An ode to Shaktida
V. GANGADHAR
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He made actors out of stars and films with enduring charm.
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Trendsetter: Shakti Samanta’s Aradhana
Mehboob Khan, V. Shantaram, Bimal Roy and Raj Kapoor are recognised makers of classics. Equally important is the role of Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Shakti Samanta, the Mukherjees of Bombay Talkies and Filmalaya and F.C. Mehra whose films entertained millions of Indians.
Months ago, when I met Shakti Samanta at his office in the once-bustling Nataraj Studio in a Mumbai suburb, he explained: “Yes, I made films to entertain, but they also had a message.” Shaktida, who died last week, aged 83, has left behind a rich legacy of cinema, having made 37 Hindi and six Bengali films. They boosted the careers of stars such as Shammi Kapoor, Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, Asha Parekh, Moushumi Chatterjee and Sharmila Tagore.
Discovering talent
Rajesh Khanna was a star but it was left to two Bengali directors — Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Shakti Samanta — to discover the actor in him. And, Shaktida did this in ‘Aradhana,’ when Rajesh Khanna was a comparative newcomer. It became a cult film and lovers began to address their sweethearts as ‘Sapno ki rani’ based on the famous song in the film!
When Shaktida chose an actor as hero, it indicated the actor had arrived. Look what ‘An Evening in Paris’ and ‘Kashmir ki Kali’ did to Shammi Kapoor, or ‘Aradhana’ to Rajesh Khanna! Actors toed his line because they respected his instinct as director. In the early 1960s, Sharmila Tagore agreed to wear a swimsuit in ‘An Evening in Paris’ despite misgivings, after the director convinced her that in Paris, young women did not enter the water wearing the Bengali sari. Later in her career, Sharmila was once again persuaded by Shaktida to enact a double role in ‘Aradhana,’ where one of the characters was an old woman, all wrinkled. “He was a perfectionist who demanded the best from his actors,” recalls Shammi Kapoor. “He knew the values of budgeting; that was why financiers agreed to provide money for the extensive location shooting for ‘An Evening in Paris’ at a time when most producers shot either inside studios or in Kashmir.”
Moushumi, who starred in his ‘Anuraag,’ explains that Shaktida was taciturn by nature but made it clear to everyone on the set what exactly he wanted.
Burdwan-born Shakti Samanta came to Bombay to join the growing Bengali brigade in the Hindi film industry, and after a stint as teacher, worked as assistant director to the established Bengali directors of the day. ‘Bahu’ (1955) saw him emerge as a full-fledged director, but he was not satisfied till he had full control over his films. That led to his first independent production, the slick crime thriller, ‘Howrah Bridge,’ which sizzled with Madhubala’s charm, Helen’s sex appeal and O.P. Nayyar’s foot-tapping music. He opted for suave villains (such as K.N. Singh), who struck terror with just the lifting of the eyebrow!
‘Inspector,’ ‘Jaali Note’ and ‘Chinatown,’ all crime thrillers, completed the first stage of Shaktida’s contribution to Hindi cinema. Very good at sniffing trends, he switched to romance embellished with outstanding musical scores. With ‘Aradhana,’ came other tearjerkers, ‘Kati Patang’ and ‘Amar Prem.’ Emotions were expressed in the raw, audiences shed copious tears and went away humming the songs.
Melody rules
Be it Shankar-Jaikishan, O.P. Nayyar or R.D. Burman, Shaktida got the best out of his music directors. “No one looked at the clock or wanted to leave while the music was being composed in my films,” Shaktida once said. “Pancham (R.D. Burman) came to the sets as early as 9 a.m., and would not leave for 12-14 hours. Every song was a labour of love.”
The 1980s saw changes in Bollywood. Shaktida could not recapture his earlier magic with the Rajesh Khanna films ‘Awaaz’ and ‘Alag Alag’ though the Uttam Kumar-starrer ‘Amanush’ (in Hindi and Bengali) was a decent hit. Filmmaking had become too expensive, stars were demanding astronomical fee, everyone wanted action-oriented films and Shaktida decided to retreat.
But, his links with the industry continued — he became chief of the Censor Board. He was a respected elder statesman at film functions. His son did some work in Bengali films, but Shaktida’s dreams to launch his grandson in Hindi films were not fulfilled.
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