The views expressed in this column are the individualu2019s and donu2019t represent those of the paper Letu2019s talk about Bombay Talkies D irector Franz Ozten, being German, clearly had a tough time getting a hang of Hindi. Except Osten is responsible for the most internationally acclaimed/ loved Indian films through his career u2014 what with the silent classics The Light Of Asia ( 1925), Shiraz ( 1928), A Throw Of Dice ( 1929), let alone talkies like Acchut Kanya ( 1936) that are still talked about in glowing terms.
On the set, he called out to him by his middle name, u201c Mr Kumar.u201d Hearing this, Rai got a brainwave, and he decided to change the herou2019s last name for good, to the casteless Kumar. He thought this would go down better with his ethnically diverse audience.
But what the text on stage does though, while on occasion being fuzzy on history, is reveal sides of Devika Raniu2019s story that canu2019t help but fascinate you into reading and learning more. Which is what Iu2019ve been doing of late u2014 chiefly from Mihir Boseu2019s deeply anecdotal book, Bollywood: A History.
Rai had managed to get Rani back, though their marriage remained on the rocks. He insisted on pairing Rani with Ashok Kumar u2014 knowing that this nondescript good- looking boy, trained in law, with no actorial aspirations, working as a production assistant, wanting to be a director, would pose no sexual threat! That Kumar subsequently became Bollywoodu2019s first freelance star, with the eventual decline of the studio system u2014 where everyone, from the spot boy to the hero, would be on monthly salaries u2014 deserves a study/ historical of its own, with so much contemporary relevance.
Who brought Ashok Kumar, born in Bhagalpur, Bihar, into Bombay Talkies? His brother- in- law Sashadhar Mukherjee, a physicist by training.
Look around Bollywood, youu2019re surrounded by Mukherjeeu2019s current progeny u2014 Kajol, Rani Mukherjee, director Ayan Mukherjee, etc.
At the centre of Dubeyu2019s play is, of course, Devika Rani u2014 educated in England; interned with the likes of Fritz Lang and Merlene Dietrich in Germany; a fine actor and stunner by all accounts on- screen, with brains and tenacity to match u2014 steering Bombay Talkies, a joint stock company/ studio with a R25 lakh corpus fund that she co- founded with her husband Rai.
Where was Bombay Talkies? In Malad. There was nothing there.
And which effectively explains why the Hindi film industry eventually moved in that north- west direction, having flourished in South Bombay, pre- independence.
What is Bombay Talkiesu2019 significance, besides a 40- film roster, including the Kumar- Rani starrer Kismet ( 1943), which held the longest run in a theatre up until Sholay ( 1975)? The fact that Rai as a producer envisioned international co- productions back in the 1930s with distribution plans in the West.
Dubeyu2019s play ( starring Ira Dubey as Devika Rani, and Joy Sengupta as Himanshu Rai) starts with the post- premiere shebang of the Indo- British bi- lingual Karma ( 1933) in London, where the local press simply canu2019t get enough of Rani. Again, true story.
That the film back then had the longest kiss on screen, lasting four to five minutes, tells you of an unusually permissive space that Rani inhabited u2014 determined to be her own person, and indeed a star on her own terms u2014 while the society, in general, looked down upon acting as a profession for men, and equated the field to prostitution for women.
Dubeyu2019s Devika Rani, which I totally recommend for Hindi film and history buffs, does ignite interest in her life and times. Of a world of Bombay Talkies that employed writers, technicians and assistants from leading Indian universities, based on personal interviews, attracting the likes of Khwaja Ahmed Abbas and Saadat Hasan Manto.
Who was Raniu2019s greatest find, though? She met this guy in Nainital, while heu2019d gone there to shop for fruits for his fatheru2019s business.
She had him over at Bombay Talkies and asked him four questions u2014 if he could act, if he wanted to act, if he smoked, and if he spoke Urdu.
That gentleman was Mohammad Yusuf Khan.
She named him Dilip Kumar and offered him his first film as lead actor in Jwar Bhata ( 1944). Who worked as assistant on Jwar Bhata? Raj Kapoor.
None of this is in the play, of course; but the story of Himanshu Rai, Devika Rani, Bombay Talkies, and all that stayed and followed seriously deserves a film/ series.
No story mirrors the history of Hindi films as much as the one Lillette Dubey captures in her play, Devika Rani! Mayank Shekhar attempts to make sense of mass culture. He tweets @ mayankw14 Send your feedback to mailbag@ mid- day. com ( Clockwise from L) Ira Dubey as Devika Rani; Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani. FILE PICs Mayank Shekhar MS Word
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