Karachi blogger's tribute to Kishore Kumar

Those of us who take our freedom of expression for granted don’t give a thought to what it is like to be living under socio-cultural environment in which listening to film music; or even of writing about the singer is taboo. Adnan, a blogger in Karachi writes that he thought twice about posting his tribute to late Kishore Kumar on 78 birth anniversary day (Aug.4).

Adnan says he usually blogs on religion and politics and many of his readers who believed music to be not Islamic probably “consider me a hypocrite”. The Karachi-based blogger rationalises his Kishore Kumar post saying that he blogs not for others – “I write for myself”; and that he couldn’t wish away a past in which Kishore da was his favorite singer.

Adnan’s mamoo and dad were Kishore fans; they rarely missed the Akashvani programme playing old film songs. Adnan recalled he got initiated to Kishore songs when he heard Kumar Sanu on cassette singing Kishore songs. Adnan went for the original singer, and liked what he heard even better.

It wasn’t just Sanu who copied, says Adnan, several Pakistani singers copied Kishore. He mentions Alamgir, Sheikhi, and Sajjad. Among his all-time Kishore favorites Adnan lists – Zindagi ke safar in Safar and the Aandhi numbers that are best heard in your darkened room, late in the night.

Casablanca in Malayalam

My friend S P Dutt, whose way of staying in touch is by sharing with e-pals interesting items he reads on the web, sent me a Guardian story on the making of a Malayalam movie, Ezham Mudra. The movie, inspired by Casablanca, would have in the lead Suresh Gopi and Mandira Bedi in the roles immortalized by Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.

Director Rajeev Nath, who is scheduled to start shooting in Kerala in September, is reported to have said his film would be a tribute to the original (he has watched it 20 times). Most film goers of today are unlikely to have watched the original to compare Mandira’s performance with Bergman’s.

A notable aspect is that this sad love story, set on a beachfront café in southern India, would play out in the background of Tamil Tigers’ fight against the Sri Lankan authorities. There was an earlier film in Tamil with the militancy in Sri Lanka as its backdrop – Mani Ratnam’s Kannathil Muthamittal.

Copy or inspired, Ezham Mudra raises viewer expectations. For those familiar with the old classic I’ve a question: Which desi name comes to mind at the mention of Ingrid Bergman?
Multiple choice - Mandira/ Monica/Pooja/ none of the foregoing.

Guru Dutt’s cameraman

Cinematographer V K Murthy has in him a book or two; and it is time an enterprising publisher talked to him into writing them. In a recent visit to his native Mysore (Mr Murthy is now settled in Bangalore) the man who shot Guru Dutt’s classics such as Pyaasa, Kagaz ke Phool, and Sahib, Bibi aur Gulam spoke of his life and times with famed director in Bombay.

Mr Murthy who gave up his schooling in Mysore and violin lessons to go to Bombay in search of work in visual media was with Guru Dutt for much of his career. Following the death of the latter Mr Murthy worked with directors such as Pramod Chakraborthy, Shyam Benegal and Govind Nihalani. But Mr Murthy is best known in the film industry for his association with Guru Dutt.

Perhaps, no one else has better credentials to do a definitive biography on the late director. So close to him was Mr Murthy, it is said that every time Guru Dutt had attempted suicide the first call from the director’s household went to Mr Murthy. As he put it, “whenever the call came…I would run to his house and rush him to the hospital”. When it happened the third time Mr Murthy’s efforts failed. Guru Dutt died.

In response to a query whether Kaagaz Ka Phool was autobiogrphical Mr Murthy is reported to have observed, “It looks like that….It almost seems like he rehearsed before actually committing suicide”.