Thanks for the Films, Shakti Da

“I got a call from Sriram Raghavan a few months ago and he told me that he wanted to dedicate his new movie to my father. It was so gratifying that someone had such high regard for my father’s work. It’s a fabulous feeling for me, my family, and my entire staff who has been with us for so many years,” says Ashim Samanta, son of the great producer-director Shakti Samanta. Such elation is understandable. The producer-director, who passed away in 2009, has made some of the Hindi film industry’s most iconic entertainers. These include Aradhana (1969), Kati Patang (1971) and Amar Prem (1972), but Samanta still doesn’t get the importance he deserves. His music remains very much a part of the landscape of modern day life too, whether it is ‘Mere sapno ki rani’ from Aradhana or ‘Aaiye meherbaan’ from Howrah Bridge (1958). His movies made Rajesh Khanna a star and gave women, such as Sharmila Tagore and Asha Parekh, unusually meaty roles. So, many kudos to Raghavan who directed the outstanding romance-meets-murder mystery Merry Christmas that is out in theatres now. Dedicated to Samanta, Raghavan says his movies were very much a part of his school and college days while growing up in Pune (then called Poona). “I still well up at the Aradhana climax,” says Raghavan, who has thanked Samanta in the opening credits of Merry Christmas. “I wanted to thank Shakti Da for his varied and wonderful body of work,” he says. “We still hear his songs all the time.” Growing up with two brothers (Sridhar is a scriptwriter, and Shrikant is in the corporate world), they would usually go to the theatres to watch movies. “It helped that my parents were movie lovers,” he says, adding, “though we often didn’t tell them after we went for most films after a certain age.” There is a book out there waiting to be written on Samanta and his works.

Restoring Zooni

Zooni was Muzaffar Ali’s passion project. But he had to leave it behind in Kashmir when the trouble began. He had shot 60 per cent of the film in Kashmir until the unrest in the region made it impossible to continue. Starring Dimple Kapadia and Vinod Khanna, it had an extensive set of experts attached to it, including New York-based designer Mary McFadden, who did the costumes. Ali has now uncovered the treasure of film cans and music recordings, some of which have been damaged, as well as the beautifully maintained diaries with detailed drawings. Ali says he is hoping a feature-length documentary will emerge from all the footage that he has, with help from the Film Heritage Foundation. Zooni, which he started in 1988, is based on the life of the 16th-century Kashmiri poet Habba Khatoon. The idea first occurred to Ali when he was with Air India and was designing a convention centre in Srinagar. He wanted to fit Habba Khatoon’s story into four seasons of the Valley, blending natural and literary beauty. If, as Ali hopes, the film’s essence is finally visible in a documentary, it will be the record of a time gone by, which is valuable for both historical and emotional reasons. “What if they speak only evil of me? Who has been able to change destiny?” the poem asks. This Film Heritage Foundation movie should be able to answer those questions.

Scene and Heard

The wedding of mental health advocate Ira Khan and physical trainer Nupur Shikhare broke the internet for more reasons than one. One was the all-star turnout at the reception in Mumbai, including the legendary actor Saira Banu, who is rarely seen in public now. Much of the attendance had to do with Ira’s father, actor Aamir Khan. The second reason was the multiple functions in Mumbai and Udaipur, which looked less choreographed than most other recent celebrity weddings. And the third was the groom’s unusual way of appearing at the wedding—not in a vintage car, or on a white horse, but on foot. For those who want to know why, well that is the way Nupur would meet Ira every day, jogging all the way from his home in Santa Cruz to her home in Bandra. With Randeep Hooda marrying fellow actor Lin Laishram in Manipur according to Vaishnav customs, one hopes the days of hyper-stylised weddings are drawing to a close. Not only do they encourage wasteful copycat weddings but they also sully the purpose of a union of two people and their families. Yes, it’s called love, and it has got nothing to do with money.

BollywoodcinemaIra KhanMuzaffar AliSriram Raghavan