Sucheta Dasgupta

Kathmandu:

“I never give myself a chance to get depressed. I think ahead.” He has been variously fetéd as the evergreen octogenarian, the Peter Pan of Bollywood and the grand old man of Indian cinema. A living legend in his own right, his contributions to the Hindi film industry - ‘Guide (1965),’ ‘Baazi (1951),’Jaal (1952),’ ‘Jewel Thief (1967)’ and ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1971)’ - are numerous and remarkable. (Many members of the older generations here in the capital still swear by this last named film as do many others in his own home nation who make it a point to include it in their narrative whenever they think or speak of Nepal.)

Anand, who’s currently putting up at Hyatt Regency, Kathmandu and flies for India tomorrow, is being honoured with the Nepal Film Excellence Award, to be conferred on him by His Majesty King Gyanendra Bikram Shah Dev during the First National Film Festival at the BICC on Sunday. Here’s a take on Nepal, films and philosophy from one of the first and the brightest stars on celluloid in the east.

You have made at least two films - ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’ and ‘Ishq, Ishq, Ishq’ - that were shot in Nepal. Do you share any special bonding with this country, its culture and its people? Or was it just a coincidence?

Well, it is a bit of both. Of course, I share a bonding. I am a motion picture maker and, believe you me, motion picture making is one hell of an adventure! I have been a friend of the Late King Mahendra, father of the present king, and have stayed here as guest of the palace at his coronation as well as during his wedding. When I was here in the very early 1970’s, the hippie movement, as we now call it, was at its peak. I met a young woman on whom I wrote the story of ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna.’ I then got a crew of 80 and made the movie on location in two-and-a-half months flat. Nepal, with its incredible natural beauty and its culture and its people, definitely played a very large role in the film. If you watch the film carefully, you will see how the common people have been featured in the film and how they have helped it come alive. Swayambhu, Bhaktapur, Kasthamandap, Pashupati, the old Bakery Café have all been used as backdrops…

‘Ishq, Ishq, Ishq (1974),’ where I recast Zeenat Aman, was shot in Pokhara and involved treks to Thangloach. It was also made on location, involving shooting at 14,000 feet. I have myself also trekked upto Namche Bazaar. It’s a lovely trek. Many of my companions developed headaches and nausea which they ascribed to altitude sickness.

Would you like to make one more film on Nepal? If so, what’d be its subject?

I would love to make a film on Nepal. Who knows I might end up setting my next film in Nepal? That’s what traveling is for and meeting people. That’s how ideas mutate and are generated. What will come out of this visit you never know.

What are your plans in the immediate future?

I have made a film called ‘Mr Prime Minister,’ due for release internationally. It is a satire based wholly on Indian politics. It’s a story that has a strong reflection on our political system and values. The film is shot entirely in the earthquake-ravaged Bhachau in Gujarat. I want all to see to it and comment on it. I am a free man in a free country and I have made this film, one that, I am sure, will find interested viewers in any democratic set-up anywhere in the world. My next film is called ‘Beauty Queen.’

Your own banner, ‘Navketan’ has been responsible for creating many legends among stars and directors like Guru Dutt, Vijay Anand, Waheeda Rehman, Zeenat Aman and Tina Munim. You have yourself been known as an avid and accurate talentspotter. Are you on a talent hunt here in Nepal?

Well, I am, as a matter of fact, casting three fresh faces in ‘Beauty Queen.’ They are three singers, two girls and a boy. I have found one girl and one boy, one more girl remains to be cast. Who knows if I may find her here?

What is your opinion of the Nepalese film industry?

There is nothing to stop Nepal from making really good cinema. I like all the younger actors. In fact, youth is one of the strong points of this industry.

How has Nepal changed over the years?

In 30 years, the whole world changes. There definitely has been a lot of development and growth.

What is your message to the youth and film lovers in Nepal?

Do not fritter away your energies. Construct, build… Belong to the world, belong to society, belong to yourselves. Film buffs should be happy now that the time has come when Nepal has started making motion pictures in considerable numbers. And once it has started doing so, there is nothing to stop it from making good pictures worth watching, remembering and talking about.

What is the philosophy that sustains your incredible zest for life?

I am a thinking person. I am an ideas man. I have spent 60 years in the motion picture business. It is my creativity that keeps me alive.