When 80-year-old Javed Akhtar goes up on stage or climbs a staircase, the host automatically rushes forward to proffer a helping hand. But Javed always waves it away, preferring to climb up on his own, and without gasping at the end of it. Put it down to the ortho oil he has been endorsing? Jokes apart, ever since he quit drinking in 1991, the writer has tried to be as physically agile as his mind is. Sharper than many of his junior colleagues, Javed’s knack for anecdotal replies and quick repartee continues to amaze listeners.
The other day, when veteran photographer Pradeep Chandra (who has a vast collection that includes the Bachchans, the Khans, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Zakir Hussain and Sharad Pawar at various stages of their lives) held an exhibition in a gallery on the first floor, it was reflex action to hold out his hand to Javed. Javed, of course, needed no support to reach the gallery, walk around the exhibition and make pertinent comments. He even caught a factual mistake in one of the narrations alongside a photograph that Pradeep quickly removed. “Javed Saab was right. He was so sharp, he noticed it immediately,” said the photographer.
At the exhibition which was rich with nostalgia and an array of professionally composed photographs that held a treasure trove of stories, the biggest draws were a floor-to-ceiling blow-up of Shobhaa De with windblown hair and another of Shabana Azmi with a cleanshaven head. To say that it was from Deepa Mehta’s film Water may amount to misinformation since the film ultimately featured Lisa Ray, Seema Biswas and John Abraham.
But those who were around 25 years ago, would recall that Deepa had begun the shooting of her third film from the trilogy of Fire, Earth and Water with Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das. They were repeats from her controversial film Fire, which was perhaps the first Indian film to portray same-sex chemistry. Curiously, Akshay Kumar was the original hero of Water. Shabana and Nandita had not only reported for shooting in UP but had also shaved their heads to give authenticity to the role of the abandoned widows of Benaras. Most will recall that news of the theme had whipped up anger in an active Right wing, which had believed that Hindu traditions would be trashed in such a film. The protests were so intense that Deepa had to cancel the shoot and scoot from Benares.
The huge photograph of Shabana was clicked at that time. The photographer had also travelled from Mumbai to Benares to cover the shooting and had wanted to go home with shots of a bald and bold Shabana Azmi. She’d agreed to pose for him on a terrace around 4.30pm and some exquisite shots were taken with natural sunlight in the backdrop. After this session, the unit had to abandon shooting and Deepa had to put away the script for five years before she ventured to make the film with Lisa, Seema and John. She also had to shoot the story of the widows of Benares far away in Sri Lanka to avoid further conflict. Although Deepa Mehta’s Water went largely unnoticed at the box office in India, it featured as a nomination at the Oscars in the Best International Feature Film category.
The huge picture of Shabana on the wall therefore had much history behind it. Proving that Right wing protests are not a decade-old phenomenon, the behind-the-scenes story of Water made a stronger social statement than anything celluloid could ever capture.
Abhishek Bachchan was another celebrity who had a blow-up of his picture on the wall. He not just dropped in to look at the collection but also went downstairs to a kindergarten on the ground floor, much to the delight of everybody around. It’s a small and tight circle of friends in the film industry. After Javed’s visit, Boney Kapoor heard about the exhibition and he also went over. His special reason: he wanted to pose before the big Shabana picture. What a memento it makes.
Bharathi S. Pradhan is a senior journalist and an author
