Manmohan Desai's Enchantment of the Mind
Page 20
endnotes
1 the filmmaker: the man
1. The majority of the quotes from the director were gathered in a series of interviews I had with Manmohan Desai in January 1984. Other unaccredited quotes date either from an April 1987 audio interview Manmohan Desai did for me or from a filmed interview conducted by Khalid Mohamed the same month, the edited version of which became Nasreen Munni Kabir’s ‘The Miracle Man: Manmohan Desai,’ a programme in Channel 4’s Movie Mahal series. In order to maintain the flavour and flow of Manmohan Desai’s speaking style, I have made only minor cuts in his speech. For the sake of clarity, there has been occasional rewording.
2. Kikubhai Desai was then a film producer and the owner of Paramount Studios in Bombay, later known as Filmalaya. His productions included Circus Queen, Golden Gang, Amazon, Akela, Bansari Bala, Thief Of Baghdad, Sheikh Chilli and Sneh Bandhan.
3. After those words were spoken in January, l984, Desai played a larger role in the leadership of the industry. In l986 he headed the United Group which won the elections for the control of the IMPPA (Indian Motion Picture Producers’ Association).
4. India Today, 31 May l984.
5. India Today, 31 May l984.
6. Filmfare, l-l5 May l984.
7. The Illustrated Weekly Of India, 24 November l985.
8. Filmfare, February l-l5 l986.
2 amar akbar anthony
1. Filmfare, l-l5 July l984.
3 coolie
1. http://www.indiaemb.org.eg/section%203/sec%203%20eng/ MUSLIM%20ETHOS%20IN%20INDIAN%20CINEMA.html (retrieved 15 March 2004)
4 kaleidoscope
1. Chhalia, like Aa Gale Lag Jaa, is full of close and medium shots that make it work particularly well on a television screen, in contrast to Desai’s later big budget spectacles.
5 kinetics
1. http://www.artsando pinion.co m/2003_v2_n2/kingwe l l.htm (retrieved 12 May 2004)
6 technical choices
1. Jacobs, Lewis (1970).
2. Bobby by Raj Kapoor, 1973.
3. Interviewed by Ram Mohan for Cinema Vision India, vol 1. No. 4, p. 33.
4. Mohammed Rafi, b. 1924, d. 1980.
5. From Feroz Khan’s Qurbani, l980.
6. One wonders to what extent Kadar Khan learned the colloquial idiom from the ‘roadside’ and to what extent those along the roadside have learned from his dialogues. The attempt to disentangle the loop between the language of the media and the language popularly spoken has so far left linguists perplexed.
7. For a description and photos of Mistry’s 1965 Mahabharat, visit: http://www.uiowa.edu/~incinema/Mahabharat.html
7 the players
1. http://www.bfi.org.uk/showing/nft/interviews/azmi/paycheque.html (retrieved March 7, 2004).
8 the child
1. Kakar (1983), p. 97.
9 comedy
1. Mast, Gerald (1973), p. 270.
2. Translation by Connie Haham.
10 serious undertones
1. Filmfare, l-l5 April l983
2. http://www.bitscape.info/research/screen_3p.htm (retrieved 23 February 2004).
3. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2770437.stm (20 June 2003).
4. Rangacharya, Adya (1980), p. 102.
5. For an interesting discussion on the negative role of the mother’s brother in the family, see Kakar (1983).
11 reality
1. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/a/alfredhite142022.html
2. From an interview with Sumit Mitra for India Today, 3l May l984.
3. Thomas, Rosie (1985), p. 124.
4. Filmfare, l6-3l December l985.
5. http://www.uiowa.edu/~incinema/Mard. (retrieved 29 April 2004).
6. Salinger, J.D. (1951), p. 33.
7. Simpson, John (2002) p. 125.
8. From Amar Chitra Katha, ‘Tales of the Mahabharata’.
9. From an interview with Iqbal Masud, Indian Cinema l980-l985, p. 40.
10. BBC World Service, 2 September 2003.
11. Film Comment, May 2002, p. 37.
12 women
1. Thomas, Rosie (1995) p. 160.
2. Kakir, Sudhir (1983) p. 92.
3. ibid. p. 94-95.
4. Joseph Losey made Modesty Blaise in 1969 with Monica Vitti and Terence Stamp.
5. Filmfare, 1-15 February 1986.
6. Interestingly, this music was chosen to introduce a Scandinavian-based radio production devoted to a discussion on feminism.
13 the manmohan desai legacy
1. In an interview with Lens Eye of The Times Of India, 20 October 1985.
2. Time, 26 April 2004.
3. http://imagineasia.bfi.org.uk/poll/index.html
Filmography
chhalia
Year: l960 (Black and white)
Producer: Subhash Desai
Story and Dialogue: Inder Raj Anand
Lyrics: Qamar Jalalabadi
Music: Kalyanji Anandji
Camera: N. Satyan
Cast: Raj Kapoor, Nutan, Pran, Rehman, Shobhana Samarth, Ramlal, Master Mopet, Gul, Shyamlal, Jagdish Kamal
Shaanti (Nutan) marries a man of a good family (Rehman); Partition separates them. When Shaanti returns from Pakistan with her six-year-old son, her family disown her, and her husband refuses to accept that the child Anwar is his. Shaanti is ready to throw herself from a tower when Chhalia (Raj Kapoor), a local pickpocket, saves her. She moves into his modest home. He soon falls in love with her though he is too timid to admit it. Shaanti, her son and husband must be reunited, and Chhalia must bow out.
bluff master
Year: l963 (Black and white)
Producer: Subhash Desai
Story: Madhusudan Kalelkar
Lyrics and dialogue: Rajinder Krishen
Music: Kalyanji Anandji
Camera: N. Satyan
Cast: Shammi Kapoor, Saira Banu, Pran, Lalita Pawar, Mohan Choti, Tun Tun, Rashid Khan, Niranjan Sharma
Ashok (Shammi Kapoor), an educated but unemployed young man, bluffs his way through life, selling fake lottery tickets, fake muscle cream, etc. The rich Seema (Saira Banu) has a conniving guardian who, in order to maintain control of her money, would like to marry her off to Ram Kumar (Pran), a humourless, constantly sniffing, import-export dealer. Ashok becomes an honest man and overcomes multiple obstacles before he and Seema can be united.
budtameez
Year: l966 (Black and white)
Producer: Jagdish Varma
Story: Jwala Mukhi
Screenplay: Jagdish Kanwal, Jwala Mukhi
Dialogue: Jagdish Kanwal
Lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri, Shailendra
Music: Shankar-Jaikishan
Dances: P.L. Raj
Camera: Mohan Keswani
Cast: Shammi Kapoor, Sadhana, Laxmi Chhaya, Kamal Mehra, Purnima, Brahm Bharadwaj, Manorma, Jagdish Raj, Dilip Dutt, Poonam, Anil Nagrath
Shyam’s (Shammi Kapoor) half-sister is very fond of him, but his stepmother wants him out of their house. He goes to Bombay to make his fortune and meets Shanta (Sadhana), a spoilt rich girl. Her grandfather gives him a job as manager of their home. He manages to drive away Devdas, her clownish suitor (Kamal Mehra), and melts the heart of the man-hating Shanta.
kismat
Year: l968 (Colour)
Producer: Kamal Mehra
Story: Manmohan Desai
Dialogue: Brij Katyal
Lyrics S.H. Bihari, Noor Devasi
Music: O.P. Nayyar
Camera: Keki Mistry
Cast: Biswajeet, Babita, Helen, Shetty, Kamal Mehra, Jagdish Raj
Vicki (Biswajeet), a singer, buys a guitar in which microfilmed government secrets has been placed by Scorpio, mastermind enemy agent. Pursued by the villains, he escapes onto a freight train, where he meets Roma (Babita) who is running away from home. Johnny (Kamal Mehra), a mad scientist and crazy detective, tries to help the couple, but they are taken to Scorpio’s island den. Scorpio proves to be Roma’s father in disguise. He repents and saves the
couple before a battle to the finish with his gang.
sachaa jhutha
Year: l970 (Colour)
Producer: Vinod Doshi, Rajni Desai
Story & screenplay: J.M. Desai
Dialogue: Prayag Raj
Lyrics Indivar, Gulshan Bawra, Qamar Jalalabadi
Music: Kalyanji Anandji
Camera: Peter Pereira
Cast: Rajesh Khanna (double role), Mumtaz, Vinod Khanna, Faryal, Prayag Raj, Kamal Kapoor, Jagdish Raj, Ratanmala, Pravin Paul, Viju Khote, Santosh, Jullian Billa, Dog Rexy, Naaz
Bhola (Rajesh Khanna) migrates to the city to make money for his crippled sister Belu’s (Faryal) dowry. There he is mistaken for Ranjeet (Rajesh Khanna), a notorious jewel thief, who decides to groom his look-alike to be able to take his place, thus giving himself a perfect alibi during his burglaries. Policewoman Rita (Mumtaz) is assigned to gather proof of Ranjeet’s guilt; she unwittingly falls in love with the innocent Bhola.
shararat
Year: l97l (Colour)
Producer: Ratan Mohan
Story & screenplay: K.B. Pathak
Dialogue: Prayag Raj
Lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri, Indivar
Music: Ganesh
Camera: D.K. Dhuri
Cast: Biswajeet, Mumtaz, Shatrughan Sinha, Junior Mehmood, Sujit Kumar, Faryal, Raj Mehra, Durga Khote, Madhumati, Lata Sinha, Kamal Mehra, Ram Avtar, Tun Tun, Anil Dutt, Neelam, Kirti Kumar
Radha, a village tanga driver (Mumtaz) saves the rich and pregnant Meeta (Faryal) from suicide. As a favour, Radha agrees to pretend to be Meeta and to visit the relatives Meeta has not seen since childhood. Meanwhile, Meeta goes in search of her missing husband Vinod Kumar (Sujit Kumar). Ma (Durga Khote) is impressed that ‘Meeta’ has remained so Indian in spite of her ten years of study abroad. Her own son Hari (Biswajeet) who lived abroad suffers from alcoholism and shows a disdain for overseeing the family’s tea factory. Under Radha’s influence he reforms, and the two fall in love.
raampur ka lakshman
Year: l972 (Colour)
Producer: A.A. Nadiadwala
Story & screenplay: K.A. Narayan
Script Supervision: Prayag Raj
Dialogue: K.B. Pathak
Lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri
Music: R.D. Burman
Camera: Sudhin Mazumdar
Cast: Randhir Kapoor, Rekha, Shatrughan Sinha, Padma Khanna, Sulochana, Faryal, Roopesh Kumar, Manmohan Krishna, Randhir, Raj Mehra, Tiwari, Keshav Rana, Ranjeet, Shyam Kumar, Viju Khote, Rajan Kapoor, Kirti Kumar, Master Ratan, Master Chickko, Ramesh Deo
A train accident separates a family. The eldest son is caught by a thief and taught to steal. The mother is believed dead. The father and second son Lakshman begin a new life in Raampur. Years later, Lakshman’s friend Prakash takes a job in the city where he is framed for murder. Lakshman (Randhir Kapoor) goes to his aid. There Lakshman falls in love with Rekha (Rekha), who is already being courted by Kumar ( Shatrughan Sinha), Lakshman’s lost brother, in appearance, a rich and respectable businessman.
bhai ho to aisa
Year: l972 (Colour)
Producer: A.A. Nadiadwala
Story & screenplay: K.B. Pathak
Dialogues: Prayag Raj
Lyrics Sahir Ludhianvi
Music: Sonik-Omi
Camera: N.V. Srinivas
Special Effects: Babubhai Mistry
Cast: Jeetendra, Hema Malini, Shatrughan Sinha, Indrani Mukherjee, Jeevan, Jayshree T., Bipin Gupta, Ranjeet, Sapru, Pravin Paul, Bela Bose, Jankidas, Tiwari, Viju Khote, Bobby, Jagdeep
Thakur Ram Singh (Shatrughan Sinha), the corrupt older brother of a land-owning family, spends his time drinking in a courtesan’s palace while his wife (Indrani Mukherjee), his younger brother Bharat (Jeetendra) and his father pray in the family temple. At the father’s death, Ram hopes to force the submissive Bharat to sign over the property to him. Roopa (Hema Malini), the priest’s daughter, refuses to marry Bharat if he cannot stand up to tyranny. Bharat then fakes his own death and pretends to be the dacoit Mangal Singh in order to gain the upper hand over his brother.
aa gale lag jaa
Year: l973 (Colour)
Producer: A.A. Nadiadwala
Story: J.M. Desai
Screenplay: Prayag Raj
Dialogues: K.B. Pathak
Lyrics Sahir Ludhianvi
Music: R.D. Burman
Choreography: Kamal
Fights: Ravi Khanna
Camera: Peter Pereira
Cast: Shashi Kapoor, Sharmila Tagore, Shatrughan Sinha, Master Tito, Om Prakash, Shobha Khote, Jagdeep, Shaantaanu, Jagirdar, Sulochana, Ruhee, Jilani, Usha Chowdhery,
Prem (Shashi Kapoor), a poor romantic skating champion, falls hopelessly in love with Preeti (Sharmila Tagore), a beautiful, rich medical student. Prem wins Preeti’s heart— and her body—but the couple are soon separated by Preeti’s class-conscious father (Om Prakash). Preeti is then hurriedly engaged to Amar (Shatrughan Sinha), a medical student about to begin his studies abroad. In his absence, she gives birth to a boy who she is told was stillborn. Prem convinces Preeti’s father to allow him to adopt the child. Six years later, Dr. Amar, now returned and soon to be married to Preeti, will treat the polio-stricken child Rahul (Master Tito).
roti
Year: l974 (Colour)
Producer: Rajni Desai
Associate Producer: K.K. Talwar
Story: J.M. Desai
Screenplay: Prayag Raj, K.B. Pathak
Dialogues: Akhtar Ul Iman, Kadar Khan
Lyrics Anand Bakshi
Music: Laxmikant Pyarelal
Camera: K. Vaikunth
Special Effects: Babubhai Mistry
Cast: Shashi Kapoor, Sharmila Tagore, Shatrughan Sinha, Master Tito, Om Prakash, Shobha Khote, Jagdeep, Shaantaanu, Jagirdar, Sulochana, Ruhee, Jilani, Usha Chowdhery,
Little Mangal (Master Tito) is orphaned and then adopted by a rich gangster (Pinchoo Kapoor) who raises the boy to be a daring smuggler (Rajesh Khanna). After a prison break, Mangal is believed dead. Chance leads him to a Kashmiri village where a blind old couple (Nirupa Roy and Om Prakash) take him in. Bijli (Mumtaz), a tough, loud, bidi-smoking girl soon gives him her heart. Mangal dreams of making a new life for them both, but Bijli dies at the hands of the gangster boss while Mangal dies by her side, shot by the police.
chacha bhatija
Year: l977 (Colour)
Producer: Baldev Pushkarna, M.M. Malhotra
Story: Prayag Raj
Screenplay & Dialogue: Salim-Javed
Lyrics Anand Bakshi
Music: Laxmikant Pyarelal
Camera: V. Durga Prasad
Dance: Kamal, P.L. Raj, Robert
Cast: Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Randhir Kapoor, Yogita Bali, Rehman, Anwar Hussain, Indrani Mukherjee, Jeevan, Roopesh Kumar, Sonia Sahani, Dev Kumar, Durga Khote, Satyajit, Tun Tun, Sunder, Bhagwan, Hercules, Kesto Mukherjee
In seeming answer to Seeta’s (Indrani Mukherjee) prayers for a baby, Sonia (Sonia Sahani) gives her her illegitimate child, then blackmails Seeta, makes Seeta’s husband disown her, marries the husband in order to raise her own child, and chases the husband’s younger brother Shankar from the house. Seeta learns that she is pregnant. Her grown son Sundar (Randhir Kapoor) falls in love with Pinky (Yogita Bali) whose affections are disputed by Sonia’s son. The grown Shankar (Dharmendra) is a black market cinema ticket dealer in love with Mala, a local barmaid (Hema Malini). Shankar befriends Sundar and then realizes when he sees his bhabhi (sister-in-law) that he and Sundar are uncle and nephew. Together they mount a plot to oust the usurping Sonia and her son and to reunite the family.
parvarish
Year: l977 (Colour)
Producer: A.A. Nadiadwala
Story idea: Mrs. J.M. Desai
Screenplay: Prayag Raj
Dialogue: Kadar Khan
Lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri
Music: Laxmikant Pyarelal
Camera: Sudhin Mazumdar
Dance: K
amal
Cast: Shammi Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Khanna, Neetu Singh, Shabana Azmi, Kadar Khan, Amjad Khan, Dev Kumar, Indrani Mukherjee, Heena Kauser, Master Ratan, Master Tito, Chand Usmani, Shaikh, Bhushan Tiwari, Viju Khote, Tom Alter, Yusaf,Meena, Baby Deepa, Baby Shalu, Dilip, Mulchand, Ekram Kashmiri, Shyam Varma
Police officer (Shammi Kapoor) sends Mangal Singh (Amjad Khan) to prison. Mangal’s dying wife begs the officer to take her newborn son with him, that the child may never fall under her evil husband’s influence. The officer and his wife (Indrani Mukherjee) accept the infant Amit (later Amitabh Bachchan) and raise him as a brother to their own son Kishan (later Vinod Khanna). Amit, the dacoit’s son, grows into an upright police officer while Kishan, the police officer’s son, turns to a life of crime. Two pickpocketing sisters (Neetu Singh and Shabana Azmi) steal their way into the brothers’ family. A glimpse of Mangal Singh rekindles the sisters’ desire for revenge against the man who killed their parents years before. Amit, meanwhile, discovers Kishan’s ties with the underworld. Amit refuses to allow love for his brother to deter him from duty. Not a moment too early, Kishan realizes his mistake, repents, and joins his true father and adopted brother to track down Mangal.
dharam-veer
Year: l977 (Colour)
Producer: Subhash Desai
Story idea: Mrs. J.M. Desai, Mrs. Pushpa Sharma
Screenplay: Prayag Raj
Script: K.B. Pathak
Dialogue: Kadar Khan
Lyrics Anand Bakshi, Vithalbhai Patel
Music: Laxmikant Pyarelal
Camera: N.V. Srinivas
Dance: Kamal
Cast: Dharmendra, Jeetendra, Zeenat Aman, Neetu Singh, Indrani Mukherjee, Pran, Jeevan, Ranjeet, Sujit Kumar, Dev Kumar, Chand Usmani, Azad, Hercules, Sapru, B.M. Vyas, Neelam,Wonder Bird Sheroo, Pradeep Kumar
The poor but valorous hunter Joala (Pran) marries the princess Meenakshi (Indrani Mukherjee) alone and before God; the couple spend only one night together. The twin sons of that union, Dharam (Dharmendra) and Veer (Jeetendra), though separated at birth, grow up as best friends. Meenakshi’s scheming brother (Jeevan) wants to eliminate his sister and to put his own son (Ranjeet) on the throne. Twenty years later, Dharam falls in love with the haughty princess Pahlavi (Zeenat Aman). Veer wins the heart of a gypsy girl named Roopa (Neetu Singh). The two friends are made into bitter enemies before they learn they are brothers and join forces against their plotting uncle and his company of sailing brigands. Meenakshi, now queen mother, is wounded. Joala dies saving her. The wicked uncle, too, dies, as predicted by an astrologer, at the hands of his nephew.