Showing posts with label Sagar Sarhadi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sagar Sarhadi. Show all posts
Sagar Sarhadi always wrote in Urdu, like Gulzar saab-Javed Siddiqui
8:27 AM
Sagar Sarhadi. Pics/Instagram
Playwright Javed Siddiqui remembers famed writer-director Sagar Sarhadi, who was the mind behind gems Bazaar, Kabhi Kabhie and Noorie
As told to Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; March 23, 2021)
My friendship with Sagar Sarhadi dates back to the early 1960s. Being screenwriters, dialogue writers and playwrights, we were both trying to make a mark then. We had a shared love for Urdu literature. He was one of the finest Urdu playwrights in the country. There was another [thread] that tied us together — we were both [part of] the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA).
In 2008, he was awarded the prestigious Ghalib Award for drama. His numerous plays, including Tanhai and Bhagat Singh Di Wapsi are considered IPTA classics. [In our heydays], we used to meet often at Janki Kutir in Juhu, where several struggling writers would hang out. Kaifi saab and Shaukat [Azmi] aapa were our mentors. [Sarhadi’s] nephew Ramesh Talwar, Bharat Kapoor, Mac Mohan, Shama Zaidi, and I would spend hours, talking literature and poetry.
I last met him before the lockdown. I could sense he was feeling lonely, and slipping into depression. He was a bachelor and lived alone in Sion. He loved to write, but his weak eyesight, due to advancing age, proved to be a deterrent. I will always remember him as someone who was full of life and ready with one-liners.
Like Gulzar saab, he wrote in Urdu, not Hindi. He wrote screenplay and dialogues for films like Kabhi Kabhie [1976], Noorie [1979] and Silsila [1981], but he is best remembered for his directorial venture, Bazaar [1982]. The film highlighted the bride-buying practice in Hyderabad. Every track of the film was a gem, including Karoge yaad toh har baat yaad aayegi. Now, it’s only his memories that remain with us.
Writer-director Sagar Sarhadi passes away at age 87
8:25 AM
Avijit Ghosh (THE TIMES OF INDIA; March 23, 2021)
The writer formed an enduring association with Chopra, authoring the screenplay of the much talked-about flop (‘Silsila’) and penning blockbusters such as ‘Noorie’ and ‘Chandni’ (dialogue). The relationship was formed after Chopra saw ‘Mirza Sahiban’, a Sarhadi play on the Indo-Pak war. He was invited to watch it by Talwar, then an assistant to Chopra. ‘Kabhi Kabhie’ followed. ‘Tanhaii’, ‘Bhagat Singh Di Wapsi’ and ‘Bhookha Bhajan Na Hoye Gopala’ are some of his acclaimed works as a playwright.
Originally named Ganga Sagar Talwar, Sarhadi was born in Baffa, in undivided India. He took on the surname Sarhadi, from director Zia Sarhadi who had impressed him with his progressive social films (‘Footpath’, ‘Hum Log’), and because he himself came from the frontiers. Uprooted by Partition, his family came to Delhi via Srinagar. As refugees, they lived in tents before finding a home in the capital’s Mori Gate area. “There is anger in me. I want to know about those in power who make you leave your own village and make refugees out of people,” he said in the same interview. Later he moved to Bombay, graduated in English from St Xavier’s and worked as an Urdu translator in a British firm. He quit to become a professional writer.
Sarhadi had strong Left leanings, loved reading Karl Marx and was associated with the Progressive Writers Association. ‘Bazaar’ (1982), which he wrote and directed, was markedly different from the romances that had earned him fame and fortune. “I was becoming repetitive and mechanical. What else can you do in a fantasy factory?...I made a film I believed in,” he told TOI back in 1986. The film was a critical and commercial success. Pirated video cassettes even found their way to Pakistan. Sarhadi also directed ‘Tere Shaher Mein’ which linked justice to privilege, ‘Agla Mausam,’ which showed how feudalism lurks, and, more recently, ‘Chausar’ (2018). These movies were either not released or sparsely viewed.
Among those who paid tribute to him on social media were writer Javed Akhtar, lyricist Manoj Muntashir, director Anubhav Sinha and actor Hrithik Roshan. Sarhadi wrote the dialogues of ‘Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai’, Roshan’s debut film, and of ‘Deewana’, Shah Rukh Khan’s first box-office smash.
Actor Shabana Azmi tweeted, “He will be remembered by his work both in theatre n films notable amongst them #Tanhaii n #Bazaar. He drew his inspiration from life, travelled by bus n train bcoz he was a writer of d masses. We at IPTA have lost a family member.”
I respect Resul Pookutty, but have sent him a legal notice-Sartaj Singh Pannu
7:41 AM
Sartaj Singh Pannu has taken the producers of an upcoming film, including the sound artist, to court
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 27, 2015)
Director Sartaj Singh Pannu has filed a case in the Delhi High Court against the producers of the film Nanak Shah Fakir — Oscar winning sound artist Resul Pookutty and Harinder Singh Sikka. He has alleged that Sikka has wrongfully taken credit as the director of the upcoming film, claiming that it was him who helmed the biopic of Guru Nanak Dev.
"A case has been filed by me against Gurbani Media Entertainment, in
Delhi High Court. I respect Resul sir, but since he is a co-director of
the company, he too has been sent a legal notice," Sartaj told Mirror. It was actor Tom Alter, who plays a pivotal role in the film, who introduced Sartaj to the producers.
"I came on board as the director in October, 2013 and spent two-and-a-half years on the Rs 35-crore project only to realise that Harinder Sikka released the trailer of the film online and mentioned himself as the director of the film," says Sartaj, who has filed the case with 60 testimonials from members of the unit, a signed affidavit from Tom Alter and is also supported by Arif Zakaria who plays Mardana and Adil Hussain, who plays Rai Bhullar in the film.
The film's screenplay and dialogues have been written by Sagar Sarhadi, whose repertoire boasts of Yash Chopra classics like Silsila and Lamhe and Sartaj claims, "Even he hasn't been credited in the film."
When contacted Resul Pookutty said, "I am aware that the final case hearing is on April 7 and I abstain from further comment as the matter is subjudice. Also, I am aware of the contract between the parties and as per that, there was more than one director."
The film that has music by A R Rahman, has been caught in multiple controversies since it was announced in 2012. Sikh community had slammed it and the Sikh Students Federation is demanding a ban on its release on April 17, in Punjab.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)