Down Melody Lane..::..Article on Films, Personalities, Music Reviews and More..

Kitaab (1977) remains especially close to my heart although it was not very commercially successful film. I was not bound by a conventional plot-line; I had the freedom perhaps because it was my own production. Earlier, I had produced Kinara. I gave up production after these two films, because it took up a lot of my times besides being a mental strain.

The child, the central character of Kitaab was very close to memories of my own childhood. Like him, I had observed the jalebi maker and the madaris when I was a kid in Delhi during 1940s. Also, I had that fascination for a cap or a ring which makes you invisible, the way the child did in Kitaab.

The project germinated when I read Samresh Babu's novel, Pothik, first published in a Bengali magazine's pooja ank. I knew the author fairly well, because I had met him in Bimal Roy productions. Bimalda had started a film based on his novel, Amrit Kumbher Sadhaney, but passed away before he could complete it. I had done the screenplay and dialogue for the film.

Samresh Babu's short stories have a picturesque, extremely cinematic quality. His stories as well as his language were earthy. Pothik was also very direct and realistic in approach. Another reason for making the film was Uttam Kumar: he had agreed to play the role of the child's brother-in-law. I used to admire his effortless acting in Bengali films. He had an easy going demeanour which would often remind me of Motilal.

I added a number of scenes to the stories, drawn from my own childhood, which I discussed with Samresh Babu. He agreed readily, laughing, "I wish I had known about your childhood before writing the story." It was quite apparent that he had used his own experiences and observations as a child for the story. Samresh Babu was middle-aged when I met him, but very young in his outlook towards life.

All good literature - like good cinema - is derived from life. Friction which is purely imaginary has not survived in either of the forms. Kitaab, in that sense, was a complete experience - one did not get satisfaction only in fragments during making the film. Rather one identified totally with the child, Master Raju, who was the first and only choice for the role. He had grown up with my films; he had acted for me in Parichay and Khushboo. His main asset was that he was not an actor; he was a 'reactor'. He would react immediately to any situation narrated to him and reproduced it instantly. Part of a certain shot would be enacted for him but rest would come from him instinctively. Child actors should be left to their own devices and allowed to use their own imagination. If they are over-cute or precocious in real life than they perform terribly on the screen. The trouble is that most parents impart their own training to child actors who end up parroting their diction and mannerisms.

Kitaab was not easy to shoot. Many portions had to be shot on trains and steam engines which have nostalgia of their own. But these were not very easy to get. With Kitaab, I also started paying more attention to the visuals instead of concentrating only on the writing.

I feel the music score was one of the film's most unusual aspects. For this full marks have to go to R. D. Burman. Dhanno ki aankhon mein raat ka surma - the song by the engine driver was play backed by R. D. Burman himself. It was a 'night' song and the only problem shooting in the dark was getting empty platforms. That's why the song was filmed between 3 and 5 a.m. at Kajrat station. We even had to request people to continue sleeping on the platforms because we wanted a shot of them that way.

The school classroom song had to be a nonsensical rhyme - Aa aa ee ee masterji ki aa gayi chithi. The song was divided among children and the one who could not match the rhyme burst into an ad jingle (VIP underwear baniyaan…). The kids were utterly natural. If I had a scene showing Raju and his pal smoking, it was to emphasise how they copy their elders. In fact, I was quite upset when the father of the boy, playing the friend, started teaching his son how to smoke expertly. This father ended up spoiling his son as well as the scene. Most parents of child starts are frustrated and third-rate actors.

That was the point of Kitaab actually - how children grow up and how elders inflict a text-book attitude on them. For example, Raju is given a Parker pen in the film but is instructed by his brother-in-law not to take it to school because it's far too expensive. There is also a tradition of adults telling kids that life is hard and gloomy, thereby planting their own fears in impressionable minds.

Hari din to beeta raat huyi, the lullaby by the mother - sung by the great playback singer Raj Kumari - was another highlight of the film, I feel. The age in her voice, and her singing quality were perfect. The film did okay business. But I am often told that it was one of my best films. For once, I tend to agree. Because it is a flashback to the days when one could make films which were intimate and personal.