View Point

GADAR
Creating Lahore in downtown Lucknow
Zee Films’ Gadar may have been embroiled in controversy, what with the Shia community disrupting its shoots at Lucknow’s Imambara. But the shoots have proceeded on schedule, as Brig Sudhir Arora reports...

It appeared as if a vintage car rally was taking place. In an old Austin Convertible 1926 model were Amrish Puri and Amisha Patel with a liveried driver. The road was full of Hillmans, Fords, Morrises, Austins, Old tongas, BSAs and Triumph motorcycles. A road sign in Urdu reads “Lahore”. Wayside shops of bangles, kites, falooda, hookahs and dhabas reminded one of Lahore’s Anarkali. Whizzing past in an old Cheverolet was Sunny Deol actively being chased by a daroga in long boots and a platoon of policemen in pagri and kullahs. Only, this wasn’t Lahore, but Lucknow. And the film being shot was for Zee Films’ Gadar with Nitin Keni as producer and Anil Sharma as director.

Like Deepa Mehta’s Water, this film was also mired in controversy, despite permissions to shoot from the central and state governments, and a letter of approval from the board of Imambara. The Shia community refused to allow the filming. It was typical of governmental apathy to scuttle the filmmaking, rather than incur the wrath of vested interests. Finally an alternative location was chosen — the La Martiniere School for Boys, Lucknow.

The scene had a host of artistes and a crowd of about five thousand people. It reminded one of old classics like Ben Hur and Cleopatra being shot with the backdrop of classic Gothic buildings of the La Martiniere School. The school building was originally a palace constructed by Maj Gen Claude Martin in 1800, and as per his will, was converted into a school after his death. It also witnessed a small battle during the Mutiny (Gadar) of 1857.

The unit shot non-stop during a three-week schedule, using the beautiful locations of Lucknow and the abundance of palaces, havelis, masjids, and the authentic, local cast of nawabs (some direct descendants of Wajid Ali Shah). For period films, Lucknow truly offers one of the best ambiences.
A beautiful baraat and song sequence was shot at Rudauli. Maintained now by the Zaidi family, it was constructed in 1930 and has one of the most beautiful mosques and imambaras still maintained in pristine glory. Amrish Puri with his rich baritone voice, equally matched by the strong presence of Sunny Deol stole the show. Amisha looked breathtakingly beautiful as Sakina. Utkarsh, Anil Sharma’s son, plays an important role may well turn out to be a sought-after child star by year-end.

Using Lahore as the backdrop, the period of 1950 was recreated by the art director and his team, working around the clock. Bhavana and Chitra designed and made period costumes for about 500 people. No one slept for nights and days including the stars, what with locations being shifted constantly during the shoots. The whole of Lucknow contributed to the traffic jams, with the fans rushing in for autographs and photographs, and young girls heading for Sunny Deol.

Amisha, already a star with her superhit, Kaho Na... Pyar Hai, was cheered all the way. It was admirable that both Sunny and Amisha braved knee injuries to stand for hours during the shoot of the action scenes.

Nitin Keni, the producer on behalf of Zee Films, worked round the clock to ensure the schedule was successfully completed, despite being prohibited from shooting at Lucknow’s Imambara.

The Pagriwala Dada
On the location, an old man was seen tirelessly tying the turbans for a cast of several hundreds, including policemen, traders and tongawalas. He was not only untiring but also totally dedicated. When asked about his age, he said he could not quite recall it, but said must be close to 80 years.

Dada Wadekar joined the film industry as a young boy. He was paid Re 1 per day for the shift by the great producer and director Mehboob Khan. Those days there were no meals provided to the units and Wadekar
bought a plate of Basmati rice and curry for 25 paise. Prem Adib, Kumar and Sohrab Modi were the great names then. Gradually, Wadekar became famous for his skills at tying pagris. He studied and perfected all styles of pagries which ranged from the Punjabi, Sikh, Pathani, Bania, Rajasthani and Gujarati. So far, he has worked for over 200 films. Some of the superhits he has worked for are Mughal-e-Azam, Shehnai, Palki and Aan. He worked for every film by Manmohan Desai, who admired him a great deal.

A man, who is humble on duty and alert even at this age, Dada is admired by other costume men in the industry for his dedication to his craft. Even today, all the top producers summon him for his expertise in the field.
Still upright, Wadekar’s eyes light up, when he talks about his past, and his association with the famous stars, directors and producers of old. Contented, a family man with three married daughters, Wadekar lives in a chawl and still has to work hard to help his sons-in-law and grand children.

Brig Arora (Retd) is a defence consultant for film projects, actor and journalist. He plays a Pak general in Gadar.