Bollywood Masala Mix
norms in her roles
Leela Chitnis, one of the first educated ladies in Bollywood, was a feminist long before the word was even popular. With her trademark eyebrows, eloquent eyes, delicate features and tremendous screen presence, she defied tradition by entering Indian films in the 1930s at a time actresses were considered prostitutes.
By "speaking through her eyes", first as a heroine and later in well-scripted character roles, Chitnis captivated generations of moviegoers for almost five decades till the 1980s. She portrayed the archetypal sacrificing, sometimes shrill but almost always victimised Bollywood mother, a personification that is characterised by others in similar roles today. Ironically, however, in a tragic case of life imitating art, Chitnis died obscurely in a nursing home in the United States, where she had moved to be with her children.
Born in 1909 in Dharwar in southern Karnataka state, Chitnis was the daughter of an English literature professor. After graduating locally she joined Natyamanwantar, a progressive theatre group that produced plays in her native Marathi language. The group's works were greatly influenced by Ibsen, Shaw and Stanislavsky and, after playing the lead role in a series of comedies and tragedies and even founding her own repertory, Chitnis gravitated to Bombay to act in films, in order to support four children from her first marriage that ended in the 1930s.
She started as an extra, before moving on to playing bit roles in mythological and stunt films that were hugely popular with Indian audiences. In Gentleman Daku ("Gentleman Thief") in 1937, Chitnis plays a polished crook dressed in male apparel and featured prominently in the local Times of India newspaper as Bollywood's first graduate society lady.
After a brief stint with Prabhat Pictures at Poona, 120 miles south-west of Bombay, Chitnis's golden period began in 1939 after she joined Bombay Talkies, founded five years earlier as a state-of-the-art studio with echo-proof stages, automatic laboratories, a preview theatre and highly skilled staff, mostly Germans.
Specialising in controversial films that challenged accepted societal norms, especially those regarding marriage and the invidious caste system, Bombay Talkies was having limited luck at the box office. But it bounced back with Kangan ("Bangles", 1939), which introduced Chitnis playing the lead role as the adopted daughter of a Hindu priest in love with the son of a local landlord who opposes the relationship and threatens the holy man. Her love, however, stands up to his father's prejudices, an unusual theme for the time, but one that appealed to the public imagination enough to ensure it success at the box office.
The film was still under production when the Second World War began and Franz Osten, the film's German director, the cameraman Josef Wirsching and several other technicians were detained by the colonial administration as prisoners of war. It was eventually completed by two of Osten's assistants and its success is attributed largely to its music, which experimented creatively with Western instruments. Osten directed 14 Indian films under the Bombay Talkies banner, greatly influencing Indian cinematography.
With Kangan's success, Chitnis replaced Bombay Talkies' ravishing leading lady Devika Rani and successfully teamed up with Bollywood's leading man Ashok Kumar for a series of box-office hits such as Azad (Free, 1940), Bandhan (Ties, 1940) and Jhoola ("Swing", 1941) that broadly deal with societal issues. In 1941 Chitnis, at the height of her popularity and glamour, created history of sorts by becoming the first Indian film star to endorse the popular Lux soap brand, a concession then only granted to top Hollywood heroines.
By the mid-1940s Chitnis's career as leading lady was waning. After a brief renaissance, Bollywood was once again typecasting female actresses in traditional roles and unwilling to compromise. Chitnis accepted reality and in 1948 entered the next, and perhaps most renowned, phase of her career in Shaheed ("Martyr"). Cast as the hero's suffering, ailing mother, she played this role to perfection.
For the next four decades Chitnis emerged as Bollywood's best-known mother, mostly widowed or abandoned, but always struggling to bring up her offspring with dignity despite abject poverty. Even today, the very mention of her name conjures up an image of the long-suffering widow in white, coughing consumptively and feebly feeding herself a spoonful of life-supporting cough syrup from a bottle that is always perched so precariously that it invariably overturns and crashes to the floor. There was never ever any money for "Mother" Chitnis to buy another.
Chitnis's maternal histrionics were portrayed in a range of films such as Awaara (The Vagabond, 1951), Ganga Jumna (The Confluence, 1961) and, in 1965, the runaway success Guide, based on the award-winning novel of the same name by R.K. Narayan. She was busy through the 1970s, but cut down her appearances thereafter before taking the final curtain call in Dil Tujhko Diya ("I Give My Heart to You") in 1985.
She then moved to the US to join her children, but by all accounts her twilight years were lonely. A younger Bollywood colleague who visited Chitnis in her Connecticut nursing home found her in a wretched state, forlorn and penurious, attended to by a kindly nurse in a situation tragically reminiscent of the roles Chitnis popularised in her heyday.
Chitnis also briefly dabbled in movie-making, producing Kisise Na Kehna ("Don't Tell Anybody", 1942) and directing Aaj ki Baat ("The Talk of Today", 1955). She also wrote and directed a stage adaptation of Somerset Maugham's Sacred Flame and published her autobiography, Chanderi Duniyet, in 1981.
By "speaking through her eyes", first as a heroine and later in well-scripted character roles, Chitnis captivated generations of moviegoers for almost five decades till the 1980s. She portrayed the archetypal sacrificing, sometimes shrill but almost always victimised Bollywood mother, a personification that is characterised by others in similar roles today. Ironically, however, in a tragic case of life imitating art, Chitnis died obscurely in a nursing home in the United States, where she had moved to be with her children.
Born in 1909 in Dharwar in southern Karnataka state, Chitnis was the daughter of an English literature professor. After graduating locally she joined Natyamanwantar, a progressive theatre group that produced plays in her native Marathi language. The group's works were greatly influenced by Ibsen, Shaw and Stanislavsky and, after playing the lead role in a series of comedies and tragedies and even founding her own repertory, Chitnis gravitated to Bombay to act in films, in order to support four children from her first marriage that ended in the 1930s.
She started as an extra, before moving on to playing bit roles in mythological and stunt films that were hugely popular with Indian audiences. In Gentleman Daku ("Gentleman Thief") in 1937, Chitnis plays a polished crook dressed in male apparel and featured prominently in the local Times of India newspaper as Bollywood's first graduate society lady.
After a brief stint with Prabhat Pictures at Poona, 120 miles south-west of Bombay, Chitnis's golden period began in 1939 after she joined Bombay Talkies, founded five years earlier as a state-of-the-art studio with echo-proof stages, automatic laboratories, a preview theatre and highly skilled staff, mostly Germans.
Specialising in controversial films that challenged accepted societal norms, especially those regarding marriage and the invidious caste system, Bombay Talkies was having limited luck at the box office. But it bounced back with Kangan ("Bangles", 1939), which introduced Chitnis playing the lead role as the adopted daughter of a Hindu priest in love with the son of a local landlord who opposes the relationship and threatens the holy man. Her love, however, stands up to his father's prejudices, an unusual theme for the time, but one that appealed to the public imagination enough to ensure it success at the box office.
The film was still under production when the Second World War began and Franz Osten, the film's German director, the cameraman Josef Wirsching and several other technicians were detained by the colonial administration as prisoners of war. It was eventually completed by two of Osten's assistants and its success is attributed largely to its music, which experimented creatively with Western instruments. Osten directed 14 Indian films under the Bombay Talkies banner, greatly influencing Indian cinematography.
With Kangan's success, Chitnis replaced Bombay Talkies' ravishing leading lady Devika Rani and successfully teamed up with Bollywood's leading man Ashok Kumar for a series of box-office hits such as Azad (Free, 1940), Bandhan (Ties, 1940) and Jhoola ("Swing", 1941) that broadly deal with societal issues. In 1941 Chitnis, at the height of her popularity and glamour, created history of sorts by becoming the first Indian film star to endorse the popular Lux soap brand, a concession then only granted to top Hollywood heroines.
By the mid-1940s Chitnis's career as leading lady was waning. After a brief renaissance, Bollywood was once again typecasting female actresses in traditional roles and unwilling to compromise. Chitnis accepted reality and in 1948 entered the next, and perhaps most renowned, phase of her career in Shaheed ("Martyr"). Cast as the hero's suffering, ailing mother, she played this role to perfection.
For the next four decades Chitnis emerged as Bollywood's best-known mother, mostly widowed or abandoned, but always struggling to bring up her offspring with dignity despite abject poverty. Even today, the very mention of her name conjures up an image of the long-suffering widow in white, coughing consumptively and feebly feeding herself a spoonful of life-supporting cough syrup from a bottle that is always perched so precariously that it invariably overturns and crashes to the floor. There was never ever any money for "Mother" Chitnis to buy another.
Chitnis's maternal histrionics were portrayed in a range of films such as Awaara (The Vagabond, 1951), Ganga Jumna (The Confluence, 1961) and, in 1965, the runaway success Guide, based on the award-winning novel of the same name by R.K. Narayan. She was busy through the 1970s, but cut down her appearances thereafter before taking the final curtain call in Dil Tujhko Diya ("I Give My Heart to You") in 1985.
She then moved to the US to join her children, but by all accounts her twilight years were lonely. A younger Bollywood colleague who visited Chitnis in her Connecticut nursing home found her in a wretched state, forlorn and penurious, attended to by a kindly nurse in a situation tragically reminiscent of the roles Chitnis popularised in her heyday.
Chitnis also briefly dabbled in movie-making, producing Kisise Na Kehna ("Don't Tell Anybody", 1942) and directing Aaj ki Baat ("The Talk of Today", 1955). She also wrote and directed a stage adaptation of Somerset Maugham's Sacred Flame and published her autobiography, Chanderi Duniyet, in 1981.
Bollywood actress Sridevi Kapoor, who died in February, has been named Best Actress at India's National Film Awards for her last role.
Her husband and daughters received the prize on her behalf.
The superstar's death shocked the Indian film world. Sridevi, as she was known, was 54 when she died during a visit to Dubai to attend a family wedding.
She was found unresponsive in her hotel bathtub.
Initial reports said she had died of a heart attack but police later said it had been "due to accidental drowning following loss of consciousness".
"Sridevi would have been very happy today," her widower Boney Kapoor told Indian media after the awards ceremony. "We miss her, it is a very proud moment at the same time."
He accepted, alongside their daughters, the prize for her performance in revenge thriller Mom.
Actor and politician Vinod Khanna, who died last year, was also honoured at the ceremony in New Delhi. He received India's highest film prize, the Dadasaheb Phalke award.
Sridevi had already won six awards for her final role, which was as a vigilante seeking revenge for her step-daughter's gang rape.
Sridevi's daughter Janhvi Kapoor wore one of her saris to the awards ceremony.
The Bollywood star, who began acting at four years old, had featured in 300 films, including classics Mr India, Chandni and ChaalBaaz. She was considered one of the very few Indian female superstars capable of huge box-office success without the support of a male hero.
Thousands of fans, along with stars from the Indian film industry, turned out to pay their respects during her funeral and cremation in Mumbai.
Her husband and daughters received the prize on her behalf.
The superstar's death shocked the Indian film world. Sridevi, as she was known, was 54 when she died during a visit to Dubai to attend a family wedding.
She was found unresponsive in her hotel bathtub.
Initial reports said she had died of a heart attack but police later said it had been "due to accidental drowning following loss of consciousness".
"Sridevi would have been very happy today," her widower Boney Kapoor told Indian media after the awards ceremony. "We miss her, it is a very proud moment at the same time."
He accepted, alongside their daughters, the prize for her performance in revenge thriller Mom.
Actor and politician Vinod Khanna, who died last year, was also honoured at the ceremony in New Delhi. He received India's highest film prize, the Dadasaheb Phalke award.
Sridevi had already won six awards for her final role, which was as a vigilante seeking revenge for her step-daughter's gang rape.
Sridevi's daughter Janhvi Kapoor wore one of her saris to the awards ceremony.
The Bollywood star, who began acting at four years old, had featured in 300 films, including classics Mr India, Chandni and ChaalBaaz. She was considered one of the very few Indian female superstars capable of huge box-office success without the support of a male hero.
Thousands of fans, along with stars from the Indian film industry, turned out to pay their respects during her funeral and cremation in Mumbai.
Out of 1,100 submissions, Rohena Gera's debut feature "Sir" is one of the seven films from across the world to make the cut for the Cannes Critics' Week. In telling the love story of a servant and the son of her upper-class employer, the director wants the voice of independent cinema to resonate with the "hungry" Indian audience that she feels is "tired of being talked down to".
Over the years, Indian representation at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival has been more about brand associations than the country's cinematic offerings. However, Gera doesn't nullify the impact some of the country's independent cinema has had globally in the recent past.
"I think that mainstream Hindi cinema is pitched quite differently in terms of performance and narrative from a lot of world cinema. It's not something that everyone relates to, at least outside of India. But there are a lot of independent films that have been making inroads, such as 'Court' or 'Killa'.
"It would be great if we could have films that are able to make inroads internationally, but also get a strong release in India. I think the audiences are hungry for different types of films," Gera told IANS new service.
"Sir" features talented actors Tillotama Shome and Vivek Gomber who portray the film's unusual subject of a usual reality. It was a story that perhaps took shape in Gera's mind from a young age as she had trouble with the huge class divide one lives with in our homes.
With the visibility at the Cannes film fest sidebar – which she sees as a "validation of years of work" – Gera hopes "Sir" also touches a chord with the Indian audience.
"I trust the audience, and I believe that they are making it very clear that they want interesting cinema. So, yes, I am optimistic that independent and challenging cinema will get a voice... because I do believe that the audience is hungry for it.
"I would say the market (in India) has changed... It's a question of us, the people who work in cinema, catching up to what the audience is waiting for. I have made my film for this audience, for the Indian audience that is not afraid of questions and that is tired of being talked down to. Now I have to make sure the film reaches them," she said.
"Sir" happened to Gera after a long, challenging, complicated and at times "disheartening journey". She wrote some episodes of TV show "Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin" and is credited with the story of the film "Kuch Naa Kaho" and screenplay of "Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic". She then directed a documentary "What's Love Got to Do with It", which served like a transition that helped her understand what she wanted to do.
Indian films, says Gera, are caught in a "market logic" unlike French films – which is why the more the laurel wreaths from international film festivals, more the chances of being a "reliable package" for distribution.
"When it comes to getting the film financed or distributed, it's usually much, much easier if you have stars attached (star actors, or at least a star director or producer).
"In order for an independent film to be viable for a producer or distributor, they have to make sense financially as there are no subsidies. So, of course, people try to put together what seem like reliable packages... When an independent film gets noticed outside India, it stands out, which I don't think is surprising.
"I think the good news is that audiences are rejecting bad films, no matter who stars in them. And that is great for all of us... because maybe people will start scouting for interesting independent projects even before they make their way internationally," said the director, who was among over a hundred cinema personalities invited at the Elysees Palace by French President Emmanuel Macron last month.
Gera is especially encouraged by how a majority of the seven films at the Critics' Week line-up are directed by women. Plus, Nandita Das' "Manto" is the only Indian movie in the official Uncertain Regard section of the Cannes fiesta, which yesterday.
"It feels like a victory for us all... It is exciting to have this sort of 'good news' at a time when women are facing a lot of adversity. It makes me confident that we will make our voices heard... no matter what."
Over the years, Indian representation at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival has been more about brand associations than the country's cinematic offerings. However, Gera doesn't nullify the impact some of the country's independent cinema has had globally in the recent past.
"I think that mainstream Hindi cinema is pitched quite differently in terms of performance and narrative from a lot of world cinema. It's not something that everyone relates to, at least outside of India. But there are a lot of independent films that have been making inroads, such as 'Court' or 'Killa'.
"It would be great if we could have films that are able to make inroads internationally, but also get a strong release in India. I think the audiences are hungry for different types of films," Gera told IANS new service.
"Sir" features talented actors Tillotama Shome and Vivek Gomber who portray the film's unusual subject of a usual reality. It was a story that perhaps took shape in Gera's mind from a young age as she had trouble with the huge class divide one lives with in our homes.
With the visibility at the Cannes film fest sidebar – which she sees as a "validation of years of work" – Gera hopes "Sir" also touches a chord with the Indian audience.
"I trust the audience, and I believe that they are making it very clear that they want interesting cinema. So, yes, I am optimistic that independent and challenging cinema will get a voice... because I do believe that the audience is hungry for it.
"I would say the market (in India) has changed... It's a question of us, the people who work in cinema, catching up to what the audience is waiting for. I have made my film for this audience, for the Indian audience that is not afraid of questions and that is tired of being talked down to. Now I have to make sure the film reaches them," she said.
"Sir" happened to Gera after a long, challenging, complicated and at times "disheartening journey". She wrote some episodes of TV show "Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin" and is credited with the story of the film "Kuch Naa Kaho" and screenplay of "Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic". She then directed a documentary "What's Love Got to Do with It", which served like a transition that helped her understand what she wanted to do.
Indian films, says Gera, are caught in a "market logic" unlike French films – which is why the more the laurel wreaths from international film festivals, more the chances of being a "reliable package" for distribution.
"When it comes to getting the film financed or distributed, it's usually much, much easier if you have stars attached (star actors, or at least a star director or producer).
"In order for an independent film to be viable for a producer or distributor, they have to make sense financially as there are no subsidies. So, of course, people try to put together what seem like reliable packages... When an independent film gets noticed outside India, it stands out, which I don't think is surprising.
"I think the good news is that audiences are rejecting bad films, no matter who stars in them. And that is great for all of us... because maybe people will start scouting for interesting independent projects even before they make their way internationally," said the director, who was among over a hundred cinema personalities invited at the Elysees Palace by French President Emmanuel Macron last month.
Gera is especially encouraged by how a majority of the seven films at the Critics' Week line-up are directed by women. Plus, Nandita Das' "Manto" is the only Indian movie in the official Uncertain Regard section of the Cannes fiesta, which yesterday.
"It feels like a victory for us all... It is exciting to have this sort of 'good news' at a time when women are facing a lot of adversity. It makes me confident that we will make our voices heard... no matter what."