Showing posts with label Ek Anek Ekta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ek Anek Ekta. Show all posts
Vijaya Mulay provided ‘guerrilla’ support to some of the early independent films-Pankaj Butalia
8:13 AM
Documentary maker Pankaj Butalia remembers the filmmaker — best known for the animation film Ek Anek Aur Ekta — who died at 98, on May 19
As told to Sanchita Das (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 26, 2019)
I first met Vijaya Mulay in the ’70s, when I was running Celluloid, a film society at Delhi University. She wasn’t associated with the Federation of Film Societies at the time, though she used to attend their screenings. She was quite a remarkable person. She had lost her husband when she was quite young, but still managed to raise her three daughters and carved a career as an educationist and promoter of film culture. A pioneer who introduced audio visual material for pedagogy in India, Mulay helmed the Centre for Educational Training (CET), where she made films like the celebrated seven-minute animation production Ek, Anek Aur Ekta (remember the catchy ek chidiya, anek chidiya?). These were built around the Nehruvian ideology of ‘unity in diversity’, and promoted adult education through the ’70s and ’80s.Mulay also provided an impetus to documentary filmmaking by leveraging her position in the government. Today, this would be considered nepotism; but in those days — when film stock could only be obtained with a licence, and investing in film equipment was not a sustainable option for independent filmmakers — she chose to bestow government film projects on filmmakers to help them build infrastructure.
One such filmmaker was Tapan Bose, who had assisted one of the country’s pioneering documentary filmmakers S Sukhdev and, at the time, was the live-in partner of Mulay’s daughter, Suhasini. The duo, while working on these government projects, made landmark, independent films like An Indian Story (on the Bhagalpur blindings of 1979-80) and Beyond Genocide (on the Bhopal gas leak). In a sense, Vijaya provided ‘guerrilla’ support to some of these early independent films.
While Vijaya does not have a major body of independent documentary work to her credit, she was a staunch supporter of documentary makers and film buffs. In her first endeavour, The Tidal Bore (about a 15-foot tidal wave that moved up the Hooghly river from the Bay of Bengal), Mulay was aided by French filmmaker Louis Malle, who sent her the film stock from France, and Satyajit Ray, who did the voiceover for the film. Her second film, on Hindustani maestro Gangubai Hangal, was completely an independent one.
What really touched me was to see Vijaya drive, even in her 60s, to catch most of the films screened during the international film festivals, dashing between venues. She drove an old Fiat and we clambered into it to hop from one screening to another. She’d park the car and rush into the theatre, unmindful of the limp she had. She’d even consult with us on the line-up of films and the new filmmakers, before choosing what to watch. ()
Bhimsain Khurana turned everything into a magical experience-Zarina Wahab
7:48 AM
Bhimsain
Khurana’s Gharonda heroine Zarina Wahab and close friend Govind
Nihalani remember the celebrated animator-filmmaker who breathed his
last on Tuesday in Mumbai
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 19, 2018)
Bhimsain Khurana, hailed as the father of Indian animation alongside mentor Ram Mohan, passed away at age 81 on Tuesday night at a Juhu hospital following renal failure. He is survived by wife Neelam and sons Himaanshu and Kireet.
A versatile artiste who enriched television and films with his contribution, Bhimsain was the force behind the world of animation during the golden era of Doordarshan, including the memorable ditty, “Ek Chidiya, Anek Chidiyaan,” from the animation film Ek Anek Ekta, which he made with Vijaya Mulay in 1974.
In 1976, he made his feature film debut with Gharaonda, which featured Zarina Wahab, Amol Palekar and Shriram Lagoo with a screenplay by Gulzar. It is considered a seminal work in middle-of-the-road cinema of the ’70s.
Born in 1936 in Multan (modern-day Pakistan), Bhimsain obtained his diploma in Fine Arts and Classical Music from the Lucknow University. In 1970, he made his directorial debut with his first animation short, The Climb, which bagged him the Silver Hugo Award at the Chicago Film Festival.
Zarina Wahab: ‘I was offered Dooriyaan too’
Bhimsain ji was a nice, warm person but he didn’t talk much. His interactions with me were limited to instructions on dialogue delivery. He wanted to keep Gharaonda as authentic as possible so we shot in the homes of several people, including his Mahim residence too. We also shot in a chawl and on the streets of the city.
Since he was both the producer and the director, he had divided shots strategically in his head so that we could wrap up the film in 22-23 days. Back then, we had no idea it would turn out to be such a milestone. A film like Gharaonda comes once in a blue moon. It is priceless!
We all took a pay cut to ensure the film was made well and released properly. Everything just fell into place, including Gulzar saab’s lyrics and the late Jaidevji’s compositions. “Ek Akela Is Shahar Mein” and “Do Deewane Shahar Mein” are still hummed.
Bhimsain ji offered me a role in his second directorial, Dooriyaan, but I was committed elsewhere and couldn’t find the time. The family drama released in 1979, and eventually featured Sharmila Tagoreji and Uttam Kumar ji as a married couple.
He didn’t want to make too many feature films and both of us went our separate ways after Gharaonda. Unfortunately, that’s the way the film industry functions. I wish I had stayed in touch. He gave me one of my career’s best performances. I will always remember Gharaonda with much fondness. Bhimsainji turned everything into a magical experience.
Govind Nihalani: ‘He won many National Awards’
I am terribly sad to learn about Bhimsain’s demise. I knew him for a long time and even though we never ended up working together, we remained close friends. The filmmaker-animator Ram Mohan and he worked together for quite a few years and then Bhimsain went independent. He was a fine gentleman and was completely dedicated to improving the standards of animation films in India. He also began developing television content on his own and soon ventured into filmmaking with Gharaonda, which is his most famous work even today. The film worked very well with the audience and even though Bhimsain only made two-three more features in his career, his work won him many National Awards.
There were very few professionals working in the animation space when he started his own production company. I got to know his older son, Keerit Khurana, closely when he took charge of his father’s production house and made Toonpur Ka Superhero (2010) and later, Chhota Birbal (2014), the first animation character to ever be licensed in India.
Bhimsain Khurana, hailed as the father of Indian animation alongside mentor Ram Mohan, passed away at age 81 on Tuesday night at a Juhu hospital following renal failure. He is survived by wife Neelam and sons Himaanshu and Kireet.
A versatile artiste who enriched television and films with his contribution, Bhimsain was the force behind the world of animation during the golden era of Doordarshan, including the memorable ditty, “Ek Chidiya, Anek Chidiyaan,” from the animation film Ek Anek Ekta, which he made with Vijaya Mulay in 1974.
In 1976, he made his feature film debut with Gharaonda, which featured Zarina Wahab, Amol Palekar and Shriram Lagoo with a screenplay by Gulzar. It is considered a seminal work in middle-of-the-road cinema of the ’70s.
Born in 1936 in Multan (modern-day Pakistan), Bhimsain obtained his diploma in Fine Arts and Classical Music from the Lucknow University. In 1970, he made his directorial debut with his first animation short, The Climb, which bagged him the Silver Hugo Award at the Chicago Film Festival.
Zarina Wahab: ‘I was offered Dooriyaan too’
Bhimsain ji was a nice, warm person but he didn’t talk much. His interactions with me were limited to instructions on dialogue delivery. He wanted to keep Gharaonda as authentic as possible so we shot in the homes of several people, including his Mahim residence too. We also shot in a chawl and on the streets of the city.
Since he was both the producer and the director, he had divided shots strategically in his head so that we could wrap up the film in 22-23 days. Back then, we had no idea it would turn out to be such a milestone. A film like Gharaonda comes once in a blue moon. It is priceless!
We all took a pay cut to ensure the film was made well and released properly. Everything just fell into place, including Gulzar saab’s lyrics and the late Jaidevji’s compositions. “Ek Akela Is Shahar Mein” and “Do Deewane Shahar Mein” are still hummed.
Bhimsain ji offered me a role in his second directorial, Dooriyaan, but I was committed elsewhere and couldn’t find the time. The family drama released in 1979, and eventually featured Sharmila Tagoreji and Uttam Kumar ji as a married couple.
He didn’t want to make too many feature films and both of us went our separate ways after Gharaonda. Unfortunately, that’s the way the film industry functions. I wish I had stayed in touch. He gave me one of my career’s best performances. I will always remember Gharaonda with much fondness. Bhimsainji turned everything into a magical experience.
Govind Nihalani: ‘He won many National Awards’
I am terribly sad to learn about Bhimsain’s demise. I knew him for a long time and even though we never ended up working together, we remained close friends. The filmmaker-animator Ram Mohan and he worked together for quite a few years and then Bhimsain went independent. He was a fine gentleman and was completely dedicated to improving the standards of animation films in India. He also began developing television content on his own and soon ventured into filmmaking with Gharaonda, which is his most famous work even today. The film worked very well with the audience and even though Bhimsain only made two-three more features in his career, his work won him many National Awards.
There were very few professionals working in the animation space when he started his own production company. I got to know his older son, Keerit Khurana, closely when he took charge of his father’s production house and made Toonpur Ka Superhero (2010) and later, Chhota Birbal (2014), the first animation character to ever be licensed in India.
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