Image: Tom Alter ends his glorious acting career by playing Ruskin Bond
7:47 AM
The thespian pulled off a flawless imitation of close friend and author, Ruskin Bond, leaving him moved just a few weeks ago
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 4, 2017)
In early 2017, filmmaker Bhargav Saikia wrote an email to the late
thespian Tom Alter, asking him if he would be interested in stepping
into the shoes of award-winning author, Ruskin Bond, in his upcoming film
The Black Cat.
Tom, a close friend of Ruskin for decades, immediately agreed to be a part of the film, saying he had always wanted to bring the 83-year-old author to the screen.
“To prep for the part, Tom spoke to Mr Bond and asked him about the songs he listened to growing up so he could get a sense of things that the writer enjoyed and things that influenced him. Subsequently, Tom started listening to marching songs,” recalls Bhargav, who shot with Tom for five days in Bhimtal, a small town in Nainital, and canned a day-long shoot at Mumbai’s Chor Bazaar in June.
Based on a Ruskin Bond short story from the series, A Season of Ghosts, Bhargav’s 20-minute fantasy-adventure is set in a Tim Burton-meets-Harry Potter space. “Our relationship was more like a teacher-student than a director-actor. I learnt so much from him as he shared details of his journey as a stage director and an actor of over 100 films,” Bhargav informs. On the first day of shoot Tom insisted he let his actors breathe and let a scene play on without calling “cut” too soon so the transition between sequences is seamless and organic.
“Tom didn’t have a cell phone so I emailed him whenever I had something to share. He was delighted to be invited to the film’s premiere in July and gave me a hug after the screening. He suggested we have a special show for Bond at the Woodstock School in Landour (where Bond lives),” Bhargav adds.
Tom made all the arrangements for the September 7 screening. But he didn’t reply to the email Bhargav sent him a few days before the screening. “I called his manager and was told that he’d been hospitalised and wouldn’t be able to make it to Landour,” the director sighs, adding that the show ended up being Tom’s farewell to Bond who missed his friend at the screening and was bowled over by his flawless imitation of him.
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Goodbye, Blue-Eyed Saheb
Tom Alter, who had been battling skin cancer for over two years, succumbed to the illness on September 29 at his Mumbai residence.
On Tuesday evening, a quiet funeral was hosted at the Malabar Hill All Saints church. Bidding their friend a final adieu in a two-hour ceremony were poet-lyricist Gulzar, filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj (below), cricket commentator-host Harsha Bhogle, and actors Ratna Pathak Shah (below), Mukesh Rishi, Mukesh Khanna, Imran Khan (extreme right, below, with Tom’s son Jamie), Rajit Kapoor, Dilip Tahil, Raj Zutshi and Shernaz Patel.
There were white roses and a board with pictures from Tom’s life in Mussoorie, his year-long stay at Yale University, his student days at FTII and his cricketing stint with the Mumbai Cut Club at the entrance.
Inside, there was an installation of photos from his personal collection and letters from friends and acquaintances over the years with messages like “the man without a cell phone” and “the blue-eyed saheb with impeccable Hindi”.
In early 2017, filmmaker Bhargav Saikia wrote an email to the late
thespian Tom Alter, asking him if he would be interested in stepping
into the shoes of award-winning author, Ruskin Bond, in his upcoming film
The Black Cat.Tom, a close friend of Ruskin for decades, immediately agreed to be a part of the film, saying he had always wanted to bring the 83-year-old author to the screen.
“To prep for the part, Tom spoke to Mr Bond and asked him about the songs he listened to growing up so he could get a sense of things that the writer enjoyed and things that influenced him. Subsequently, Tom started listening to marching songs,” recalls Bhargav, who shot with Tom for five days in Bhimtal, a small town in Nainital, and canned a day-long shoot at Mumbai’s Chor Bazaar in June.
Based on a Ruskin Bond short story from the series, A Season of Ghosts, Bhargav’s 20-minute fantasy-adventure is set in a Tim Burton-meets-Harry Potter space. “Our relationship was more like a teacher-student than a director-actor. I learnt so much from him as he shared details of his journey as a stage director and an actor of over 100 films,” Bhargav informs. On the first day of shoot Tom insisted he let his actors breathe and let a scene play on without calling “cut” too soon so the transition between sequences is seamless and organic.
“Tom didn’t have a cell phone so I emailed him whenever I had something to share. He was delighted to be invited to the film’s premiere in July and gave me a hug after the screening. He suggested we have a special show for Bond at the Woodstock School in Landour (where Bond lives),” Bhargav adds.
Tom made all the arrangements for the September 7 screening. But he didn’t reply to the email Bhargav sent him a few days before the screening. “I called his manager and was told that he’d been hospitalised and wouldn’t be able to make it to Landour,” the director sighs, adding that the show ended up being Tom’s farewell to Bond who missed his friend at the screening and was bowled over by his flawless imitation of him.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Goodbye, Blue-Eyed Saheb
Tom Alter, who had been battling skin cancer for over two years, succumbed to the illness on September 29 at his Mumbai residence.
On Tuesday evening, a quiet funeral was hosted at the Malabar Hill All Saints church. Bidding their friend a final adieu in a two-hour ceremony were poet-lyricist Gulzar, filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj (below), cricket commentator-host Harsha Bhogle, and actors Ratna Pathak Shah (below), Mukesh Rishi, Mukesh Khanna, Imran Khan (extreme right, below, with Tom’s son Jamie), Rajit Kapoor, Dilip Tahil, Raj Zutshi and Shernaz Patel.
There were white roses and a board with pictures from Tom’s life in Mussoorie, his year-long stay at Yale University, his student days at FTII and his cricketing stint with the Mumbai Cut Club at the entrance.
Inside, there was an installation of photos from his personal collection and letters from friends and acquaintances over the years with messages like “the man without a cell phone” and “the blue-eyed saheb with impeccable Hindi”.
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