Page 41 - Seniors Today - June 2021 Issue
P. 41
Saeed Mirza’s Mohan Joshi Haazir Ho! And Besides Ankur, 1974 also saw the release
Govind Nihalani’s telefilm Tamas. of MS Sathyu’s Garm Hava, for which sarod
The Benegal-Bhatia team began work in maestro Ustad Bahadur Khan provided the
the 1974 film Ankur, which was the first music, and Kaifi Azmi wrote the lyrics. In
cinematic release of Shabana Azmi and contrast to the filmi qawwali, the film also
Anant Nag. But before that, other filmmakers had the authentic Sufi qawwali ‘Maula Salim
and music directors had ventured into Hindi Chisti’, sung by Aziz Ahmed Warsi and
parallel cinema. Regional cinema had its Party.
own set of geniuses. Many of them had been By the mid-1970s, filmmakers with a bagful
inspired by filmmakers like Satyajit Ray, V of ideas and an alternative approach had
Shantaram, Mrinal Sen and Ritwik Ghatak. begun showing growing interest in Hindi
parallel cinema. The subjects and treatment
Early instances were distinct, and therefore the music was
Parallel Notes The year 1969 saw two releases that also looked at differently. In an interview to
were later described as early instances of
this writer some 25 years ago, Vijay Raghav
parallel cinema. There was Mrinal Sen’s Rao had said, “I used the same principles that
Bhuvan Shome, which had music by I followed in documentary films. The music
Vijay Raghav Rao. The way the composer had to go with the subject, and used subtly
matched percussion instruments to a without competing with the screenplay.”
train’s movement was considered to be an In the Zoom tribute, Benegal said, “When
innovative approach to background music. Bhatia approached me for Ankur, and later
The other film, Mani Kaul’s Uski Roti, had worked with me in Nishant, I thought he
music by Ratan Lal, who laid emphasis on the had chosen the wrong person, because these
santoor. films didn’t contain songs. But my next film
Slowly, songs started coming in. Kumar Manthan had a song that would become an
Shahani’s 1972 movie Maya Darpan made anthem for Amul.”
perfect use of Vani Jairam’s voice in the song
‘Aaja Ri Nindiya’. The music was composed
by Bhaskar Chandavarkar, who later became
an important part of the parallel cinema
movement, composing for Saeed Mirza’s
Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastaan and Albert
Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai, and Vijaya
Vanraj Bhatia
Mehta’s Rao Saheb, besides films in other
languages.
Mero Gaam Katha Parey, which became synonymous with
the cooperative milk producers’ movement
Sung by Preeti Sagar, ‘Mero Gaam Katha
Parey’ was one of the few super-hit songs in
parallel cinema, despite its unique language.
It was written by Preeti’s sister Neeti. In an
earlier interview to this writer, Bhatia had
The evocative Sufi qawwali Maula Salim Chisti said, “Many people asked me what language
SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #24 | JUNE 2021 41
