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Journalism of Courage
Pandit Dattatraya Vishnu Paluskar was legendary musician Pandit Vishnu Digambar Paluskar’s eleventh son the only one to have survived and carry forth his father’s mantle. In his short lifetime of 34 years (1921-1954), he became a name to reckon with in Hindustani classical music and scored a volume of brilliant compositions, including Mahatma Gandhi’s favourite prayer Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram. Sadly, not much is known about Pandit Paluskar today…
… this is a story told and retold many a time… a story many have grown up with… and which ad film-maker and cinematographer Bashir Ali (of Refugee fame) knew he would make a documentary film on, one day. After five years of several visits to Pandit Paluskar’s ancestral house in Pune, documentation of his life in Nashik, Mumbai and Delhi and a bitter experience of recording reminisces of those who knew Paluskar, Ali made Pratidhwani (Echoes).
This 30-minute, 16mm film in English features Pandit Ravi Shankar, Pandit Paluskar’s classmate Pandit Vinay Chandra Maudgalay, music director, Naushad Ali and music critic Mohan Nadkarni. And it turned out to be an expensive experience, for “I had to spend from my pocket as well,†says Ali, about working on a shoestring budget (which came in installments) of Rs 1.5 lakh from Gandharv Mahavidyalaya in Delhi.
Apart from the money crunch, Ali had to “go through hell†in getting appointments with the musicians who knew Pandit Paluskar. The film-maker had to go to Delhi thrice to record Pandit Ravi Shankar’s introduction to the film, where he talks about the philosophy of classical music. “Appointment with Pandit Ravi Shankar was getting postponed for one reason or the other. But since his views were crucially intrinsic to the film, I stationed in the capital city for 15 days, coming back to Mumbai only after it was all recorded,†recalls Ali.
If such was the determination, the work shows. Naushad Ali, who had recorded Pandit Paluskar with Ustad Amir Khan in Baiju Bawra, pays homage to the genius in glowing words. Expressing his sorrow over Pandit Paluskar’s death at the young age of 34, Naushad says: Chal diya woh us jahan ko gata hua/Apne geeton se is jahan ko rulata hua (He left for another world singing/And this world is weeping for him and his music). Ali, who involved his whole family for the documentary (mother Zenab designed the costumes, while sister Ruksana helped inproduction), is dismayed at the attitude of government agencies towards films on “unsung heroesâ€. “When I approached DD to get the documentary screened, the channel offered me Rs 50,000.
This when the print itself cost Rs 27,000. So, I am not selling it to DD. It will be shown in the Panorama section of International Film Festival to be held in New Delhi later this year,†he laments, adding: “I am disenchanted with DD’s insensitivity towards films on our cultural icons. My film is far better than the rubbish they show day in and day out.â€
Starting with Lintas as an apprentice in 1981, Ali worked with ad film-makers duo Sumantro Ghoshal and Pooh Sayani for sometime. Later he worked with Ishan Arya, the celebratedcinematographer who shot films such as M S Sathyu’s Garam Hawa. “Arya made me a cinematographer. It is during working with him that I learnt that the cameraman is the king during film-making,†he says. Ever since, Ali has made more than 200 ad films. Notable among them are: Pepsodent, Sony TV, Citizen Watches, Fem Liquid soap with Mahima Chaudhary as model and Citibank.
He got a break as a cinematographer in Muzaffar Ali’s under-production Zooni. Then came Tinu Anand’s two filmsEk Hindustani and Major Sahab. But the film which established him and earned him rave reviews was J P Dutta’s Refugee. Critics might have panned the film, but they lauded its cinematography. “Refugee was shot in a barren location, minus any modulation. It is easier to shoot in the snow-capped mountains of Switzerland than in the desert of Rajasthan. My only regret is that the film didn’t do well, despite a good story and scintillating cinematography,†Ali says.
Ali’s quick to add, “Camera’s visuals define a film’s story. And we succeeded in doing this in Refugee, which got appreciation even from film-maker Deepa Mehta.â€
Ali has also signed with Ripple Entertainment which, in combination with Sony Tristar Columbia, is producing two Hindi films. And does he plan any other biopic on a musician? “For now, I am looking for windows to take this documentary to the masses. I want the new generation to know about an icon like Pandit Paluskar who has left such a rich legacy. It will take sometime before I decide to make a documentary on any other personality from the music world,†he says.
