The Trials and Tribulations of the directors. Culled from #RakeshAnandBakshi 's book, #DirectorsDiaries
There are hundreds of young men and women who would like to sit in that prestigious chair with the world “Director” embossed on its back. They would like to be known as “the captain of the ship” or “the brain behind a film”. But very few can reach that chair. There have been cases where men and women who did not have the ability or the talent to direct films have taken the chair but have only met with disaster and have been thrown away from their thrones.
There is a lot of sweat and toil, turbulence and turmoil that goes into the making of a genuine director. The media and even the industry have not tried to know some of its most well-known directors and the journeys they have had to go through before they directed their first films.
It is to the credit of author Rakesh Anand Bakshi's book Directors' Diaries that we can now know the background of some of the best of our directors. Here are some of the brief stories of directors who are the most respected and reputed names in the Hindi film industry today…
SUBHASH GHAI–
He had a very unhappy childhood. His parents divorced when he was just a little boy and he was brought up by his father who was a very orthodox and strict man. The young Subhash studied in an English medium school for the first few years, then studied in a Municipal Hindi school and finally ended up in a school run by an institution called Sanatan Dharma. He was always starved of emotions and filled the vacuum with music and entertainment of any kind. He did not want to take up any routine kind of job and his father wanted him to do just that. He finally faced his father and told him that he wanted to be in films. When he showed his determination to his father, his father pulled out a newspaper and showed it to him. It was carrying an ad which invited students to join the FTII in Poona if they were interested in making careers in films. His father asked him to learn about films before trying to join films and told him not to come back home if he failed to make it.
Subhash joined the course for actors and emerged as one of the best. He came to Bombay only to face an uphill struggle. There were times when security men, tall and hefty Pathaans, most of them slammed the huge gates of studios in the face of the young man who was destined to be the showman of India. He found work as an actor in nine films and most of them flopped or were never made. He switched over to writing scripts with a partner called B.B Bhalla, another failed actors and made a name till he decided to go on his own. His first independent script was liked by a well-known producer, N.N Sippy who also asked him to direct his first film. That film was “Kaalicharan”, it was followed by “Vishwanath” and “Karz” and the rest is history…
PRAKASH JHA–
He belonged to a high class family in Bihar. He was interested in following a profession or career in painting, sculpture or architecture. He came to Bombay and lived in a far away “chawl” where he had an art director of films as a neighbour. He followed the neighbour to the shooting of a film called “Dharma” being made by a director called Chand. He stood in one place for twelve hours to watch the magic of how films were made and decided that he had found his career. He had to be in films.
He took up a job in the kitchen of a hotel and also continued studying to make enough money to join the FTII. He started his career as a documentary filmmaker which inspired him to make films like “Daamul” and he finally realized the magic of making a blend of art and commercial films when Subhash Ghai asked him to turn his script of “ Mrityudand” into a film with Madhuri Dixit as the heroine. Madhuri said yes, to his script, he made changes to suit her, he made the film and he is now a major part of Hindi cinema.
FARAH KHAN–
She was the daughter of Kamran Khan who was an actor working in and directing small time action films. He did not want Farah to be a dancer even though she had the talent to dance like the legendary Helen. It was only after her father died that she took to dancing in films as a career and rose to be a leading dance director. She wanted to direct her own film and had to wait for three long years before Shah Rukh Khan agreed to work with her in her first film as a director, “Om Shanti Om” and now after making “Kal Ho Na Ho” and “Happy New Year” she is among the leading directors of the country, a major filmmaker who has not lost her roots or her sense of humour.
VISHAL BHARDWAJ-
He lived in a lower middle class area and was passionate about cricket. He realized that it was very difficult for a young man of his class and without financial resources to make it big in cricket even though he knew he was a good player. He returned home one day to see the landlord of his father’s room throwing out everything the family had on the ground outside. His father was in a state of shock and before Vishal could come back with a doctor, his father was dead and so were all his major ambitions and dreams. Vishal played the harmonium and had a singer to accompany him as they performed for the people at Pragati Maidan to make a living.
Vishal decided to come to Bombay. He travelled between Andheri and Churchgate in crowded local trains and felt that anyone who could get into the compartment of a train in Bombay would make it in Bombay and Bombay would not only accept him but also give him all the opportunities. He was lucky to find a mentor in Gulzar. He married the singer Rekha before he could even think of making it. He started by composing jingles for Gulzar’s films for children. He composed music for films which flopped and made him a part of it. He did not find quality work except for “Maachis” directed by Gulzar. When he realized there was no chance of his making it as a music director, he decided to be the director of films because a director was the man who could also give him a chance to score music. He directed films like “Maqdee”, “Maqbool”, “Omkaara”, “Haider” and is now a part of modern day film history.
IMTIAZ ALI–
He failed in the ninth standard and it was the humiliation of repeating a class that gave him the courage to do something in life. He also fell in love when he was very young and had made up his mind that he would profess his love and decide to get married only when he came to Bombay and became something in life. His determination and his passion for films which he first discovered in his home town in Jamshedpur was what has made him the Imtiaz Ali he is today, a writer and a director who is ranked among the best and who is also a commercially viable director with whom some of the biggest stars are ever willing to work with.
ASHUTOSH GOWARIKER–
He came from a family which knew nothing about films, but he was fascinated by people in the industry like the veteran actress, Kum Kum and other veteran actors and filmmakers who lived in the same locality as his. His interest in acting was aroused when he was studying at the Mithibai College, Vile Parle, Mumbai, which was a hub where plays in various languages were staged. He developed a liking for theatre and started playing bit roles in the plays staged in the college.
He then took to acting in TV serials and films and featured in the early films in which Aamir Khan worked. He then made his debut as a director and gradually became one of the leading directors of Hindi films. He is now directing his biggest film, “Mohenjo Daro” after making films like “Lagaan”, “What’s Your Raashee”, “Jodha Akbar” and other big films.
There are many more modern day stories of directors, who have reached their destination after walking through fire, but their struggles are nothing compared to what Mehboob Khan, K.Asif, Guru Dutt and for that matter even the father of Indian cinema; Dadasaheb Phalke had to go through before they took that prestigious chair.
So, the next time you think a director’s job is a bed of roses or a placid lake flowing smoothly, think again.
- Ali Peter John (@ Super Cinema Aug 16 2015)
Video links:
Imtiaz Ali’s 1st film being his film school & our book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzC18coaoLw
Zoya Akhtar (AV sound-byte) on being a 1st time film maker: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsdg8UNfwKs
Article link http://supercinema.co.in/2015/08/15/stories-culled-from-rakesh-anand-bakshis-book-directors-diaries/
