Chhaayaageet #155 - "Bidu, apun ko ye film karne ka hai."
After his recent film flopped, the filmmaker is always in a bad mood. Everybody who saw the film liked it but nobody bought it. He had to go himself and do a deal with the Regal theatre. He managed to drag the showings to a few weeks to get the loan off his back but that was it. Who does this for money but you still have to pay them off? So disappointing.
Enough of these artsy movies. It is time to enter the commercial cinema. The filmmaker calls his close group of assistants and technicians to his house. “Bahut ho gaya. Ab aur art films nahin banaani. Agli film ki shuruaat hogi do bhaiyon ke saath. Chhote bhai ko bhookh lagi hai. Bada bhai aake kehta hai ke bade bhai ke hote huay tu bhookha nahin reh sakta hai. Humari agli film ka pehla dialogue yehi hoga.” Enough is enough. In the next film, the opening scene will be with 2 kid brothers. The younger one is hungry and the elder one consoles him that while the elder brother is alive, he will not stay hungry. This will be the opening dialogue of the film.
Next, the filmmaker meets with the composer and lyricists to record the songs. The music doesn't take too long. Now the next step is to decide the casting. This is always challenging for him. The talent pool in the industry is so limited.
For one of the characters who is the younger brother, the filmmaker has someone in mind. He calls him. Everything seems to line up perfectly. He signs him up right away.
The filmmaker has a few more asks. “Arre yaar, ab bade bhai ki casting karni hai. Koi dimaag mein nahin aa raha hai. Tu kya kehta hai?” Now we need to cast the elder brother. I can't think of anyone. What do you say? The actor starts thinking. “Mein ek film kar raha hoon aur uss film mein ye actor mera bada bhai. Hum dono ki chemistry bahut zabardast hai. Usse baat karoon?” I am doing a film right now and this guy is my elder brother in the film. We have an amazing chemistry between us. Should I talk to him? The filmmaker is pleased to know there is someone available. “Tu usse baat kar. Agar woh maan jaaye to usse kehna mujhse aakar mile.” Talk to him and if he agrees, ask him to come and meet me. Sounds like a plan.
The two actors are shooting near Mt. Mary in Bandra. They are always a pair. Also great friends off-screen. This seems like the right place to talk about the other film. The young actor decides to break the ice.
“Maine ek aur fim sign ki hai. Ussme mein ek bade bhai ki jagah khaali hai. Tu interested hai?” I have signed another film. The role of the elder brother is still open. Are you interested? The bhai actor hears his proposal but doesn’t show any excitement. “Kya bidu, jab dekho tera bada bhai banna padta hai. Umar mein thoda sa chhota hoon phir bhi sab bade bhai ka role hi milta hai mereko. Khair, ye bata director kaun hai?” C'mon, every time I have to be your elder brother. I am slightly younger than you but still, they give these roles to me. Who is the director? The young actor mentions his name. “Ye kaun hai. Kabhi naam hi nahin suna.” Who is this? I have never heard his name. The bhai actor gives a disapproving look and turns his back.
The young actor feels like the deal is slipping away. “Tu mera saath chal meri gaadi mein. Tujhe ek gaana sunaata hoon.” Come with me to my car. I want you to listen to this song. He almost pulls him by his arm and drags him to his car. He puts the cassette tape and presses play. “Ab tu ye gaana sun.” Now you listen to this song. The bhai actor starts paying attention to the song. The more he listens, the more he likes. “Agar koi director aisa gaana bana sakta hai to film bahut solid hogi.” If a director can create such a song, imagine how good the film will be. The young actor feels that he has finally broken into him. “Tu jaa and usko mil.” Go and meet him.
The bhai actor reaches the filmmaker’s house. It is quite small and different from the other filmmakers that he is used to visiting. He is still a budding filmmaker who wants to make his mark. The bhai actor introduces himself. The filmmaker knows him. Everybody knows him.
“Woh mujhe bhai ne teri film ka gaana sunaya. Mazaa aa gaya. Apun ko film ke baare mein kuch batao.” I got to hear the song from your upcoming film. Loved it. Tell me more about the film. The filmmaker is known to be a great storyteller. This is his home-court advantage.
The filmmaker starts narrating in great detail. The bhai actor is so involved in listening to the story, that he starts to slump and eventually slides down. Finally, he is sitting down on the floor. The filmmaker goes through excruciating details. He takes a deep breath as he narrates the ending of the script. The bhai actor can’t believe what he just heard. This is probably the best movie script he has ever heard. He lies down on the floor and spreads his arms out in ecstasy. “Bidu, apun ko ye film karne ka hai.” I want to do this film, my friend.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra produced/directed and wrote the story for the film, Parinda. The song Tumse Milke was composed by RD Burman, lyrics were written by Khurshid Hallauri and playback was provided by Suresh Wadkar and Asha Bhosle. The song was picturized on Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit.
Vinod entered the industry by making documentaries and short films. In fact, one of his documentaries, An Encounter With Faces was nominated for the Academy Awards. He had to borrow money to buy a ticket and visa to attend the function in the US. Along the same lines, he made the film, Khamosh which had a very unconventional plot. Everyone who saw the film appreciated but no distributor bought the film. He went through a rough patch after Khamosh which is when he decided to jump into commercial cinema.
He had made up his mind to move forward with Anil Kapoor as the younger innocent brother but was looking for the right casting for the older gangster brother. He approached Naseeruddin Shah for the role but that did not work out. Anil Kapoor was doing Ram Lakhan at that time where Jackie Shroff was playing his elder brother’s role. Anil suggested to Vinod about Jackie doing that role.
When Anil approached Jackie for the role, Jackie was not very keen on the role but after listening to the song Tumse Milke, he felt that he should meet the director. He met Vinod and went through the script with him. The script was so powerful and unique that Jackie immediately agreed to the role. Even though Jackie is casted as an elder brother in Parinda and other films such as Ram Lakhan, he is a few months younger than Anil.
Parinda was the first of its first-of-its-kind film in Hindi cinema. It brought realism through daily gang violence which was shot in known locations in Bombay. The typical landmarks of Bombay used in the film were Kabutar Khaana, Gateway of India, Babulnath Temple, etc. These points are typically seen from the vantage point of romantic backgrounds in Hindi films but now they were locations of violence. There were similarities drawn between Parinda and Martin Scorsese's crime film Mean Streets, saying how both films explored the masculinity of young men who commit violence and reject societal norms because of a lack of guidance.
During the time when Parinda was released, RD Burman was in the worst phase of his life with most of his films being music flops. The music of Parinda ended up doing decent business. The song Tumse Milke became very popular along with the film. The song's tune was inspired by another Western song called When I Need You composed by Albert Hammond.
The film did very well at the box office and at the popular awards. At the 35th Filmfare Awards, VVC won for Best Film and Best Director, Jackie Shroff for Best Actor, Nana Patekar for Best Supporting Actor, Shiv Kumar Subramanian for Best Screenplay, and Renuka Saluja for Best Editing. Nana Patekar and Renuka Saluja also won the National Award. Shiv Kumar Subramaniam also played the role of Francis in the film who was the sidekick of one of the antagonists Musa played by Tom Alter.
Lyrics: Khurshid Hallauri
Music: RD Burman
Singers: Suresh Wadkar, Asha Bhosle
*ing: Anil Kapoor, Madhuri Dixit
Producer/Director/Story: Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Film: Parinda (1989)