Remembering the Goddess of Tragedy

31st March 1972

A red-letter day for Indian Cinema..... a day Indian Cinema would not forget it a hurry.

It was a day that opened up sunny and warm... and ended up with deep black clouds of pain and sadness, filled with tears of a lifetime, hanging on it's brows. The tears would not stop and why should they have stopped - the one they called the greatest tragedienne of Hindustani cinema had finally left the abode of Cinema for her new abode somewhere up there - in the skies....

Meena Kumari - the legendary Meena Kumari was no more.

Some said Talent was no more, others said Emotions were no more.... maybe those words were hyperbole but the truth was that the one who could so heartbreakingly define pain and love was no more.

The world sensed the pain of the separation and her last film - Pakeezah rocked to the top of charts - like a final farewell of a departing lover, like the final tears of an unforgettable affair, like the final words of an unwilling heart and then ....then... there was silence and the silence continues unabated.

But the fact remains - look into those deep eyes - they will tell - was there anyone who could look so heart-achingly beautiful with tears in her eyes, was there anyone who could translate grief into resonating and pulsating intonations of a dialogue delivered through tears?

No... there was only one Meena Kumari - there have been many other actresses - some good, some better but there could be no second Meena. She was one of a class and her death ended a sort of umbilical cord of the time when a look, a twitching of the eyes, a curling of a hair meant a lot.

What should I write about Meena? She is one who epitomized pain and made it look cathartic.... she made you feel that the pain you felt was nothing but a stoic reminder of how much you could bear - a silent reminder of your own inner strength and fortitude

I can just close my eyes and feel her shouting her frustration - the frustration of a deeply conservative Hindu wife of the early 20th century voicing her pain and anguish in measured tones to a shameless Rehman in one of the greatest classics of Hindustani Cinema, Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam: Kyaa Kabhi Pee Hai Kissi Hindu Ghar Ki Bahu Ne Sharaab?

The words define the performance .... and of course as on cue, you have one of the best Geeta Dutt numbers to add pain to the feeling ....

Koi Door Se Aawaaz De, Chale Aao!

And then there is that one song that describes the feelings of sexual desire in so beautiful terms.... Again Geeta Dutt in her sweet velvety voice....

Piyaa Aiso Jiyaa Mein Samaayee Gayo Re
Ke Mai Tan Man Ki Suddh-Budhh Ganvaa Baitthi
Har Aahaat Pe Samjhoon Hoon Aai Gayo Raho
Jhat Ghungataa Mein Mukhdaa Chuppa Baitthi

And this was just one of her many powerful portrayals .... whether it was Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962), Pakeezah (1972), Daera (1953), Sharda (1957), Parineeta (1954), Phool Aur Pathar (1966) or Baiju Bawra (1953), Meena Kumari carried the film and the story on her strong shoulders - shoulders that would never droop nor would they tire।

It's testimony to her greatness that even though she had started doing character roles since the early 70s, till the end, roles were specifically written for her and even in supporting roles she often decided the flow of the film ..... a good example would be Mere Apne (1971) and Dushman (1971) where though she was not in the lead, she was definitely the soul of the movie.

It's sad that though both Dilip Kumar and Meena Kumari were acknowledged masters of tragedy, they never matched each other in tragic roles - Meena rejected offers as strong as Mughal-E-Azam (1960) and Amar (1955) ..... (There is also a grapevine that insists she rejected the greatest film ever made in India - Mother India (1957) but that's another story)

The only time they came together for a tragic movie, the result was sheer magic - Zia Sarhady did the impossible when he managed to have both Meena and Dilip together for his path-breaking socio-tragic commentary on a falling dream of an independent India in Footpath (1957) - one should watch that movie to see sheer charisma unravel

Of course, on the way there were some of the greatest comedies ever - Kohinoor (1960) with Dilip Kumar, Miss Mary (1959) with Kishore Kumar that give credence to the fact that this tragedienne had great comic timing as well - and romance....?

Well..... who can forget the Dilip Kumar - Meena Kumari starrer Azaad? And that beautiful romantic duet sung by C Ramachandra and Lata Mangeshkar

Kitnaa Haseen Hai Mausam, Kitnaa Hasen Safar Hai
Saathi Hai Khoob-Soorat, Ye Mousam Ko Bhi Khabar Hai

Mind-blowing! That's magic....

About her relationship with Kamal Amrohi, I won't say a word - let it remain as it is - a story of two people who loved each other deeply but also were victims of an ego that refused to let go.... She was a great actress; he a great writer.... the irony was that in their togetherness they could have created magic together - the truth was that in their togetherness, they destroyed each other ......

As Gulzar said long after in a song in another landmark movie.....

Bahot Khoob-Soorat Hai Har Baat Lekin Agar Dil Bhi Hota! To Kya Baat Hoti
Likhi Jaati Phir Daastaan-E-Mohabbat, Ek Afsaane Jaise Shuruvaat Hoti

To no one does this signify more, than the most unfortunate marriage that ever was - the love was true ... but so was the ego

So here's to the great Meena Kumari - a modest self-effacing personality who being a good poet herself wrote the following lines for her own life-story

Tum Kyaa Karoge Sunakar Mujhse Meri Kahaani
Be-Lutf Zindagi Ke Qisse Hain Pheeke Pheeke

Meena will always be remembered and if there is someplace where she can hear me, let me tell her you are not forgotten neither was your life 'Be-lutf'.... it was anything but 'Be-lutf'

Tumko Naa Hum Bhool Paayenge.....

Lord Voldemort II

Music and Films

Unlike Hollywood, where a musical is just a special genre of movie-making, of course with some excellent movies like the Fred Astaire - Gene Kelly films of the 40s or of course the all time classic "The Sound of Music"; in India music has always been the staple of life .... the beginning, the growth, the maturity and the end of all of our movies .... and why not, we are a nation stepped in Music .... we are a civilization stepped in music ....

Music here starts from the antiquities of time .... Natya Shastra .... the earliest exponent of our theatrics being an ardent exposition of theatrics, music and dance .... the supreme lord of the cosmos in his Nataraja avatar being considered the embodiment of our way of thinking theatre .... we have two systems of classical music, many in the world cannot boast of one .... we have our own collection of so many varied and different folk music and other strands of music that one can hear all over the country whether in the snow-capped peaks of Kashmir, the resonating foothills of Madhya Pradesh, the towering Himalayan regions of Arunachal Pradesh, the sonorous deserts of Rajasthan, the wily plains of Maharashtra, the narrow hill-capped and sun-backed plateau of Karnataka, the beautiful wind-kissed lagoons of Kerala and the golden fields of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh .... the music is always there .... there is music in the sound of young girls moving from the waterholes to their homes carrying pots of water on their waist, there is music in the winds that sweep down from Uttaranchal, there is music in the shores of the Ganga and the Yamuna, there is music in the words of the Muezzin as he announces the Azaan from a pulpit, there is music in the Aarti that's so lovingly performed with so much of faith and love .... there is music in the chanting of the bells that so merrily pronounce the existence of God every Sunday Mass.... there is music in the Gurbani .... there is music in the Dhammapada .... there is music everywhere .... our languages are lyrical .... there is an abundance of music in all our daily activities .... come to think of it even our girls are more curvy, like the notes of music itself !

So in India .... the world of films, like all it's other counterparts in art has a special affinity towards music and why not.... with composers like Naushad, S D Burman, R D Burman, Roshan, Madan Mohan, Shankar-Jaikishen and O P Nayyar among others.... with lyricists such as Sahir Ludhianvi, Shailendra, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Shakeel Badayuni, Gulzar and Neeraj among others .... with singers like Mohammed Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh, Hemant Kumar, Talat Mehmood and Manna De among others .... it's bound to be a feast of music all the way ....

Whatever maybe the mood, there is a song for it ....... whatever be the occasion, there is a rhythm to it .... whatever be the circumstance .... there is a tune to it

Of late, some of our intelligent filmmakers like Ramgopal Verma and others of his ilk have decided that song and dance are not much to sing and dance about, still the music of the maestros still continues unabated ....

They say and sometimes with convincing arguments that the placement of a song would spoil a thriller .... I would say that it need not be so .... didn't S D Burman's pulsating score add a lot of panache to the thrills of Jewel Thief (1968).... who can forget Lata Mangeshkar in her sublime tones, suggesting the un-suggestible to the mesmerising gyrating dances of Vyjayanthimala

Hoton Me Aisi Baat Main Dabaake Chali Aayee....
Khul Jaaye Woh Hi Baat To Duhaaee Ho Duhaaee ....

Or who can forget Shamshad Begum in that great thriller CID (1956) where a young Waheeda Rehman is trying to help Dev Anand escape from the clutches of the villian .... again a great S D Burman composition

Kahin Pe Nigaahen; Kahin Pe Nishaanaa
Jeene Do Zaalim Banaao Naa Deewaanaa

If we talk horror, Indian films have always benefitted from a haunting score .... remember Lata Mangeshkar in the haunted Mahal (1949) crooning away to an inquisitive Ashok Kumar

Aayegaa, Aayegaa
Aayegaa, Aanewaala Aayegaa

or the song that put fear in the minds of a million, when Lata Mangeshkar added a touch of philosophy in the 1965 hit, Gumnaam ( A Laxmikant - Pyarelal composition) while Manoj Kumar, Mehmood and Pran kept looking for the next corpse in the bushes

Gumnaam hai Koi; Badnaam Hai Koi
Kis Ko Khabar Kaun Hai Woh; Anjaan Hai Koi

or the one that made life so terrifying in Bees Saal Baad (1962) .... I still remember the scene where the hero Bishwajit and all the other characters in this one of the best whodunit movie of all times savage the high grasses of a studio mangrove in search of the killer .... Lata Mangeshkar was just too much ....

Kahin Deep Jale, Kahin Dil
Zara Dekh Le Aakar Deewaane
Teri Kaun Si Hai Manzil

There are so many more such instances .... Indian film industry is the only one that has managed to skillfully add the rhythm of music to the excitement of a thriller .... what else can explain the success of out-and-out thrillers like Teesri Manzil (1966) and Khel Khel Mein (1975) and of course the recent out and out adrenaline movie .... Dhoom (2004) and Dhoom II (2006) .... all these movie boosted of some brilliant and exceptional music

Maybe they would do well to look at the masters at work .... maybe then .... there would be something additional to the camera angles and pilfered scripts and maybe then they would understand why Music is an integral part of our lore ....

Music and Films in India are made for each other

Movies - The Beginnings ..........

First love is heady.... the first feelings of that sweet moment never fade away from one's consciousness, it's like magic..... everything looks so much more enticing and beautiful.... the first flush of love is always so intoxicating..... and it always leaves behind a number of deep memories and sweet feelings of remembrances.... and just like Alice says in Alice in Wonderland..... it only gets curiouser and curiouser

The first film I ever saw was the reincarnation drama Madhumati.... a movie shot in black and white but with a lyrical base that dramatized it's undertones, accentuated it's effects and gave it a very sublime feel....... and what a coincidence it was.... for the movie starred the greatest actor ever to grace Indian Cinema, Dilip Kumar.... the greatest star actress ever to grace Indian Cinema, Vyjayanthimala and the greatest director of Indian Cinema ..... Bimal Roy.

I must have been only about 3 years old at the time, but the movie stayed on with me and even today I find it the most beautifully shot movie..... surprisingly the very visuals that make it seem so beautiful also make it enchantingly mysterious. The clinical sweep of the camera over the majestic landscape, the sweet caressing of the camera over the pristine and almost boundless nature makes one go gaga over the cinematography by Dilip Gupta.... you can feel him almost in love with his job.

That early tryst with cinema never left me and even today when I look back to my thirst for creating quality cinema, my heart does not look back at Mother India, Mughal-E-Azam, Guide, Ganga-Jamuna or Sholay, arguably among the greatest works of magic in Hindustani Cinema and although all of them have their own special place in my heart...... my heart looks beyond them to a movie, that made me fall in love with the medium of story-telling through the eyes of the Camera..... Madhumati.....

Everything about Madhumati was perfect......... the star cast, from Dilip Kumar and Vyjayanthimala right down to Tiwari as the henchman to the evil Zamindar so well-played by Pran.... the direction by Bimal Roy, the story, screenplay and dialogues by the two literary giants Rajinder Singh Bedi and Ritwik Ghatak, the enchanting and haunting musical score by Salil Choudhary, the crisp editing by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and the beautiful songs sung by Mukesh, Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi and Manna De all of them adding to the sher magic of the movie. Each and every song is a classic and has it's own value attached to it

Someday I will definitely pen down my thoughts about this movie that brought me face to face with my deep love for cinema but today I would like to just remember those days of carefree abandon when each film would be a a source of so much happiness

Madhumati, in my consciousness, was soon followed in quick succession by that 70s fun starrer Hum Kissi Se Kum Nahin...... I still remember myself singing at the top of my voice, always off-key and often moving well-eared people to tears with my horrendous rendition of the great Mohammed Rafi song... Kya Hua Tera Waada!

Sometime much later on, whenever I would watch the great comedy Padosan..... and whenever I would come across the scene where Kishore Kumar tries his best to teach Sunil Dutt the art of singing, though unsuccessfully..... I would laugh at my own days of musical virtuosity...... indeed those were the days when my love for the world of silver celluloid began...

This would lead me to another love-affair .... that with Music (That I was drawn towards the cult of free love and total love and love-for-everyone was I think quite evident in these early days itself when I could fall in love simultaneously and with complete dedication and devotion to Movies and Music at the same time) and my love affair with Music continues unabated.......

My third biggest love in Life has been Books...... again it is no small coincidence that it was movies that made me love books so much..... and specifically at that point of time...... it was Magazines that captured my attention and Comics...... It so happened that Dad took me for a screening of Super Man and I was bowled!!! It was so fascinating and my dad, being the smart man that he is..... he immediately bought me a Superman comic and told me that you could read it all here.....

Obviously, I turned out to be quite a diligent and sincere student... even if the reason I learnt English was to read Filmfare and not Freud and the reason I learnt Hindi was to be able to read Mayapuri and not Munshi Premchand...... (Well..... I was on the way to become a polyamour..... and that too before I even knew what it all meant)

Bachche Ke Paanv Palane Men Nazar Aate Hain

On Cinema

I have loved Cinema... each and every thing about Cinema makes me go crazy.... I adore cinema in all it's forms and styles.... however I am not one of those who has been an avant-garde intellectual who speaks about the 'great creations' of cinema....

I am a simple man... the cinema I love is the Cinema I was born and brought up with... the cinema that many may find escapist or too thoroughfare to be given a place of respect... my cinema is simple and it talks simple enough terms....

So of course I will talk of the Cinema of my heart.... although predominantly Hindustani in language and here I mean the twin sisters Hindi and Urdu.... I may at times also talk of some of the films that touched my heart deeply.... these maybe English or it may very well be one of the regional cinema that also boasts of a number of beautiful jewels.....

Indian Cinema is not only Hindi Cinema although if there is one art that binds the nation today and even those parts of the nation that are erstwhile... it's Hindi / Urdu Cinema.... the one I call Hindustani Cinema.... there have been great films and artistes all over India but my understanding and knowledge has been more attuned to the Hindustani genre... still I will take out time and write about the others too as my heart says.... whether Marathi, Tamil, Bengali, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, Assamese, Punjabi or any of the others.. they have also enriched my cinema and so has Hindustani Cinema enriched them.... a cross-pollination across the times extending from the early days of last century and still maintaining that magic today....

I have heard a great deal about the great divide between the Art and the Commercial worlds of cinema and nothing makes me feel worse than such an artificial divide..... All Cinema is a work of art performed with the aid of science and technology and with a commercial angle to it.....

Economists may talk a lot about psychic fulfilment by production of a film that only satisfies the creative urge of the creator..... but is there something actually called as 'satisfaction of a creative urge'..... even the most reclusive of the makers expects appreciation and when such appreciation is demanded, it has to be bestowed in a form that makes it worthwhile.....

What's the use of an appreciation that does not allow one the right to again satisfy another 'creative urge'..... for no urge, whether creative or non-creative is a one-time affair.... it keeps repeating and it keeps calling for more attention and one can only be absorbed by another attempt.... in case, the project is not economically viable who is going to spend his hard-earned money on it..... after all, even the artist has a stomach and needs food even if he is enlightened enough to stay on the roads and roam naked as if on the streets of ancient Babylon....

So.. I believe in Cinema as one whole thing..... there can only be one definition of Cinema... either it can be Good Cinema or it can be Bad Cinema... in fact this is also a very clumsy label... the worst of the Cinemas have some redeeming aspect and the best of cinema may have a glitch....

So.. how do we then classify Cinema.... I would say ... the only way would be to classify it as one that inspires us to a newer and better Cinema or one that forces us to wring our hands in despair.. thinking what could have been!

Like George Best and his brand of soccer that never reached the World Cup makes people think what could have been.... Like the chess of Bobby Fischer that bloomed erratically all his life and makes people think what more could have been..... Like the cricket of Vinod Kambli that forces us to think of what we could have enjoyed.... so also, there are movies that make us feel what could have been....