BASHEER ALI

MAGIC WITH THE MOVIECAM!

The celebrated cinematographer of Refugee hasn’t just been hitting the headlines for controversial reasons. He’s just produced and directed a biopic on the legendary composer, Pt Paluskar...

You were in the eye of a controversy recently, after you accused Aruna Irani, of all people, of confiscating your passport. Most people thought you were out of your mind...
I know, I know. Believe me, over the last month and more, every second person I met has been telling me that.

So tell us about it.
Oh please, not that one again. I don’t want to feature in any controversy. In any case, as far as I am concerned it’s a closed chapter, I’ve gotten back my passport, and there’s no further reason for us to keep harping on it, now is there? I’d rather let bygones be.

But people may assume you’re fishing for cheap publicity, coming up with an accusation of that sort.
They’re welcome to do that. Tell me, at that point in time what else could I have done? One of my assistants had got a break in a Nepali film, and he couldn’t proceed for the shoots because his passport had been withheld, too. I couldn’t just sit around hoping for a miracle, when my associate’s career was also at stake.

Besides, I think my career profile speaks for me. I’ve cranked the camera for the likes of JP Dutta, Muzaffar Ali and Tinu Anand. Obviously, I couldn’t possibly have managed to work with no-nonsense people like these if I were up to cheap gimmicks of the sort you mention.

You’ve obviously been up to other things besides hitting headlines for all the wrong reasons. You’ve just directed a biopic on the late composer Pt Paluskar...
That’s right. It’s my tribute to a genius. It’s been long in the making, chiefly because I’ve been up to my neck in work on other commitments. But it’s been on my mind for a long while now, primarily because Pt Paluskar has been one man I’ve admired a great deal. He died young, but in his brief lifetime, he left behind a volume of work, including compositions like Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram that should stand the test of time. Sadly, while his work is remembered, the man himself has been forgotten. He was among the few composers in the post-freedom era to break free from the gharana tradition and make classicism popular.

You’ve got Pt Ravishankar to introduce the legendary composer at the start of your film. You pulled off quite a coup, don’t you think?
Well, the very fact that a person of Pt Ravishankar’s eminence agreed to do that, is proof enough of Pt Paluskar’s stature as a musician. Getting him to do that wasn’t easy chiefly because of Pt Ravishankar’s busy schedule, but I was determined to wait for him. Not only did he give us the nod readily, he also paid a glowing, richly deserved tribute to the late composer.

You not only directed the film, but also produced it. Was it funded by any organisation at all?
It was. Gandharva Maha Vidyalaya, Delhi contributed as much as Rs 1.5 lakh, the rest was my own money. You must admit it wasn’t much, even considering the ramshackle equipment we worked with. Tell me, what is Rs 3 lakh worth in today’s inflationary prices? Just the cost of the print works up to Rs 27,000, and the subtitling will set you back by another 10 grand. Obviously, when you’re working with a shoestring budget, you’re counting every penny you spend. To top it all there aren’t too many screening outlets either, which means your returns will be limited, too - even DD pays but a measly Rs 50,000 per screening.

So what has the reception been like?
Oh, it’s been very disappointing. It was screened at the NCPA and has been entered at the Panorama. And yes, it’s being screened at the India International Centre, Delhi, too. But that’s about it. I did approach several people, even the government of Maharashtra for support, but it hasn’t been forthcoming. I kept telling them I wasn’t asking for money, only screening opportunities, even then I’ve got very little support.

Now that you’ve directed a biopic, do we see you directing a feature film next?
Who knows, one day I just might! I do have a few ideas rolling in my head, so if I can probably get a good workable idea I might begin to approach people. I’m the patient sort, so I shan’t rush into things until I know I have a winner on my hands. No, it won’t be the art-house kind of film that’s fit only for the festival circuit, I can assure you. It will definitely belong to the mainstream, the commercial mould, but different. I’d rather not make a film that will lie rotting in the cans.

You were an advertising man before you turned to cinematography. How did the camera bug get into your system?
It’s my tenure as an apprentice at Lintas, under Robin Bobb that did it. That’s when I realised what difference a cinematographer can make to a project. I was with Sumanto Ghoshal for a year and a half, and thereafter, I assisted the likes of Nadeem Khan and Ishan Aryan, all of which helped me add new dimensions to my craft. Soon, Anjuman and Zooni with Muzaffar Ali followed. And there has been no looking back since. The experience with Muzaffar Ali helped me bag Romesh Sharma’s Bandhu and that in turn led me to Prakash Mehra’s Bal Brahmachari.

You’ve also made a periodic return to ad films...
Yes, and these, if you’ve noticed, were all major campaigns for the likes of Lintas, O&M, UNICEF and UNESCO.

What then brings you back to films each time?
Films have a huger canvas and a bigger challenge. They hold a mystery and an aura that’s too big for ad films to satiate. I’ve also got the chance to work with some good people in films.

Talking of cinematography, whom do you rate as your biggest competition?
Well people have gotten very good at their jobs that the competition these days is between the best and the better. Mediocrity no longer has any room in this line. And excellence has become a moving target.

I like Santosh Sivan’s work for its intensity, and Ashok Mehta’s enthusiasm, which spills onto every frame. I like Govind Nihalani more as a director although I also like the way he wheels his camera and does his sequences.

Refugee would have been a major breakthrough for you, had it not been for its dismal showing at the b-o. What do you think went wrong with the film?
I still think it was a sincere, well-made film, although the length may have gone against it. The monsoons also probably affected its collections.

Your work in the film came in for rave Vignettess, though. How much of the credit do you think you’re entitled to?
Not much, because I feel the entire credit goes to JP Dutta himself. After all, it’s he who chose the locales and even gave me the opportunity. Look at it this way, before Refugee was made, who would have thought of Bhuj or the Rann of Kutch as a locale for films? The stark locales, with nothing but the blue sky and the sun on top and the miles and miles of brown sand below it, would have put off most people.

Which films are you working on at the moment?
There’s Ek Hindustani, Tinu Anand’s return venture as director, which has around four days’ work left on it. The film should be ready for release in the first quarter of 2001. I also have Ripples’ Roshni, which is Karan Razdan’s debut effort as director, which should also hit the screens at around the same time as Ek Hindustani.

Shaju George Alex

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