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Straight from the
sets Talking Cinema
At the same time, there emerges a sad comment from the least expected quarter. Take ShyamBenegal’s instant reaction to prompter Bhawana Somayya’s straightjacketed question on his depiction of oppressed women in his films for instance. "A universal set of qualities applies to men which doesn’t to women. Conventionally and traditionally, women cannot do certain things that men can and this evokes strong responses against social inequality." A more alert questioner, especially a woman, could have shown him the other side of the coin. Perhaps, Bhawana’s preset questions prevented her from doing that. Let’s draw up a list of Who’ Who in the book. Amitabh Bachchan twice from the sets of RajkumarSantoshi’s Khakee (03) on playing a cop that he has done 15 times or more, and how has he perfected himself; there is son Abhishek (who is undeservedly there) talking about Dhoom (04); Shabana Azmi, Anil Kapoor, Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit, Kamal Haasan, Waheeda Rehman, Rani Mukherjee (prey why, post-Yuva, 04). This is followed by Jaya Bachchan on Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa, Rekha (Lajja), Ajay Devgn (Company, The Legend of Bhagat Singh), KiranKher (KhamoshPani), Amitabh Bachchan (Dev& Black), Tabbu (Namesake).
Sadly, contrary to claims otherwise, the chapters do not reflect any era or a mindset. It is also not "a testimony of their (characters in the book) passion for cinema and, more important, their obsession with the craft" – which is no different from anyone in any competitive profession with a will to succeed. But it does succeed, to a certain degree "recapture milestone moments with actors and film makers the author has "interacted" for more than three decades. Bhawana’s sincerity is unquestionable, so also her commitment to the profession. But one feels there has to be much more meat in the writing to put it together in a book, even if not a certain thematic quality. The answers to most questions, generally speaking, are as flippant as the questions themselves. Concluding with a heavy heart, none of the interviews is substantial or profound enough to occupy shrinking space in bookstores. Sorry for being so uncharitable, Bhawana Somayya.
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An
interesting, retrospective compilation of the scribe’s conversations
with stars, artistes, directors and their reflections on various
aspects of films and filmmaking in Mumbai over the past decade or so
by someone who has spent a lifetime chasing them. Nowhere in her brief
introduction does the author define the selection process from over a
thousand she must have penned down over the decade. Each of the 30
pieces has a line or two that requires a reflective pause. But on the
whole, what really emerges is anything but devastatingly original. It
cannot, however, be denied that there are lines that seem to have
ordained a pondering before coming up with an answer.
Then
there are random dialogues with directors like Hrishikesh Mukherjee,
Gulzar, Yash Chopra, Govind Nihalani, ShekharKapoor, Sanjay Leela
Bhansali, Mani Ratnam, Vishal Bharadwaj, Karan Johar, Rajkumar
Santoshi; the specialists: Yash Copra on love, Shyam Benegal on women,
Amitabh Bachchan on cops, Rekha on courtesans and A R Rahman on
compositions. Look whatever way, it is like a shoot gone haywire,
artistes clamouring for their lines, the script missing and the
director absent from the sets.