{"id":6844,"date":"2023-01-07T21:14:15","date_gmt":"2023-01-07T15:44:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/?p=6844"},"modified":"2023-01-08T18:29:02","modified_gmt":"2023-01-08T12:59:02","slug":"hrishikesh-mukherjee-master-of-the-middle-path","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/hrishikesh-mukherjee-master-of-the-middle-path\/","title":{"rendered":"Hrishikesh Mukherjee: Master of the Middle Path"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Hrishikesh<\/a>

An exclusive pen and ink sketch of Hrishikesh Mukherjee by renowned artist Subrata Gangopadhyay<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThis is one of the biggest ironies of life you know! That, as we grow in years, we grow more experienced, and richer in thought. But, the more we have to give to the world, the less equal, less capable our body gets…\u201d<\/p>\n

Hrishikesh Mukherjee was speaking to me, then a feature writer from The Telegraph<\/em>. He, with his gout and his passion for chess, had then marched into the seventh decade of his bountiful life and was gearing up to direct Jhoothi <\/em>(1985), featuring the reigning queen of her times \u2013 Rekha. And I was marvelling at his definition of capability. For, with 30 years of directing behind him then, he had already given us 38 films, among them classics like Anuradha, Anupama, Ashirwad, Abhimaan<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"Jaya

Jaya Bhaduri and Hrishikesh Mukherjee (Pic courtesy: Twitter)<\/p><\/div>\n

Hrishida, as he was endearingly addressed by everyone in the industry, was a marvel indeed. Born in Calcutta on September 30 of 1922, he directed 42 features, edited films by other directors, scripted some and assisted in the making of some others \u2014 along with six television serials! This at a time when, on an average, a film would be two to three years in the making. So, what was the secret of his prolificity? Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that he had started life as an editor.<\/p>\n

A well-read chemistry graduate of Calcutta University, he had joined B N Sircar\u2019s New Theatres in 1945, first to supervise the paints used on the sets, as it would be seen through the camera \u2014 in short, as a cameraman, much like his guru Bimal Roy and the mentor\u2019s guru Nitin Bose. Yet to graduate from University of Calcutta, he was an enthusiastic goalkeeper when people within NT Studios got busy with the football. There he also learnt to wield the scissor under Subodh Mitra, the NT editor who was known in the trade as \u2018Kochi Da\u2019. While spooling and unspooling reels as moviolas were unknown then, his keen eye and observant nature was noticed by Bimal Roy who had opened a new chapter in Indian cinema with Udayer Pathey <\/em>(1944). He asked Hrishi to seek Mr Sircar\u2019s permission to independently edit Tathapi<\/em> (1947), being made outside NT under his supervision. Soon after, with Pahela Aadmi<\/em> (1949) he also started assisting Bimal Roy in direction.<\/p>\n

\"Pahela

Hrishikesh Mukherjee was Assistant-Editing in Pahela Admi<\/em> (1949)<\/p><\/div>\n

This manifold foundation in the celluloid art served Hrishida all through life \u2014 while assisting in the making of Maa<\/em> (1952); in scripting Do Bigha Zamin<\/em> (1953); in envisaging his own films beginning with Musafir<\/em> (1957); while interviewing students as a Board Member of the Film and Television Institute of India; chairing meetings at the Central Board of Film Certification (1981-82); of the National Film Development Corporation, or while identifying winners for the National Film Awards in 1982… In short, in every role he played, for the multifarious hats he donned, his incisive mind could look through his thick lenses and crisply see the scene with no need for any viewfinder.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat books have you read? Which one is your favourite? Would you want to turn it into a film? How will you translate that into visuals?\u201d Hundreds of entrants to cinema had to answer this to Hrishi Kaku \u2014 as he was to me, daughter of his screenwriter colleague Nabendu Ghosh; or to Subhankar Ghosh, who learnt from him at FTII; or to Jaya Bhaduri, whom he turned into the Guddi<\/em> (1971) of the Indian screen.<\/p>\n

\"Hrishikesh

Hrishikesh Mukherjee at work<\/p><\/div>\n

An editor non pareil, he knew where precisely to say \u201cCut!\u201d That saved time, raw stock, and money; translating into \u2018viability\u2019 the costly and uncertain profession of filmmaking, and bringing in producers who wanted the same Hrishida to direct their next production \u2014 be it a musical, a laugh riot, or a tearjerker. L B Thakur, L B Lachman, N C Sippy,\u00a0 Romu Sippy \u2014 they would not think of anyone else behind the camera.<\/p>\n

And why just them? P Lankesh, Kannada writer-director of the National Award-winning Anuroopa<\/em> (1978), trusted his scissors. Many in Bombay too turned to him whenever they floundered by over exposing lakhs of footage. And Hrishida would help them with his understanding of multiple cinematic idioms. Amar Kumar\u2019s Garam Coat<\/em> (1955), based on Rajinder Singh Bedi\u2019s casting of The Overcoat<\/em> against the Partition of India; Nitin Bose\u2019s Ganga Jumna<\/em> (1961), setting two orphaned brothers on opposing sides of law; Ramu Kariat\u2019s Chemmeen<\/em> (1965), transcreating Thakazi\u2019s Malayalam classic interpreting the loves of fish traders; Rajinder Singh Bedi\u2019s Dastak<\/em> (1970), investigating trafficking of humans, drugs and endangered species; Manmohan Desai\u2019s Coolie<\/em> (1983), the metaphoric lost-and-found formula that has become a myth after Amitabh Bachchan\u2019s near fatal injury on its sets: all these watershed films benefited from the brevity of Hrishikesh Mukherjee\u2019s film language.<\/p>\n

\"Hrishikesh

Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Raj Kapoor<\/p><\/div>\n

Another measure of his popularity is the range of actors and artistes he chiselled. This spans generations of triumvirate, from Raj-Dilip-Dev to Balraj-Biswajit-Haribhai, and Dharm-Kaka-Lambuji to Amol-Farooque-Anil. Thespians, to put it differently, who were stars before Hrishikesh Mukherjee cast them, and stars who scaled the heights of fame under his baton. Also note the teaming: Dilip Kumar and Suchitra Sen (Musafir<\/em>\/ 1957); Raj Kapoor and Nutan (Anari<\/em>\/ 1959); Balraj Sahni and Leela Desai (Anuradha<\/em>\/ 1960); Dev Anand and Sadhana (Asli Naqli<\/em>\/ 1962); Guru Dutt and Meena Kumari (Saanjh Aur Savera<\/em>\/ 1964); Sunil Dutt and Asha Parekh (Chhaya<\/em>\/ 1960), Biswajit and Mala Sinha (Pyaar Ka Sapna<\/em>\/ 1969), Dharmendra and Sharmila Tagore (Anupama<\/em>\/ 1966; Satyakam<\/em>\/ 1969; Chupke Chupke<\/em>\/ 1975); Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, Amol Palekar, Farooq Shaikh, Anil Kapoor, Rekha Rakhee Deepti Naval… \u00a0I am running out of breath.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

\"Asrani

Asrani and Dharmendra in Chupke Chupke<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

What was special about the director \u2014 perhaps the only one \u2014 who had directed all the greats including Dilip-Raj-Dev-Dadamoni? His equation with each of them. To give a single example: Hrishikaku repeatedly cast Dharam in Anupama<\/em>, perhaps the best character of his career; then in the intensely idealistic \u2018tear-jerker\u2019 Satyakam<\/em>; as the idolised star in Guddi<\/em> when everyone was going ga-ga over Kaka; again, in his wildly funny comic role as the \u2018driver\u2019 in Chupke Chupke<\/em>; as too his least \u2018performing\u2019 character \u2014 that of Meena Kumari\u2019s husband in Majhli Didi<\/em>. \u00a0\u201cI did the maximum number of films with Hrishida,\u201d Dharamji once told me when the director passed away. \u201cAnd when I learnt that I wasn\u2019t cast in Anand<\/em>, I had pestered him incessantly until he specified why he wanted Rajesh Khanna in that role.\u201d<\/p>\n

If Hrishida knew Dharam\u2019s strength, he also knew how to handle the whimsies of the actor who never let anyone shoot his left profile. \u201cBut Hrishida would shoot only from my left!\u201d One day his gout forced the director to retire from the sets while the cinematographer was setting up the lights. \u201cOverjoyed, I asked Jaywant Pathare to set the camera on my right. But just as we were to start Hrishida walked in saying, \u2018I knew you would do this!\u2019\u201d Dharamji had also recalled that \u201cthe fastest director\u201d always okayed the first shot, \u201cbut if I insisted on a retake, he would tell Pathare, \u2018Take 2, Take 7, Take 10 shots but use the first one.\u2019\u201d And yet, if he came to know that his actor was happiest about Take 4, he would quietly tell the cinematographer to retain that!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Hrishikesh Mukherjee giving the muhurat clap for Nabendu Ghosh’s directorial venture Dagdar Baboo<\/em> starring Dharmendra and Jaya Bhaduri. The film unfortunately stayed incomplete.<\/p><\/div>\n

The fine art of chiselling the artiste within an actor was not reserved for stars alone: Hrishida \u2018rechristened\u2019 even character artistes by breaking typecast and creating new stereotypes. His magic baton transformed alike vamps and villains, Lalita Pawar, Shashikala, Bindu, and Johny Walker, Deven Verma, Asrani. Sumita Sanyal of the Bengali screen, whom Satyajit Ray cast in Nayak as an aspiring actress, lives on in our memory for Anand <\/em>and Ashirwad<\/em>. And he breathed new life into Utpal Dutt and Ashok Kumar!<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Yes, Hrishida did not keep Bengal at bay. He gave Utpal Dutt, his theatre stalwart buddy from IPTA days, a new identity as a cameo artiste (Golmaal<\/em>\/ 1979). With Ashirwad<\/em> (1968) he crafted a new peak for Ashok Kumar, the giant who helmed Bombay Talkies when Hrishikesh had landed in Mumbai as a member of Bimal Roy\u2019s team. When his mentor passed away, he paid his homage through Anupama <\/em>(1966): apart from the dedication, he revisited the finale of Udayer Pathey<\/em> when the lead actress climbs down the stairs and the father stops those trying to stop her by saying, \u201cLet her go forward!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Chaitali\"

Dharmendra, Saira Banu and Hrishikesh Mukherjee at the shooting of Chaitali<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

And, after his master passed away (8 January 1966), Hrishikesh also directed Chaitali<\/em>, the last film made under the banner of Bimal Roy Productions. It was his \u2018Guru Dakshina,\u2019 I remember him saying when I too had donned a yellow-and-purple cotton sari to blend in with junior artistes for a scene filmed at Ismail Yusuf College in Jogeshwari. One doesn\u2019t have to go far to seek the reason.<\/p>\n

At a time when there was no Film Institute nor any Dept of Film Studies in any University, Bimal Roy had given chance to so many new artists, new writers and new technicians, \u201cfrom his very first film, Udayer Pathey<\/em>,\u201d Hrishikesh pointed out in several interviews. To the students he taught Editing as guest lecturer at FTII, he would share how he learnt from his mentor: \u201cI asked Bimalda, \u2018How did you think of that particular sound effect in Do Bigha Zamin<\/em>?\u2019 He told me, \u2018Be intense when you visualise the scene Hrishi, and you can hear the sound (of galloping hoofs and whipping of a horse when Shambhu is being exhorted to run faster with his rickshaw). That is how you can teach yourself to make films.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Nargis,<\/a>

The Indian Delegation in Moscow, 1959 (Third from L to R) Nargis, Bimal Roy, Nirupa Roy, Salil Chowdhury, Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Radhu Karmakar (in front)<\/p><\/div>\n

To Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Bimal Roy was more than a mentor, he was a father figure. He intimately knew the icon who was apparently so quiet and withdrawn that many thought he was remote and proud. \u201cHe was the most kind hearted man, with no shred of artificiality,\u201d\u00a0he once said in an interview to film critic-writer-director Khalid Mohamed. Hrishida substantiated this by saying, \u201cAll my life I have worn his discarded dresses. Neither had he any hesitation in giving them to me. He would say, \u2018I\u2019ve put on weight, and this coat doesn\u2019t fit me Hrishi, see if it fits you.\u2019”<\/p>\n

Not without reason was Hrishikesh described as the \u2018Chela No. 1\u2019 of Bimalda by Nabendu Ghosh. The screenwriter was among the four unit members who travelled with Bimalda on that historical train journey in 1951 from Kolkata to Mumbai with Hrishikesh, Asit Sen and Paul Mahendra. In a Saridon Ke Saathi<\/em> programme hosted by Amin Sayani on AIR he gave a most absorbing word picture of their friendship: \u201cWe stayed together in the same room at Van Vihar. We would spread out our beds on the floor \u2014 in fact, the beds were laid out 24×7, and we would sweep only the floor between the beds.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole day we would chat and talk and discuss, and when everyone went off to sleep for the night, I would settle down to write. But that\u2019s when Asit would start snoring, forcing Hrishi to stay awake too. One day he could no longer bear it. He jumped out of his bed, went near Asit, lowered his voice and repeated in his ears: Mosh pora kha, mosh pora kha, mosh pora kha<\/em>…\u2019 Meaning? Chew on a roasted buffalo! \u2018It\u2019s a mantra to stymie the snoring of all sleeping giants,\u2019 he had explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs if by some magic, Asit stopped snoring. Hrishi triumphantly looked at me and smiled as if to say, \u2018See the wonder I\u2019ve worked!\u2019 Just then Asit resumed his snoring \u2014 at a louder pitch. In fact, so loudly he snored that it woke him up. Startled, he sat up, \u201cWho\u2019s that? Who\u2019s snoring?\u201d Crestfallen Hrishi could only say, \u201cMotumal, you are awakened by your own snoring?!\u201d \ud83d\ude0a This incident is also mentioned in the pages of Eka Naukar Jatri<\/em>\/ Journey of a Lonesome Boat, the autobiography of Nabendu Ghosh.<\/p>\n

\"Jaya

Jaya Bhaduri and Amitabh Bachchan in Abhimaan<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

The camaraderie between the two continued well beyond those early days in Mumbai. Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Nabendu Ghosh\u2019s names figured, respectively as editor and screenplay writer, in Roy classics Maa, Parineeta, Biraj Bahu, Devdas<\/em>. As director and writer, in Majhli Didi<\/em> and Abhiman<\/em>. Jaya Bachchan said in an interview to the Bengali daily Ei Samay<\/em>, \u201cHrishikaku entirely followed Nabendu Kaku\u2019s script, and what a memorable film it turned out to be!\u201d<\/p>\n

Their friendship led them to share inspirations too. Hrishi directed Pyar ka Sapna<\/em> and Nabendu wrote Nahe Phool-Haar<\/em> \u2013 both with roots in Tagore\u2019s narrative poem, Sadharan Meye<\/em>. The screenwriter narrated the idea of Satyakam<\/em>, which became the director\u2019s centenary homage to Mahatma Gandhi\u2019s experiments with truth. Which is why Hrishi Kaku prized like an award \u2018Nabenduda\u2019s response after he saw Satyakam<\/em>. \u201cYour Baba called me up,<\/p>\n

\"Dharmendra<\/a>

Dharmendra and Sanjeev Kumar debate the corrosive effects of corruption in Satyakam<\/em> (Pic: YouTube)<\/p><\/div>\n

only to say, \u2018Hrishi we will chat later, right now I have a lump in my throat!\u201d<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Hrishida\u2019s homage to his roots in Bengali cinema expressed itself most notably by way of remakes. His Bawarchi<\/em> retold the story of Galpo Holeo Sattyi<\/em> (1966) directed by his NT colleague Tapan Sinha. Biwi Aur Makan<\/em> (1966) recounted the outrageously funny tales of the inmates of Joy Maa Kali Boarding<\/em> (1955). The ribtickling Chhadmabeshi<\/em> (1971) became Chupke Chupke<\/em> (1975), one of the unbeatable bests of comedy on Indian screen. Hrishida\u2019s kinship-friendship-relationship oriented, progressive value based social narratives also stem from his attachment to literature. This accounted for his long-term bonding with literary figures like Nabendu Ghosh, Rajinder Singh Bedi, Gulzar. Further, although he came from the Science stream he, much like his mentor Bimal Roy, sourced his storylines directly from, or derived them from literary works including poems.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Original poster of Bemisaal<\/em> featuring the love triangle – Amitabh Bachchan, Raakhee and Vinod Mehra
Pic courtesy: SMM Ausaja<\/p><\/div>\n

Witness Majhli Didi<\/em>\/ 1967: Sarat Chandra Chatterjee\u2019s immortal tale of a mother\u2019s protective love for an orphaned child, while Ashirwad<\/em> has strong shades of Kashinath<\/em> wherein a zamindar strikes a friendship with an underdog and takes up cudgels for him against his own wife. Gaban<\/em>\/ 1966 followed Munshi Premchand\u2019s novel about the falling moral values in the middle class that sought to maintain false image in colonial period. Satyakam<\/em>, as mentioned before, came from Narayan Sanyal\u2019s writing. Arjun Pandit<\/em>\/1976 got Bonophul the year\u2019s Filmfare award for Best Story. Bemisal<\/em>\/ 1982 recast Ashutosh Mukherjee\u2019s Aami Se O Sakha\/ <\/em>1975 about friendship, love and loyalty. Chaitali<\/em> \/ 1975, once again the story of an idealist professor who supports a thief to protect her from becoming a prostitute, was written by Samaresh Bose.<\/p>\n

Pyar Ka Sapna<\/em>\/ 1968, as I have mentioned, has its antecedents in Tagore\u2019s Sadharan Meye <\/em>while Gol Maal<\/em>\/ 1979 germinated from the clinching lines of Sukumar Ray\u2019s Gof Churi<\/em> which reads: Gofer aami, gofer tumi, Gof diye jaay chena<\/em>… Men are identified by the whiskers they keep. The seeds of Namak Haram<\/em>\/1973 lay in the Hollywood production, Becket\/<\/em>1964, based on a Jean Anouilh play \u2014 but who would have imagined that the dilemma of a pretender to the robes of a Catholic Archbishop in England of Henry II could be reimagined to trace the rise of trade unionism in Mumbai\u2019s then-flourishing textile mills?<\/p>\n

Zindagi kaisi hai paheli <\/em><\/strong>(Anand, <\/em>1971) Salil Chowdhury \/ Yogesh \/ Manna Dey<\/span><\/p>\n