Kochi: Renowned film-maker K S Sethumadhavan, who turned several Malayalam short stories and novels into movies by creating a cinematic language and style that matched the literary original, and who’s best remembered among Hindi film buffs as the director of Julie (1975), passed away at his residence in Chennai on Friday. He was 90.

An inter-community love story, Julie was a major box-office success, its melodious songs hummed to this day. Oldtimers would recall a young Sridevi essaying her first role in Hindi films. Yehi Hai Zindagi (1977), starring the very special Sanjeev Kumar, was another off-beat family drama directed by him.

In a career spanning almost six decades, Sethumadhavan won ten national film awards and eight Kerala state film awards and was bestowed the J C Daniel Award for his lifetime contribution to cinema in 2009. Kannum Karalum, Panithiratha Veedu, Chattakari and Vazhve Mayam were some of his movies that achieved cult status in Malayalam.

Starting his career as an assistant director in 1951, Sethumadhavan made his directorial debut with the Sinhalese movie Veeravijaya in 1961. He directed over 60 movies in different languages, including Malayalam, Kannada and Tamil.

Stereotyping in the film industry is a well-known fact and a part of its vocabulary
Devdutt Pattanaik (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 8, 2019)

A few years ago, a friend of mine told me about how Bollywood films stereotyped the Catholic community. They would show Catholic girls who wore short skirts as god-fearing, and their fathers were often portrayed as drunkards, mouthing English phrases. It was once a cunning trick used by Bollywood to show the legs and knees of women, which Hindu girls couldn’t show as they wore salwar kameezes and saris. The only way to show the knees was via a village belle with a flaring skirt. In the city it would be a Christian girl, who would most often portray a secretary.

That stereotyping goes on in the film industry is a well-known fact; it is part of the Bollywood vocabulary. Some argue that any attempt to show Christians in an alternate way, confuses people and they are not able to identify such characters. A classic case of this is a film called Vijeta (1982), where the religion of the characters is not very obvious; therefore, the audience is not able to figure it out as much as in Julie (1975).

How do you visualise Muslims on television? They have to wear skullcaps. The women have to wear headscarves or long dangly earrings. They have to be associated with namaz. In the same way, to show a Hindu family, we will typically show the Ekta Kapoor-style of aarti, to a marble statue of Krishna or Ram or Ganesha or Hanuman. Rituals can be shown on camera, and so the love for festivals, like Holi and Diwali, and whirling dervishes for Islam.

People have often pointed out how Shah Rukh and Salman Khan, like Amjad Khan earlier, have been made to sing and dance to songs about Ganesha — this is part of the right-wing agenda to mainstream Hinduism and dominate the film industry. The sudden rush of movies being done by Akshay Kumar is a way of overshadowing the Khan legacy, say conspiracy theorists.

The Left has also used the film industry to create its own propaganda. Art films were left-wing. Quite a few showed the truth of poverty; but in those films the villain would invariably be a Baniya or a Brahmin. They were exploiters and lecherous men. Truth or stereotype?

The camera demands a particular vocabulary in order to present religion or politics. You see this across films, in both mainstream and the artistic genre. Religious politics is being played constantly by different people. There are ‘sanskaari’ films that subjugate women by showing good women as being obedient and bad women as those who smoke. Gay men tend to be effeminate, because a non-effeminate gay man is not identifiable to the public. Likewise, lesbian movies become difficult for people to understand because there is no visual vocabulary. Two girls dancing around the trees could be friends. Two men dancing around the trees could be just a parody, depicting friends acting mischievously.

But regular folks do not live Bollywood lives. It is quite possible to be a Hindu without having a puja room, or a photograph of a deity in the house. The ‘Hindu’ need not wear a dhoti or sari, or be overly religious. His marriage can take place in court. His religion may be private reflections on the Gita or Upanishads. His religion may be an occasional pilgrimage.

This does not bode well for Bollywood. A name like Rahul does not necessarily mean Hindu. It could be Rahul Gonsalves. This makes it difficult for filmmakers who seek to portray religion on screen. We need vibrant visual codes that people can make sense of. A starched white cotton garment remains the code of politicians, good or bad. And the code for an aggressive Hindutva-asserting Hindu is now anchored on the colour saffron, and a vertical red tilak.

Chaya Unnikrishnan (DNA; February 1, 2018)

She is one actress who has mastered the art of reinvention. She may be getting older, but she has found a way to not only stay connected with the masses through cinema but has also become relevant to the youth, thanks to her TV outings. We are talking about Neha Dhupia who made her debut as a glamorous heroine in 2003 with Qayamat and soon got tagged as a sex siren with Julie. But she managed to shed the image by playing significant parts in small-budget films like Mithya, Phas Gaye Re Obama and Moh Money Maya. Today, she has impressed everyone with her acting prowess in content-driven movies such as Tumhari Sulu and Qarib Qarib Singlle. In a freewheeling interview, Neha talks about embracing age, playing good roles and keeping up with the times.        

You grabbed attention 15 years ago with your bold roles and now have emerged as the go-to actress for strong supporting roles. How did the metamorphosis come about?
I welcomed getting older with open arms. I didn’t shy away from it. I kind of have goosebumps saying this because I have never said this before, but even I wonder what happened. I’m not being immodest but am saying this with a lot of gratitude. When I came into the industry, a lot of people said, ‘You’ll be done in four-five years, what will you do after that’? I was working towards being an IAS officer, I was raised believing I would serve the country. Then, I got into movies and I kind of started believing people around me, that my stint would only last for five years. Then I thought to myself, we can change that. Times are changing as people are looking at good content. Everything doesn’t have to be about others’ idea of what it is supposed to be. Everyone is doing so many different things, looking at different role models. My role model is Karan (Johar), he does everything including making films! He is the cultural export, the first face of Indian cinema. He is seen everywhere from award shows to world economic forums.

What really changed was the way I look, the skills that I have, and me getting older in the business. The one thing it taught me is to hustle every day. My biggest strength is I’m not a lazy person. My mind ticks like a time bomb. It’s a combination of getting older, being a little restless, understanding what the audience wants and knowing where you stand. People are not coming to me with lead roles, but good parts. It will be stupid if I think, it’s not the lead, why should I do it? I’m not that person. My decisions are based on instinct.

After films like Qayamat, Julie, etc there was a phase when you did small-budget cinema with the likes of Rajat Kapoor and Ranvir Shorey. What changed for you?
Everything, personal or professional, is like a pack of biscuits that comes with an expiry date. I emerged in a bikini from the water when I started off in Qayamat. I did Julie, in which I had an author-backed role. But what happened with that was it gave me a certain image. Now, either I am happy that I have an image — sometimes it takes a lifetime — you do interesting work but you don’t have an image. I had one and I was playing on that. But then I realised this image is going too far, I needed to change that. So, I took two steps back. I did not take up any work. One day, I met Rajat Kapoor in the gym.  He said, ‘I have been looking for you for almost a year now, where were you?’ It was a random run-in and he told me, ‘I will call you in two months once my script is ready’. In April 2006, he met me and gave me the script of Mithya. He said he wanted me to play the part of Sonam. That was it, and I ended up doing five-six films with all of them — movies like Ek Chaalis Ki Last Local, Raat Gayi Baat Gayi, Phas Gaye Re Obama up to Moh Maya Money. I thought Moh Maya Money was a great film, but it didn’t work at the box office. That’s when I realised it’s time to reinvent myself. I thought I’m older so I need to crack the youth market.

Is that how Roadies happened?
Yes. I got this show and I decided to take it up as the youth are the most discerning audience. To win them over — I knew I won’t be doing Student Of The Year anytime in my life — so Roadies was a great way to get into the youth audience. After that I opened my production house with NoFilterNeha and did two seasons which led to BFFs with Vogue.

What is exciting about hosting BFFs with Vogue?
I always consider myself a rank outsider, I am not from the business, so for someone like me just to wake up and do work that I love is the most exciting thing. I like being in conversation — it’s like asking a cricketer to do cricket commentary. Listening to people and hearing their stories is something that I genuinely enjoy. It comes organically, it is not forced. The other exciting part are the guests. I know most of them like Karan and Shweta (Bachchan) Nanda and while talking to them at one point, I forgot the camera. I just sat on the lounge and chilled with them. But there are some celebrities like Juhi Chawla, Radhika Apte and Rani Mukerji, who I have been a fan of, but hadn’t met, and it was great interacting with them. Also, I don’t see many women, especially of my age, hosting a talk show. Usually the talk show hosts are much older and a little bit of overachievers which is a pre-requisite. I don’t fit into that category. So for me to be able to host such a show is flattering.

Will you be working on the third season of #NoFilterNeha?
I don’t know yet, but I am hoping for it. I remember I was in a coffee shop and talking to my writer about doing something interesting. I have so many live sessions with friends from the industry discussing all the madness we went through. I thought this needs to be out in the open. I met Rishi Malhotra (he owns a digital streaming service) who said that I have a good sense of humour, which people don’t know about, and I need to have my own talk show. That’s how NoFilterNeha came about.

Was it easier for you to get celebrities on your show?
It’s never easy to get celebs. But I must say the first one was easier than the second. After the first season, celebrities who had seen it were like, ‘Hope we are not invited as there are tricky questions’. But trust me they are all brighter than me. They know how to swerve around them. Season 2 was more interesting as we used a different way of doing it and were fortunate enough to not repeat the guests. Everyone who was on my wishlist on season 1 and season 2 has appeared. If I have a third season, I definitely want Shah Rukh Khan to come because I want to have a conversation with that man on record.  

Talking about Shah Rukh Khan, you once made a statement, ‘Only SRK or sex sells in cinema’. Would you say the same now?
I think a lot of things are changing, but that still doesn’t take away from the fact that SRK and sex sell!

Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; September 23, 2017)

One would assume that Pahlaj Nihalani was done with his share of controversy during his term as CBFC chief. Over a month after his ouster, the filmmaker continues to court controversy — this time around, the bone of contention is his upcoming film, Julie 2. Nihalani, who is presenting the Raai Laxmi-starrer, and director Deepak Shivdasani have been sued by producer N R Pachisia for trademark and copyright infringement.

Pachisia, who had produced the Neha Dhupia-starrer Julie in 2004, is aghast that Shivdasani is taking the Julie franchise ahead — this, when the former owns the rights to the film as well as the title in question.

Pachisia said, “Back in 2012, I had heard that Deepak was planning a sequel to Julie. I immediately wrote a letter to him saying that I hold the rights to the film and the title, and didn’t have intentions to make a sequel. He assured me in writing that he would not make the film.”

The producer felt cheated when he learnt that the director went back on his word. “He registered the title as Deepak Shivdasani’s Julie 2. He is also promoting the film as a sequel, which is unethical and petty.”

Pachisia knocked on the doors of IMPPA (Indian Motion Pictures Producers’ Association), who supported the producer and served a notice to the makers of Julie 2. “They felt that Deepak is misleading the public by associating his film to mine, to gain publicity.” He also filed a suit at Mumbai High Court on Thursday, demanding a stay on the film. “The matter will be up for hearing on Monday. I don’t want monetary compensation, I just want justice,” he said.

When we reached out to Nihalani, he refused to take onus. He said, “I am just the distributor of the film, so I don’t think it has anything to do with me. Also, I haven’t received any notice yet.”

Bharati Dubey (MID-DAY; April 1, 2014)

In 2004, Deepak Shivdasani, directed the Neha Dhupia-starrer Julie which was produced by N R Pachisia. The director is now returning with a sequel but with another producer Bhola Malviya, who earlier made Joe B Carvalho.

Says a source, “The director may be keen to revisit Julie, but getting the title may prove to be difficult as it is producer N R Pachisia’s property.” Pachisia says, “I had put out a public notice in the trade papers that the Julie franchise belongs to me and anyone who plans to make a film without permission will be infringement of copyright. The titles Julie 2 and Julie Returns are registered with me and the producers will have to get a clearance from me.”

Pachisia adds that Malviya did come to meet him about the title. “He met me and I will think about it only after he tells me the details.” Meanwhile Shivdasani is looking at casting a fresh face for the title role. Music composer Viju Shah returns to Bollywood after a gap of eight years with this film. He said, “I did compose music for Joy Augustine’s film, but the film got stalled.”