Cinema and Real life stories

[gokul18091986]

Shyam Benegal's Bhumika inspired from Shanta Aapte's Sangte Aaika in the same decade was about the journey of an actress through her various relationships. Shot in black & white, sepia tones and colour the film reflected the different eras of filmmaking, different hues and trends reflected through the costumes and sets of that time.

Luck By Chance (2009)Zoya Akhtar's Luck by Chance released last week is an insider's view of showbiz. While other films on the movie world so far have concentrated on the making of a superstar, this one tells you of the heartbreaks of a struggler. In a completely believable screenplay set in Mumbai's filmdom the director unfolds a riveting story of anguish and ambition. It tells you why some people make it and some never do. It is a story about temptation and survival instinct, a refreshing and original expression that journeys you through the joys and sorrows of many aspiring stars with outstanding dignity and strength.
I'm trying to recall when was the first time we watched a film within a film, was it Sone Ki Chidiya about a successful star exploited by the immediate family or Kaagaz ke Phool about a married filmmaker obsessed with his muse. In Sone Ki Chidiya the actress escapes to find happiness but never does. In Kaagaz ke Phool the director unable to rise above his personal trauma is driven to destruction while his muse blossoms in to a successful star. In both these films released during the 50s one saw glimpses of the studio working. Kaifi Azmi's immortal song ‘˜Waqt ne kiya...'particularly enhanced the feelings of the characters lovingly shot by cameraman VKMurthy in his signature lighting.

Later in the 70s in Hrishikesh Mukherjee through the eyes of a small-town star struck girl unraveled the mysteries of the dream world and broke many myths in Guddi. The film was as much about the grime and the heartache of the film world as about the glamour and power of show business. Starring Dharmendra as a real life super star who helps the star struck teenager see through the pretentious world it said that not all that glitters is gold.

Shyam Benegal's Bhumika inspired from Shanta Aapte's Sangte Aaika in the same decade was about the journey of an actress through her various relationships. Shot in black & white, sepia tones and colour the film reflected the different eras of filmmaking, different hues and trends reflected through the costumes and sets of that time. Smita Patil transforms from the gawky teenager to a woman of the world but despite resounding success and economic independence like in Sone ki Chidiya or Kaagaz ke Phool her life is filled with gloom. Two more films released in the 70s with cinema as a backdrop were Vinod Pandey's Ek Baar Phir where Suresh Oberoi plays a self absorbed star and Deepti Naval his lonely neglected wife who gets involved with a painter and opts out of the loveless marriage. The second, Do Anjaane where Rekha becomes a superstar after the mysterious demise of her husband Amitabh Bachchan.

In the 80s there was Sitara starring Zarina Wahab and Mitthun Chakraborty which failed to make an impact but Salim Khan scripted and Mahesh Bhatt directed Janam starring Anita Kanwar as the asthmatic illegitimate wife of a famous filmmaker and her dream to see her son successful was a refreshing story that delved on the insecurities of the creative world. In the 90s Ram Gopal Varma made Rangeela and Mast both starring Urmila Matondkar as a star. In the former the actress returns to her roots and beloved. In Mast she escapes with a fan but unlike Sone ki Chidiya this one ends with a happy ending. In 2000 Naach also by RGVarma is a love story of a struggling actor and a choreographer while Om Shanti Om a fantasy of a junior artiste with a superstar but Luck by Chance stands apart from all these films. It is an insider's gaze who treats the aspirant as an individual not a victim. In the same way she treats the superstars as people not idols. They soundlessly enter and exit the frame like any other character in the film.

Not very long ago it was believed that films based on specific subjects attracted limited audience but recent films have changed that. Today's audience is well acquainted with what goes on behind the scenes and enjoys the alternative reality. Today, there is as much curiosity for the real life stories-Black Friday or Mumbai Meri Jaan as for the fantasies. A few years ago Jagmohan Mundhra may have had to struggle with Bawandar based on the gang-rape of Sanwari Devi by the thakurs or earlier his film Kamala based on The Indian Express story where a journalist actually purchased a tribal girl, Kamala. The incident evoked sharp social and moral debates, raising the ethical issue of human invasion. Mundhra's hard-hitting film, Kamala played by Deepti Naval focused on the complications this led into the journalist's personal life played by Marc Zuber and Shabana Azmi.
Yeh Raaste Hain Pyar Ke inspired by the infamous Nanavati case was about a naval officer who, on learning of his wife's involvement with his best friend, murdered the friend in cold-blood and then surrendered himself to law. The erring wife was played by the beautiful Leela Naidu. The script added an angle of loneliness that drives the wife to another man to justify the affair but the orthodox audience was not placated and all sympathies were for the husband played by Sunil Dutt.

The lesser known films inspired by real people include Sai Paranjpye's Deesha based on a villager in the interiors of Maharashtra who spent his entire life digging a well because he was convinced that he would find water or Shyam Benegal's Samar inspired from an incident in Madhya Pradesh following the installation of a water pump in Dalit basti, and the ensuing upper-caste protest. Pooja Bhatt's Tamanna about a eunuch and the social pressures he faces in adopting a girl-child was drawn from the life of a tea-stall owner Tikku, living in the Mahim Causeway, Mumbai.
Benegal's Sardari Begum focused on the life of a thumri singer who suffered a fatal head injury during a communal riot while Gadar - Ek Prem Katha is inspired by the life of Butta Singh, a Hindu who married a Muslim girl. Set in post partition the Muslims are sent across border in the wake of new laws and Butta Singh is separated from his wife and child. Determined to win them back, he slips into Pakistan, and eventually becomes a martyr for his love. The film was originally made as Shaheed-e-Mohabbat by Gurudas Mann.
The bigger the name the greater the curiosity the film aroused. Phoolan Devi sued the filmmaker of Bandit Queen, and it required a great number of accusations, negotiations and pre-conditions before the film finally made it to the theatres. Ditto with Vinay Shukla's Godmother based on the life of Santokben Jadeja, the feared don of Jamnagar. Lajja was inspired by the gang-rape and gruesome murder of Siya Dulari, a 40-year-old dalit woman, by members of the upper-caste. Director Raj Kumar Santoshi was so shaken by the incident that he felt he had to make a statement on the oppression of women. As expected, the film's release was preceded by various court cases, and the first screening disrupted by violent protests.

Perhaps we are not as prepared for the truth as we imagine. We don't mind watching films within films that tell us complex stories of another world but are still not ready to look inwards. Perhaps true stories are too close for comfort and they hurt more than we care to admit.

[suttu]

nice post..

[templepeople]

nice one thnx

[krishna_chennai]

Nice one thanks :)