Shooting the stars

Bhagwan Dada. He is the name identified with the 1951 musical hit Albela, mostly remembered for C. Ramachandra’s catchy music and a slow and gentle style of dancing that inspired many, including Amitabh Bachchan. But Bhagwan Abhaji Palav deserves a greater place among the film industry’s pioneers for his little-known achievements in the decade preceding Albela . That was the period when he made low-budget, action-packed entertainers that made even Raj Kapoor want to imitate him. It is this legacy that an upcoming Marathi biopic, Ek Albela , seeks to showcase.

However, Ek Albela is a rarity on the Indian film firmament, as was Harishchandrachi Factory (2009), a delightful tale about how Dadasaheb Phalke founded cinema in India. It was Bapu Watve’s book on the grand old man of Indian cinema that inspired filmmaker Paresh Mokashi to capture Dadasaheb’s life on the big screen. Although the film’s success created possibilities for similar tales on cinematic achievements to emerge, such films were far and few between — Celluloid (2013), about the difficulties faced by J.C. Daniel as he made the Malayalam industry’s first film, Vigathakumaran, was one.

A filmmaker like Mahesh Bhatt may have confronted his own past by presenting it in movies such as Arth (1982), Janam (1985) and Zakhm (1998), but Indian filmmakers have mostly shown little interest in portraying the triumphs and tribulations of their own people. Why this lacuna? Sudhir Mishra, whose Khoya Khoya Chand (2007) captured the mood of Bombay cinema of the 1950s, says biopics on filmmakers may not exactly fit into the formulaic style of contemporary Bollywood. Mokashi thinks it could be because film personalities in India do not get the same kind of importance as political figures, and that “films don’t affect social norms, political decisions do”.

Renowned filmmaker Shyam Benegal, whose rich oeuvre includes a biopic on Marathi actor Hansa Wadkar ( Bhumika , 1977), concurs: “People in cinema are not exactly heroic figures. You make biopics on people whom you admire, whose ideals you identify with. You need to feel natural empathy for people like them.”

Also, Bombay cinema was traditionally considered the bastion of the déclassé — the reason why even stars could not be considered “ideal public figures” by middle-class, upwardly mobile cineastes.

The situation does not seem to have been very different in Tamil Nadu, where cinema has played a major role in public life, including as a tool for political propaganda. Film scholar Theodore Baskaran feels there will be no audience for films on S.S. Vasan or K. Balachandar. How about films on an M.G. Ramachandran or a Sivaji Ganeshan, whose careers were part of a cinematic wave that moulded reel-life idols into real-life icons? “There will always be questions of historical accuracy,” he says.

One film that successfully showed the intimate relation between cinema and politics in Tamil Nadu was Mani Ratnam’s 1997 film Iruvar . Being a somewhat fictionalised account of the lives of two stars in both politics and cinema — MGR and M. Karunanidhi — it had ingredients that were enough to create both appreciation and controversy, but not money. This is in contrast to the success of two other semi-fictional biopics by Mani Ratnam — Nayagan (1987) and Guru (2007). Though their hold over history was questionable, their sympathy for the lead protagonists and objective to create a certain ideal figure was not.

From doubts over historical accuracy of a biopic arises another problem — non-availability of authoritative documentation. Chronicling cinema from a historical perspective has never gained much traction in India, a reason there is genuine difficulty when it comes to finding authentic material on many important personalities. As Mokashi says: “We are not that connected or aware of our history. So, it takes its toll on its depiction in films or other art forms.” But authentic source material can help a film go a long way. For instance, the makers of Ek Albela are unequivocal in crediting veteran Marathi journalist Isaq Mujawar for providing them inputs on Bhagwan Dada.

Satyajit Ray is an obvious name among those legends whose filmmaking had a universal appeal. Benegal, who made a documentary on Ray in 1982 when the Bengali veteran was still at his creative peak, says: “The graph of his life is extraordinary in terms of the work he has done. However, it is not very dramatic, unlike that of someone like Michelangelo”. So, it doesn’t lend itself well to a feature film.

Film scholar M.K. Raghavendra adds another dimension to the debate. “Sportspersons make good subjects for biopics because sporting events are widely perceived to be tests for the nation/national prestige,” he says. “Film personalities don’t qualify as patriots since films are rarely seen as patriotic acts.”However, he gives an example of what might appeal if it were turned into a film — “Satyajit Ray’s making of Pather Panchali (1955) and the story of how it did internationally.”

Film studies scholar Subhajit Chatterjee, who teaches at Jadavpur University in Kolkata, says a biopic on Ray was announced last year with actor-director Q in the lead role. But getting permission from the legend’s family while depicting his/her life becomes a major bone of contention, he says. “The Ray biopic, which was to be on his experiences while making Pather Panchali, ran into trouble as his family members objected to certain personal details being included,” he says.

On the other hand, Amit Kumar provided support to writer Soumik Sen and director Anurag Basu who have been planning a film on his father Kishore Kumar. Last heard, Rajkumar Hirani was planning to bring the contentious life of Sanjay Dutt to the silver screen. More ideas are out there for grabs — V. Shantaram’s failure at making India’s first colour film with Sairandhri (1933), but him acquiring the technical know-how to make successful colour films later. Or Raj Kapoor’s disappointment at the failure of Mera Naam Joker (1970) after which he decided never to act in his own movies again, and then his successful directorial comeback with Bobby (1973). These are filmable topics for which authentic material is available. Whether the movies will find takers among the audiences is a different question.

narayanan.g@thehindu.co.in