CM

YK
ND-NI
NOI DA/ DELHI FRI DAY OCTOBER 1 7, 201 4
The thronging crowds at Ananya showed that
the organisers' hard work is paying off PAGE 2
Going Solo, a unique festival of solo acts, took
place in Delhi recently PAGE 3
CALENDAR
Kati Patang soared to great
heights PAGE 4
O
ne evening
when journalist
and writer Ram
Kumar Singh
came home Dr.
Chandraprakash Dwivedi
offered himwine and being a
teetotaller that he is sat with
a glass of juice. But as Singhs
drinking session went on and
on he decided to tell Dwivedi
a story that he had written
and was planning to turn into
a novel.
We became the proverbial
Vikramaur Betal! It was
about a guy who xes
punctures and how his life
changes when he gets to
meet the Prime Minister of
the country. Ten minutes
into the story, I asked himto
stop and told himto mail me
the entire story and
promised himthat if I nd it
suitable I will turn it into a
lm, narrates the master
storyteller. Twenty three
drafts later the duo emerged
with Zed Plus, a socio-
political satire that is going
to end the drought in
Dwivedis career, who is often
described as a creative genius
who somehow doesnt make
it to the box office.
My canvas tends to be
huge and we have not
reached a stage where a
well-researched script and
creative experience is
enough to get the nances. I
was working on The Legend
of Kunal but was again
facing issues with the scale
and nance. So I thought am
I restricting myself by
waiting for these expensive
projects to materialise. Why
cant I take a contemporary
subject and make it on a
canvas that I can afford.
With a friend and wife as
co-producers he completed
the shoot in 52 days at.
Fromthe English title and
the Hinglish dialogues to
the setting of a Muslim
household, Dwivedi gifted
himself a number of
challenges. But there is a
connect with the past, he
avers. If Chanakya was
about the making of a
nation, Pinjar was about
breaking of the nation,
Mohalla Assi is about how
our centuries old values
changed with advent of
liberalisation, Zed Plus
looks at what has become
of our polity through a
satire. It starts with how a
coalition government is
under pressure of its allies
and all the mathematics
comes to nought. Around
this time the Prime
Minister gets a call that if
he goes to a village in
Rajasthan and pays a visit
to the dargah of a su, his
government can be saved.
So with no options left, the
prime minister whose
government is ghting
communalism goes to the
shrine and by chance
comes across a
puncturewallah, Aslam.
Now Aslam says something
to the PM and the meeting
between the lowest
common denominator and
the top man of the country
results in Aslam getting Z
plus security. It changes his
life for good and bad. For
a man who answers the
natures call in the open,
the security cover becomes
an invasion into his
privacy.
Without taking names
of any government schemes
eventually the Z plus
security becomes a
metaphor for the growing
lack of communication
between the dispossessed
and the marginalised and
those in power. It is
happening because our
leaders dont have their
ears to the ground. People
might watch it as a comedy
but when they will go
homes the layers will
unravel in their mind.
For a man who devotes
years to research, Dwivedi
accepts the Muslim
household was a new turf
for him. Thankfully, Ram
Kumar comes from
Fatehpur where the story is
based. So the mood was
there in the writing itself. I
also come from Rajashan
and understand the cultural
ethos of the region.
Talking about the cast
which has Adil Hussain and
Mona Singh in the lead,
Dwivedi says, I noticed
Adil in Ishqiya and felt
how he missed my radar.
He told me that he
approached me at the time
of Pinjar but by then I
had cast Manoj. I had no
recollection of that
meeting. When he read the
script he was surprised that
I cast him in a role which
requires impeccable comic
timing because none of his
lm roles had used his
talent at comedy. I could
sense it in his performance
in English Vinglish but
there was very little on the
surface. He told me that
for six years he earned his
livelihood as a stand up
comedian.
Dwivedi, a doctor by
education, is often seen on
the right side of the
ideological divide in the
realm of arts. He says some
cultural symbols have
become associated with a
political party and
organisation. But it doesnt
mean that nobody else can
use them. I have faced
unnecessary ak because of
this mindset for a long
time. Mahatma Gandhi said
that if all the Upanishads
and all the other scriptures
happened to be reduced to
ashes, and if only the rst
verse in the Ishopanishad
were left in the memory of
the Hindus, Hinduism
would still live for ever.
But it didnt make him a
communal person. Dara
Shikoh translated it to
Persian because it had
value for humanity. When I
made Chanakya and
showcased saffron ags in
it, I was branded as
rightist. I dont know what
other colour I could have
used.
Similarly, he says when
Pinjar released some
critics called it a rightist
view of Partition.
There cannot be only
view of one of the biggest
events that affected a big
chunk of humanity. There
was a scene where a RSS
worker was depicted as
helping out in a refugee
camp. It is a historical fact
that the organisation did
contribute during the
tragedy. Years later when
Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
showed a similar scene
nobody felt offended.
People tend to forget that
Mohalla Assi, which will
soon see the light of the
day, is based on the novel
of Kashinath Singh, a
known leftist and Ram
Kumar Singh also has
leftist leanings. To me the
authenticity of the story
and expression is
paramount.
Perhaps his Sanskrit-ised
Hindi creates that
impression. May be. Many
years back during a
function former Prime
Minister Atal Bihari
Vajpayee told me that once
on a visit to England,
Prime Minister Indira
Gandhi introduced him to
her counterpart Margaret
Thatcher as the man who
gives excellent speech in
Hindi. Vajpayee said it
made him think that if
somebody introduced
Thatcher as the lady who is
a ne orator in English
would it have made sense.
It shows we are conscious
and apologetic about our
culture. Ready to give
Narendra Modi a chance,
Dwivedi says he is yet to
prove himself on the
national stage but what has
impressed him is his
courage to talk about the
cultural symbols without
mincing words. He calls
Ganga as mother which is
true for it is the lifeline to
millions of Indians and is a
symbol of our composite
culture. Ustad Bismillah
Khan connected with it
with as much devotion as a
panda in Varanasi.
Hand on the pulse
As Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi returns to the turnstiles with a political satire, the director known for his period
sagas, talks about the contemporary politics and his ideological concerns with Anuj Kumar

FIGHTING AN IMAGE
Chandraprakash
Dwivedi and
(below) Adil Hussain
When Adil read the
script he was surprised
that I cast him in a role
which requires
impeccable comic timing
because none of his lm
roles had used his talent
at comedy.
Z
Art show
An exhibition titled Rhythm
showcasing the works of
Bhajju Shyam, Padmakar
Santape, H R Das, Shyamal
Mukherjee, Sukhnandi
Vyam & Venkat Shyam.
Venue: Hotel Galaxy, Sector
15, Gurgaon
Date: Till October 31
Celebrating Habitat
A retrospective of celebrat-
ed architect Balkrishna
Doshi
Venue: NGMA, Jaipur
House
Date: Till November 30
Theatre
Akshara Theatre presents
I'm Your Venus directed by
Jalabala Vaidya & Anasuya
Vaidya
Venue: Akshara Theatre,
Baba Kharak Singh Marg
Date: On October 19
D
espite his initial
reservations, Ali
Fazal now has no
qualms about playing second
ddle to the heroine.
Heroines have played
second ddle to the hero for
decades. So its okay to have
the hero play second ddle
as you call it. My next few
lms are all male-centric
but Bobby Jasoos has given
me a new perspective, he
says, during a quick
interview hes doing to
promote his new lmSonali
Cable.
Sonali Cable is a story
about underdogs taking on a
powerful corporation, says
the actor.
I was studying economics
and playing basketball when
I got a call to audition for Red
Chillies. Always Kabhi Kabhi
was a high school movie. It
denitely made me mature as an actor.
But Ali says he saw himself
grow as an actor only during
Bobby Jasoos. I saw it
happening while we were
shooting, he says.
Sonali Cable, which
releases today, is an
entertainer but not a big lm.
We dont like to call it
commercial nor is it fully
arthouse because Anupam
Kher plays a dramatic villain
and it has songs.
Ali shot for it much before
Bobby Jasoos.
But rawness works for
this lm. I havent seen any
of my lms fully, so I dont
know if I have improved as
an actor.
Coming up next is a
psychological romantic
thriller called Khamoshiyaan
for Mahesh Bhatts banner.
Its the Bhatt genre. Theres
a hint of the supernatural,
but mostly its a boys
journey fromnarcissismto
selessness, he says.
He says he is doing
another lm(still untitled)
with them, to be directed by
Pooja Bhatt.
The heroines boyfriend
After Bobby in Bobby Jasoos, Ali Fazal bats for
Sonali in Sonali Cable.
SUDHISH KAMATH

ROLE CALL
Ali Fazal.
We dont like to call it
commercial nor is it fully
arthouse because
Anupam Kher plays a
dramatic villain and it
has songs
Z
CINEMA
I
f one were to go by the
conduct of moviegoers,
the title sequence
would perhaps be the most
incidental part of the
cinema experience. It is
what allows them the
luxury of arriving late, or of
stealing a few moments
before surrendering to the
action of the lm; the stand-
at-ease before the attention,
if you will.
But to anyone who looks
closely, the title sequence is
an art in itself. It covers a
range of creative aspects
music, typography,
photography which come
together to lead us into the
dreamscapes of the cinema
experience.
Puneet Rakheja
remembers looking forward
to these sequences as
keenly as the rest of the
lm. It is what he credits
with turning him into a
motion graphic designer,
and now, a lmmaker.
Titled Taking Credit: The
Fabulous Art of Indian Film
Titles, the documentary,
which is currently in its
initial stages, seeks to
excavate the history and
beauty of this craft as
practised in Hindi and
regional lm industries. As
an extension of the lm he
has also, in collaboration
with lm and typography
enthusiasts, started a
website to archive lm titles
and interview the
lmmakers and designers
who created them (http://
indianlmtitles.wordpress.
com/).
While Rakheja was
familiar with the work of the
masters of American and
European title design, such
as Saul Bass and Pablo
Ferro, the fact that this
aspect of Indian cinema
remains understudied
compelled him to start this
project. I am of the opinion
that to encourage attention
to detail in Indian lms, we
need to nurture a culture of
learning and appreciation,
he says.
Talking about the range of
uses the title sequence can
be put to, he says, It could
be exposition give you
necessary information for
the plot, it could be
narrative a short lm in
itself, a sequence used to put
you in a certain mood, or it
could simply be stylistic, a
celebration of the movie
experience.
Some of Rakheja's
favourites are the title
sequence of Do Aankhen
Barah Haath, with its
iconic hand print, and
Jawaani ka Khoon, an
otherwise unremarkable
lm with surreal hand
painted title plates that are
just fabulous artwork.
I cant resist mentioning
V. Shantarams introduction
to Navrang where he
himself walks onto the stage
and literally announces the
lm, making his directors
statement. Makes the lm so
much more personal than a
lot of factory made products
we see lately, he adds.
Title sequences are also a
site where we get to witness
the hierarchies of talent,
and how they vary from
director to director, era to
era. So while Devdas in
1936 placed the name of lm
technicians before the
names of the stars, in
Sivaji, there is no
reference to any technician,
just Rajinikanth. Talent
can often work on a lm just
for the creditFor
example, some lms have
titles like Thrills by, And
Above all, Dynamic
appearance by, a friendly
appearance by, Rakheja
observes.
Sadly, he adds, more
than often proper credits
are not given to the title
designers themselves. One
of the aims of the lm,
therefore, is also to
uncover the masters of
Indian title design. The
quest has led to Ram Mohan,
founder of Ram Mohan
Biographics, who started his
work at Films Division and
worked on the title
sequences of Shatranj Ke
Khiladi and The Burning
Train among others. He
was recently awarded the
Padma Shri.
It is an ongoing quest, and
a difficult one, but Rakheja
is hopeful more title
designers will reach out.
Title role
A web archive and an upcoming documentary seek to excavate the history and
beauty of Indian lm titles.
DOCUMENTARY
BUDHADITYA
BHATTACHARYA

PAST FORWARD
Puneet Rakheja
Sadly, more than often
proper credits are not
given to the title
designers themselves.
Z