HRISHIKESH MUKHERJEE
Joy’s but a fleeting emotion Hrishikesh Mukherjee, the recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke award for 1999, isn’t quite ecstatic about winning India’s most prestigious film award...

I think it’s a bonus. I’ve never been bothered about awards, really. Also I cannot comment on whether it’s been a long-overdue award. You see, awards mean responsibility. But at the age of 78, what do I have to look forward to?” asks the produer-director of films like Anari, Asli Naqli, Satyakam, Anand, Guddi, Namak Haram, Mili, Bawarchi, Chupke Chupke and Khoobsurat. That’s right, Hrishikesh Mukherjee isn’t really gloating about his winning the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.
Hrishida, as he is fondly called, has been instrumental in making commercial as well as artistic films with a blend of light comedies. He was also responsible for portraying Dharmendra as a tragic hero in Satyakam, a dejected lover in Anupama, a bubbly professor in Chupke Chupke and bringing out the best from a deglamourised Amitabh Bachchan in Anand, Alaap, Abhimaan and so on.
“I never knew about the award. I was away visiting my grandaughter in Dubai and returned only on September 1. It was only on September 5 that a minister called and informed me about the award. At first I thought it was a bonus for all my efforts as I always worked for my own satisfaction and never with the aim to win awards,” says Hrishida adding, “When I asked him whether I deserved the award, he said you have been recommended. I had no reply to that but to accept it meekly.”
When queried as to whether he felt he ought to have got the award long back, Hrishida stated that since he had never attached much importance to awards, he hadn’t expected to ever win it. “Let me tell you something honestly, actually I don’t care. Everyone is happy when they are honoured. Everyone likes sanmaan. My youngest son died on June 6 this year. So tell me what is life. Sukh and dukh are part of it and everyone has to take it in their stride. It is all God’s will. Now for me, what is there to feel delighted about? If one works towards an award, you are joining a rat race. You are working for an ultimate result and not on a project. Someone once said, ‘What is the fun in winning a rat race? At the and of it, you become a rat.’ I never cared for awards. Actually awards are not new to me either. I have won several. Anupama got me the President’s Silver medal. I got the President’s Silver Medal for the Best Regional film (Hindi) three times in a row for Aashirwad, Satyakam and Anand. But this award is very precious. It is dedicated to Dadasaheb Phalke, pioneer of Indian cinema and it means a lot to be conferred with such a prestigious award. But for me, these are all fleeting moments. Does it mean that winning an award is the end of life? No, it means more responsbility but this has come to me when I am 78 years old. What am I going to look forward to? Does it mean that with this award I have changed? No, I remain the same man. My only aim is to give and receive love,” says the director.
According to Hrishida, he made his films with total commitment, never thinking which would do well at the box-office or which would fail. “I made films because I wanted to make something different everytime and I did what my heart felt. Whatever the result, I took it in my stride,” he says.
Rajesh Khanna, Dharmendra and Amitabh Bachchan starred in some of the best roles in his films. His face brightens up when he talks about Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan. “Though I was instrumental in giving Amitabh a good role in Anand or Joya (as he calls Jaya Bachchan) her break in Guddi, the talent was theirs alone. I never made Amitabh or Joya, it was God who made them. It was just that they made it big through my films and I was fortunate to be working with them,” states Hrishida who believes life is to be enjoyed to the fullest. “And that is what I portrayed in Anand. Though the hero knows that he is dying, he spends his last days happily. That’s how one ought to take life. There is only one certainty in life and that is death. So I would say one must make the most of it and laugh most of the time.”
Born in Calcutta in 1922 and wanting to be a biochemist, the young Hrishikesh completed BSc with honours in Chemistry, Botany and Mathematics. But destiny had other plans for him. He found himself working as a teacher and then a freelance artist at All India Radio. In 1945, he joined the renowned filmmaker Bimal Roy in Mumbai to work at New Theatres Studio, first as a laboratory assistant, slowly graduating into a full-fledged film editor, with the Bengali film Tathapi being his first independent editing assignment.
Hrishida also did the production work of Bimal Roy Productions’ maiden film, Do Bigha Zameen which he also edited. He was also responsible for the editing work of most of Bimal Roy’s films like Do Bigha Zameen, Yahudi Ki Ladki, Baap Beti, Madhumati and some others. He was also the editor of Ashok Kumar Production’s Parineeta starring Ashok Kumar and Meena Kumari, Kishen Chopra’s Heera Moti and Char Diwari. Rajinder Singh Bedi always relied on him to edit his films.
Hrishikesh debuted as director in 1957 with Musafir at the insistence of Dilip Kumar. The film won the Certificate of Merit at the National awards for the best Hindi film in 1958. It was based on three short stories dealing with janam, vivah and mrityu and linked the lives of three tenants living in the same house. “Dilip insisted that I make this film. I was hesitant as it was a unique concept but though everyone thought I was taking a big risk, they all supported me and the film was made. Dilip did not charge a penny for the film,” enlightens the director.
Next was LB Films’ Anari starring Raj Kapoor and Nutan in 1959. “Again Dilip wanted me to direct this film. He said ‘You prove to yourself this time that on your own strength you can make a film’. Again I was reluctant. But I made the film with an entirely new unit. With Raj Kapoor’s help, we appointed Jaywant Pathare for cinematography, Inder Raj Anand for story and a few others. We shot the film at RK Studios. And the rest is history,” reminisces the maker.
Then came Anuradha, starring Balraj Sahni and Leela Naidu. It was a love story, of a wife who yearns for her husband’s affection and had music by Ravi Shankar. Next he experimented on character artistes like Lalita Pawar, David and Jayant in Mem Didi. In 1961 he directed Aashiq with Raj Kapoor and Padmini. Dev Anand and Sadhana worked with him in Asli Naqli. Sanjh Aur Savera with Meena Kumari and Guru Dutt was released in 1964. Rajshree and Biswajeet featured in his 1965-release Do Dil. How can one forget Anupama starring Dharmendra with Sharmila Tagore, fresh from Satyajit Ray’s Apur Sansar. This film released in 1966 won the President’s Silver Medal for the Best regional film (Hindi). It was a big hit. Dharmendra and Meena Kumari worked with him in Majli Didi. Then came films that touched every heart with its simple stories and light comedies. The director won critical and commercial acclaim for his simple, yet sensitive and delightful entertainers void of vulgarity and violence. He always portrayed Indian women who valued their principles and culture. His other most popular films are Buddha Mil Gaya, Phir Kab Milogi, Chaitali, Arjun Pandit, Alaap, Kotwal Saab, Gol Maal, Jurmana, Naram Garam, Bemisaal, Rang Birangi and Jhoothi. But his last release Jhoot Bole Kauva Kate which he made after a gap of nearly ten years, failed to attractd the attention of the audience unlike his other films which are watched eagerly even today.
Talking about his favourite film, Hrishida says, “Satyakam is my favourite film. I liked the idea of how an engineer wants to have a country which is clean in terms of violence, corruption and other vices and is shattered when his dream remains only a dream. Besides this, all my other films also feature in my list of favourites. And I have always taken the blame on myself for the failure of any of my films at the box-office. It is not necessary that every film become a runaway success. Even makers like Raj Kapoor and Guru Dutt had to face failures at times. That is life, things have to be taken as they come,” says the award-winner.
Talking about professionalism today, Hrishida says, “What is that? I cannot comment on what is happening today but during my days, there was no professionalism, as you put it. There was only relationship. People loved to be together. There was no back-biting. Though most of the people of that era are no longer living, but the ones that are around are still in touch and meet very longingly even today. Of course, I don’t want to look back at life now and there is very little to look forward to. I’d much rather live in the present.
Hrishida has won several national awards during his 55-year old film career and has served as chairman of the Central Board of Film Certification, National Film Development Corporation as well as director of the Film Finance Corporation (FFC).
President KR Narayanan will confer upon the director the award for outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema on September 18. The award comprises a Swarna Kamal, Rs two lakh and a shawl. Other notable awardees include Raj Kapoor, Satyajit Ray, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Dilip Kumar and Dr. BR Chopra.

Namita Nivas

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