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Welcome back Mr. Ghose!

MINI ANTHIKAD-CHHIBBER

Renowned director Goutam Ghose returns to Hyderabad 26 years after `Ma Bhoomi's' spectacular success to make `Yatra.'

JOURNEYMAN Sarathi Studios holds a special place in Goutam Ghose's heart having dubbed his first film here. Photo: Satish. H

Goutam Ghose is no stranger to Hyderabad, for 26 years ago; he made his feature film debut with Ma Bhoomi, a film that went on to become a smash hit. "I have very fond memories of the city," the renowned director says with a smile.

In town for a screening of his films organised by the Hyderabad Film Club, Ghose said Sarathi Studios also has a special place in his heart as "I did all my dubbing and even shot a few scenes here."

And now Ghose is returning to the city with "Yatra, a film about a writer who goes on a journey with his characters - past and present. The film stars Nana Patekar, Rekha and Deepti Naval and I start shooting on November 1 in Hyderabad and RFC."

While making a film about a writer is difficult visually, Ghose, who wears many hats - director cinematographer, composer and editor, says he "likes the challenge and a writer juggles the real, the unreal and the surreal."

Talking about how Ma Bhoomi came to be, Ghose says, "The producers saw my work and asked about making a film in Hyderabad. Around that time I was reading Kishen Chander's Jab Khet Jaage about the Telangana uprising of 1940s. I thought it would be a good subject to make a film. But there was a language problem. I felt I could make a film in Bengali or Hindi or even English but not in Telugu, as I did not know the language. But if we need to reach the common man, then the film would have to be in Telugu so I wrote the script in English and it was transcreated - I will not say translated - into the local Telangana dialect."

"We were so naïve then, we just jumped into the project without a thought of the difficulties. We were very young. I am sure if we had any idea of the problems, we would not leapt in so blithely. There was no money and shooting was delayed because of finances but all was worth it when it was released on March 23, 1980 and went on to become this huge hit - it ran in Sudarshan for a year."

While Ghose has met with critical acclaim since for his movies like Paar and more recently Abar Arannye, he says, "I will always love Ma Bhoomi. It is like first love that one never forgets." Abar Arannye, Ghose's last feature was released two years ago and Ghose says the reason for the long break is, "I need to be inspired and also between 2003 and 2005 I made two long documentaries — on Jyoti Basu (Jyoti Basu Shonge) and the Dalai Lama (Impermanence)."

Ghose does not "distinguish between features and documentaries. The inspiration is the same. In a feature, actors act out my script. In a documentary, my subjects are still acting. Not everything is on candid camera so I would not say Naseeruddin Shah is a better actor than Bismillah Khan."

Ghose, who loves to travel by road for "the ever changing frames," enjoys making documentaries for the learning opportunities it offers. "I love to know things about the world. The cross-fertilisation of cultures is very important in today's world marked as it is by the clash of civilisations."

Documentaries, Ghose feels has, "a niche market. They should be shown to students. Multiplexes might help. For instance Meeting a Milestone (on Bismillah Khan) had a theatrical release in Calcutta. It is the responsibility of the government to encourage documentaries." Voices in a documentary "depend on the subject. In Impermanence I used commentary to create links while in Meeting... it was mainly a dialogue with hardly any voice over."

Ghose, whose Abar Aranye takes off from where Satyajit Ray's Aranyer Din Ratri ended, does not look very kindly on the remake or sequel trend. "Abar... is not a sequel in the strictest sense of the word. The film is set in a different context, in a different time. There is no need for remakes as India is a treasure trove of ideas. The reason for this rash of remakes is because everyone wants to play safe. The paucity of ideas is because mainstream film people are alienated from the learning process."

Ghose is of the opinion that unless man gets in touch with his "spiritual (and I do not mean religious) self, the world is headed for annihilation." Wannabe filmmakers "should follow their conviction and not look on documentaries as a stepping stone to features."

He should know, who has effortlessly straddled the two worlds.

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