Hrishikesh Mukherjee: ’Musical’ director

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*Jaya*

@*Jaya*

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Posted: 18 years ago

#141

The best of his bittersweet tales

Over four decades, Hrishikesh Mukherjee churned out some real celluloid classics. Metro picks five favourites from the filmography of the man who used to make movies about us

Amitabh Bachchan and Rajesh Khanna in Anand

Anand

He didn't want his best friend to die on screen. And so the human being in him overruled the director in him and Mukherjee decided only to dedicate Anand to Raj Kapoor, and not cast him in the title role. Even brother Shashi Kapoor was thought of, but Rajesh Khanna was always destined to wander around the beaches singing Salil Choudhury's immortal composition Zindagi kaisi hai paheli...

Everyone in the theatres and later in the drawing rooms knew that Anand was going to die in the end but that didn't stop them from shedding those tears. As the telly re-runs come on every second channel, people still want to be his Murarilal and be part of a memorable journey, doomed yet delightful.

Rajesh Khanna became the face of hope for struggling souls seeking solace. Perhaps no one could say "Babumoshay" the way Kakaji could. That one call not only melted the stubborn Bhaskar Banerjee (Amitabh Bachchan) but also gave an entire generation of Bengalis a new nickname. And fittingly so, because "Babumoshay" was Raj Kapoor's chosen term of endearment for Mukherjee himself.

Amol Palekar and Bindiya Goswami in Golmaal

Golmaal

You may find people who haven't seen the battles of Mughal-e-Azam, the farms of Mother India, the cricket match of Lagaan but it's difficult to hunt out someone who hasn't seen Utpal Dutt twirling his moustache and going "iiiisshhh" in Golmaal.

If Anand taught the rest of India "Babumoshay", Golmaal introduced verbal gems like "dant kelane banchharam". Punctuated with delightfully hilarious comic set-pieces, the Utpal Dutt-Amol Palekar cat-and-mouse game — with Dina Pathak as a fabulous fake mom — has become such a cult comedy with time, that the very playback of the Golmaal hai bhai sab golmaal hai theme spells mischief in the air.

Some would argue that the Pancham-Kishore Kumar classic Aanewala pal was wasted on an insipid Bindiya Goswami, but then in Amol Palekar's own words: "Hrishida didn't want to impress the audience with a great shot composition." And perhaps because he just let the song roll, it still hasn't gathered any moss. Neither has the film.

Hrishikesh Mukherjee

Chupke Chupke

If t-o is to, then why isn't g-o goo? Cracked up again? Well, Hrishida's "original recipe" with its "secret blend" is no less than what your favourite phuchkawallah conjures up and leaves you craving for more.

Another case of mistaken identities and another classic! If Dutt and Palekar created Golmaal, a grumpy Om Prakash and a charming Dharmendra orchestrated the funny moments in this irresistible rom com. And the hide-and-seek post-marital romance between Dharmendra and Sharmila Tagore had its own khatta-meetha situations. Even Amitabh and Jaya chipped in with delightful cameos. Chupke Chupke was all the more remarkable on Mukherjee's part because the same year saw Amitabh, Dharmendra and Jaya appear in completely different avatars for Ramesh Sippy chapati western Sholay.

In many ways, Mukherjee was the Hitchcock of comedy. Like Hitchcock would give his audiences the privilege of knowing more than his protagonists thus heightening the suspense, Mukherjee would pass on more information to the viewers allowing them to have a blast at the expense of his characters. That's why the "karela" always tasted so much sweeter than the "corolla".

Khoobsurat

You have drooled over her in Utsav, liked her as Umrao Jaan but as Manju, Rekha was at her adorable best in Khoobsurat. Chirpy, chatty, chulbuli, she was given a complete image makeover after her Khoon Pasina and Muqaddar Ka Sikandar days. Her nemesis? A hard as nails Dina Pathak. Just like he did with Palekar-Dutt and Om Prakash-Dharmendra, Mukherjee plays with physical extremes creating both a tonal and visual contrast.

If Amelie took the world by storm in 2001 by helping suffering souls, Rekha's Manju did it two decades back, and how. Bringing relief to a Hitler home, she breezed through, winning hearts and changing lives. And what better way than the Saare niyam tod do track signalling the winds of change. Another instance of Mukherjee using home truths to lay bare social inconsistencies.

In 1985, with an almost similar theme and cast in Jhoothi, Mukherjee tried to repeat the Khoobsurat success and salvage a sagging career just like he would try later with the Golmaal reworking in Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kate. But the beauty of Khoobsurat, like Golmaal, lay in its spontaneity and not even the man himself could recreate it.

Amitabh and Jaya in Abhimaan

Abhimaan

There have been rave reviews on how KANK has brought taboo topics out of the closet. But in 1973, when Mukherjee explored the fatal fallacies of the male ego, he was easily breaking new grounds by giving cinematic voice to unspoken home truths. Yes, it took off from the 1954 James Mason-Judy Garland classic A Star is Born but Hrishida gave Abhimaan his signature stamp by weaving the plot around SD Burman's evergreen music. There's even a Ramayana parallel to the tale in how Amitabh's Subir casts aspersions on the integrity of Jaya's Uma and an intriguing extra-marital sub-plot with Bindu. The redemption may be very filmi but a fitting finale to two stars who exchanged vows the same year.

In the recent past, movies like Naach and Sur have tried to take a fresh look at the man-woman ego war but have not struck the right chord. You can remake a Sholay or a Don but not an intimate tale like Abhimaan.

They just don't make 'em like you any more, Hrishida.

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ajooni

@ajooni

Rocker

Posted: 18 years ago

#142

'art for hearts sake' by raja sen was very touching..thanks jaya..

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Bob Chowdhury

@Qwest

Inactive

Posted: 18 years ago

#143

Amitabh remembers Hrishida!

Superstar Amitabh Bachchan was effusive in his praise for director Hrishikesh Mukherjee, who died Sunday, saying he was like a "father figure" to him and his wife Jaya while asserting "they don't create people like him any more".

"Hrishida was like a father figure to me and my wife, Jaya. Working with him was an unbelievable experience because his style of film-making was never to compromise on quality and on the story ideas," Bachchan told BBC News.

Bachchan, who played many memorable roles under Mukherjee, dismissed largely held view that the late maestro's movies had lost touch with modern day audiences.

"I think it's wrong to say his kind of cinema doesn't work any longer. I'm sure if Hrishida were to make those kinds of films again, it would certainly have an audience. "He never pandered to any baser instincts, and he set his own path, which was neither too artistic nor too commercial".

The megastar was lavish in his praise for the late director's superlative art of characterisation.

"They were all exceptionally well-etched and, of course, the greatest opportunity to perform for me has been for his films. His knowledge of the craft was so immense that we just left ourselves in his hands."

"One of the most interesting characters I played was in 'Anand'. I worked with him much before the 1973 film 'Zanjeer' came, where my so-called image of Indian cinema's 'angry young man' was seemingly established," the superstar of the millennium said.

"I will have to admit that most of the interesting characters I played have been in films that were made by him - be it 'Anand' or 'Mili' or 'Chupke Chupke', or 'Bemisal' or 'Namak Haram', or 'Jurmana'.

For an actor of Bachchan's stature, who worked with many directors throughout his career, Mukherjee always deserved a special place.

"I have never worked for an image. I continued working with Hrishida, as we all fondly called him, much after working with other directors like Salim/Javed, Prakash Mehra and Manmohan Desai, in variously different roles," added Bachchan.

Narrating how Mukherjee was in the sets, the actor said: "We never heard any scripts, never heard any stories - we just came on the sets. He told us to stand there, walk here, say it in this manner, speak like this - that's how he used to direct all of us. So our input was nothing at all. All that you see in his films is entirely his input."

Whenever there was any difficulty in executing a complex character, the late director was always available to ensure the scenes went on without suffering any jolts.

"If it was a complex character like in 'Mili', we would sit together and he would give a one-line description and then guide us as the scenes came," said Bachchan.

"You actually saw your character unfold before you. It felt good - I felt that I had left myself in the hands of a master. One really didn't have to worry because one knew that Hrishida was going to mould you," he added.

But the late director's characters never came from out of the blue. They were invariably close to reality.

His characters were close to reality, and certainly the scenes that were written and the situations that we were put in, were so genuine and real and realistic that they gave great opportunities to actors," the actor.

"His films were full of delightful subtleties and became great cinema. It is difficult to pick one character and say that's the best - there was 'Anand' and 'Abhimaan', 'Mili' too - all of them unbelievable moments in film-making.

Amitabh churned out the choicest laurels for Mukherjee's impeccable editing.

"He was a master editor and knew his craft incredibly well - he would shoot a scene and you would know nothing about it till you saw it," said the superstar.

"And yet when you saw it finished, it was amazing how well he had actually conceived the thing. He could do the last shot first and could put something in the middle days later and it was just marvellous to see a person so gifted.

Edited by Qwest - 18 years ago

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Bob Chowdhury

@Qwest

Inactive

Posted: 18 years ago

#144

Hrishida was the greatest of them all

The 1979 laugh riot 'Golmaal' was the beginning of the success of the Hrishikesh Mukherjee-Amol Palekar team that continued the trend in movies like "Naram Garam" (1981), "Rang Birangi" (1983) and "Jhoothi" (1986).

Rahul Dev Burman's music score in the movies was scintillating and the track 'Aanewala pal jaanewala hai' is remembered even today. Burman sung the title track accompanied by his assistant Sapan Chakroborty.

In the 1971 film 'Guddi', Jaya Bhaduri's first fim, Amitabh Bachchan was originally set to play the hero but Mukherjee wanted a totally new face to play the role.

After Amitabh became famous in Mukherjee's 'Anand', the director decided against casting him any further. Jaya was then studying at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, when he saw her diploma films.

Impressed, Mukherjee called her to the principal's office and offered her the title role. Jaya had done a role in Satyajit Ray's 'Mahanagar.'

On Jaya's first day of shooting with Dharmendra, he came up to her and asked, "You are the heroine of the film? Tumhari umar kya hai (How old are you?)".

"Hrishida was the greatest film director with whom I had the honour to work", Dharmendra, now a Lok Sabha member, said.

"I have worked with likes of Bimal Roy but Mukherjee was the greatest of them all", he said.

Edited by Qwest - 18 years ago

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*Jaya*

@*Jaya*

Inactive

Posted: 18 years ago

#145

On Jaya's first day of shooting with Dharmendra, he came up to her and asked, "You are the heroine of the film? Tumhari umar kya hai (How old are you?)".

Oh how cute and romantic 😛😳 But then Jaya in Guddi was indeed Guddi... Still remember her opening an eye and trying to look arnd in between the prayer song 'Humko man ki shakti dena' - so real, so believable, so cute 😳

Thanks Bob'da for the great interviews of my favorite actors and couple for my favorite film-maker 😊

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orthodox

@orthodox

Inactive

Posted: 18 years ago

#146

Originally posted by: jayc1234

Alaap
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Rekha
A film where morbidity was reflected in all the characters. The film flopped at the BO.

This film will remain immortal for one of the best lyrics by the greatest of Bachchan's - Dr. Harivansh. The beautiful song sung by the melodious Yasudas - Koi Gata, Mein so jaata.....

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Bob Chowdhury

@Qwest

Inactive

Posted: 18 years ago

#147

My film is in Hrishikesh Mukherjee genre, promises director
Saturday, April 24, 2004

He has a great marriage going with Mandira Bedi, but that hasnt stopped ad maker Raj Kaushal from making a film on a man trying to dissuade his friend from tying the knot!

Kaushal, whose second film "Shaadi Ka Laddoo", starring his wife, is about to hit the screens, says it also shows the man trying to look outside marriage for some fun.

But, in an interview, he promised the film would be "a family entertainer" in the much-loved "Basu Chatterjee, Hrishikesh Mukherjee genre".

Why this long gap between your first and second feature films?
I got married. Marriage brings its own economic responsibilities. My wife and I took a collective decision that I should consolidate my position as an ad maker. Now, when Mandira has hit big-time herself, she prodded me to start another film.
Frankly, when I look back on my first film "Pyar Mein Kabhi Kabhi", I feel I was slightly immature.
"Shaadi Ka Laddoo" takes the characters beyond, Ashish Chowdhary plays a guy who has it all and craves to find the right life partner. Right in front of him is this seemingly happily married man played by Sanjay Suri who, for all his supposed bliss, is claustrophobic about marriage and dissuades his friend.

So is "Shaadi Ka Laddoo" anti-marriage?
Me and anti-marriage? Look at Mandira and me! No, it's as anti-marriage as "Masti", which in its own way preaches the sanctity of marriage. Like the guys in "Masti", Sanjay too wants to test the feminine ground outside marriage. He tries to attract the eminently eligible Mandira Bedi, but only to find out if he's still a "dude". Sanjay Suri is happily married in real life. He was ideal for the part, and so were the rest of the cast. Divya Dutta, who plays Sanjay Suri's wife, is also awesome.

So is your film a sex comedy like "Masti"?
Are you kidding! My film is just the opposite of "Masti". I can't be sleazy! I personally feel our cinema is about family entertainment. "Shaadi Ka Laddoo" is designed as a family entertainer. I think my film is a family version of "Masti", cleaner and more accessible.

Where does "Shaadi Ka Laddoo" fit into that scheme of things?
My film fits into the school of Basu Chatterjee and Hrishikesh Mukherjee. My most favourite comedies are "Padosan" and "Chupke Chupke". They kept the humour simple and non-sleazy.
"Shaadi Ka Laddoo" isn't a romance. When in Hindi cinema we make romantic films we follow the god of the genre, Yash Chopra. Since I couldn't do that, I steered away from romance. There are no chiffon saris in "Shaadi Ka Laddoo". I've kept my camera silent, used no crane shots, dressed characters simply and shot on real locations. Everything is pleasant and believable.
Nowadays, the audience loves to play critic. They think they know exactly what will happen next. I've played around with their expectations.

What about the casting of Ashish Chowdhry and his real-life girlfriend?
That was because Ashish kept saying things like "I don't want to kiss on screen... I don't want to do intimate scenes...".
I knew there was a hand that rocked the cradle, so I decided to put the hand into my film. But to direct a real-life couple is very tough. Ashish couldn't disconnect his real relationship with Samita Bangargi from the characters they planned. His attention got diverted.
As for Mandira and I, we had never worked together before. We couldn't disconnect as man and wife until half the shooting.

Why did you shoot the entire film in London?

The whole story is located in London. Frankly the ambience and temperature in Mumbai aren't conducive to creativity. When you shoot outside Mumbai you leave a lot of unwanted baggage behind. The whole unit gives more abroad.

What next?
I have this fabulous script by Abbas Tyrewallah that I want to direct next. That's the one giving me sleepless nights. I'm going to take a break from direction and produce a couple of films. One film will be directed by Subhash Ghai's former right- hand man Shashi Wadia. He'll make an out-and-out comedy with Paresh Rawal and Neeraj Vora to be shot in London.
My assistant Priya Ahluwalia will direct another film for me. It'll be a non-commercial children's film featuring Mandira Bedi. I feel I haven't given Mandira her due as an actress.

How do you react to her sudden success?
I'm so proud of her. This is the time of her life. I keep telling her, "I'm proud to be your wife" just as she says she's proud to be my husband. We're so compatible as a couple that our roles are interchangeable.

Yours seems to be a perfect marriage?
There's no such thing. You've to work on it. Otherwise it crashes.

Edited by Qwest - 18 years ago