Portrait of a director – Hrishikesh Mukherjee
iView Author: The Narcissist (Goa, India)
Email: withheld
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Portrait of a director – Hrishikesh Mukherjee
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There has been a lot of discussion in recent times about the quality of movies being churned out in Bollywood. I had posted a comment on the news item about Fox entering the Indian movie market where I’d stated my thoughts vis-a-vis the quality of movies being made these days and its relation to the money coming into the industry. This spurned a thought in my mind about heavyweight filmmakers of yore. I’m sure today’s directors can learn a trick or two from the veterans and that coupled with the finances at their disposal, there’s no reason why Bollywood shouldn’t attain dizzy heights.
The first name that spontaneously came to my mind while thinking about these directors was Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Maybe a recent iview article on the film Naukri was responsible in part for this. Anyways, the name brings back memories of some of the best hindi movies ever made, definitely some of the best i’ve seen. A powerhouse of movie-making if there ever was one. The beauty of his work lies in the utter simplicity of the stories and the realism of the characters. Never once do you feel like you’ve been watching a movie, you just fall in love with the characters as you see your own traits in them. The most endearing trait of his films was the absolute lack of violence. So, here’s a tribute to one of the greatest names in Indian film history.
Hrishida made light entertainers and his movies have this distinctive feel-good factor to them. His movies have always been family viewing favourites. Although they have been telecast again and again on satellite TV as well as on DD, they still retain the same charm and have muliple viewing qualities. He also reigned over different genres of cinema. Here’s a sneak peek into his repertoire (This sneak peak is not exhaustive, but just a representation of Hrishida’s variety. Apologies for notable omissions, if any).
1. Comedy : Indian cinema can never touch the heights achieved in comedy by Hrishida. Golmaal ranks as my all-time favourite comedy, not one instance of forced humour and an enchanting performances by Utpal Dutt, one of the industry’s most under-rated actors. Naram Garam was also hilarious with the main characters repeated but in a different setting. Chupke Chupke is another movie which has a multiple watch value and is perhaps AB’s best comedy performance of all time. Hrishida was…is…and will remain the king of situational comedies.
2. Drama : Abhimaan, Hrishida’s landmark portrayal of a husband-wife relationship has spawned innumerable inspirations down to the recent Saathiya and Chalte Chalte. Anand, one of the very few movies where I actually liked Rajesh Khanna, is an ode to the unending limits of human endurance and living life to the fullest in the face of all adversities. The story of a crook with a golden heart restoring normalcy in a dysfunctional family started off with his Bawarchi and has again inspired a host of other movies, including Hrishida’s own Khoobsurat. Ashirwaad is best remembered for Ashok Kumar’s powerhouse performance as Jogi Thakur. Hrishida was also among the first to present the hindi film “hero” with shades of grey in Jurmana. And then we have other notables of the genre like Naukri, Aalap, Mili, Asli Naqli and the Munshi Premchand adaptation – Gaban.
3. Socials : Not one to forego his social responsibilities, Hrishida also made some extremely well meaning social dramas. A comparitive study betwen idealism and practicality in Satyakaam, the motherless daughter’s tale Anupama, a rich woman’s dilemma in choosing between the comforts of home or hardships of life with the one she loves in Anuradha and a sensible take on crushes on matinee idols in Guddi exemplify his work in this genre. But the one powerhouse social drama that Hrishida would always be remembered for is the seminal Namak Haraam, that is in my opinion, the best cinematic portrayal of class conflict. Namak Haraam pitted the superstar of the day Rajesh Khanna against his heir apparent, Amitabh Bachchan. The proverbial tadka was provided by Raza “Boombox” Murad with his shers that are now legendary.
I also treasure Hrishida’s films for the performances they brought out from the actors. Almost like a magician, he brought out heart-tugging performances from Dharmendra in movies like Satyakaam and Anupama – a far cry from his romantic crooner image of the late 60’s and early 70’s and diametrically opposite his garam dharam persona post sholay. In my opinion, both Amitabh and Rajesh Khanna have given their best performances under Hrishida. Even actresses, like Sharmila Tagore in Satyakaam and Anupama; Jaya Bhaduri in Abhimaan and Guddi and Rekha in Aalap and Khoobsurat. Hrishida’s collaboration with Utpal Dutt, perhaps the most underrated actor in the history of Bollywood was legendary and gave us loveable and memorable characters like Bhawani Shankar (In Golmaal and Namak Haraam) and Dhurandhar Bhatavadekar (In Rang Birangi). Forget the established stars, even Asrani used to be in a surprisingly vibrant element in Hrishida’s movies. His music sense too was a notch or two above average. The father-son Burman duo scored the music in most of his movies and have produced quite a few ditties that would figure as milestones in Bollywood music.
Hrishida won numerous awards for his work, including the Dadasaheb Phalke award in 1999. He also won 7 filmfare awards and 1 national award. Anuradha was nominated for a Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 1961. I sincerely wish that we had more filmmakers like Hrishida. His demise left a void in the industry that is difficult to fill. However, his films will remain etched in the memories of generations to come.
Rest in peace Hrishida!
Tags: Alaap, Amitabh Bachchan, Anuradha, Hrishikesh Mukharjee, Jaya Bhaduri, Khubsurat, Rajesh Khanna, Rekha, Sharmila Tagore, Utpal Dutt
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The biggest quality of Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s filmmaking is that his movies are not dated. They are timeless and you can watch them a hundred times. I think he’s a lot underrated. Both in Bengal as well as entire India. Mili, Chupke chupke and Golmaal are my personal favourites. Simplicity doesn’t seem anymore so simple in hindi movies post him. His works are textbook in story telling. Most of his work doesn’t leverage the present day technical spoils but they excel sheerly at the human element.
Thats so true abt Hrishida.
I dont think there can be anybody in the film industry who can such wonderful drama/comedy/social movies as Hrishida did.
I wish all the so-called comic directors learn a lesson from him about subtel humor.
Lovely tribute! Brought back several images from the great director and editor’s amazing body of work…And you are so right about actors being blessed with the midas touch – Asrani becomes enduring, Dharmendra charms without flexing a muscle, Amitabh shows the range of his potential. Utpal Da is such a delight.
I also relished his unforgettable debut film Musafir as also his editing gems under the stewardship of Bimal Roy.
The best in my book! – Hrishida..
Nice tribute to HrishiDa…
I’hv grown up watching Hrishi Da films , and he is the actual reason that realizes me…my liking of Indian cinema.
His name itself is enough to say his work. Simplicity was the key factor of his cinema. No matter how many time you have seen his movie’s still I prefer to switch the channel if HrishiDa film is showing.
Dialog delivery, editing , screenplay, strong Characterization, Camera, way of saying the story, maintaining the audience interest throughout the movie, creation of bond between the audience with movie characters, Use of song at the right place, Editing.. everything was excellent. HrishiDa was master in his work , you need to put effort to find mistake in his work.
Apart from HrishiDa films, In 2006 have seen “Lage Raho Munna Bhai”, Where I felt the same touch of his kind of cinema.
Words are not enough to say about Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Watch his films to give real tribute to him…
shweta
Hrishida made films that that simplicity and sensitivity.
He was class apart and his films will always remain timeless beauty.
Thanks for all the comments. I’ve been out for a week with a bad eye infection and apologies for not responding to the comments earlier.