Gazab ka tha din…
Mansoor suddenly surfacing after being in oblivion for so many years, brought in this huge flood of memories this Tuesday morning. Here was this guy who made four movies, two I loved and the rest two I didn’t care about. In fact I’d walked out halfway through his third (Akele Hum Akele Tum)… I was hurt.
How could he? How could a guy who gave me some of the best moments of my life via his stories do this to me? How could he simply give me a Hindi translation of Kramer v/s Kramer with some of his stale inputs. In fact how could he, who I loved more amongst the kiddo duo (the other being Sooraj Barjatya) give me a copied story which had one of it’s threads depicting musician copying others’ work.
Then by the time his Josh came in… I gave up. Till today I haven’t had the courage to watch the movie for more than 10 minutes.
A few years and suddenly the brain asked the question “Where is Mansoor?”… he was gone. The cine-heart ached a bit, searched the internet, gave up. Occasionally there were discussions about him here on PFC and that was it.
Where does this attachment to filmmakers come from? I mean, you most probably will never meet them, never be able to talk to them by phone, email, snail mail or telepathy… yet after watching a few of their stories, you just wait for their next. You love if their product is good and pat their backs in your blogs or in your long letters to your Dad urging him to change his stance – that the movie industry attracts only idiots and good for nothings and he should check out the new kid on the block who’s ex IIT, ex Harvard and making movies.
I guess it’s the moments in life that one is passing through and then watching those movies, those stories which fall in perfect synchronization of those instances in one’s life… delicately intertwining and etching itself permanently in one’s self. Now thinking of standing alone far away from home in the rains gone wild on the narrow streets of Pune brings in memories of QSQT. You had just come out of the show, you were crying and the rains veiled your tears out in the public.
Or the “josh” you got after watching Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander, to rush home and starting working on completing your project for submissions which ended the day before yesterday. Looping endlessly the song “Pehla Nasha Pehla Khumar” and picturing for hours you prancing around the hills of Ooty… forget Aamir… Mansoor made that song yours… it was your song, your fantasy.
Perhaps successful directors will not achieve this “looking out for” feeling for directors like Mansoor (I have a list which starts with Pankaj Parasher, Rahul Rawail…)… perhaps David Dhawan or any of the successful directors who’ve made great hits – that some we have loved – will never be able to generate that… the moment they go down, the cinefan gets up from his seat searching for the filmmaker Dude what’s wrong with you? Comeon get up and get going… I’m waiting for your next story…
Some have mentioned that Mansoor had all that he needed to make QSQT, a legend of a filmmaker father, a big production house as a family business, a team at his command…
I disagree. It needed a genuine, sensitive and a head firm on the shoulders kind of a filmmaker to make QSQT in the day and time it was made. It was still the eighties. The worst phase of Bollywood. Creativity in those days meant putting a 118 earthern pots on the beaches and fat thunder thighs prancing around them. The only movies reaching the common man that were above average were those from Mahesh Bhatt, JP Dutta, Pankaj Parasher and good old Doordarshan – the only existing television channel in those days that was bringing in unreleased movies from brilliant directors who’s products rarely saw the light of the day (Prakash Jha was one such filmmaker who tapped Doordarshan… the other was Gautam Ghosh, who’s “Par” is one of the most intense gut wrenching stories that we would have missed watching had it not been for Doordarshan)
99% of movies were outright trash… (and to some still are, but it’s not as bad as the eighties if you’ve lived in that era).
It takes more that a legendary filmmaker father, a home production house and the best of crew, to make what Mansoor did. Looking back now, I see it as the first wave of turning the tide (Sooraj followed soon after two years later, but that gave life to a spurt of template love stories… is a topic for another day).
The freshness which was long gone came back. The love story, the Thakurs, warring families was all the some. But the way Mansoor told the story made all the difference.
Add to that Kiran Deohan’s fall-in-love-with cinematography. And ofcourse Anand Milind. The duo until then were best know for “Raja tere raste se hat jayoongi… gaadi ke neche aake cut jayoongi” (a Pankaj Parasher film).
With QSQT, the musical brothers brothers complimented immensely Mansoor’s story with such an amazing fresh music, it still rings in our ears today. “Gazab ka hain din…” complimented with Kiran’s camera going around Aamir and Juhi, ground up, with the tall trees everywhere, circling around… you were in love with that scene right the first time you saw it. “Ae mere humsafar…” for the first time after ages, there were pauses, short silences as the song flowed…
It took him a few years to come up with his next “Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander”… perhaps the pressure… oh that stupid pressure to deliver at par as his first big hit… maybe… but JJWS was no less. It wasn’t.
Satellite television had made it’s roads in India. The channels started showing “Pehla Nasha, Pehla Khumar”… O boy… while everyone in the room – engineering students eating dinner at the privately run mess, froze to watch the song playing for the first time… I was puzzled… how could the song be directed in slow motion while the lips of Aamir synced perfectly with the song – that was playing at it’s normal pace. To my knowledge there was only one song picturized such until then. Kamal Hasan in slow motion singing a song in the movie Michael Madan Kama Raj.
The story as usual was kept simple, straightforward. It’s the characters you fell in love with. Some didn’t like the movie while some just fell in love with it. I was pumped up. Mansoor what’s your next?
Tragically, the magic never happened again.
And he was gone. The interview here gives some insights into Mansoor. The loner? perhaps the drifter? I can identify with that. And the film industry doesn’t help either. A place where everyone right from the journalist to the filmmaker, everyone has built and lives in their own little world. A world made of beliefs. Of what is right. What is wrong. What works. What doesn’t. The little world is rigid and only flexes around for money. It’s tough. After two years at PFC, I’ve gone at time Uff what the hell… leave me alone…… for some there exists something of a burnout. It’s prevalent in other industries, rarely so heard in the film industry.
For the glamour, fame and money are simply irresistible and if one can walk away from it all, it shows a lot of character in that person.
To Mansoor, hats off! I won’t request you here to come back and start making movies… for you are where your heart is and if not in movies, the various causes you are working for, we salute you for that…
Until then all we can do is push the play button and remember some of our college days, rains, puddles all around the streets of Pune, the sad sweet grip of sadness over our hearts as we walked out after watching your first movie… and the faint soothing music flowing from the paanwallahs taperecorder… Gazab ka hain din… socho zara… yeh diwanapan… dekho zara…
Salute!
Tags: aamir khan, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander, Juhi Chawla, Mansoor Khan, Naseer Hussain, Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak
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Gee, thanks Oz for that trip down memory lane. Made a great afternoon-reading, all the more better…. took me away from lab work
The simple magic of Mansoor……
QSQT was/still is mermerizing right from its storyline, actors, to music to its promotional poster “Love is the crime of the century”.
JJWS was full of energy, vigour, even if you watch the original english version(”Breaking Away”, a brilliant movie), I would still rate this movie very high and would thank Mansoor a lot for adapting it so well……
Akele hum……… was a good movie, till you saw “Kramer vs Kramer”, even the storylines, screenplay everything was inspired(preferred word).
Josh well everyone blames the casting(SRK and ASH as siblings, but to me they did play their part well, and did look as siblings). I think the story was a letdown and non relatable to many in india.
Finally, mansoor is here, back in news, if not making movies, atleast great to hear about him, always wondered when will he make his next movie. I am seriously hoping that he does put his creative inputs into the screenplay of “Jaane tu ya……”. Aamir hasnt played safe as yet(”Lagaan”, “Taare zameen…”).
I am sure even “Jaane tu…….” would be little hatke and would definetely be a good watch. The songs are amazingly fresh, and the look of the movie is a tad different.
talking of JJWS….totaly love that song. I still watch it on youtube all the time. In particular the way Aamir jumps high in the air.. It was Pehla nasha all right. I always beleive first love could do that to you. Thanks for me it was declared a tax free !!! I think I saw it 4 times.
Ayesha Julka never looked better. She had a potential ….
Loved to see a starry eyed Aamir ride his bike inside his house , throw paper into the air in the class room and start erasing the board while the teacher is still at it.
Loving goofball with an older , responsible older brother.
Havent we all seen such stereotypes in our families.
Am waiting for “Jaane tu..” with eagerly. If Aamir is backing it Im sure it will be good.
a great read. I felt a breeze flowing through the window as I read it. one of the directors who gave us more than films, he gave us a time and memories to relish for a lifetime. I am closer to JJWS probably cus of the timing, but QSQT is seated in the 80’s generation no doubt. By the time Josh came, either Mansoor hadn’t grown or the others had grown too fast. somehow never could make the connect. probably we had become too conscious to casting by that time. my favorite moments from Josh ironically were the brash action sequences. probably I liked Chandrachur getting his ass kicked.
AHAT I guess did have more old school relishes than Josh. I clearly loved it, in spite of Sajid Khan stuffing all that copycat trivia on TV. The way Mansoor felt it, no western original could. It had an honest Aamir in its heart. can never forget the icecream sequence and the court scenes..
I found out about Mansoor and his farm story about an year ago, and I was happy for him.For I always felt he was that very farm guy. free and happy in his farms.
gazab ka tha din…indeed…
It is interesting how our impressions change when we find out that a particular work is plagiarized. You disliked Akele Hum Akele Tum as you knew it was a blatant copy of Kramer vs. Kramer. Fair enough. Now, maybe you already know but “Akele Hain To Kya Gham” is a blatant rip-off of Return To The Alamo by Shadows. Even Ghazab Ka Hai Din is ‘inspired’. Does that change your impression about QSQT’s music?
Ethically, it’s criminal to copy, but if a copy is found ‘refreshing’ to people, does that make it ‘right’? Is is OK to copy as long as you’re not caught? These are the kind of questions everyone asks while debating on plagiarism and there’s no clear-cut answer to that.
An interesting trivia about JJWS. Girija from the south (she played the lead in Mani Rathnam’s Geetanjali) was initially meant to play the female lead role. She even shot one song “javaan ho yaaron”, which was retained in the film (she’s the female dancing with Aamir and friends in the song). Finally she was dropped and Ayesha Jhulka took the part, but Girija’s portions in the song were not reshot.
@Aditya, I hope I never get as negative and cynical as some of the people here in posts and comments sections of PFC. There are times I’ve reacted negatively to movies.
here, the mood is about memories intertwined with movies. So even if later others pointed out as you do, that they were copies, it doesn’t take away the sweetest of moments that one treasures.
Inkaar was one movie that stayed with me for around 20 years. I still remember riding the cycle with my Dad in the heavy Bombay rains to go and watch it. The theater because of the massive rains was empty. Just me, Dad and a handful of people. Dad removes his shirt and then mine and puts it on the front seat to dry it in those heavy iron large rotating fans of the cinema halls. 20 years later I watched the original of which Inkaar was a copy of. But the memories and thus the attachments are undiluted.
Jalwa. Went in knowing it was a blatant copy of Beverly Hills Cop. Yet, I’ve loved it and have watched it over God knows how many times. There are some and then there are some
Oz: You’re very right about memories. Each one of us makes an association with a film or music that stays with us for long irrespective of the actual quality of the film/ music. One such film for me is Raj Kumar Kohli’s Jaani Dushman (I mean the 1978 one). I was a kid and had gone to watch the film with my parents for a late night (nau se barah) show. That was probably the first ‘horror’ film I saw and it stayed with me for long, giving me sleepless nights. Now when that trashy film comes on TV, I always watch it and people around me just can’t understand what thrill I get by watching what is easily among the worst of Hindi cinema.
Reena Roy as the Nagin… boyo… we could talk for hours on that movie!
RK, man u have stolen my thoughts on mansoor khan. infact, i was thinking of post on same subject. i also thought of title “where is mansoor khan?”.
anyway, enjoyed ur post.
JJWS is my one of the all time favourite. (so what it was inspired?) i have not seen kramer v/s kramer. So i still like akele hum akele tum.
Josh… kum bola jaye utna achcha hai.
Sorry… comment 9 is for OZ. i was in impression of last post on Naunihaal by RK.
Interestingly, both JJWS and QSQT have the capability to evoke similar strong memories for me as well… the difference is that somehow an obscure scene or song has stuck on as the strongest memory.
For example, in JJWS, its not the Pehla Nasha song or the climax scene, but the scene in which aamir breaks down after mamik’s accident and the ‘rooth ke humse’ song which is the strongest memory.
In QSQT, it’s the scene where they part ways in Mt. Abu and Juhi asks Aamir to meet him in Delhi.. what expressive eyes!
@Aditya – another piece of trivia about JJWS: The actor chosen to play Deepak Tijori’s character initially was none other than Milind Soman. But when Mansoor discovered after a few days that he couldn’t act, he replaced him with Tijori
Thank you Oz bhai. I’m a sucker for nostalgia, and you got me here. Like you, and I’m sure there are laakhon like us, Mansoor Khan was one of my favorite directors. Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar still stands the test of time. I can still throw it on when I have a few minutes to relax, and just watch a few scenes. Almost any few scenes. Its such a wonderful film.
Nirav, that’s my favorite part of the film as well. I remember getting very emotional during the “Rooth ke humse: song… Another great little sequence is when Aamir sees a paper fall out of that girls binder. Its got nothing written on it, it was just a piece of paper. And Aamir writes a fake love letter for his brother, then bribes him for it. How can anyone not like that scene?
And for the record, I don’t really give a shit of JJWS is a copy of “Breaking Away”. As an Indian, and a hindi film fanatic, I may be able to appreciate Breaking Away, but never have the same emotional connection to it that I have with JJWS.
QSQT is still a classic. I watched it a month or so back with my wife. She’d never seen it, which somehow made the movie fresh again for me.
Such a well paced narrative. Such well built-up tension, such intensity. The emotional chords are just right. Credit that in part to some awesome performances (whatever happened to Dilip Tahil??) and, of Mansoor Khan’s precise direction. It’s obvious he’s put his heart into the film. Its not surprising so many people have connected with the film over the years. The film draws you in.
I think young filmmakers should be made to watch QSQT to learn a lesson or two in how to tell a riveting story. On the surface, its about as typical a film story can get. Two lovers from feuding families meet “by destiny” and face tragic consequences. But then its not the story but the storytelling that captivates.
There’s an old phrase, “Its good to know the tricks of the trade… but first, you must learn the trade”… Mansoor Khan can teach any young filmmaker a thing or two…
Greaaaaaat article… btw mansoor’s interview on rediff.. check out..
he became a farmer bcos thts wot he wanted to do.. i love him more now..
Took a trip down nostalgia lane after reading this article.
JJWS always brought back memories of school days, QSQT was one of the better films of the 80’s. I liked AKAT too, espescially the songs. Josh might have been inspired by ‘West side story’ but the Goan setting made it a likeable movie.
This is a period of renewed creativity in Bollywood. Mansoor Khan could proabaly make the type of movies he wants and see them suceed too. That is, if at all he wants to return to movie making.
ahaa….nostalgia…always so sweet!! superb post Takass!! Mansoor ko ab kahin door hi rehne do…..sacmuch…gazab ka tha din…..n aamir khan in slo-mo…god knows how many times i have tried to jump out of bed in similar fashion…n hav always wished that there was a way to push d slo-mo button!
here’s the video…
n pehla nasha…all that slo-mo….
kya karte ho Phoenixnu sahab! It’s still early morning here. Poora din gaya pani mein… (Hinglish: Whole day going water inside)