Dogged intensity — the biopics of Richard Attenborough
Amborish Roychoudhury | Oct 02
Nehru, who Attenborough was counting on to help with the film on Gandhi, passed away in 1964. Within a span of just 6 years, Motilal Kothari also breathed his last. Under the circumstances, it might have been prudent to give up on the biopic altogether. But Richard Attenborough kept at it, and was more determined than ever to realise his dream project… Warner Brothers and MGM Studios had agreed to back the project, but eventually backed out. The newly-formed National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) stepped up… By the time Attenborough was ready to roll cameras, it was November 1980… Attenborough’s doggedness which kept him attached to the project regardless of the setbacks, also reflected in his storytelling and approach to directing.
Aparna Sen — a river plunging into its own depths
Darshana Goswami | Oct 25
In her multiplicity of roles as the scriptwriter, director and actor, Aparna Sen apparently resembles Prospero, the Duke of Milan, the magician, the creator and controller of events and at the same time, very much a part of those events. But, in essence, she is more akin to Ariel, the spirit of the air.
The Mahatma abhorred cinema, but films celebrated Gandhi
S Viswanath | Oct 02
While film makers may per se not have ingrained Gandhian thoughts or philosophies themselves, the Mahatma’s influence on cinema has been pervasive.
Muzaffar Ali — opulent decadence
Amborish Roychoudhury | Oct 21
One film that weaves Muzaffar Ali’ two obsessions — poetry and the Awadhi culture — into an elegant bundle of storytelling is Umrao Jaan, his magnum opus.
SPB — tenor nonpareil
S Viswanath | Oct 26
Here once was a colossus cultural phenomenon nonpareil — SPB — a peerless performer par excellence whose magical, mellow voice saw legions of listeners drawn like bees to a honeycomb, as if a Pied Piper has cast a spell upon them to transport them to an Elysian world…
… Like many of the other greats before him whose works still resonate and reside with us, quite many of the innumerable songs of this gentle genius genie have become a part of our collective conscience and shall for a very long time becalm and be a balm to soothe the void.