Gautam Kaul
Early last month, the Pakistani news daily Friday Times, gave a surprise to its reader by featuring an essay on an Indian film which for its sweep on nostalgia for its past, has remained unmatched. What was also surprising was the detail in the recall of this film and the newspaper space it was allowed to occupy, which was nearly two third of the full page.
Our film of interest was indeed “Mere Mehboob”.
Made in colour and released in the country in 1963, starring the late Sadhana, Ashok Kumar, Rajendra Kumar, Nimmi, Ameeta, Johnny Walker, Pran at el, directed by H. S. Rawail and supported by excellent camera work by Gian Singh, and music laid out by Naushad , the film is still recalled by its erstwhile youth audience for the ‘Sadhana cut’ hair style and the whole show of Islamic fashion which triggered the interest in the wearing of ghararas, shararas, kamiz and salwars among the women folk both in Muslim and Hindu families. This is not to say the film was full of classical music which filled the slots in the ‘hit parade’ programmes in the country. Once released, the film refused to be pulled out of the release theatres nation wide. Language did not matter. The film still did silver jubilee runs in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Bengal.
What was also most interesting for the feature in Friday Times, was the detailed recall of the whole story of the film and what each artist did in this story. To us across the border, the mention of importance of the non Muslim characters in the family replay was extraordinary. It was as if the original story writer was narrating the film to its main characters and attaching importance. Six decades later this narrative holds more importance to the Pakistani readers and in recall even I think this it is relevant for its present times.
The writer closes his essay with a question, if film Mere Mehboob can be remade in India and seen in Pakistan ?
Attached to this story for me, there is an uncanny coincidence.
Here we are talking of a film nostalgic to the culture of Lucknow and the discussion is from Pakistan, while nearer home we Indians are sort of nostalgic of culture which existed across the border in Lahore !
Both Lahore and Lucknow have been cultural centres for the promotion of arts and crafts. Muslim rulers who occupied their capital cities, preserved the cuisine, and dialogue within the homes in a big way. Even today Lahore fancies itself as a thinking town and no less do the elite of Lucknow consider themselves to be above the rest of the people for their cultural finesse.
Film Mere Mehboob and Heeramandi both abound in Muslim women . The commonality ends here. Heeramandi has only Muslim women playing their parts, when Mere Mehboob has Hindu presence who play important roles in keeping the atmosphere of Hindu- Muslim ittehaad which was so central to the spirit of its time in Nehruvian era. The Pakistani film censors allowed that thought six decades ago; It changed its policy in later times when the film Jodha Akbar appeared before the Pak Censors who frowned on Hindu- Muslim social unity. This film is today banned in Pakistan for the reason it shows Hindu Muslims coexisting at the leadership level sending vibes down the street that it is all proper for members of the two religious communities to sit and even live together.
The situation here is equally changed. Those who made Mere Mehboob are all gone into cinematic history. For quite sometime Hindi cinema has not come up with a film on Hindu Muslim theme after Veer Zaara completed its final run in theatres two decades ago. One hiccup in between, is the family drama of Bajrangi Bhaijan (2015). Theatres today are welcoming rabble rousing films which hint at war across the border. The enemy is now named. Hindi cinema is less romantic. It now speaks the language of muscle power. The sartorial change is also noticeable. There are no ghararas, salwar-kameez for women. Have you heard of any popular songs based on Indian ragas? A R Rehman exists as a solid international personality in Indian music world. And fully trained too in the classical music.
As for Lucknow, the city has changed its colour from Dholpur stone pink to safffron. Its gardens too have become monochrome. Ghararas and shararas are still fighting a rear guard action in fashion parades, but there is hardly a story emerging in the social world when Hindu friends sacrificed their love for their Muslim friends. Any talk of ‘Mohabbat ki kasam…..’ is read as a live jehad call and to be dealt with severely. The Muslim elite which could recreate an environment of Hindu Muslim ittehad, is too ensconced to protect its newly acquired wealth and afraid to risk an experiment to create a better social order.
Can the sentiment of Mere Mehboob or the hope in the essay of Friday Times turned into reality? We believe the first step may need to be taken in Pakistan.
Lately the Pak government sought the revival of trade between the two nations. No. That is not the best way to restart the dialogue between the two nations. Let us start with the lifting the ban on the import into Pakistan of films like Jodha Akbar, and Veer Zaara , invite film delegations and revive the teaching of kathak dance in girl schools. Kathak is traditional to Lucknow and we need the old tahzeeb of this town to visit the people across the border. There cannot be any revival of old trust, when the weapons of friendship are still withheld. We have to build on what ever is left of nostalgia on both side of the fence. The generation which still recalls its past is disappearing and leaving space for a new philosophy of political management. We need to salvage peace before the talk of it vanishes into thin air.
Of course film Mere Mehboob should also be revived in Pakistan. Let us see how this is received among the people.
(The author, senior film critic)
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