Hussain's secret affair
The making of Gaja Gamini, on the sets with the painter-director

Vinita Ramchandani

The doorkeeper outside Floor I Mehboob Studio in Mumbai is adamant. "I can't let you in," he says firmly. When the door is opened briefly to let someone out all that one can see is a wall of plywood.

Husain with Mohan Agashe and cinematographer Ashok Mehta

The security man guffaws in satisfaction. The wall has been apparently built there to prevent curious onlookers from having a glimpse of what is going on.

And what is going on is the making of Gaja Gamini, the Madhuri Dixit-inspired film being directed by M.F. Husain. When one finally wheedles oneself into the studio, the set painted in bright yellow takes the breath away. It is on the banks of the Ganga in Varanasi with its temple silhouettes and the steps that run up to the water's edge. Sitting on the steps are two sadhus dressed in black.

On a crane that slowly moves upward sits ace cinematographer Ashok Mehta, his eyes glued to the camera as he closes in on actor Inder Malhotra. Walking restlessly is the barefoot Husain. The scene is "cut" and he hurries to a makeshift television studio to watch the replay. After peering anxiously at the screen he announces that a certain word has not been pronounced properly. The scene is painstakingly shot again.

Clad in a white striped shirt, beige trousers and beige jacket, Husain sits as if transfixed, his eyes focussed on the actors. The only sign of nervousness seen is the way he keeps grasping his three-foot-long paintbrush which he uses almost like a walking stick.

There are other big names in the project, Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah, Ashish Vidyarthi, FTII director Mohan Agashe, Farida Jalal, Shilpa Shirodkar and an actress from Mysore, Kalpana Pandit. Assisting Husain on the technical aspects are Ashok Mehta and K. Mohan, head of department of make-up at FTII. The music score is Rabindranath Tagore's Abhisarika and the songs will be composed by Bhupen Hazarika. The costumes and the set creation are by well-known designer Sharmishta Roy.

Husain first painted the entire film on canvas. The canvas, he says, is 250 feet long. Then he wrote the script in which each shot is explained in words and in paintings.

Cajoling Husain to let The Week's photographer shoot him on the sets is met with a firm �No'. "There are chances that somebody will rob my concept. I can't hazard that risk," he says apologetically. He has, however, entrusted a photographer to shoot stills which will be used in an exhibition titled, The Making of Gaja Gamini.

Gaja Gamini will be first released abroad in September. In India, Husain plans to release it first in Calcutta, where according to him, "art is alive and appreciated".

Widening the canvas: Madhuri Dixit

How does Husain feel about his new role behind the camera? "This is not the first time I've shot a film," he clarifies. "In 1967 I made one for Films Division at Indira Gandhi's behest when she was the I&B minister. I've made other documentaries as well. It's not my fault that the media has chosen to portray only the painter in me."

Husain reveals that he has worked with Satyajit Ray and accompanied the great Italian filmmaker Rosellini to Italy in 1956 when he was shooting a short 16mm film. Other role models are Ritwik Ghatak and Kurosawa, "one of the greatest filmmakers of all times".

The idea of Gaja Gamini first came to Husain's mind when he met Madhuri in 1995. "In her body language I visualised a unique sense of Indian womanhood," he says. "I don't normally watch Hindi films but I saw Hum Aapke Hain Kaun several times. I started portraying her form in my paintings long before I met her. When I met her I found that she was very intelligent."

Husain equates his film with his paintings. "The folk element is strong as are the colours used on the sets. I've deliberately made the sets look like cutouts because it is an artistic interpretation of Benares; likewise the use of yellow."

"My film is a metaphor," says Husain. "In the entire film the woman's face is not shown on camera." Gaja Gamini, which is Madhuri, has two lovers, the eternal one and the earthly one. The eternal lover, the younger one, played by Inder Kumar takes the form of Cupid and the earthly lover, the older one, is played by Naseeruddin Shah. There are five female characters who play the role of Gaja Gamini over a period of 5,000 years. The women keep moving through time and space.

"It is not at all a commercial venture," he says. "I am trying to take art to the millions." And it is evident that Husain is thoroughly enjoying the project. Says the aged artist, "I'm in sheer ecstasy. This is all thanks to Madhuri."

The other interesting aspect of the film is that it is a family project. Husain's daughter Raissa, a textile designer, volunteered to play a terrorist in the film. "I thought it would be fun," she says, sporting a red bandana, a la Phoolan Devi, and sipping tea in between shots. "But this is hard work. I never realised that there were so many tiny things to concentrate on." Will she want to shift to acting now that she has had a taste of the glamour world? "No!" she exclaims and then adds, "It has been fun but I would not want to do it unless it is a home production."

Son Owais, also a painter, is helping Husain in conceptualising the sets. His wife Reema, who has directed several short films and documentaries, is helping with technical inputs. "It's like a big adventure," say Owais and Reema. "We don't know what the reaction to the film will be. In any case it is different."

Husain is the director but his translator on screen is Mehta. "Thanks to him I don't even have to be on the sets," says Husain. Mehta also admits that the project is a different one, "It took me some time to understand what the film would be like. But the concept is beautiful and I couldn't resist the offer of being the cinematographer even though I'm directing my own film."

Just as we leave, a powerful Pajero zooms in and Husain is brisk in opening the door of the car. Out pops Madhuri dressed in trousers and a leather jacket. She walks in just to watch the shoot. After a brief while she makes her exit. Without saying anything, Madhuri has the last word.

 

Naidu inaugurates Husain's museum (1/10/00)

HYDERABAD, Jan. 10.

Cinema Ghar, the museum of art and cinema built by the celebrated artist, Mr. M. F. Husain, at Banjara Hills here was inaugurated by the Chief Minister, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, here on Sunday.

A non-commercial venture, the museum is ``a tribute to Indian cinema from the silence of Dadasaheb Phalke to the dazzle of Madhuri Dixit'' as Mr. Husain describes it. Technology, he feels, has taken away the soul of cinema and he wants to restore it to the Yakshagana (folk) tradition.

The museum houses a library of about 2,000 books on art, cinema, music, dance, computer, science and technology besides a 40 seat preview theatre for screening of Indian and foreign classics. The dominant theme in many of the paintings is Ms. Madhuri Dixit with Mr. Husain being an ardent fan of the film star.

Describing the Cinema Ghar as a ``jewel in the crown of Hyderabad'', Mr. Naidu said the City was moving from strength to strength in all fields. It was a city where things were happening in information technology, leisure and tourism and which was proposed to be developed as a transit hub to Europe and China.

He said Hyderabad was slowly emerging into a mega film centre and it would not be long before it became India's film capital. It had many modern cine studios apart from Asia's biggest film city built by Mr. Ch. Ramoji Rao. An international film and TV research institute was under the Government's active consideration.

On Mr. Husain's film, ``Gajagamani'', whose shooting is in progress, the Chief Minister paid tributes to Mr. Husain for bringing glory to India in the international scene of contemporary art and to Ms. Madhuri Dixit who had proved herself in the film field. Mr. Husain's uniqueness lay in the fact that he could effectively communicate on canvas what was in his mind.

Mr. Naidu requested Mr. Husain to present to the State Government a painting on its Janmabhoomi programme, an instrument through which he wanted to usher in excellence. He said he wanted to prove to the world that Indians could also perform provided they were given the right climate. Ms. Madhuri Dixit, who released the artist's book titled ``Art and Cinema'', said the filming of ``Gajagamini'' featuring her in the title role was a learning experience.

Mr. Husain said an artist spoke through his brush in a distinct language which was quite often difficult to explain to others. Mr. Chester Harwitz, art reviewer from the U.S., also spoke.

Mr. D. Rama Naidu, film maker, inaugurated the mini-theatre and Mr. Venkatesh, actor, switched on the projector. The Home Minister, Mr. A. Madhava Reddy, Mr. Akkineni Nageswara Rao, film actor, Ms. Shabana Azmi, MP and actress, were among those who attended the function.