An Article on Vijay Anand -- Part 2/2

[Ketan]

The article can be found at

http://www.expressindia.com/screen/feb20/films3.htm

Excuse the formatting.

Ketan

A Burman fan(atic)

continued....

Interestingly, when Dev Anand had sounded him out about RK Narayan’s book, The
Guide, Goldie remembers that he had advised him against making the film. "It
wasn’t a subject I’d choose for an international project. I was horrified when I
went through the screenplay of the English version. It was third rate and would
ruin the image of the country. The first scene had Marco and Rosie disembarking
at the station and encountering Raju. And in the next shot Rosie and the guide
were in bed together. Who would accept such a hero even if he turned into a
saint later in our country? Marco would walk away with all the sympathy that
goes to a cuckolded husband," Goldie points out rationally. But obviously Dev
Anand and Pearl S. Buck thought differently. In fact, Goldie remembers, Dev was
obsessed with the idea of turning RK Narayan’s novel into a Hindi-English
bilingual. And when Goldie wouldn’t fall in with his plans, there was a major
fight after which he was replaced by Raj Khosla as the director of the Hindi
version. Hollywood director Tad Danielewski was in charge of the English
version. With the director decided, Dev Anand got busy choosing the cast.
Danielewski was taken in with Leela Naidu’s Dresden China looks and insisted
that she was his Rosie. Dev spent hours trying to convince him that Leela was no
dancer and didn’t have much of a market in India at the time. Wouldn’t
Vyjayanthimala or Padmini be a better choice? Danielewski didn’t think so. The
Southern beauties were too buxom for his tastes. In desperation Dev suggested
Waheeda Rehman. She had yet to establish herself in dancing roles but Dev was
aware that the CID girl could dance. And her limpid eyes and bewitching smile
got the "yes" from Danielewski. Now, Dev Anand thought, his dream project would
have a dream run. He was wrong. Waheeda was under the impression that Goldie was
directing the film. When she heard that Raj Khosla had replaced him she told Dev
Anand very categorically that she was not working with Khosla. "I’m not asking
you to replace him but I’m not in your film," she informed a shocked Dev.
Apparently, they’d had a spat during the Solva Saal days and she’d promised her
mother she’d never do another film with Raj Khosla. In desperation Dev turned to
his elder brother, Chetan Anand. Chetan sahab agreed to bail him out. However,
earlier Chetan sahab had requested permission to be allowed to shoot his war
epic Haqeeqat in Ladakh. And just before he could get cracking on Guide he got a
letter informing him that permission had been granted but if he wanted to shoot
in Ladakh, he had to reach there in a month’s time and wrap up the schedule
before the location became snow-bound and out of reach. So Chetan Anand was out
of Guide too and Dev once again turned to his younger brother who reluctantly
agreed to helm the Hindi version, provided he was given complete creative
freedom which included the right to rework and rewrite the script. "I didn’t
want to keep anything of the Americans in my film. I was determined to change
the whole look and make a much better film," narrates Goldie. He went off to
Khandala and came back after 18 days with a new script. Goldie’s next stop was
Udaipur. Danielewski had changed the location from Malgudi to Udaipur because he
didn’t think the dark-skinned Southerners in their white dhotis would look too
good in the crowd scenes. The Rajasthanis in their colourful attire, riding
their camels through long stretches of desert sand, would make a more
interesting backdrop. The entire film, except the songs, was shot at Udaipur by
Goldie in one marathon spell of 80 shifts. The songs were picturised later,
made memorable thanks to the inspired genius of choreographer Hiralal, the
determined efforts of his assistants Sheila and Saroj, and the unflinching
dedication of Waheeda Rehman who would wake up at 2 a.m. for a four hour
rehearsal with Hiralal’s girls, drink glasses of milk and and even go through
daily massages so she could carry off the arduous numbers to perfection. Thanks
to the cooperation of his cast and crew, Goldie kept his promise of making a
very different film. A brilliant film. Even Ted Danielewski wasimpressed and
borrowed some of Goldie’s shots for his version. But they couldn’t save the
English Guide from disaster. Not even a nude shot of Waheeda (she’d refused to
do the shot so Danielewski went back to the US and did the shot with an Amercian
girl who was passed off as the Indian star) could endear the film to audiences
abroad. And Dev Anand was in the red. After the debacle of the English version
it was not surprising that Dev found it difficult to sell the Hindi version. No
distributor would touch it with a bargepole and Goldie refused to go around
screening his magnum opus for sceptical trade folk. The debts piled up and with
it, rumours that this expensive gamble spelled doom for Navketan. Finally, Yash
Johar who was an assistant at Navketan those days, screened two songs for a
Delhi distributor without his boss’ knowledge. One glimpse of Piya toh se naina
lage re and the man was hooked. "What’s your price? I’m buying the film," he
told Yash Johar, who came rushing back with the good news.

The film was premiered at Mumbai’s Maratha Mandir. And after the grand premiere
Goldie remembers everyone came to him with funeral expressions and obviously
forced responses, "It was a good film." It was clear they thought that Goldie
was going to ‘kill’ Dev Anand with his film. "Everywhere I went the response was
negative. Yet, the film enjoyed a 10-week houseful run at Maratha Mandir,"
Goldie smiles at the memory. Then a drought hit Gujarat and suddenly there were
banners all over the state, "Guide prays for rain". After that no one was
surprised when the film celebrated a silver jubilee at Ahmedabad. The film
continues to draw crowds and bring in money even today, over three decades after
it was released. After the film was released, Goldie went to Hollywood for a
visit and when In LA’s Sunset Boulevard, bumped into Howard Hawks who had
produced 52 films for MGM and was presently working on Bathing Beauty. Hawks was
fascinated by the Hindi version of Guide. He wanted to sign Goldie for a
Hollywood film and predicted that Guide would win Goldie an Oscar. "But you’ll
have to spend some money to ensure that all the Academy members get to see the
film, and you’ll have to have sub-titles," the Anands were advised. Money was a
problem. Goldie remembers they didn’t have enough to even pay their hotel bills.
So the Oscar slipped out of their hands. Goldie, however, spent some
enlightening weeks in England catching up on the works of the masters like
Fellini and Godard and found that he didn’t really care for these kinds of
films. He returned to India to a tumultuous welcome. Everywhere he went the
Guide followed him around. "I want to forget Guide," he decided. And for that he
knew he had to make a very different film. RK Narayan would come everyday with
story ideas. One day he started discussing the case of a man who was there but
didn’t really exist — and Goldie had the plot for his next film—Jewel Thief.

Getting Dev Anand for Jewel Thief wasn’t a problem. But getting Ashok Kumar, the
only one who Goldie was convinced could carry off the role of the suave villain,
was difficult. Dadamoni had just returned from a heart surgery and when Goldie
trekked to Roop Tara studio with the intention of getting his okay, he
knew he had a task on his hands. Dev Anand introduced him to Dadamoni saying,
"Goldie wants to make a film with you." After that the younger Anand took over,
telling Dadamoni that he was making a two hero project. "I want you to play the
title role. It’s a very challenging role. The only problem is that we learn in
the last reel that your character is the film’s bad man. But you’ve played the
anti-hero before. You can do it. In fact, only you can do it. You’re a
courageous actor, yes, you are," Goldie coaxed the veteran actor. Ashok Kumar
was game. But he laid down three conditions. "I’m not going to hit anyone. And
no one should hit me. If I get into fisticuffs it’ll kill me," he warned Goldie.
Goldie assured him that there would be no fights. His villain was an
intellectual villain. He uses his mind, not his muscles. Dadamoni was relieved
to hear that. His final condition was that he would report on the sets at 11
a.m. sharp with make-up on. Two hours later they’d break for an hour-long lunch
break. And at 5 p.m. it would be "pack-up". That too was agreeable to Goldie. He
assured Dadamoni that his schedule would be followed to the minute. On the first
day Dev Anand and Ashok Kumar were on the sets at 11 a.m. sharp. But there was
no sign of the film’s heroine, Vyjayantimala. An assistant was sent to her every
quarter of an hour. Finally, at 12.30 he returned with the message that madam
didn’t want to be disturbed, she’d come when she was ready. At ten minutes to
one she strolled in asking sweetly, "Am I late?" Goldie surprised her by calling
for a lunch break. Vyjayantimala was furious. "Your assistant has been badgering
me for the last two hours and now when I’m here you announce a break," she
raged. Goldie was unfazed. "Our most senior artiste is not a very healthy
person. We have to follow his schedule. You have to be on the set early," he
reminded her. Vyjayantimala never forgot the "slight". For the rest of the film,
Goldie insists, she nursed a khunnas against him. There were some date problems
and many distractions but Vyjayantimala being the professional that she was,
still came up with a polished performance. Goldie’s only grievance is that she
could have done better with Hoton pe aisi baat. "I wanted her to rehearse the
number before we went for a final take. But she told me airily that she didn’t
need any rehearsals. I insisted she did, but she still didn’t report for
rehearsals and came straight to the set. I called for "pack-up" and told her
firmly that she had to stay back in the studio and practise with the assistants.
She did practise, for 15 minutes. Then she got into her car and drove off saying
that Saroj Khan would be coming to her place later and they’d go over the steps
together. The rehearsal never happened but Vyjayantimala being a good actress
and an excellent dancer didn’t find it too difficult to pick up the steps and
the shots were okayed quickly. But I could never establish the kind of rapport I
had with Mumtaz, Waheeda, Hema and Raakhee, with Vyjayantimala," Goldie rues.

Jewel Thief was followed by Johnny Mera Naam, another superhit. And so slick
that one day the principal of the FTII, Pune, took his students to watch a
commercial Hindi film. And that film was Goldie’s Johnny Mera Naam. "The
undergraduates who were used to seeing Godard’s films were shocked till the
principal explained that this was a perfect mix of art and the commercial,"
Goldie says proudly. Chhupa Rustam, Hum Rahe Na Hum, Bullet, Jaan Haazir Hai,
Ram Balram and Rajput followed. Goldie continued to strive for the perfect
balance between the two genres. But now suddenly it was becoming difficult to
come up with another Tere Mere Sapne, Jewel Thief, Guide or even a Johnny Mera
Naam. He blames it on the long delays thanks to difficult stars. Rajput, he
claims, would have been
his best film if it hadn’t stretched over seven years. During the course of the
film, Hema Malini got married, became pregnant, put on weight, delivered her
baby and got back into shape. This no doubt created continuity problems. Then,
when just a fortnight's work was left, getting Rajesh Khanna and Vinod Khanna
together proved to be difficult. Vinod was shooting near Pune those days and
only at 1.30 pm would he reach Mumbai’s Film City which was serving as a
makeshift Rajasthan because the producer didn’t want to waste money flying his
unit out. Half an hour later, Rajesh would leave for a 2-10 shift. "Sometimes
Vinod’s car would be entering the studio and Rajesh’s leaving," Goldie remembers
with a wry smile. He tried to tackle the problem by moving his set between
Mumbai and Pune, but eventually was forced to rely on editing gimmicks for the
confrontation scenes between the two Khannas. "It was so frustrating," he sighs.

So was Main Tere Liye which Goldie claims would have resurrected Suneil Anand’s
career, had it not got entangled in legal problems. "We were getting good money
for it but we thought we’d hold back for more. Then Anand Aur Anand was
released and after it flopped our project was not viable anymore.
Meanwhile, the capital interest was rising to unbelievable proportions.
Releasing it at that stage was too much of a financial risk so Dev sahab got
busy with his next film. Then just before the premiere of that film, the
producer of Main Tere Liye went to court and asked for an injunction. Dev sahab
couldn’t afford to stall his new release. So he signed away the rights of Main
Tere Liye and the film
was released on the video circuit. Who would watch it in the theatre now? A sad
end to a good film," Goldie sighs.

All these unfortunate experiences resulted in Goldie taking a break from
direction to return to acting. Tehkikaat was a fun holiday, he jokes. It all
started with Shekhar Kapur, his nephew, asking him to cut short a trip to
London to do the role of a scientist in his Time Machine. To date, his
performance in that film has been seen only by Shekhar and his unit, one of
whom was the writer Karan Razdan who later wrote a serial revolving around a
slick private eye with Goldie in mind, and got Shekhar to convince his uncle to
play the role. After two episodes as director of the serial, Shekhar took off
to shoot Bandit Queen and Karan, with a lot of help and encouragement from
Goldie, took over as director. Tehkikaat turned out to be amazingly popular and
Sam D'Silva (Vijay Anand) enjoyed a wonderful 50-episode run on DD before DD
decided it didn’t want to grant long-running serials any more extensions.
Subsequently, Razdan was told that he would have to shift to DD Metro. Goldie
advised Razdan against it and told him that since the serial was making so much
money for DD he should ask them to raise their ceiling. DD refused and Razdan
took his serial to STAR. But before the new Tehkikaat could go on air Razdan
sold the rights of the old episodes to Zee who began promoting it as the
"real" Tehkikaat and airing it a
day earlier. "That quickly cut short Tehkikaat’s run on STAR and it wound up on
Zee soon after. But I’d
had my share of the fun," Goldie chuckles.

And now after this brief stint in the spotlight Goldie’s back behind the camera,
directing his brother. Anand aur Anand... it promises to be an enthralling
drama. We’ve waited 25 years for the Guide team to come together again. And now
they finally have.