– Hriday Narayan Dixit
The source of art, music and dance is joy. Nature is the source of happiness. Nature is full of forms. Forms are seen through the eyes. They can be described in poetry. In theatrical art, songs, music and dance happen together. The development of acting in India was happening in ancient times only. Bharat Muni’s Natya Shastra is the proof of this. Natyashastra was called the fifth Veda. The Gita is a unique philosophy. Describing his Vibhutis, Krishna told Arjuna that, ‘I am the Samaveda among the Vedas.’ Samveda is related to singing and Veda means knowledge. Knowledge and songs are together in Samveda. Cinema is a popular medium. Cinema is a highly developed form of acting and drama. It is an industry worth billions. Culture history and fiction go hand in hand in cinema. The source of cine stories is direct public.
There is music every moment in nature. Air flow makes you happy. Trees and plants dancing in the gusts of wind seem to give music and create joy. Rain water also gives music while falling. Nirala’s poem ‘Badal Raag’ is memorable. ‘Tip Tip Barsa Pani, Pani Ne Aag Lagai’ is a popular cine song. The dancing clouds save the drums in the rain. Every pore of the earth rejoices with the rain of juice. Birds sing songs. The cuckoo is said to be the highest symbol of singing. The stream of nature’s song and music descends into the human mind. Theater is a prestigious part of Indian culture. In cinema, music and drama go hand in hand. Action is prominent in Hollywood movies. But Indian cinema has been emotion prone. It is not just a medium of entertainment. Of course cinema is entertainment. But like literature, cinema is also a medium to spread ideas. Entertaining creation has a short lifespan. In comparison, idea based films have a longer life span. History also becomes a subject in cinema.
Recently, a film titled ‘The Kerala Story’ on a serious subject has become a subject of controversy. A section of cine lovers is calling it a record exposing the cruel truth. A section is opposing it. According to the legend, non-Muslim girls are being converted on the pretext of love and are being handed over to terrorist organizations like ‘ISIS’. Terrorist organizations exploit girls. This is also a terrible truth. So a section has come out in support of the film and is calling the film a genuine document. This is also correct.
The second section is against the film. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has banned the film. Tamil Nadu has also created situations like not showing the film. At the same time, the Yogi government of Uttar Pradesh has made the film tax free. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has also made the film tax free. Shabana Azmi’s approach is worth noting. He has denied the demand to stop the film’s exhibition. He has tweeted that, ‘The idea of ​​banning a film after getting permission from the censor board is wrong.’ Mamta Banerjee did not pay attention to Shabana Azmi’s words. It is not inappropriate to give ideas through a powerful medium like cinema. Historical and ideological films are made to inform the audience about the essential facts.
Cinema is also a medium of news and ideas. Raj Kapoor was leftist in outlook. There was art in his films. There was excellent acting and the skill of speaking in dialogues. Films like Shree 420, Teesri Kasam represented a unique idea with excellent entertainment. ‘Mother India’ was also an effective film of this thought flow. Guru Dutt had raised the topic of awakening the general public in the film ‘Pyaasa’, ‘Jinhe naaz hai Hind par woh kahan hain’. Indian cinema has matured since before independence. In Ashok Kumar’s film ‘Kismat’, there was a warning to the whole world that Hindustan is dear to us. The song from that film, ‘Door Hato Ae Duniya Walon Hindustan Hamara Hai’ gives a pleasant message. Many films were also made about the pain and suffering of the poor and the problems of the laborers. ‘Sagina’ was one such film. Films were also made on the Emergency of 1975. ‘Kissa Kursi Ka’ was one such film and ‘Aandhi’ too. The government was very angry about this film. Kishore Kumar’s songs were stopped on the radio. IS Johar made the film ‘Nasbandi’ raising the question of forced sterilization during the Emergency of 1975-76. Although it was a comedy film, but emergency forcefully used to expose the sterilization.
Govind Nihalani’s ‘Ardhasatya’ and ‘Aakrosh’, Gautam Ghosh’s ‘Paar’, Sagar Sarhadi’s film ‘Bazaar’, Shyam Benegal’s ‘Ankur’ were such ideological films on special thought. Indian cinema has not remained oblivious to national challenges. In spite of love and fighting, the problems of the society have also been the subject of cinema. Many films have also been made on politics. People returning home were seen crying after watching the recently made ‘The Kashmir Files’ before ‘The Kerala Story’. It is also the duty of cinema to raise social problems. There was also a controversy over ‘The Kashmir Files’. Controversies should focus on social responsibility. Cinema is not a medium of controversy. In fact it is a medium of communication.
Love is the ultimate feeling. First it is personal. By appearing towards someone, it gets expansion and finally becomes collective. Sensitivity is an excellent quality. Cinema can do the work of making everyone sensitive. In English there are two words adjacent to it – one is feeling. Got injured. The body got hurt. Suffering reached the heart. Feeling was born out of this. This developed the inner sense of emotion. Motion is external and emotion is internal.
Indian cinema has made a lot of progress in the field of technology and direction. ‘Jodha Akbar’ was a historical film. There was a dispute on this also. Cinema makers have the right to take material from history. But there is also a need to be careful while making historical films. Films have also been made on mythological subjects. Temple priests are often portrayed as villains in some films. But there were no disputes on the basis of such characters. The cruel side of the society is shown in ‘The Kerala Story’. this is fact. true. History is proven. There is no point in making noise over this. Producer-directors should be commended for such films. But political leaders are also demanding a ban on the film due to communal reasons. This is totally unfair.
(The author is a former Speaker of the UP Legislative Assembly.)
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