Class apart

There was a time,when during just a walk through the FTII campus,one would witness a group of students sitting around the teacher,religiously listening to his views on practically all aspects of filmmaking. And the frequency of the so-called ‘wisdom tree meetings’ might have shrunk in the recent years,but it is those same meetings that have been burnished in the memories of countless students of Nakhate’s. “I was a regular at Nakhate Sir’s discussions under the wisdom tree in FTII. I would call him an encyclopedia of films. Be it direction,cinematography,acting or any other aspect of cinema,for us,he is the final authority on any topic related to films. Even otherwise,an interaction with him is like a chain reaction that triggers discussions on countless other topics in the world,” says Deepak Menon,cinematography student at the FTII.

“He is one person with whom I can discuss anything and everything related to films. I feel proud of the fact that in this ever-changing world,he is a constant,an interaction with whom opens up various facets of a concept,” says Umesh Kulkarni,director,Valu.

And it is the same constant that has changed the equations of many around him. Narrating one such experience,Chandrashekhar Joshi,film research officer,FTII adds,“I remember,once I had gone to him with a list of ‘good’ films that I wanted to watch. Keeping the list aside,he advised me to watch films without a preconceived notion. It not only changed my approach towards watching films but also helped me throughout my work as a research officer.”

But the man himself,it seems,prefers to make a place in students’ hearts than be vocal about his philosophy. “The role of a teacher is to propagate his knowledge to his students and yet not affect their thought flow. And on similar lines,the ones to talk about me should be my students and not me,” says Nakhate politely,content to let his work do the talking.