhi To Aayegi....... Woh Subah Kabhi To Aayegi

Woh Subaah Kabhi To Aayegi.....

Anatomy of a Scar - My Thoughts on Firaaq (2009)

"Good to Forsake, Better to Forgive, Best to Forget"

An adage from my days of yore... but as they say, easy to preach, difficult to follow....

Why look far off? Look at my own body; so many different scars; some physical, some psychological, but each and every one of them still alive with it's own feelings, it's own story, it's own anatomy of truth..... Every scar tells a tale of it's own; complete with it's own truth, it's own viewpoint, it's own perception; neither welcoming a contrary view or a contrary opinion, however well-merited and sadly, neither does it forget nor does it allow me to forget.... True, some of the scars have lost their intensity, their pain has dulled beyond perception and even the scar no longer is perceivable to the casual eye, but they still exist - in the myriad scheme of time, they still have their relevance and it takes only a slight stimulus to bring forth the remembrance, the anger and the pain.....

Firaaq also brings forth a few remembrances, a few green tinges of pain and a few silent patches of anger; back in the open; as if the wound has resurfaced and the blood gushes forth yet again.... No issue is ever completely pushed below the carpet; Firaaq reminds us of this fact and strongly too....

Firaaq is a quest, it's also a separation but it cannot be just thee two words - Firaaq is more than that; it's the pursuit of redemption and it's the impotence of silence, (impregnated by revenge, raped by mistrust and defiled by anger); it's  the chasms that exist and the bridges that have failed....

Set in the Gujarat of 2002, after the riots, it's the after-effects of the riots long after the riots are over..... Why should it not be so? If the effects of Hiroshima and Nagasaki can punish us humans for one act of dastardly cowardice, why should not one act of human infamy not punish us more?

Ek Qadam Galat Uttha Tha Shauq-E-Yaar Mein;
Zindagi Tamam Umr Mujhe Dhoondhti Phiri

A brilliantly crafted story of separate incidents, all carved together into one story, still more fluid than any other such attempt in recent Hindi Cinema.... if I had to remember a similar ensemble of separate stories, coming together to form a narrative, I would remember Musafirkhana, directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee in 1956 (a movie much ahead of it's time), starring Dilip Kumar, Kishore Kumar and Usha Kiron and in recent times, the exceptionally brilliant and well-made classic Crash.....

There are so many different aspects to the movie, that I do not think I will ever be able to do justice to all of them in my thoughts on the movie, I just hope this does not turn out to be a weak piece of writing like the one on Delhi -6 (I could never do justice to that film) but there are a few aspects that I would love to talk about

Story No. 1: Firaaq of a Family

The common point between the different stories in the movie - the story that relates all other stories; the story that talks of the tragedy that befell Gujarat.... It relates the story of Mohsin, a young boy who has lost everyone and is in 'Firaaq' of his family ..... The young boy, Mohammed Samad is awesome - he is innocence personified and to add to it, he has been well-utilized by the director....

There is such an innocence in his face, that I fear for him; it's an innocence that can transform a socity and a nation to a dream and it's an innocence that can be manipulated such that it devours the society and the nation into a nightmare that can only be imagined; not even thought of

Look at the terrorists and the rioters, all of them at one level are innocents - innocents not because they are not guilty of whatever they have done but innocents because of the reasons why they have done what they have done - What would you call Mohsin if tomorrow he becomes a terrorist - Guilty of course,  a threat to sociey of course but who made him into what he is? If Mohsin tomorrow is guily, so are we all, all of us!

Every riot, whether it's 1984 in Delhi, 1992-1993 in Bombay or 2002 in Gujarat has made use of these innocents; either it has raped them of their innocence or killed them in their innocence; and in the process either made these innocents, agents of change in an impotent society or angels of death in a decayed milieu.

One Interesting point to note, every 10 years, India has seen a riot more devastating than the other..... another Firaaq is here, can you find out the reasons for the same?

Story No. 2: Firaaq of an Identity

Sanjay Suri and Tisca Chopra combined well in this brilliant story of an inter-religious couple forced to look at life and relationships in the face of a war that involves their communities - the elegance of the story lies in the way the difference between a Khan and a Desai was brought out

What is it that marks the difference between Sameer Khan and Sameer Desai? How does the difference of the God that you worship, or the religion that you follow make a man better or worse for it? Questions of existentionalism, so well explained, so well depicted - Sanjay Suri shows his dilemma and his frustration of being a Muslim, a persona-non-grata quite well but of equal brilliance is the performance of Tisca Chopra as his wife, trying to deal with the identity crises and the emotional crises, incumbent in the issue. She is a Hindu married to a Muslim; in an environment where being a Muslim is a crime and a sin. How does she reconcile herself to her own heart, while being what she is? A difficult point for someone to understand who has not been through it.

Look at the option the couple chooses for itself:  "Run" - Run from the city, run from the riots, run from the people, run from their roots - and run they do, but can run away from his or her own conscience; this is the question they ask

In a way, there's is a Firaaq of an ideal, one that has been tattered to pieces and one that is troubling them no end... Add to it, the fact that Sameer has his own separate Firaaq - his Firaaq of self-identification and self-acceptance.... Does being a Muslim negate being a human? Tisca has the more difficult of the roles but she is admirably restrained. I love the scene, where Sanjay Suri decides to assert himself in front of the communal police and the way he does it - no heroics, no aggressiveness, just a silent assertion!

But is it really important to do so? Have we reached this nadir?

Main Apne Aap Se Sharma Gaya Hoon;
Mujhko, Aie Zindagi! Deewana Kar De!

Story No. 3: Firaaq of Redemption

Deepti Naval and Paresh Rawal are just too good in this brilliant story of Inaction in the face of Danger and the consequences it has impacted on each of the protagonists of the story

Deepti Naval has psyched herself very well in the role of a person who has chosen her own security in place of her conscience in the heat of the moment and has to now pay for it, every moment and every second of her life... Her 'Firaaq' for redemption from her guilt of inaction, when action could have saved someone's life; punishing herself physically for her silent act of tacit approval is so well portrayed that it gnaws at your conscience from within. A very difficult role, but so aptly performed that one can only marvel at her understanding of the character of the housewife, whose silence hides her pain effectively but cannot save her from the pangs of her conscience.

The roads of redemption pass through the gates of hell - and so it is for this woman who has to now traverse her own personal hell, meet her own self to reach her own point of understanding with her own heart - only then can this Firaaq be completed

Paresh Rawal on the other hand as a man who had a role in the riots, a man whose hatred for the other community transcends all levels of hurt and anger is exceptional.

He's a normal man, one you would meet on the streets, one who on the face of it effectively hides his anger and disgust within his mind. Had he reflected on his reasons, he would have found, the ones like him, whom he hates, have the same reasons to hate him too; making them both more closely entwined than he would now. His 'Firaaq' for a cleansing of all that he hates is also a continuing one, one that will continue till he understands either the futility of his feelings or his concience has the better of him or he's able to exercise it to such an extent that all his enemies are exhumed by it; hopefully before he is exhumed of it!

Story No. 4: Firaaq of Faith

The story of how an event can take a toll on one relationship is well-depicted in this brilliant thread of the friednship between Muneera and Jyoti. How a lifetime of friendship and trust can dissolve in minutes is so aptly described in this segment that one can only doff the hat on the debutant director and the brilliant actresses for their fiesty performances

Shahana Goswami as Muneera and Amruta Subhash as Jyoti bring to life the brilliant interplay of emotions of what actually happens when a fault-line develops across the contours of even a close relationship in times of distress and pain. How doubt can cleave into the wamest of hearts and how it can burn the most strong of relationships. The manner in which Shahana keeps asking the same query time and again and the manner in which Amruta keeps on trying to sidestep the query is so well written and directed and obviously performed that one can feel what happens when a friendship falls prey to the fault lines of a hatred as ancient as the history of the communities to which the two protagonists belong

The Firaaq of friendship and trust that binds and separates both is so well woven with the personal feelings of quest of each other that one can not only empathise with both Muneera and Jyoti but also understand the pain and frustration a single event, to which neither subscribed, can have on the lives and relationships of both the protagonists

Sub-Plot  - Firaaq of Revenge

One person who further impresses in this sub-plot within the main story is the man who plays the role of Muneera's husband; I do not know his name ( I think it's Nowaz though) but his frustration at having lost his property and seen all his earnings stolen and his accommodation burnt down is so real and so earnest that you feel for that man. The man has a raw energy and an intensity that could put many a superstars to shame

Story No. 5: Firaaq of a Dream

The great combination of the two thespians sets the tone of this brillaint piece of story-telling. Both Naseeruddin Shah and Raghuvir Yadav have been among the best of our acting talents across the 70s to today. And when they come together in roles that require both finesse and power, it is a treat for connissuers.

Nasseruddin Shah as an elderly Muslim musician and Raghuvir Yadav as his faithful and elderly Man Friday plays the role with extreme conviction and brilliance. The escapist mode of Raghuvir, coupled with the idealism of Maseeruddin Shah brings to life a reality that's often shrouded in events of such deep magnitude and impact

I loved the way in which Naseer reacts when he comes to know of the deep-rooted animosity among the principal communities and the way he reacts - And I really was in tears to see the manner in which the normally angst-filled Raghuvir reacts at that moment and turns out to be the torch-bearer for hope - he was the one who never had hope; the passing of the mantle of hope from the idealist Naseeruddin to the practical Raghuvir is one of the highlights of the movie and a reckoner that maybe hope is still alive

Story No. 6: Firaaq of Peace

This is less of a story and more of a commentary. The perfomance of Nasser (not to be confused with Naseer in the preceding story) is one of exceptional brilliance. As a grave-digger who has seen thousands of people of his community butchered and has done a mass-burial of them all, the man lends credence to his brilliance as an actor..... I have seen Nasser in Malayalam and Tamil movies and always thought that a great talent was lost to the Hindi world and so I was very impressed to see him perform in this movie of exceptional grit and depth

His Firaaq is the one that will pain one and all, the Firaaq of self-absolution and Peace; one that can not happen and the other that cannot be attained is the Firaaq that guides the entire film

Direction by Nandita Das is awesome. It's so hard-hitting that I would safely say that this is the best film I have seen on Gujarat pogrom barring Parzania, which is again in a class of it's own. I hope at last we have a director of substance and the future also shows her in a similar flattering light

I am impressed by her - deeply impressed.

Before I end, I would say to those who ask why rake up uneccessary questions - Woulds may heal but the Scars remain. If the Scars have to go, we have to learn the art of shedding our skins or we have to become mature enough to face the face the truth behind the scars