Aadharshila (1982) : A film for Wanna be Directors !
Many wish to make or direct their first film. For some the opportunity comes after much struggle but it does come but for many it never comes. Many of them who get opportunity to make one film don’t get another chance to continue their passion of film making. Many direct few films and then lose their touch and go in oblivion and many direct a film but generation of present time find them outdated filmmakers and they don’t get producers and audience. Filmmaking is still a mysterious area of creativity where nobody knows what will work?
In 1982, Director Ashok Ahuja had made this film Adharshila, dealing with the dreams of a director to direct his first film. I saw it on DD. Perhaps film could not see any thetrical release or it was a major flop and DD consoled the producer by bying it. That time DD used to show many art films, which never saw thetrical release. But if still its memories are there in the mind then film Aadhashila should have some appeal in it. I can’t recall many details of the film today so I will have to be satisfied with few things remained in my memory.
Adharshila (The founding stone)
Film’s main protagonist Ajay (Naseeruddin Shah) is a young man, just passed out from film institute or involved in theatre etc, and he is pursuing his dream of making his first feature film. He tries a lot but he gets no opportunity. He meets a writer who promises him to give a story but later Ajay finds out that writer has no interest in his project. He is disillusioned and he decides to take the responsibilities of writing also. He writes a story and develops the screen play. But destination is too far. He needs a producer.
He faces struggle and with passing time he becomes frustrated but his desire to make his first film has not been diminished and he is hopeful that one day he will be able to fulfill his dream.
During his struggle he makes friends with Asha (Anita Kanwar), who wishes to become an actress, and several other people, having desires to be associated with film making are gathered together and soon they have a full team having different technical competencies and they get many people who wish to pursue their career in acting.
But to arrange their bread and butter they have to get some work and Ajay gets an offer to make an ad. film. Initially Ajay thinks it may mislead him from his real desire of directing a feature film but his economic conditions and advises from Asha, now his lady love, and other friends and necessity to keep united his team, force him to accept the offer.
Ajay has to make the advertisement for condom or some other kind of contraceptive. He starts thinking that he can utilize his skill of direction in the advertisement also. He conceptualises a full song.
Ajay writes the song and Asha and Pankaj Kapur act and dance on the song. Ajay’s ad. shows theme a newely married couple in their home and husband is trying to lure his wife for physical contact but she is fearful of pregnancy and thus refuses his requests and when later he shows the contraceptive to her then only she becomes agree for sex.
Husband sings
Sarkaye leyo khatiya, (Come close to me)
Wife replies
na baba na (No, No..)
He sings ahead
Dhadhke hai Jiyara ( My heart thumps)
She reiterates :
Na baba na ( No No)
And later when he shows the the contraceptive she replies
Haan baba haan (Yes, now its Ok)
[there was a song in some David Dhawan film (?), picturised on Govinda and Karishma Kapoor, having almost similar lyrics and dance:
sarkaye lo khatiya jarha lage (Come close as I feel cold)? It's ancestor song was that song of Aadharshila]
Somehow Ajay gets a producer to back his first film and he stars making it. But after the film is ready to be released he has to struggle for its release and after its release he has to wait eagerly for the audiences. He wants to go to the theatres to see their response. With Ajay’s wait, film Aadharshila also ends. So in a way film is autobiographical in nature and it is a film inside the film. It carries the desire of director Ashok Ahuja also.
It should be first film of Anita Kanwar who later became famous as Lajo ji of TV serial Buniyad.
Devki Nandan Pande, who was once the voice of All India Radio’s hindi news program was there. [Actor Sudhir Pande (last seen in Hasil as Minister Tiwari) is his son.]
If memory is fine then Anil Kapur was also there for few scenes. It should be first film for Pankaj Kapur also.
Was it Ranjit (or Ranjeet) Kapur who gave the music in the film. Film has a good song sung by Suresh Wadekar and perhaps Anuradha Paudwal. Song was
Mehka hua ghulab ho tum (You are a rose spreading its sweet fragrance)
Ya phir koi sharab ho tum (or you are wine)
Bas mein itna samajh na paun (I dont understand this)
sachmuch ho ya khwab ho tum (you are for real or a dream)
Adharshila should appease feelings of people who are waiting to direct their first film. Perhaps in the present era of experimental cinema such films can get audience. As number of people who wish to enter in to film industry has been increased tremendously and this film deals with their dreams, struggle, frustrations and compromises so it may be a must watch for all the dreamers.
Tags: Adharshila, anil kapoor, Anita Kanwar, Anuradha Paudwal, Ashok Ahuja, Devki Nandan Pande, Naseerddin Shah, pankaj kapur, Ranjit Kapur, Suresh wadekar
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
RK bhai, ^:)^ ^:)^
if you can write so much about a movie from just memory, i can’t even imagine what you can write about a movie you just took out of the DVD player. this looks like a good one.. i will definitely give it a watch. wasn’t sudhir pandey just recently seen in guru as one of the vyaparis (traders) who discourages gurukant from trading?
Striker: Thanks,
Re: Sudhir Pande, I have not seen “Guru” yet.I should have written I last saw Sudhir Pande in Hasil.:) He has been active in many TV serials also.
Memory is surely more sharp in childhood. Visuals have more deep impact in memory and though meaning of few things, we understand later with grown up maturity but if visual has touched our mind then it remains there. Aadharshila, had few factors: The song Mehka Hua gulab ho tum, was the only thing related to the film, one could listen on radio also and it was/is a catchy song.
Surely at that time to understand sarkaye lo khatiya song was difficult but the way it was picturised remained in mind and the way Pankaj Kapur was dancing made it memorable in mind. Naseeruddin Shah was a known name as lots of art films used to come on TV where he was present.
About Anita Kanwar etc it was like when saw her in Janam then recalled that its same lady who was there in Aadharshila also. similarly many threads continue coming over the years and attached with the film’s memory. Discussion here on PFC reminded me the film so I mentioned the film. Certainly by mere memory film cant be discussed and can only be mentioned. :d
Yup you are right RK. What you went through DD, I went through my local TV station. Dad didnt want VCR in the house and I had to rely on Wed. show on the local TV for my movie. All these movies have been etched in my mind as well.
Havent seen this one. Will be very hard to find it with my DVDwala
http://www.ashokahuja.com/aadharshila.htm
Adharshila reminded me a lot of another movie that got a television release only – Mahesh Bhatt’s Janam.
Adharshila was a neat movie and was wonderful in etching out the traits of characters suspended in the entertainment business. The inner struggles of Naseer to quote the right price to the writer whom he had approached to write a script were so so so transparent… such and many more similar scenes along with a geniune good story make Adharshila a wonderful treat to watch…
… again… what is being done to ensure such passionate movies can be watched by the new audiences of each new decade? Nothing I fear. So it won’t be a surprise if like the rest of the lot Adharshila too isn’t available on DVD.
This sounds like a good film… thanks for the suggestion RK, I’m gonna try and hunt it down…
RK bhai, shahstang pranaam!! ^:)^ ^:)^ ^:)^
Cy: Thanks man for that link. It opened more windows in the box of memories. I confused few things. It was Neena Gupta who dances with Pankaj Kapoor.
And such an impressive list of talented people, who later earned so much reputation in their respective fields. With your link, I am yearning to see it now when can understand it in proper ways.
Thanks a lot for the link
OZ: It will be dream come true if important but forgotten films see again day of light. Many films are there which need re-birth, in the market. It will enhance the understanding of new filmmakers also when they will see many of their ancestors have already done so fine work.
wish!
Tony & Wb: Thanks, If anyone finds the movie then please post a comment so that others can also get it from that place.
But strangely IMDB has nothing else with the name of Ashok Ahuja. One film director?
What has been happening in hindi cinema?:(
RK man..u r gr8….u give some incredible movies….salaam….
but sir still i m tryin to get Ram Nagori…
saala yeh pune mein kuch nahin milta
any1 who knows whr u get cds of such movies…movies which RK suggests…this one, Raakh, or Ram nagori…
Saw Katha, choti si baat the other on ur suggestion…
hey even i tried to remember any movies on DD during my childhood days,
I remember this short film abt a small boy, who lives with his parents in a city (some south indian city), and is completely bored there during his summe vacations, and keeps longing to visit his grandfather in a village.
he suddenly leaves his home, and the whole film is abt how this kid travelled frm the city to the village….i think it was a mallu movie dubbed in hindi….dont think it released in theaters…and obiously forgot the name…
any1 who can rember abt this movie.
// kaafir – You’re right. It’s a Malayalam movie called ABHAY. Tarun, who essayed the role of Anjali’s brother in Maniratnam’s ANJALI, played the child character. Santosh Sivan, if I am wrong, was the director… his debut I believe. – I remember watching the and getting very angry when I was told that the movie won a national award – because I thought, then, that the movie was a freeloader remake of Gulzar’s Kitaab.
Hi,every one…! I was surfing on the net, looking for something else and stumbles upon this site.It’s very encouraging to know that some people still remember Adhar Shila. It was an honest film from the heart of it’s maker- Ashok Ahuja.It’s a pity that in our country a genuine film doesn’t reach to the wider audience.
But,lately,the scenario is changing.Big budget movies with mega stars are failling because now the audience demands freshness of the content and some identification with the situations and the characters in the films they are watching with their hard earned money.That’s why some small films are running and getting their money back. So, let’s hope for the best. Before taking your leave I want to thank RK and other friends to remind me my own songs. My name is Ranjit Kapoor and I did the Music & Lyrics of Adhar Shila.If anybody wants to know more about me,
plz, write to me at above add.Thanx again to all you folks…! Bye…!
Adhar Shila has six songs. The Mukhra of a duet (Sudesh Wadekar and Dilraj Kaur) was like this-
‘Mehka hua Gulab ho tum.Shabnam kabhi sharaab ho tum. Bus main itna samajh na paun,sachmuch ho ya khwab ho tum.’
Thanks for dropping by Ranjit!
Mr Ranjit Kapoor, good to hear from you and know that u r around. Where did u vanish. There was a time,i am told, that writers and actors from NSD really thought that if anybody could scale heights like Salim-Javed or match very individualistic Gulzaar Saab, was Ranjit Kapoor.U really had a kinda cult status. What happened? Why did u lie low. Did u feel out of place in the everchanging conundrum that is Bollywood, or ur kind of cinema went out of vogue.Do u think there is some kinda resurrection taking place now what with multiplexes and more platforms for distribution and exhibition emerging..Ur uptake on these issues is highly sought..best wishes.
Ranjit: Welcome on PFC.
Thanks a lot for your vist here and taking out time to comment and correcting the Mukhda of that wonderful song of Suresh Wadekar and Dilraj Kaur. A very different song and different use of Suresh. He did not sing any other song with that touch. Good creation never dies and time to time, it raises its head above the surface and your work in Adhar Shila is the proof of that theory.
Its hard to get music album of Adhar Shila and it may be a good help for music lovers if its introduced via website (yours or Ashok Ahuja’s). That way many people, who have not listened the music yet, will get a taste of the music of the film.
Dheeraj:
Thanks for enhancing our knowledge about Ranjit Kapoor. NSD tale is quite interesting.:)
Dear RK,
I was reallu hunting for the song Mehka hua…., but didn’t find it anywhere, any shop, music store etc ane even on internet sites…
If possible, please send me the CD of the film Aadharshila (or the music cassette).
Dheeraj.
Several of us hope that film’s music will be re-released. Probably Ranjit Kapoor is too busy in directing his hindi feature film else he could have helped in this process of finding the music of AdharShila.
Hi friendz
well…u been posting some real interesting ‘masala’ about ‘adhaarshila’…Mehka hua gulaab ho tum was indeed a different and sweet song BUT why forget a real great number sung by Bhupinder ? Yes..im talking about ” sapno ka shehar hai yeh..sapno ka shehar, Yeh Jaage na jaage, kise hai khabar …”
I just could not come out of the magic of this song till today.
Wish somebody post it on youtube or atleast guide me to the source to get this song ( or even the ful movie ).I desperatly need it on CD/DVD( though I have the recording of the film shown on DD some millions of years ago…its on VHS and the sound quality is not good…)
well…lets see when i’ll be lucky enough to get it !!
take care all….!!
all the best !
sagar