Irfan Khan : The irreplaceable

I cannot accept Irfan Khan passed away today. It was not the time and age to depart. He had much more to offer. I always looked upto him, the way he became a legend after long struggle is noteworthy. Now everybody is writing he did so well in Hollywood ( The Amazing Spider man, Life of Pi, Slumdog Millionaire etc ) but if you note he struggled from 1988 ( Salam Bombay) to 2003 till Maqbool shot him into fame. In between he acted in TV ( ChandraKanta, Bharat Ek Khoj etc) but he was fairly forgettable.

Naseeruddin Shah once asked him how he did not become a drunken complainer. He replied he was never satisfied by his performance hence always strived for better. That’s the spirit for a man who came to Bollywood without a godfather and went to Hollywood to become India’s greatest actor. He struggled for 15 years (1988 to 2003) but never lost his focus. He proves by sheer talent you can achieve what you want. We complain so many times that our parents did not help, that circumstances are adverse etc etc. But success of Irfan Khan from a humble background without godfather in a competitive film industry where you are as successful as your last hit shows nothing is impossible. He was a self-made man who reached greatest height. He inspires us to dream. In the end he succumbed to cancer but never to failure. He left head held high. In last 17 years ( Maqbool 2003 to Angrezi Medium 2020) he stayed in the top of the game. 

Just look at the enviable filmography. Maqbool, Life in a Metro, Haider, Namesake, Hindi Medium, Piku, Lunch Box, Slumdog Millionaire, Qissa…..one cannot end, the list is unending. He was indeed very prolific. He never had the looks of a hero but he had portrayed versatile roles. From playing criminal to police officer to university professor to a regular sarkari employee to a chauffer, he did every role with finesse. He made boring roles memorable. For example, his role of a lonely unmarried man in Lunch Box made us fall for his lonely soul. I felt Lunch Box was made for him, nobody in India would turn that mundane role to an award winning one. I still regret why Lunch Box was not sent for Oscars. Goutam Ghosh, the famous filmmaker commented he wanted Lunch Box to be in Oscars as the only Indian entry but everybody vetoed him. Lunch Box was produced by Sony Pictures and had a high chance of getting into Oscars race in 2013. But our bad it was never sent to Oscars. Irfan deserved a standing ovation for Lunch Box. 

His comic timing in Life in a Metro, his slumdog no one in Mumbai Meri Jaan, his uncouth inability to speak English in Hindi Medium, his matter of fact role of driver in Piku, his professorial look in The Namesake, his criminal dacoit role in Paan Singh Tomar…..I cannot stop. His roles ate too many to describe in a short space. Just 2 years ago he played the lead role in Doob, a film made in Bangladesh which became Bangladesh's first official entry to Oscars in 2018. He proved for making a movie you need actors not stars.

 It’s a pity he died during lock down. Twenty thousand would have stood for his cortege, only 20 were actually  allowed. Social media is flooded with homage. He has won hearts and rules the minds of common man.

Pensively, looking at his end, I quote from a poem “ The Burial of Sir john Moore at Corunna”.

“Slowly and sadly we laid him down,

From the field of his fame fresh and gory;

We carved not a line, and we raised not a stone,

But left him alone with his glory”.

I bid adieu Irfan Khan. You are irreplaceable.

Mozart Bird Song : Piano Concerto no 17,K453, 3rd movement

Mozart had a pet bird, a common starling. These birds are known well for singing, they are a kind of song bird. Mozart immortalized his pet bird by copying its chirping in one of his piano concertos. 3rd Movement of Mozart Piano Concerto no. 17, K 453 has strains of the bird song. Mozart thus immortalized his pet bird. It is not unusual to make music mimicking natural sounds and Mozart surely loved his pet bird; he organized a funeral after the pet expired.

I am sharing an Youtube video. These days Youtube makes so many things possible, even 25 years ago I would have scrambled to search for such legends' recordings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsdfPVM0stI

Happy listening.

Source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mozart%27s_starling 

Haydn Farewell Symphony story

Once Haydn wanted to go on a holiday with his orchestra from the court where he was employed. But the prince who employed him refused to given him a holiday. So he decided to ask for leave musically. He composed a symphony which at the end becomes smaller and smaller. The musicians stop, get up, snuff of the candle, take the music sheet and walk out. Until one violinist remains in the hall. The symphony which started with a full orchestra ends with just one violinist. The prince who was present at the first performance of this strange symphony took the hint and have Haydn and his team of musicians a holiday. The symphony came to be known as "Farewell".

Today there is no candle light so no question of snuffing a candle. However in Youtube you can see the orchestra slowly leaving the stage one by one till in the end you have solo violin. I shared this particular video to show how Haydn's orchestra might have surprised the prince then. Next time you ask for leave try something novel like this; hope your boss has a sense of humor !

Also note the opening movement, you will realize how Mozart was influenced by Haydn.

The link about the full story :
https://arts.ucdavis.edu/post/haydn-symphony-no-45-farewell

Travelling Cinema : A lost world

Today the concept of travelling cinema has died a death with introduction of mobiles and digital cinema. Many of my time and older than me will recall there used to be makeshift movie shows on white screens in localities. There used to be evenings of film shows during festivals. Just after Durga Puja in 1986 I remember seeing a bengali Film Dhonni Meye in open air at Tribeni Tissues ground where my father worked. It was 60 Km away from Kolkata, a paper mill with officers quarters, school premises inside. Nearby movie hall was in Tribeni, Bandel or Chinsurah. Most people did not have TV sets those days there. I remember watching that movie in 1986. There was a large gathering sitting on the ground watching Jaya Bhaduri turning from a tomboy to a demure girl in love with Partho Mukherjee, the film's hero. It was entertaining to see the audience laugh, cry and whistle. If they would be happy they will clap or whistle. The seats were first come first served. Those who were late will sit in the opposite side so they watched the film in reverse direction. This kind of shows were quite popular in villages and mofussils those days.

Even I have seen this makeshift movie screens in Manoharpukur, Kalighat in Kolkata in 1980's where I grew up. Every summer vacation there would be a Shitala pujo and for almost a week there will be Jatra shows, jalsha and movie screenings. I recall watching Sholay in 1985 in one such travelling cinema. There used to be reels of films and there will be intervals because those reels needed to be changed. Sometime the cinema technician will go for a smoke and forget that the reel ended which will create a huge furore among the audience who may be now on the edge of very important scene of a film. 

These days such travelling cinema shows are over, you will only be nostalgic about it but you will never see it again. The present generation doesn't even know what simple pleasure we had. Those who have watched Shah Rukh Khan's Swadesh may recall such travelling cinema show inside the film in one scene. Once travelling cinema used to be the only source of big entertainment in villages. But now it has died, nobody shows it again. I will tell my son how it was, he will never see it.