The `Sikandar' of them all!
ZIYA US SALAM
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IFFI-2006 prepares to pay a tribute to Prithviraj Kapoor, the most handsome man of his generation, a patriarch to the Kapoor clan, and pioneer in everything he did.
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He probably invented the technique of emoting with the back to the camera. SHASHI KAPOOR
THE MILESTONES Scenes from "Kal Aaj Aur Kal" where he shared screen space with son Raj Kapoor and grandson Randhir Kapoor, "Mughal-e-Azam" and "Sikandar".
Many, many summers ago when Bashesharnath's son, Prithviraj, arrived in tinsel town, he wanted to see the sea. In 1928 he hired a public transport vehicle to experience the calmness, the depth of the waters. He wanted to conquer the world. Now, in 2006, at the other end of the same Arabian Sea, the who's who of the world of cinema gather for a Prithviraj Retrospective at the International Film Festival of India in Goa. Then, the patriarch of the first family of Hindi cinema knew nobody in films. Today, as "Mughal-e-Azam" is screened at IFFI-2006, there is not a soul at the gathering who does not swear by his cinema. Some talk of "Sikandar", some of "Cinema Girl", some of "Manzil". Yet almost 100 years after he was born - November 3, 1906 - the world remembers the Peshawar Pathan with fondness, awe and respect.
His youngest son, Shashi Kapoor, no mean star himself in the 1970s, inaugurated the festival. And took some time out to talk of the man universally regarded as the most handsome of his generation, and in many ways the precursor to the bent-on-bodybuilding brigade of Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Sunny Deol and others. There was just a little difference though - Prithviraj went to Hanuman akharas, the current generation does it all in the gyms.
Says Shashi, who was barely out of his diapers when his dad's "Sikandar" was made in 1940 — this tale of the exploits of the Macedonian conqueror was released a year later — "This retrospective, hopefully, will help in putting into perspective the works of the man. It will help to see his achievements in the light of the era he represented."
First talkie
Incidentally, Prithviraj Kapoor was part of the first talkie of Hindi cinema, Ardeshir Irani's "Alam Ara" way back in 1931. He starred as the father of the heroine Zubeidaa. And much before the talkie, he had become the talking point of the film world with his handsome features, stout body and fair complexion in scores of silent movies. Those were either mythologicals or action flicks, both of which utilised his double-barrel chest and Greek god looks.
Says Shashi, "He was a very handsome man, a very attractive man. He scored in every department. He was a good father, a good dramatist, a good hero, a good filmmaker."
What he forgets to add is that he had a booming voice that was to stand him in good stead in all the period films he did - "Sikandar", "Mughal-e-Azam", "Sikandar-e-Azam". In the first, he was Alexander or Sikandar, in the last, made 30 years later in 1971, he was to play Porus, Sikandar's Indian rival! Incidentally, he also starred in Debaki Bose's "Seeta" in 1934. It was India's first entry to the Venice Film Festival!
Talking about the way he shaped Hindi cinema in the early years with the likes of A.R. Kardar, V. Shantaram, J.J. Madan and P.C. Barua, Shashi says, "He was among the first actors to break the conventional rules of theatrical projection. Be it theatre or films, he did it all his way. He used to be completely involved in the character he played. He would don the make-up carefully much before the shot. He probably invented the technique of emoting with the back to the camera. In `Mughal-e-Azam', he did it so effectively in those confrontation scenes with Dilip Kumar. He could emote with his hands, with his fist, his shoulders, everything."
In K. Asif's film, which was turned into a colour film a couple of years ago, there was a long shot where the camera focussed on Dilip Kumar, the visual of Prithviraj Kapoor being restricted to his ample shoulders and back. However, the latter managed to convey the fury of a scorned emperor by closing and banging his fist.
Though he did not have such a good time on the screen in the 1960s, Prithviraj Kapoor, who as a boy lit the family lamps every evening - there was no electricity - had done enough by then to keep the family torch burning for generations, a bond that started with "Alam Ara" and has continued right up to "Omkara", starring his great-granddaughter Kareena Kapoor, which too is scheduled to be screened at IFFI.
The biggest legacy
Yet as the festival prepares to renew the bond with the man responsible for films like "Dahej", "Asman Mahal", "Anandmath", "Pardesi" and "Kal, Aaj aur Kal", among the nearly 130 films he did, Shashi insists his biggest legacy has to be theatre. He was the founding father of Prithivi Theatres. "It ran for 16 years during his time, and has been running for another 28 years with Sanjana (Shashi's daughter) managing the show."
Shashi, still a charmer, allows himself a moment of emotional truth. "Without Prithvi Theatre it is not possible to speak of Prithviraj Kapoor. His contribution to cinema was just as immense."
"He was a pioneer", is how Shashi Kapoor sums up the man, saying, "IFFI is going to screen `Sikandar' and I am very much looking forward to it." And come Tuesday there is sure going to be a sea of humanity at INOX Theatre to catch up with Prithviraj Kapoor's film. It will indeed be a fitting tribute to the man who as a little boy screamed his lungs out at the sea. That was to test his voice. This is the hallmark of success.
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