A slice of history in hand

If its difficult to recreate those times, the recently-launched website prabhatfilm.com offers assistance. Documenting the history of the studio, the site offers a glimpse into the world of cinema as it existed in all its hues of glamour then. But, a more personal account of the way things were, is given by Anantrao Damle, son of the legendary Vishnupant. With cinema in his blood, Anantrao vividly recalls those days when he had a ringside view of the action under the spotlights:

quot;One of our primary activities of recreation as kids was a visit to the Prabhat Studio 8211; be it here in Pune or prior to that, in Kolhapur. And these offered a close glimpse of what happened during the filming 8211; the efforts involved, the bonhomie on the sets and camaraderie shared by the artistes. It was a very homely atmosphere then. Everybody would chip in to do everything. There was no cut-throat competition and people had no qualms about doing whatever work was on hand. Like one of the stars 8212; Ulhas. He was the hero in one film. In the next film, Manoos he chipped in as a policeman. Why, some of the make-up artistes I particularly remember one called Paranjape would first ready the actors, and then dab the warpaint on themselves to mingle as extras8217; whenever needed!

Punctuality was the hallmark of those shooting schedules. At the very stroke of 9.30 a.m., the three bosses would be at the studios. Even then, in the mid-30s, the workers had a time-card to punch in their arrival time. The seniors would sign a muster in the accounts department.

In fact, the opening and closing hours of the studio were the only times when this area would see some kind of traffic. Till some of the staff had their own bungalows around, there weren8217;t any houses either. Even today, one can see where the trio of Shantaram, Damle and Fatehlal lived. Then the studio guest house came up, for the convenience of the artistes who would come on a contract basis. Shanta Apte, Durga Khote, Dev Anand, Rehman, Guru Dutt 8211; all familiar faces here. Most importantly, only one film would be made at a time, and so everybody would be involved in the venture. Of course, there were no elaborate muharats or the fanfare associated with shooting these days 8211; not even crowds! Just ready the set, and can the shot. In fact, the sets were also elaborately carpentered at the studio. The one for Amrut Manthan was the first I saw, and then there was the one for Chandasena 8211; a water world.

However, from the mid-40s things were on the decline. Financial disaster struck. V.Shantaram quit. Vishnupant died. Once the firm footing was lost, the glory soon faded, and eventually, the studio packed up around 1953. After three years, it was bought by S H Kelkar from Mumbai, who continued to run it till about 1961, when it was taken over to be converted into the Film Institute. The films were bought by a person named Mudliar from Chennai. He was interested in watching films like Sant Tukaram and Ram Shastri. He may have wished to dub them in Tamil, but it didn8217;t work out. When I approached him around 1960, it was an easy deal. Insisting that it was a part of our heritage to be preserved, he said the rightful owner should have it. And the 31 titles are now with me 8211; a most valuable possession, a slice of history that8217;s not just mine personally, but ours collectively too.8221;