Gunga Jumna

Gunga Jumna- 1961

I wonder why the producer spelt the spelling this way, as with all logical sensibilities- I presumed the spelling should have been ' Ganga- Jamuna.

Be that as it may- 

Had the privilege of watching  this movie on Zee Classic on Sunday July 19, 2015. Do not recollect , how many times I have watched it before. Must surely have been more than a dozen times . But every time I watched it, a new revelation has occurred  and that's what makes me write this.

I have always marvelled at how the Story/Screenplay has been entwined seamlessly. No glaring gaps- no jerks in story. No dams in between to stop the flow.

The language of the movie is Hindi, with dialogues in Avadhi/ Purbi [ as Javed Akhtar describes them ], between the village people.But they sound so endearing- never jarring to the uninitiated ears of the rest of India. In fact the local dialect makes one identify with the people, while watching this epic movie.

V .Babasaheb's photography was fantastic [ despite this being his first colour movie]. The rural landscape was captured vividly, imaginatively. The village came to life under his lens

Can you recollect the train looting scene here. What a vast canvas V Babasaheb has been able to capture- simply breath-taking . You recognize his greatness, when you become aware that this is his first Colour movie. A similar scene was also reminiscent in Sholay- by which time our photographic standards were well enhanced .

Two things according to me stand out in this movie= 1 ] The Music Of Naushad and Mohd. Rafi's  singing;and last but not the least Dilip Kumar's epic acting.

Do hanso ka joda was No. 2 , in the annual Binaca Geetmala, while Dhundo dhundo re sajana was on No. 9 . However despite this,  all the songs , without any exception were very popular and even today after 55 years.are very much hummable . 

Show me one movie, released in the last 30 years, which has songs, that one  remembers verbatim

What struck me about Rafi's singing here [ which of course as usual is exemplary] is the voice modulation in the 2 songs 1] O chhaliya re chhaliya re man me hamaar and 2] Nain lad gayi hai to manava ma kasak hoibe kari.

 In both these song keeping in mind the rural Hindu character that Dilip kumar is playing- Rafi has modulated the pronunciations to suit the sensibilities of the rural learning abilities 

In the song =O chhaliya re chhaliya- the second stanza==

o bal khae aisan tori patli kamar

 jaise dagamag ho sharabi ki najar

o bal khae aisan tori patli kamar

o lalachai ankhiyo se dekh na idhar

dekh na idhar mohe dekh na idhar

o ang ang jiyaa mora kanpe thar thar

o teri zulfo me phas gaya re.mora jiya 

Listen carefully- Rafi pronounces- sharabi as sarabi- just not laying emphasis on the 'h' and then again the last line  O teri Zulf is pronounced- like julp- the Hindustani way and not the Urdu way- 'Zulph ' or Zulf. Am sure Naushad too had something to do with it and I am not discounting Dilip Kumar's inputs too- but with all this it is Rafi who comes out winner

In the third stanza of the song- Nain Lad gayi hai- He sings the line pyar ki mithi gajal and not the Urdu pronouncing Gazal- A very small difference for the uninitiated but for connoisseurs- 

Yes this subtle difference that Rafi affects  in his singing is so endearing. It takes Rafi in my mind ,to a few notches higher

Now coming to Dilip Kumar- the thespian- actor par excellence etc. etc- the different titles coronated by fans and critics on him.

Well in this movie- they seem to have zeroed in correctly. His acting here is simply marvellous- stupendous- a role of a lifetime- epic proportions.He exceeds all expectations in acting

 Among his movies that I saw -I did not much like him in  Andaz Jogan ,Mela, Tarana, Arzoo Deedar or Daag . Devdas , Amar Aan, Udan Khatola, Footpath, Yahudi were passable. He was very good in Paigham , Azad, Naya Daur and Madhumati and he was EXCELLENT in Gunga Jumna. This was his Mount Everest in acting. 

Later on -everything was downhill for him , according to me

It's a sad story that he didn't win the Filmfare award for acting that year. It went to Raj Kapoor for Jis Desh mein Ganga behti hai.

However in 1964- the Filmfare award, should have gone to Raj Kapoor for Sangam , but instead went to Dilip Kumar for his frivolous acting in Leader

Dilip Apte

July 20 , 2015

Wo Din Yaad Karo

Wo Din Yaad Karo

Memories- The Initiation

The oldest memory of Hindi movies, I have is Nagin, not because I went to see it, but because of the song- Man dole re mera tan dole- which was played on Binaca Geetmala ,for many weeks.

Before that had seen Marathi movies like Amar Bhoopali , Kuberache Dhan etc., but have no recollection of them in entirety - only remember some visuals

Having the only Radio [ Murphy ], in my building [ typical middle-class households ], everybody used to throng at my doorstep at 8 p m every Wednesday to hear Ameen Sayani speak Behno aur Bhaiyo, in his baritone and dish out some delightful songs. My tryst with Hindi Film songs has the origination here.

I very well recollect my father's angst and disgust, to watch a handful of people gather every Wednesday. However he kept his cool, as his own brothers, were also involved. Am sure he regretted , buying the Radio.

The first movie, that I remember watching is ' Insaniyat ' in 1955- Rivoli Cinema. My uncle took us all, meaning we children and his younger brothers.Ticket 5 annas .All throughout the movie, we were at the edge of our seats watching Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand- ride the horses and fight. The end was more appealing, when the Chimpanzee, did everything and regaled us with his heroics  We enjoyed the movie and for weeks were trying to climb the staircase like the monkey and jump down, fighting each other with sticks-taking them to be swords [ thank heavens there was no Bina Rai involved then- ha ha ].

The next I remember is 'Toofan aur Diya '- 1956, at Plaza Cinema. I was intent to watch it for the song 'Nirbal se ladai balwan ki'. Thus my youngest uncle, who was 2 years older than me and my younger brother and myself , made our march towards Plaza Cinema [ a walk of 15-20 minutes from my house ]. It was 1 p m and the show was at 3 p m. There were a fewpeople standing in Queue before us, but we were the only children in the 5 anna line. At that time Plaza theatre, had a cage like alley for the Lower Stall. Gradually the crowd started to build up. When the Ticket Window opened, there was a mad rush, to move ahead. Despite being in the front, we could never reach the window. Some wise person lifted us to the top and shouted- 'inko piche se bahar jaane do nahi to kuchle jayenge' in Marathi [ hyana baher jau dya nahitar chengarli jatil ]. So we swam out from the top of people's head outside the cage. The picture long forgotten.

With morose faces, we walked back home- dejected and disappointed.

A few days later, my elder uncles- taking pity on us took us to watch Toofan aur Diya- in Upper Stalls-by reserving the  10 annas ticket .

 Aaahha , at last watched the film.

I was not yet 9 then.

The third movie I recollect is Bhai Bhai- a few months later. My uncle had got married and wanted to take his wife to see a movie. He was given permission by my grandfather on the condition that he took us children with them [ what a joke ].The theatre was Rivoli - 5 minutes walk from my house- 9 p m show. 10 annas ticket [ am sure if both husband and wife had gone -they would have purchased the Re.1-5 anna ticket], but with 4 of us tagging along- 10 annas it was. We enjoyed Kishore Kuamr's antics- Mera naam Abdul Rehman. The quirkiest thing I recollect of the movie is that my uncle sat on one side with we four children in between and my aunt on the other side.

[ Can't imagine what my uncle and aunt must have felt then ].

Slowly and steadily, I was getting interested and initiated to Hindi Music.

More later.

Dilip Apte

June 2 , 2015

Being Human

I am appalled.

Right from yesterday early morning , till late night, the T V channels had a field day, blurting out details ,known and unknown about the Salman Khan trial.

I am sure even if there was an earthquake or a Tsunami, it would have had to wait to make impact, against the news of Salman Khan, unless the offices of the T V channel were directly affected.

Nobody would perhaps have known  or even acknowledged , that the Parliament had passed the G S T Bill- after heated debate amidst  much acrimony and a walk-out of the Congress. This bill is going to have more impact on the common man's daily life, than whether Salman Khan is inside jail or wooing another heroine outside.

But for T V channels nothing is more sacrosanct than T R P 's and who else to guarantee it than a celebrity.

I have never understood the psyche of people in this Country, the way they were clogging the lanes and by-lanes of his house and the Court, where he was pronounced guilty.

Well Justice is done for the present.

But there is an interesting side story- a lot was said about his charity ' Being Human' .It was even brought to the notice of the Court. While I have nothing to say about sincere efforts, to make life easy for some- what I wonder most is when did this charity begin.

Correct me if I am wrong, but it seems , the Charitable side of the Celebrity emerged, after he had mowed down some people, in a frenzy of drunk driving- not before.

So it was an afterthought , post the aftermath of his act or maybe just maybe a clever ploy to score brownie points.

Well remorse is a very good human quality and I pray that, he sustains the momentum to carry the  good work, all through his life.

Dilip Apte

May 7 , 2015

                                        Mothers Day

Last Sunday it was Mothers Day. We in India celebrate it when the Americans do i e the Second Sunday of May.

In that manner , we are Apes , having first always been in awe of the Westerners and then aping them, left right and centre.

This mostly started on a broader scale [before that only the Raosahebs and Raibahadurs and the hoi-polloi of the Indian society coming into contact with the Gora sahib did it ], when Hollywood films ,started to be shown and the common man began to be acquainted with the society rituals - women mixing freely with men, smoking- drinking etc. etc.

Indian Films which had a huge fan following, started depicting scenes of smoking and drinking. The smoking among simple ordinary men became common., when they saw their idols doing it on screen and aping came naturally.

1964- was the year when it was conclusively proven that Nicotine causes cancer. The health conscious Americans were jolted from their reverie. However the tobacco Industry needed to maintain their profit levels. Thus came search of new avenues- India was one of them. Tobacco firms from outside India started setting manufacturing plants in India. W D & H O Wills, Golden Tobacco , Godfrey Phillips and many more.

It took almost 15-20 years for the news of linkage with Cancer and Nicotine, to reach the common man in India, who by then grown on watching and aping Hollywood Films, had become an addict. So was with many women, who joined men.

By the 90 's, smoking in the Western Countries- read America- due to awareness and stricter laws had become an onerous task- but profits of companies in this business needed to exponentially grow .We, in India had a sizeable population of men and women , enjoying a puff.by then.
Then came the Satellite Channels in India and they brought the Western Culture to our homes- thus came the Valentines Day, Mothers Day, Fathers Day etc. etc.

The opening of the Economy, the I T revolution , Internet etc. opened our minds to new ways and forms of celebrations.

How this Industry has grown- Greeting Cards, Gifts became the in thing to do.

Oh I am not going into the moralistic issue of this or the decadency of values . It is for each individual to make and form an opinion.

Coming to the crux of the matter, I saw many posts on f b of different people- men and women posting photos of their mother, who are living far away somewhere- but asking people [their friends on f b] - to pray for their mother's healthy and long life as it was Mother's Day and they suddenly remembered her and recognized the value of telling their friends about their mother- who may perhaps even be living in some old-age home or in some forlorn area, away from the love and care of her near ones.
And the decadent children seizing this opportunity to exhibit their phony love.

Honestly, I would like to know, from all those who posted about their mothers, whether they live, with their mother, whether they take good care of their mother
.
If that is not so- they have no right to post anything about their mother on any day

Dilip Apte

May 16 , 2015

Political Shenanigans

Political Shenanigans

I have always wondered what makes a person qualify for the post of a spokesperson of a political party [ are there any other type of parties except the ones I love -the booze parties- ha ha ha ha ]

Or for that matter someone who can conduct a debate on TV , without allowing  the other participants, to have their say and at the same time,also project to the gullible viewers,  that this is the only channel, which truly does an honest job.

Well, I have arrived at a conclusion- the Channel is TIMES NOW​- the person doing the job is Arnav  [ or Arnab ] Goswami.. Nobody but nobody can say with conviction except Arnav , that he is doing an excellent job [ by the way have any of you heard of late- his incessant litany that his is the only channel, which is No. 1 for 'N ' number of weeks. I for one haven't ].

Coming back to the point- I feel that the selection criteria for a person to be allowed to represent the political party on T V debates must not be the loyalty or the love or the dedication or the number of years in the party, but how capable -one is with words- verbosity being epitome , the shouting prowess being next, followed by the ability to continue to put forth a useless arguement and drown the voice of the opponent.

Whether its the Congress or the B J P or any regional party [ which comes in handy to fill the empty chairs around Arnav- [ Rahul Narvekar- Derek O'brien , Bharat Raut , or the party-less - Meghnad Desai, Aarti Jairath and others please note ]. The main intention of gathering this motley crowd is to emphasize , how important the Channel is, to emphasize how patriotic the channel is- to emphasize that it is the only channel which has the interests of the laity and polity of India at heart.

Who cares whether Rahul Gandhi has the honest intention of doing something for the farmers or how many more countries Narendra Modi , has left to visit

Can we stop this daily charade and get back to our corrupted, convoluted I P L

Dilip Apte

 April 20, 2015

V I P culture in India

Kudos to TIMES NOW​- for picking up an issue of V I P and V V I P  culture in Inidia.

But like all other things the Times Now​ channel picks up from time to time- [and mark my words]- this too is going to fizzle out.

Times Now has picked up many issues ever since it started- but there have never been any follow-up programs on the issues they  have raised.

I will  not be wrong to surmise  Arnav Goswami, that the relevant and burning issues you raise everyday in the News-hour program- are just to increase your T R P.

Would like to bring to your notice a few instances of V V I P culture and how it affects the common man

1. 1985- The Centenary Session of the Congress to be held in Mumbai as that is where they say the Congress was established.

Rajiv Gandhi , the then Prime Minister , travelling from do not know where- but going towards South Bombay[ oh please it was Bombay then] .

The traffic was held up. I was standing opposite Sion Hospital, to cross the road [ was coming back from my uncle's house in Sardar Nagar , Koliwada ] to go back to my house in  Matunga Road , walking . There was a pregnant woman- who was hoping to cross the road to reach the Sion Hospital, for delivery. She was held up as the V v I P- Prime Minister was to pass- none was allowed to even come down on he road [ the foot-paths were chock-a-block with people to cross the road and go about on their way[ none I assure you was waiting to wave when the V I P passed.This was widely reported in the press too

2. July 11- 2006- the serial train bomb-blast in Mumbai. There was a blast at Matunga Road Railway station .. Trains were closed , people had to walk to their destinations far off in the suburbs . People did whatever they could to alleviate the troubles . There was lot of human traffic on the road. Suddenly past midnight- the police started clearing all of Tulsi Pipe Raod [ Senapati Bapat Marg ]of any and all persons. It so happened that Sonia Gandhi, with an entourage of more than 100 cars, visited the blast site at Matunga Road well  past midnight. Till she was there none from any of the surrounding buildings, including the building in which I stayed, were allowed on the road- including those good Samaritans who helped transport the injured  to the hospital.

3. Nana Patekar- who has a ground floor flat- in Nav-Sahyog Society- 3 buildings away from my residence on Senapati Bapat Road [ Tulsi Pipe Raod- brings home Lord Ganesh, every year during Ganesh Chaturthi [ that used to happen even when his father was there]. However ever since Nana became famous- that Ganpati attained stardom. Not only ordinary people around or from far off , but even the V I P 's started visiting to appease Nana or the God or for a photo-op with Nana- only Lord  Ganesh knows. Balasaheb Thackrey, Raj Thackerey , Smita Thackerey, a few actors and even the Home Minister of Maharashtra R R Patil. Whenever these V I P 's were supposed to visit, the media congregated and hindered the smooth movement of pedestrians like me. Of course the police were present in large- very large numbers,

 A few minutes  before any V I P arrived - traffic and pedestrian movement was stopped- till the V I P had their darshan of the God and Nana bade them farewell. This continues even today

4. Sanjay Nirupam- the M P from Borivali== While travelling to Borivali, [ where I have shifted since July 2013, as  my building has gone into redevelopment in Matunga Road- Senapati Bapat Marg], I found one evening that no passengers were allowed to disembark at Borivali- Platform No. 7. for a couple of minutes. It so happened that Sanjay Nirupam- who was an M P then had come to to the station [ don't know what for]. But till his entourage , which comprised more police than his sycophants , went outside the platform- none was even allowed to get down from the train.

Can give a few more instances, but these  are enough to prove that all V I P 's including bureaucratic V I P 's must be treated like ordinary citizens.

Arnav Goswami- I do not have any expectations from you to sustain this movement- it will be the people of India, who will banish this culture from India .

Rest assured

Dilip Apte

February 26, 2015

Religious Conversions

Nowadays listening to Arnab Goswami's diatribe is an exercise in tolerance .

We hear only his voice- most of the time complaining or making a point and when not,  proclaiming how his channel is No. 1, since eons- ha ha

Sometimes, just for the heck of it or for want of any interesting content on the TV- I watch it.

Today it is about Mohan Bhagwat's remarks about Mother Teresa.

At the outset- let me once again emphatically say that ' The practice of Religion should stop at the threshold of the house of the practitioner.

Be that as it may- I do not have a fan following and thus , am aware that none is going to listen to my views.

I have great respect for the humanitarian, cause Mother Teresa espoused and the work she did.

But I take it with a grain of salt in it. The basic aim in all this social work was to augment the Christian flock.

When I make this sweeping statement, I also perhaps concede that whatever time the Hindu religion came into existence , the following years may have been devoted to indoctrinate others [ It's a matter of contention, whether any other religions existed then], into this religion

One thing is sure- Christianity is documented to have started around 2000 year ago and the faith of Islam- around 1300 years ago, while the Hindu religion preceded it by quite a few millenniums.

Be that as it may.

I studied in a Convent School- from 3rd standard to 7th in Victoria High School, near Sitala Devi Temple Road and Lady Jamshedji Road junction in Mahim, Mumbai [ it was Bombay then ].

Victoria high School was Victoria School, when I enrolled. A small 2 storey building, attached to dilapidated Church. Each year one standard was added. After 7th standard, we were all en-block, enrolled in St. Michaels's High School [ yeah the same Church, which has now become a hot pilgrimage spot every Wednesday for the weekly Novena- it was not so when I was enrolled there..

However the glory starts rising only when a few believers are the recipients of some benevolence from the Almighty.

Now coming to the crux of the matter-and this is what it is all about==

When I was in 9th standard, we had a Principal by the name of Father Frank Lobo .

I came from a very humble background. My father was a lower middle-class government servant, with many mouths to feed, being the eldest son [ which included his brothers and sister]. Needless to add here that my father was barely able to manage the monthly fees.

To make matters short, I was offered a free-ship [exemption from fees ], free uniform etc. from the School in the academic year 1962-63, by Father Frank Lobo [ not aware if he is alive and can defend himself ]. That was a lot then. However, as per my father's advise or rather diktat from him- I didn't acquiesce.

So conversion- forced or coerced did take place

Hence to say conversions- forced or coerced -do not take place is a fallacy. They took place 50 years back and they took place 1500 years back.

It will be difficult to imagine the population of Christians and Muslims in India to have multiplied manifold- only due to childbirth.

Muslims since the last 700 years and Christians- since the Britishers and Portuguese etc. embarked upon creating new frontiers.

Yes conversions did happen- we all need to accept that . However now in a more civilized society , with many laws to protect all- these should be stopped.

Whether what Mohan Bhagwat said about Mother Teresa is true or not is for the Law of the land to judge and act on- with the same jurisprudence to examine- if there is any truth to his say.

As far as I am concerned- Religion is the ROOT cause of all conflicts and should be banished or kept confined to the respective practitioners threshold.

Now and forever

Dilip Apte

 February 24, 2015