On the birth anniversary of Hrishikesh Mukherjee, celebs tell us how they find inspiration in Hrishi da’s body of work

Sheetal

‘A great man who made great films’, that’s how Rajesh Khanna used to describe film director Hrishikesh Mukherjee. Born in Calcutta on September 30, 1922, on the beginning of his birth anniversay today, we remember the director for his contribution to Indian cinema.

Trained under Bimal Roy school of thought, the science student had his first job as a lab assistant in New Theatres, Calcutta. We talk to actors and directors who got inspired from his body of work and also learn how he became what the world knows him as, Hrishi da.

What is dead may never die

When the Dada Saheb Phalke Award winner filmed Arjun Pandit (1976), starring Sanjeev Kumar, he had filmed the death scene of the actor in a single take. He even went on to call it ‘the best death scene that he ever filmed’ leaving behind the Rajesh Khanna’s death sequel in Anand, and Dharmendra’s reel death in Satyakam. Through his film Anand (1970), where Rajesh Khanna played a dying man, Hrishi-da had pumped a new lease of life into Indian cinema as well his directorial career. The director was already ruling the industry with his middle-of-the-road genre and editing skills in the 1960s-1970s, but from there on started the silsila of releasing two to three films in a year.

The boss on sets

The late director had a unique story to tell with each project he picked. He knew his actors inside out. This is the reason he was quick to tell that Amitabh Bachchan’s Angry Young Man image was being exploited by other directors and the actor was reduced to a mere stunt man. After 17 hits in a row, only Hrishi da could have dared to bring the superstar Rajesh Khanna as a cook in 1972 film Bawarchi.

On the sets of Chupke Chupke (1975), when Dharmendra inquired a supporting actor why he was in a suit while he was in a driver’s costume, Hrishi da’s reply was, “You wouldn’t have been a hero if you had sense of stories.” He kept the scenes a secret till the last minute.

What makes him special?
Subhankar Ghosh

Mukherjee was a technician who knew the importance of every cut. In a shoot, he would know exactly how much he wanted from an actor, nothing more or less. He would make do with what one calls minimal consumption. He struggled with knee problem during the peak year of his career. Had it not been, he would have given more stories to us.

Different and relevant
Gajraj Rao

At a time when audiences watched Hindi films only to live their fantasies of being an angry young man, Hrishikesh Mukherjee created stories and worlds that actually reflected the Indian middle-class psyche without losing the essence of being an entertainer. His stories are still relevant and strike a chord with today’s generation too, which reflects in the fact that his films like Gol Maal, Anand, and Chupke Chupke are still being watched across generations.

His flair in comedy
Jaswinder Bhalla

Chupke Chupke, Gol Maal, Naram Garam, Khoobsoorat and Guddi are some of the finest films by the director. His flair in comedy stood its ground against the test of time and till date people revisit his movies. One of my favourite films of Hrishikesh ji is Chupke Chupke in which he had cast Dharmendra in a comic role. I was in ninth or tenth standard then. It had touched me at so many levels. I feel fortunate that I am offred the role of Prof Sukumar Sinha in the Punjabi remake of Chupke Chupke. Other gem of a movie was Guddi (1971), written by Gulzar which had broken many stereotypes.

Did you know!

• During the shooting of the song O Shama Mujhe Phoonk De from Aashiq (1962), Hrishi da told Raj Kapoor not to swing his arm twice during a song. That’s how minutely he worked as a director.
• In his directorial debut , Musafir, Hrishi da made his lead actor Dilip Kumar sing a song, Lagi Nahi Chute. He had noticed the actor humming off shoots and thought to present this side of the tragedy king to the audience.

Tweets to remember

The senior Bachchan had time and again put out a post on Hrishi da’s birth anniversary or remembering the films he had done with the director. His 2017 tweet with a picture from Namak Haraam said, “T 2719 – Namak Haraam .. 44 years ! .. and that instrument in my hand is the first video camera in the film Industry .. it had just come out and it belonged to Rajesh Khanna personally.. when he showed it to Hrishi da, he used it in the scene of the film .. !!” In another post Big B remembered Hrishi da on his birth anniversary in 2018, where words fell short when he shared an old article. “Maharaj..this is your finest ! But it is still only 30 per cent of what you can do!’— Hrishi da’s words for Amitabh Bachchan, after he watched AB’s film Black.

The best in everything

Being conferred with Dada Saheb Phalke Award in 1999, he received Padma Vibhushan in 2001 for his contribution to Indian cinema. If Madhumati, Naukari fetched him the title of best editor during that time, Anokhi Raat made him the best screenplay writer in 1970.