4 June 2020 - for the Hindi Film buffs, will be remembered as a day we lost a filmmaker whose canvas depicted the struggles of the urban middle class. Basu Chatterjee (Basu da as he is affectionately called) passed away at the age of 90, leaving behind a cinematic legacy of an emerging middle-class family that struggled to retain its ethical value system in a chameleon-like city that was changing ever so quickly. I understand that Basu Chatterjee began his career as a cartoonist in the weekly tabloid Blitz, published in Bombay (now, Mumbai). It is this facet that one gets to see in his cinemas as well- life- sketches with a splash of colour and loads of humour that reveal the underlying reality of the place and people.
In the 1980s, television Doordarshan, without the competing, commercialised Cable network with its saas-bahu series, offered some quality TV time on Saturdays and Sundays. It aired some very important regional and national programs. The focus of many of these series was the city and its changes--Rajani, Byomakesh Bakshi, Nukkad, Wagle ki Duniya, Munshi Premchand Ki Kahaniya and the evergreen Malgudi Days by late Shankar Nag. All this was of course on the National DD in Hindi language. In this conglomeration of serials, Rajani and Byomakesh Bakshi directed by Basu Chatterjee drew immense popularity. Both had popular, interesting and contemporary themes. Rajani was the first of the serials that carried one of Basu da's important visions -- a woman from an urban middle-class family who was struggling to run a home efficiently, with a limited income. Rajani is first the 'hero' who is a 'common man'-a woman - who registers her voice against corruption--with the govt, with a corrupt ration-keeper, filing a customer complaint when customers' rights were not so fashionable. Each episode was worth the wait. It gave the middle class a sense of power, and agency and at the same time hope that situations will change with each fight.
The 1970s and '80s were a time when stars ruled the box office and stardom was at its peak. This was the time when the 'angry young man' hero was the most popular, formulaic cinemas made it to the box office hits and got the actors awards and catapulted them to stardom. At the same time, 'art films' made its presence felt with Satyajit Ray, Shyam Benegal, Ritwik Ghatak, Girish Karnard, Mrinal Sen who gave films like Seemabadha, Manthan, Ankur, Jukti takko aar gappo, Ghatashraddha. Basu da's cinemas were made during this period when the 'macho' hero and 'glamourous leading lady' were important for the success of the movie or a highly artistic depiction of people in the 'art' cinema.
It was in this context that Basu Chatterjee and Hrishikesh Mukherjee presented an entirely new set of cinematic narratives. Hrishikesh Mukherjee made movies like Anand, Golmaal, Guddi, etc. His movies too presented ordinary situations in family life-Bawarchi or the ego conflict between a successful couple-Abhimaan, or an extremely emotionally gripping, box-office superhit Anand. At the same time, Basu Chatterjee's Chitchor, Piya ka Ghar, and Rajanigandha attracted the audience. Thus, Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Chatterjee presented the third dimension of Hindi cinema. They stuck a golden mean --between the formulaic popular cinemas and the much-required, yet, very serious art cinemas. Their cinemas told the story of the common man and their struggle in their everyday life at its simplest best. Another interesting feature of their cinemas was the popular feature-soulful music. Yesu Das sang for Basu Chatterjee for the first time in the movie Chitchor. The songs, like their narratives, were a beautiful blend of the 'classic' and 'popular'. And most significant, the location of their cinemas wasn't some exotic location that was fast becoming a trend. Their narratives were set in a familiar urban setting. They were setting a new trend that was distinct, unique and had light-hearted humorous entertainment at its heart. They created an audience base for their movies--an audience that enjoyed the simple, straightforward narrative with a theme that they also related to.
And Basu da did stand tall in his presentation of people in his cinemas. Most of the movies had a nervous, not-so-good-looking, not very successful or struggling 'hero' and this representation holds good for his women protagonists as well. Amol Palekar was that actor who could depict such a common man on screen. His narrative depicts a hero who was an ordinary clerk in an office (Chitchor), an accountant (Choti si baat), Rajanigandha who engages the audience with a young woman who has to choose between a young man who is simple, loving and her boyfriend with whom she had broken off due to bitter circumstances. Make no mistake, his central characters bore an inimical resemblance to people in their everyday life. So were his supporting actors and actresses. This was another important aspect of Basuda's vision. He presented people and situations and so, his cinemas were more like the 'slice of life' rather than an 'imitation of life' or 'larger than life'. However, make no mistake, Basu da's narratives were never boring; there was a mischievousness that pervaded the narrative, a divergent vision. Perhaps this was the influence that cartoonist Basu da had on the filmmaker Basu da. May the storyteller rest in peace.
For those interested movie buffs, here is a list of the Basu da, with some lovely, melodious music--
1. Choti si baat (a nervous young man and his adventure to win his ladylove)
2. Piya ka Ghar (the story of a young girl who learns to live in Mumbai's apartment)
3. Chitchor (A typical village girl chooses to marry an assistant over an engineer)
4. Shaukeen (a much futuristic cinema of old men and their fascination for young women)
5. Humari Bahu Alka (a movie about marriage, parenting and priorities)
6. Chameli Ki Shaadi (a satire on the caste system and one of the earliest feminist films that have the heroine expressing her desire to marry the man she loves)
Please do share your favourites from Basu da in the comment box below.
Please share your comments directly with me at rekhadatta02@gmail.com or message me @rekhadatta1 on Instagram. I shall send the links to you personally. Thanks for your patience.
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