Looking back isn't always just about nostalgia alone though it does play a part on an emotional level.
For this writer, taking a journey to revisit timeless works of Indian art encompassing mediums of film and television is an act of cultural reclamation, of curating a museum of a quintessential Indian ethos which was hailed in all its permutations even a good decade back.
Today, that rootedness has completely been lost in the artifice of globalism. To forge ahead, we must remember to first take a bow towards our own definitive cultural markers, extricated from the heavy weight of history and placed in a mutating mold so that multiple generations can savour it wholeheartedly.
The following works being talked about here straddle multiple worlds, in anthology television series which every Indian perhaps had heard about. The 1980s and 1990s era was the peak of our national churning. Television hence acted as a worthwhile conduit for reflecting that journey through eras and its firm positioning in the present era. For a discerning soul, that is as relevant in the here and now. Just like it did for this cinephile.
So without further ado, here's introducing the uninitiated and those in the know to some towering luminaries of the Indian artistic pantheon. Their easy availability on YouTube in good quality picture only enhances this archive for our times.
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KIRDAAR/ CHARACTER(1993-1994)
This anthology series was conceived, written and directed by the man with many accomplishments to his name, the great Gulzar Saab. In the seven out of the thirteen episodes I watched, he was adept in weaving simplicity and yet great social depth by narrating tales of common people, in under 30 minutes of runtime. Another thread is the presence of the iconic Om Puri, an actor so rooted in his land and its multiplicity, with a deep baritone to match various moods and settings, who lends it his usual gravitas, even excelling in his usual mould of portraying older characters.
My research into the works of great writers and artists, in general, always makes me hark to the visual bounty available to the present generation. An evidence that they are very much watched and lapped up. That is how I get lucky by discovering such gems.
So, I briefly touch upon those seven episode capsules here.
BABA NOOR
Starring Shabih Abbas and Jawed Khan, this is one heartbreaking tale of a group of villagefolk reminiscing about the good Samaritan of the story's title.
His present status is a commentary on the vagaries of old age, memories and loss of a child blocking out the sting of reality with a painful sense of hope, for an elusive letter from him. What sustains it is the quota of kindness that never gets expended in the minds of the people who know him, especially the postal worker (Om Puri) who once delivered a painful missive to him years ago.
ALAAN
A man working abroad returns to his native place in the hill state of Kashmir and relays his attraction towards the beautiful ALAAN. They have been friends for a lifetime but alas! she has been employed for years as the household's domestic help.
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