|
SUBHASH GHAI: He knows what very few know
Subhash Ghai s aw
Devdas (the Dilip Kumar version) ninety times when he was a nobody
and the ninety-first time he decided to make it as an actor, may
be even a Dilip Kumar. The inspiration he got from Dilip Kumar was
soul-stirring, “life- changing” for him. He gave up all
his other ambitions, left Delhi and joined the Film and Television
Institute of India as one of its earliest students. He was crazy
about acting, crazy, specially about Dilip Kumar, on whose acting
abilities he wrote an entire thesis to know more and more about
the man and his calibre as an actor.
He completed his course and emerged as one of the brightest students
of acting. He next reached Mumbai, the only place which most young
men and women believe helps dreams come true. He started making
rounds of filmmakers’ offices with all the material he had
to prove his talent, photographs, specially. “Tall promises,
it will see when the right time comes”, “you are too good
for the kind of subjects we are making”, “you have the
makings of a Dilip Kumar”, they told him and the words kept
ringing in his ears all day and night, the dreams at nights were
much more colourful, much more like he wanted them to be. He continued
what in film language is generally called "struggling".
Subhash kept struggling till a time came when he was forced to live
in caves and eat in all kinds of Grade III hotels, on the road side,
just in the hope of making it big one day.
It was only after two years after a very grim struggle on all fronts,
roti kapda aur makan, that he was sent for by filmmaker Atmaram,
Guru Dutt’s brother who dared to take a risk by casting a whole
lot of new comers from the FTII as artistes in his "experimental"
film called Umang. It was difficult for Atmaram because the competition
among stars was too tough. Atmaram finally chose Subhash Ghai as
the leading man of Umang. He took a liking for him and his talent.
He not only gave him the key role but also gave him a room in his
bungalow where he could stay in comfort and a first class pass from
Churchgate to Andheri. He was his hero after all.
Atmaram’s film, Umang, flopped like it was only expected to.
The only young man to show some sparks was this young man, Subhash
Ghai, who believed that he had made it, that no one could stop him
on his way up now. And what he believed came true. Subhash was signed
for twelve films but strangely, shockingly and painfully not one
of these twelve films was completed or even started. Subhash was
almost "dying of frustration" when he met another struggling
actor. His name was B. B. Bhalla.
They met, exchanged ideas and realised that they were walking on
a tight rope. And they couldn’t do anything without the support
of some big men and big money. They formed the Ghai and Bhalla team.
The team of writers were surprisingly successful for a while till
they had some serious misunderstandings and they broke up. And Subhash,
who was the brighter among the two worked on his own and wrote some
films which were quite successful. Subhash came into his own when
he joined hands with Jagjit Khurana, one of his classmates at the
FTII. Together they made Karz based on a script by Subhash which
went on to become a trend-setter and one of the biggest hits of
the late seventies.
Subhash then branched out on his own and started Mukta Arts, his
own banner (Mukta is the name of his "source of inspiration",
his wife) Subhash soon realised that if he couldn’t make it
as an actor trying direction was a risky but good idea. It was time
to try his talent at something more challenging, more creative.
He decided to work on scripts his own. He also had writers like
Ram Kelkar, Sachin Bhaumick, Javed Siddiqui and Kamlesh Pandey at
times as a part of his team. “It helped in flying, throwing,
slinging, punching and even fighting over ideas till you reached
perfection,”Subhash says.
His new idea worked and led to some of the most successful films
made in Hindi film history, specially films like Ram Lakhan, Karma,
Khalnayak, Pardes and Taal and the film he is now making, Yaadein.
He made other films like Kroadh, Gautam Govinda, Meri Jung, Trimurti,
(one of the greatest disasters made under the banner of Mukta Arts).
The success of his films, their genre, their technique, the performances
of his artistes, his direction and above all the script went into
the making of all his successful films, he firmly believes.
Three big films and their grand successes gave him the title of
the ‘showman’, a writer who was also a producer, a director,
a man with a complete command over every department of filmmaking.
Ghai, the writer, is firmly of the opinion that there are just eight
plots from which stories and scripts can be made. These plots involve
a series of human relationships under various human circumstances
and the changes time brings about. It depends on how you deal with
these eight plots, love, revenge, human relationships, emotions,
enlightenment, power and love above all. Put them in the right proportions,
in the right order and give them to the people in a dignified way
without any crudity and vulgarity and you have a guaranteed script
which will automatically lead to a film that will be loved by one
and all. And never ever try to take the audience to be fools, never
take them for a ride. They are much more wise then they were at
one time. Fool them and they will pull you down, showman or God
man, he adds. Try taking the showman as the writer seriously and
who knows there may be a flood of light where there is darkness.
There may be enlightenment where there is so much embarrassment.
Ali Peter John
Top
|
Cover
Story
