Shatrughan Sinha and Mita Vashisht pay tribute to Kumar Shahani: “He was a very sensitive filmmaker with whom one could converse about anything”

Back then, they called it ‘art cinema’. And it wasn’t said in a flattering way. Art Cinema was synonymous with boredom. That’s where Kumar Shahani came in.

Shatrughan Sinha, who played a pivotal role in Shahani’s Kasba, said that the classification of cinema as ‘art’ and ‘massy’ was very damaging to serious cinema. “I personally never followed these segregations in cinema. To me, there was only good and bad cinema. And I’ve done my share of both. If I’ve worked with Manmohan Desai and Subhash Ghai, I’ve also worked with Goutam Ghose and Kumar Shahani,” he said.

Speaking of his experience with Shahani, Mr Sinha recalled, “I think Kasba had me in a grey role, neither good nor bad just… human! That’s the most difficult to play. Kasba featured other great actors like M K Raina, Manohar Singh, Mita Vashisht and a very fine actor named Navjot Hansra. I remember Kumar Shahani as a very sensitive filmmaker with whom one could converse about anything.”

No actor had the tuning with the avant garde director Kumar Shahani that Mita Vashisht did, not even Smita Patil with whom Shahani did arguably his best, most accessible film Tarang.

With the magnificent Mita, Shahani did the daunting Khayal Gatha and the haunting Kasba. In both Mita is beyond stunning.

“No, even before these two films, he and I did a short film together,” Mita corrected me. “It was called Vaar Vaar Vaari. I once wrote an essay entitled Kala Hans in Hindi about the art of Kumar Shahani. I think that essay really speaks about the amazing director that he was… Right now I feel a deep sense of loss. My first film Vaar Vaar Vari, from which my journey began, was a Kumar Shahani short film. It is on YouTube and I strongly recommend it.”

She continued after a ruminative pause, “Main abhi tak unke saath touch mein thi. We used to have serious conversations—one couldn’t dare frivolous chats with him—which lasted from 45 minutes to 90 minutes. We used to talk about any and every subject, on art, on cinema, on life. His was no ordinary mind. He was so amazingly connected to the technological advancements in the world of cinema, digital media, everything… He had this unique insight into the pros and cons of all cinematic technology. He would tell me about the endless potential of the digital media and that it is not being utilized properly.”

Mita said that each and every conversation with Kumar Shahani is etched in her memory. “It was like the skies would open for me every time we spoke. Every conversation with him was illuminating and edifying. Jaise ki aasman khul gaya ho, taaron se bhara hua, chandni se bhara hua,” she said.

Mita was all set to work again with Kumar Shahani. “We were trying to set up a play together, a project he had envisioned with me in lead and Vikram Joglekar as the sound designer. But that was not meant to be (her voice brims over). But I will try to make it happen the way he would have liked it to be,” she said.

Interestingly, Kumar Shahani’s most accessible work Tarang was offered to Shabana Azmi who suggested Smita Patil was a better choice for that particular part. Shahani wanted Rameshwari instead. But he finally signed Smita, and gave interviews about why Smita was the first and last choice for Tarang.

Moral Of The Story: art or mart, the casting ‘ouch’ is universal.

Also Read: Kumar Shahani, Maya Darpan and Khayal Gatha filmmaker, passes away at 83

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