Rendezvous with Rama? article

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The first time the audience was introduced to Gujarat’s traditional garba dance was in Govind Saraiya’s Saraswati Chandra in 68 and even “Main to bhool chali ‘¦” was not exactly an ode to the Goddess but a musical moment to present a turning point in the film. With Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Hum Dil de Chuke Sanam the film buff could no longer resist the temptation of a new culture. In costumes, sets, choreography the magnificence was overpowering, writes Bhawana Somaaya

It is only when you begin to write about the festival of lights that you realise that the image has become almost invisible in our current films. There was a time, when our films could not do without a mention of the festival but slowly like Holi, Diwali disappeared from the big screen.

The only significant moment I can recall in last decades is the climax sequence in Zanjeer where the hero accidentally discovers the murderer of his parents beautifully portrayed through the fireworks in the sky. It has always baffled me why our lyricists were not able to come up with any memorable songs portraying the spirit of the festival. Beginning with Ghar ghar mein Diwali Hamare ghar mein andhera../ Kismet. Lakhon tare asmaan mein../Hariyali aur Raasta.. or the sad song in Chetan Anand's war film Haqeeqat they were always dark songs of repentance and anguish.

It is indeed strange that a festival that marks the homecoming of Lord Rama after fourteen years of exile reflects no immortal images in our cinema. Could this because we relate Lord Ram more to Dassera than to Diwali or could this mean that to lay more emphasis on our communal functions than the national celebrations?  

For a country divided into several regions and dialects Hindi cinema has predominantly catered to the Northern audience. The characters celebrate holi, karva chauth and perform bhangra at weddings and observe chautha after demise in the family. The rare occasions when the audience was introduced to an alien culture was either because the filmmaker originated from that culture or because the subject demanded it.

Consequently the first time the audience was introduced to Gujarat's traditional garba dance was in Govind Saraiya's Saraswati Chandra in 68 and even "Main to bhool chali ..." was not exactly an ode to the Goddess but a musical moment to present a turning point in the film.

Almost a decade later it needed another Gujarati director to convert the household folklore "Hey rang lo..."in to "Hey ram re..." featuring Rekha and Amitabh clicking to dandiyaas in M K Desai's Suhaag. In the 80s Aamir Khan starrer Love Love Love and the audience had comfortably converted the folk dance in to the universally accepted disco dandiya.

Ketan Mehta's Bhavni Bhavai revealed glimpses of the authentic garba, he later elaborated on the same art form in his colourful Mirch Masala. The magical visuals of the village belles bending and twirling in mirror work skirts, clapping and racing in circles was garba in its purest form.

Close on the heels but still taking cinematic liberties was Vinay Shukla's Godmother celebrating Shabana Azmi's victory as a political leader. With Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Hum Dil de Chuke Sanam the film buff could no longer resist the temptation of a new culture. In costumes, sets, choreography the magnificence was overpowering.

Comparatively Bengal's Durga Puja has rarely been exploited in the mainstream movies with the exception of Shakti Samanta's Barsaat Ek Raat Ki and Rakesh Roshan's Karan Arjun and recently Bhansali's Devdas. The small cinema has had recurring images of the goddess be it in Satyajit Ray's Devi or Kalpana Lajmi's Daman. Infact Hema Malini played Goddess Kaali in a South remake that was a blockbuster in all the languages.

Down South Navratri has a different tradition. It is an event to host the Goddess at home and indulge in social interactions. The custom was beautifully portrayed in Naya Din Nayi Raat starring Sanjeev Kumar and Jaya Bhaduri. The hero plays nine remarkable characters who meet the heroine in one single night and later all of them reappear at Jaya's wedding ceremony to bless the newly weds.

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Dassera is supposed to be the day Lord Ram after nine days of battle at Srilanka perishes Ravana and resques Sita. What is significant is that despite cinema being so firmly entrenched in mythology and our super-heroes projected as manifestations of various deities, Lord Ram, for some mysterious reasons, has never been singled out for special attention in our films. The mainstream cinema has never been as obsessed with his image as with the projection of say Sri Krishna or Lord Shiva.

The only logical reason is that Ram being the Maryada Purshottam (ideal man) is not as enchanting as the mischievous Krishna or the angry Shiva. The alternate reason could be that cinema chose to empathise with the tribulations of Goddess Sita and looked upon Ram as an oppressor.

Out of all the heroes who played diverse roles in their long careers, the actor who came closest to portraying Ram's honourable persona was Balraj Sahni. Think of any of his B&W or colour films and his character was always a paragon of virtue. In Seema he was the principled teacher, in Do Raaste the sacrificing son, in Ek Phool Do Mali the gallant husband, in Paraya Dhan the generous father and in Jawani Diwani the disciplined brother.

Only once in a while he faulted and it was because of the circumstances. In Garm Coat, the honest cashier is provoked to steal the bank money because his family lives in extreme poverty. In Anuradha, the accomplished doctor comes across as thoughtless because his commitments leave him little time for his wife.

The 1958 starrer Lajwanti was in many ways reflective of the legend of Ram. Balraj Sahni played an affluent businessman (Nirmal) who suspects his wife (Nargis) of being involved with his best friend. Affronted by his charge, the self-respecting she leaves home to live in anonymity, until many years later, when the misunderstanding is cleared and Nirmal pleads with her to return home. Lajwanti relents but there is a new problem awaiting them.

Unlike Luv and Kush, who though separated from their father, are aware about their royal lineage because mother Sita kept no secrets from her sons, Nirmal has lied to his seven year-old-daughter that her mother is dead. Now the child has problems accepting Nargis in her father's life. What follows is a complex story of a hero caught between his duty towards his wife and his love for his daughter.

Interestingly if Balraj Sahni was the ideal householder, Dilip Kumar was the intriguing lover on the big screen. In most of his films, Dilip Kumar was loved by more than one woman. He was the eternal romantic and very seldom perceived as the pragmatic family man.

It was perhaps lack of sex appeal but decades later Sanjeev Kumar came to be portrayed as the family man while Amitabh Bachchan was the magnetic Krishna, who when the occasion demanded exploded like Lord Shiva!

In recent times, the only film to successfully portray the epic with all the rasas and make it palatable for the mainstream is Sooraj Barjatya's Hum Saath Saath Hain. Starring Mohnish Bahl, Salman Khan and Saif Ali Khan as brothers, the film explores the family attachment, Ram's exile, and King Dashrath's promise to wife Kaikeyi and finally young Bharat's devotion to his elder brother. Only Hanuman was missing in the climax.

I'm optimistic that some worthy filmmaker will perceive a diabolic avatar of Lord Ram very soon. Infact Chetan Desai is geared up with his debut directorial venture Ramayana-The Epic produced by Maya Entertainment Limited, so the wheel is all set to turn.