The enduring magic of cinema in India

Despite my belonging to the 'biradari' of the film community, I once had the unpleasant experience of being on the wrong side, when I organised a series of surprise raids on theatres as Deputy Commissioner Commercial Taxes in Kurnool in 1975. No shows were on for over six weeks in both Kurnool and Anantapur districts, until a senior official arrived from Hyderabad, and brokered peace between me and the exhibitors/distributors. It was during those days that, on the New Year's Eve, one had to go to Bellary, in the neighbouring state, in order to watch a movie!

While I was serving as the Chief Secretary to the government of (the then) Andhra Pradesh, I was asked by 'megastar' Chiranjeevi to inaugurate the website that had been constructed for his well-known blood bank. I had known Chiranjeevi earlier as his father had served in the excise department of which I was the Commissioner sometime earlier. During the function, one of the invitees asked me whether I recalled my acting days with fondness. I had to tell him that, in my current assignment, I was having to act much more than I had ever done before!

I remember the occasion when, some 20 friends of mine and I went to watch the runaway hit film of the 1960s, 'Come September', in Regal theatre in New Delhi. As we planned earlier, we sat in a semicircular formation, covering four rows. We, would laugh out aloud, when a serious scene was on, and make sympathetic clucking sounds, when something funny was being shown!

It is not always necessary to go to a theatre to watch a movie. These days one has the facility of having a DVD player at home or, if one is able to afford it, even a home theatre. Film personalities sometimes organise special screenings of, select films, in a studio meant for exclusive audiences. The well-known Telugu film comedian AVS once arranged such a special screening for the members of my family, some friends of mine and I.

It has been ages since I watched a movie in a cinema hall. I do remember, however, that there used to be four shows in a day and, especially on Sundays, the late morning show usually screened a currently popular Hollywood movie. One distinct memory which I have, is of having watched the unforgettable '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea' three times in a row on the same day! That was at Leela Mahal in Vijayawada one of those theatres which almost exclusively screened only Hollywood movies.

Movies were screened on screens of different sizes. 16 mm for domestic entertainment at home, 35mm in cinema halls and, later on 70mm. Over time technology improved, and new developments took place, such as cinemascope movies and movies in colour (usually technicolour or gevacolour).

It was a common practice in the early days of for seating in cinema halls to be divided horizontally and vertically. Women sat on one side. The men's section had hierarchical seating with people seated on the floor, on chairs, on comfortable sofas, or even in 'boxes' in what was called a 'Dress Circle', usually in the first floor.

The cine field, especially in India, produced many successful political leaders who swayed the electorate with their charisma and charm. While first MGR and then Jayalalithaa in Tamil Nadu were undisputed monarchs of the parties that they led, NTR in Andhra Pradesh was no less. M. Karunanidhi who was the Chief Minister for a long time, was a famous scriptwriter.

People such as Sunil Dutt, Rajesh Khanna and Vinod Khanna also played important roles in the political arena. Ronald Reagan was one such rare case in the USA. In India, especially in the South, successful actors and movies are often classified as 'mass' or 'class' depending on the category of audience to whose taste they are known to cater to.

Cine actors usually specialise in playing different roles such as heroes, heroines, comedians and villains. Some, rare cases, however, unusually acquire the tag of being 'character actors' for being able to portray roles of many types including almost contradictory characters. S V Ranga Rao and Gummadi are two well-known names that spring to mind in this context as far as the Telugu screen is concerned.

The one and only Ashok Kumar was simply the best in that category as far as the Bombay filmdom goes. It's quite common, also, for very successful and well-known actors and actresses to appear in short cameo roles, in some pictures, as 'guest artistes'.

It takes many experts from various fields of the cinema arena to produce a successful film.

Apart from the producer who invests the money, to the director who is the creator of the entire enterprise, the actors and the actresses, important contributions are also made by the person who writes the plot, the scriptwriter, (who also has to put down in detail clear instructions for the actors about their gestures and dialogue delivery). In other words, cinematography becomes the medium for converting into action the words and ideas contained in the story.

Cinematographers play an important role in ensuring that the work of the camera crew is translated effectively into the final print. The music director the 'playback' singers whose voices we hear (with the lip movement being given by the actors on the screen), the director of dances, the cameraman and, especially in action films, the one who is known as the 'stunt' director.

Editors play a very crucial role in the manner in which the final product comes out through efficient conversion of raw footage into smooth flowing scenes. The storywriter, the scriptwriter and director, together, work towards the objective of constructing the entire movie around the concept which is intended to the audience the fundamental message of the entire story.

It was very common in the early days of cinema for many actors also to be great crooners with the result that they sang their own songs in the movie. Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin in Hollywood, Kishore Kumar in Bollywood, Bhanumathi and S P Balasubrahmanyam in the Telugu movie field are almost household names.

Bob Hope was a great entertainer of yesteryear. He portrays the role of a film critic in one of his movies, 'The Critics' Choice', in which he writes a review for a movie which, after narrating the plot, the names of everyone from their director to the camera man, ends with the comment, "produced 'by mistake'!".

I remember accompanying NTR to the Akashvani studio at Hyderabad, to record a message to the people of Andhra Pradesh state for the Independence Day. Much to the chagrin and discomfiture of the studio staff, NTR managed to convert a relatively simple task into a mammoth and marathon production. He took all of two hours to finalise a10- minute piece.

(The writer is former Chief Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh) 

(The opinions expressed in this column are those of the writer. The facts and opinions expressed here do not reflect the views

of The Hans India)