The thought of selecting ten movies that shaped thinking process came to
my mind while I was noting down my favorite books. I have to admit after books,
movies are my food for thought. All the movies I have enlisted here cannot be called
the greatest movies of all time by everyone, but they seems to have affected, inspired,
encouraged, me the person and all the bizarre thoughts that engulfs me most of
the time.
Now I am a lazy bone, if I plan to write about 10 movies in one blog I
could never finish the project due to pressure in the day to day life and
change in my interest.
1.Gandhi
:
It was 1983 or may be 82, one of my early memories of going to movie hall
and watching a movie was that of Gandhi. It was turmoil time for my states and
ordinary life was frequently halted by various kinds of Bandhs. It was one such
bandhs in those days we walked to the cinema hall –should be it was Apsara to
see the movie –Gandhi. At the same time posters of then super hit movie –Disco
Dancer was also displayed in the hall and my mind wanted to see –Disco dancer
only. But we were forced to see Gandhi.
I have vivid memory of few scenes in the movie hall -like the Jallianwala bagh massacare, or Om Puri
the angry rioter throwing a roti to Gandhi and appealing him to give up fast
the Raghupati Raghab raja ram at the end.
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| Face of Om Puri that I can not forget |
After that I have watched the movie n number of times, in many
independence days, Republic Days, Gandhi Jayanti this movie frequents television
channels even now.
Every time I watch the movie I go through a spectrum of positive thought
process, many times it is about Indian History, many times about the communal
feud we have, many time about perfect cinematic representation of something
that actually occurred not in a distant time from today.
Later on when I was working on my original play –‘A German Dream' in 2000,
I felt the pain this great man had undergone while searching truth. That
feeling is a life changing event and may be the seed of this change was
implanted by this great Richard Altenburg film.
I had traveled a lot to feel the smell of the place where Gandhi left his
foot print, or may be to research about things I wrote and while visiting those
places scenes from Attengorg’s Gandhi came to my mind as if I was present there
when history was shaping up.
As in when I was Jallianwala bagh I could hear the crying baby near
the maut kakuwa(Myter’s well ) , I could
hear a angry mad rioter shouting at Gandhi at the Hydari house at 26 balighata road ,Calcutta ,or in Sevagram I could perceive
how could he virtually run the country from a faraway village n Maharashtra. Same is feeling evrytime I visit Rajghat or the Birla mandir in Delhi.
At that time budget of the film created a lot of controversy , some said
with this budged –indian Government could have produce ten movies but as the final
product was out ,the product silenced most of the query that was circulating in
the media.
When the curator –Sir Richard Altenburg died, just a few days ago various
article surfaced about his life long effort to make this movie a reality .26
years of patients and hard work is not a small thing at all. It may be a
example of patience and pursuance to any people in the age of restlessness we
are in today.
And now I lough at the thought that one day I preferred 'Disco Dancer' over Gandhi
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| I wanted to watch Disco Dancer over Gandhi |
