"Plato says that in heaven there is
Laid up the pattern of a city,
Which the man who desires it sees
And he can follow its decrees
And live in justice, truth and pity.

Whether it does or ever will
Exist, that city, is another
Matter, the man who sees it still
Can live according to its will
And be subject to no other"
                                                  Frank Templeton Prince

Hrishikesh Mukherjee discerned this grand pattern quite early (in the mid 1940s) over cups of steaming tea in a cafe on Hazra Road, Calcutta. And he was in the august company of Mrinal Sen, Salil Choudhury besides a host of cinephiles who were engaged in heated discussions on various aspects of world cinema. An underlying, universal theme was how dismally Indian cinema in general and Bengali cinema in particular, compared to the classics emanating from Europe as well as Hollywood. De Sica, Cesare Zavattini (arguably the finest screenplay writer in the history of cinema to date), Rossellini, Renoir, Lean, Welles, Mamoulian, Hitchcock, Chaplin, Keaton, Cukor, etal were among those worshipped and their works analysed with clinical precision.

This background is mandatory because it sheds light on Hrishida's passion for cinema from an early stage. Hence, it came as no surprise when after graduating in science he chose to join B.N. Sircar's New Theatres in order to hone his skills as a film editor. Subodh Mitter (popularly known as 'Kenchida') was the doyen of editing in those days and Hrishida began his journey in cinema in haloed premises.

Bimal Roy had graduated from assistant cameraman to cameraman to cameraman cum director with 'Udayer Pathe' (whose overwhelming success at the box-office took even Sircar by surprise!) and soon the seeds of a group of like minded artists from different fields started assembling together - Sudhendu Roy from art direction, Kamal Bose and Dilip Gupta from cinematography, Salil Choudhury from script writing and music direction, Asit Sen from acting and direction and last but not the least Hrishikesh Mukherjee from editing and screenplay writing. 'Udayer Pathe' was made in Hindi too under the title of 'Hamrahi' and very soon Bombay Talkies beckoned Bimal Roy who gladly accepted the offer on the condition that his team not be disturbed. Roy's wish was granted and almost overnight New Theatres began to sport a deserted look. This was the most significant turn in Hrishida's careergraph.

Once in Bombay, Bimal Roy was quick to set up his own concern Bimal Roy productions whose maiden venture created not ripples but waves in India and abroad - Titled 'Do Bigha Zamin' it was based on a short story written by Salil Choudhury with screenplay by Hrishida who also was naturally the editor and chief assistant director. During the making of 'Do Bigha Zamin' Hrishida used to spend long hours at Mohan Studios and there was a building nearby which began capturing his imagination by and by. The seeds of 'Musafir' were sown and they fell on highly fertile soil.

Thus while Hrishida grew in stature with Bimal Roy as his mentor he nursed dreams of making his own film. Looking back today, in the largely themeless context of Hindi cinema, 'Musafir' is distinguished by its theme alone. The film is the story of a house and three families that stay in it as tenants in quick succession. Suchitra Sen and Shekhar form the first part of this trilogy, Kishore Kumar & Nirupa Roy star in the second while Dilip Kumar, Usha Kiron and Daisy Irani give the third and concluding part a touch of poignance, a brush with poetry. Another distingushing feature of 'Musafir' is that Dilip Kumar sang a full fledged duet composed by Salil Choudhary and penned by Shailendra - 'Laagi naahin chhute Ram, chaahe jiya jaaye'. Very predictably and expectedly 'Musafir' was a damp squib - but that was only to be expected since the film was way ahead of its times. Indeed, today if 'Musafir' is revived it will be hailed as a classic and earn endless praise for its 'unusual theme'.

L. B. Lachman (the man who is better known today as a pioneering builder with 'Evershine' being his brand name) was the man who could size up the immense talent brewing in this brooding, young man. He offered Hrishida 'Anari' starring Raj Kapoor and Nutan with music by Shankar Jaikishan. 'Anari' was a runaway critical and commercial success with Lalita Pawar enacting the role of Mrs. D'sa virtually walking away with each and every award prevalent in 1959. Furthermore, each song was a gem - 'Kisi ki muskurahatoon pe ho nisaar', 'Yeh chaand khila woh taaren hanse', 'Sub kuchh seekha humne na seekhi hoshiyari' are just three mementoes from this treasure trove.

Most significantly, Hrishida and Raj Kapoor struck an instant rapport. In fact, when 'Anand' was released in 1970 many viewers wondered why Hrishida had dedicated this film to Raj Kapoor? The answer is elementary! Hrishida was already working on the script of 'Anand' then and he had decided that Raj Kapoor would be the ideal choice for the role of a man who battles cancer cheerfully.

This was Hrishida's strong point-humour. His films were invariably engaging family fares, laced with wit and embellished with fleeting sensitive touches which recurred at the most unexpected moments. Any family could safely walk into watching a film by Hrishida, assured that what lay in store was an engaging, entertaining film devoid of any semblance of vulgarity or lapse in taste. Moreover, they could rest assured about one fact-that the film would make them not only smile but also stimulate them into thinking patterns hitherto unfamiliar to them. This was Hrishida's hallmark then-strength, simplicity and subtle comedy.

It was hardly surprising that the association between L.B. Lachman and Hrishida touched dizzy heights with 'Anuradha' which won the National Award for the best film. Based on a short story written by Sachin Bhowmick first published in the prestigious Bengali monthly magazine 'Desh', 'Anuradha' introduced Leela Naidu as a heroine and was one of Pandit Ravi Shankar's rare forays in Hindi cinema and each song, each solo by Lata penned by Shailendra was an unforgettable melody. ('Saanwre aaanwre''Jaane kaise sapnon mein kho gayi aankhiyan, 'Kaise din beete kaise beeti ratiyan piya jaane na', 'Hai re woh din kyon na aaye'). You will find only two photographs in my drawing room, "Hrishida had emphasised in the course of an interview conducted in the late 1980's in his sprawling bungalow named 'Anupama', "one of Bimalda congratulating me on winning the national award for 'Anuradha' and the other a solo portrait of Bimalda to whom I owe everything."

Anuradha was a touching saga revolving around an idealistic doctor who practices in a village (a vintage performance by Balraj Sahni) while his talented artistic wife whiles away her time tending to their lovable daughter and performing routine household chores. Matters come to head when she, in desperation, decides to leave her husband and return to her rich father's house and pursue her career as a singer and dancer. The denouement is such as to move even the stone-hearted to tears. 'Anuradha' is without doubt one of the classics of Hindi cinema.

From 'Anuradha' to 'Asli Naqli' may have seemed a strangely discordant move yet it was precipitated by the commercial failure of the Balraj Sahni - Leela Naidu saga. L.B. and Hrishida retraced their steps to the oldest and surest formula for a box office success - rich vagrant young man posing as a jobless, penniless person with all cards falling neatly into place in the climax. Dev Anand and Sadhana excelled and so did Shankar Jaikishan and the Shailendra Hasrat team ('Chheda mere dil ne taraana tere pyar ka,' 'Kal kee daulat aaj ki khushiyan, 'Tujhe jeevan ki dor se baandh liya hai, 'Tera mera pyar amar', 'Gori zara hansde tu' etc. being memorable musical milestones)

To Hrishida goes the credit of making Ashok Kumar sing again. Ashok Kumar, as almost everyone knows, was a reluctant actor. And to make matters worse in the early days of the talkies stars had to sing as well. But in 'Aashirwad' Dadamoni appeared to actually enjoy singing his songs especially 'Railgaadi.....' and 'Nao chali .....' and all the more bagged the national award.! An auspicious start to Hrishida's new association with producer N.C.Sippy. This team clicked in a big way and they floated a concern called Rupam Pictures which went from strength to strength. 'Anand' arguably is Rajesh Khanna's finest performance and the film in its totality had a powerful impact on the entire nation. Even a strident critic of Hindi 'Commercial Cinema' like Satyajit Ray singled out 'Anand' for special mention in an article penned by him 'An Indian New Wave'. Another person who mesmerised viewers in 'Anand' was Amitabh Bachchan with the sheer intensity of his portrayal. 'Guddi' gave Jaya Bhaduri a flying start after which there was no need to look back. However, Vani Jayram who rendered 'Bole re Papihara' under the baton of Vasant Desai was not quite as fortunate. 'Bawarchi' was one of Hrishida's few remakes of a Bengali hit (Tapan Sinha's 'Golpo Holeo Satti' with Robi Ghosh playing the pivotal role) with good performances, good music, good theme which somehow could not do emulate the success of the Bengali original. 'Abhiman' (produced by Pawan Kumar), 'Namak Haram' (the only film after 'Anand' to pit Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan opposite each other; also the first major break for Raza Murad), 'Mili' (a parallax view of 'Anand' with the heroine suffering from cancer), 'Chupke Chupke' (a hilarious comedy studded with stars Dharmendra, Sharmila Tagore, Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bhaduri), 'Golmaal' (Utpal Dutt hogging the limelight from Amol Palekar and Bindiya Goswami).

'Khoobsurat' was more or less his swan song (although his Jhoot Bole Kauwa Kate was released only last year) with an outstanding performance by Rekha. Films like Alaap Naram Garam, Namumkin, Accha Bura (a pale rehash of Mem Didi) Jurmana, Bemisal, Rang Birangi, Kisi Se Na Kehna, Jhoothi and Jhoot Bole Kauva Kate fell way short of the high standards this maestro had set for himself. There were disappointments earlier in his career as well - Aashiq, Saanjh Aur Savera, Chhaya, Biwi Aur Makan, Pyar Ka Sapna, Do Dil, Phir Kab Milogi, Gaban (in all fairness here he merely completed the film after the death of Krishan Chopra) Sabse Bada Sukh but it can only be said of a mediocre maker that his career followed a smooth, even course!

There is another endearing facet about Hrishida - he was a great believer in team spirit. His unit members were constant and the atmosphere on the sets akin to that seen in a joint family. As long as he was alive Rajinder Singh Bedi was his writer. Hrishida is livid when you mention either Anupama or Satyakam to him, "I simply fail to understand why Dharmendra failed to win any award for either film. Rajinder Singh Bedi was an extrordinarily gifted writer. Indeed, I feel privileged that I could edit his maiden venture as writer-director 'Dastak' in stark B&W starting Sanjeev Kumar and Rehana Sultan. Rehana won the 'Urvashi' award then the term for the National Award for Best Actress and I won the coveted Filmfare award for my first love-editing.!". Jaywant Pathare was his cameraman, his younger brother Dwarkanath Mukherjee was virtually a pillar he could lean on. Regrettably neither of them is alive today to rejoice over this event. Gulzar, Dr. Rahi Masoom Reza, Sachin Bhowmick, Bimal Dutt, Ashok Rawat, were all part of the brains trust. What compounds the grief further is the untimely demise of his only son Sandeep Mukherjee barely a few months ago.

"Not that I have made classics" was the caption of the cover story on Hrishida in 'Filmfare' with K.N. Subramaniam filling in for a magazine without an editor. A candid confession and an incisive insight into the mind of this sensitive, innovative and technically brilliant film-maker who has not only survived but thrived for almost six decades. ultraindia.com congratulates you heartily on this belated honour conferred on you by the Government of India.

Hrishikesh's Filmography