Over to Punds for his take on one of my favourite movies - Sai Paranjpe's Katha.
Katha (1983): Sai Paranjpe's "Katha" tells a simple story of two people, one flamboyant and the other simple and honest, both vying for the attention of a girl. "Katha" told the story of the tortoise and the hare in a whole new way. "Katha" was a genre of Hrishikesh Mukerjee type of movies which showed simple stories told simply without much ado. "Katha's" high point was the ability of Sai Paranjpe to show chawl life in Mumbai.
"Katha" takes place in a chawl in Mumbai with Naseerudin Shah as the protagonist who is in love with a girl in the chawl, Deepti Naval. Farooque Shaikh, plays Naseerudin's friend, and is a big show-off. In a short time he manages to woo Deepti Naval as well as most of the chawl inhabitants. While what happens is the predictable good winning over evil kind of story, the director captured the essence of chawl life to its fullest.
My home in Mumbai is in a similar chawl-like environment and I could readily identify with the goings on in the movie. A Mumbai chawl is where every news is big news and everyone knows what is happening in everyone else's house. Yet, internal matters of the home remain within the four walls of the house. At one time these chawls formed the major housing infrastructure in Mumbai but are now slowly giving rise to isolated high-rise apartments.
In a chawl, the smallest the of smallest events call for celebration - be it a promotion, child's birth or marriage. The chawl is indeed one big family where you laugh, share, fight and do everything you would in a family. Gossip and food are exchanged over snacks and tea at each other's house, where everyone is invited.
The biggest constraint is the lack of space in chawl. I remember vividly the scene where Farooque Shaikh visits a neighbor who proudly shows him all the furniture which is foldable - the TV cupboard, the coffee table, everything is foldable to save space.
In a chawl your life is open to everybody. Despite that, joint families live together 'adjusting' to each other and at the same time respecting the privacy of each family member.
Sai Paranjpe captured the warmth, the love and never-say-die attitude of the chawl inhabitants and the Mumbai people in "Katha", which very few movies could do as well.
Recap - Reel Life Bombay is a free-wheeling series on Bombay in movies and life in Bombay, as seen by my guest writers (Filmiholic, Macushla and Punds) and myself. Here are the earlier posts -
Part 1 - Filmiholic on "Salaam Bombay"
Part 2 - My take on "Satya"
Part 3 - Macushla on "Main Madhuri Dixit banna chahti hun"
11 comments:
Hi BA,
Another interesting post, though I have missed some in between..
Katha, Chasmme Buddur can be genres by themselves. Correctly mentioned about the chawl lives...a part of the city -which is now only shown as a part of underworld.The intricacy of implicit emotions and dreams against realities and their struggle for a foothold is brilliantly potrayed. Amazing screenplay.
Released in I think 2004 ,Pran jaye par vachan na jaye, which again focussed on chawl lives, is another interesting movie.
Hi Malinee - firstly, thanks for the comment and for visiting.
Actually I should let Punds do the reply, but hey, here's my take anyways...
Ahh..Sai Paranjpe was just awesome.. they were indeed genres on their own. Simply loved Chashme Buddoor and I always catch it whenever it's aired (which is really rarely!). Simple screenplays, splendid performances - and of course, the locales. Delhi in CB and Bombay in Katha !
Completely agree with Punds when he talks of these movies being in the style of Hrishida.
Yup BA ,
Hrishda style--simple home truths. Beautifully woven and how !!
Oh ya - I just cannot forget some of his classics (do read this superb post by Oz on Hrishida. The other director who used, IMHO, a similar and simple style is Basuda.
Hey - sorry for goofing up on your blog and thanks for coming back!
malinee
Sai Paranjpee movies were a class of its own. directors like Sai Parnjpee, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Basu Chatterjee told stories about the common man. They were much better than the crap indian movies dish out.
Mahesh Manjarekar directs "Pran jaye par shan na jaye" but he does not get the essence of chawl life in the movie. The movie did not have the warmth of the chawl and became a hamming competition. Too many characters and no script at all.
Punds
Punds - hey, great post yaar and thanks for guesting at my blog. Agree with you.
As far as Mahesh M is concerned, well, I guess he used extreme situations (and acting!) in the movie. While it was based in a chawl (as he used in "Vaastav" as well), it didn't catch the chawl thing at all. But perhaps it was not meant to catch it in the first place ?
Malinee - what do you think ?
As a general matter, if you're doing posts on Bombay-in-movies, you've gotta include Bluffmaster!; I'm no Bombayite, but so it seems to my outsider soul:
http://qalandari.blogspot.com/2005/12/my-favorite-bollywood-films-of-2005.html
BA & Punds: Hi
True , Mahesh Manjrekar cannot come anywhere near to Sai Paranjpe , as I said those movies were a class apart. But since we are talking about chawls , the recent stable has only RGV( Rangeela/Company - to some extent, Satya, D ) and Mahesh Manjrekar( PJPVNJ/ Vaastav)still using chawls as a backdrop.Also Saathiya and Bombay in this case.
Yes PJPVNJ had too many characters and Vaastav was never meant to catch the chawl essence--but then what is the chawl essence?Isnt it also changing with times? The simplicity of earlier chawl lives do get diluted with neo urbanism .The middle class hopes of surviving poverty with solidarity and optimism ?
BA, BTW thank for the links--the writeups were superb !!!
Malinee - thanks so much. There's a few more in this series coming up !
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