Bimal Roy was one of the most acclaimed Hindi film directors of all time. He is particularly noted for his realistic and socialistic films like Do Bigha Zamin, Parineeta, Biraj Bahu, Madhumati, Sujata, and Bandini, making him an important director of Hindi cinema. He has won a number of awards throughout his career, including eleven Filmfare Awards, a National Film Award, and the International Prize of the Cannes Film Festival.
Bimal Roy was born on 12 July 1909, to a Bengali family in Dhaka, then part of the Bengal province of British India and now the capital of Bangladesh. Following the independence and partition of India in 1947, he moved to the Republic of India.
Bimal Roy entered the field of cinema as a camera assistant with New Theatres Pvt. Ltd. During this time, he assisted director P.C. Barua on the hit 1935 movie Devdas, starring K.L. Saigal.
1940s and 1950s Roy was part of the parallel cinema movement in post-war India. He was famous for his romantic-realist melodramas that took on important social issues while still being entertaining. He was a filmmaker of great and in-depth understanding of human strengths and weaknesses.
As far as the music for his films was concerned, Roy usually alternated between music directors Salil Chowdhury and S.D. Burman. His films featured beautiful and memorable songs, rendered by all the top playback singers of the day. Some of the notable songs from Roy's films include:
"Jalte Hain Jiske Liye" from Sujata (1959)
"Chali Radhe Rani" from Parineeta (1953)
"AaRi Aa Nindiya" from Do Bigha Zamin (1953)
"Ab Aage Teri Marzi" from Devdas (1955)
"Dil Tadap Tadap Ke Keh Raha" from Madhumati (1958)
"Suhana Safar Aur Yeh Mausam Haseen" from Madhumati (1958)
"Aaja Re Pardesi" from Madhumati (1958),
"Ghadi Ghadi Mora Dil Dhadake" from Madhumati (1958)
"Zulmi Sang Aankh Ladi" from Madhumati (1958)
"O Sajana Barkha Bahaar" from Parakh (1960)
"Mora Gora Ang Lai Le" from Bandini (1963)
"O Jaanewale Ho Sake To Laut Ke Aana" from Bandini (1963
Bimal Roy's influence was far-reaching, both in Indian cinema and world cinema. In Indian cinema, his influence extended to both mainstream commercial Hindi cinema and the emerging Parallel Cinema. His film Two Acres of Land (1954) was the first film to successfully stradle art and commercial cinema. It was both a commercial success and a critical success, winning the International Prize at the 1954 Cannes Film Festival. The film's success paved the way for the Indian New Wave as a result.
In commercial cinema, the most influential film he directed was perhaps Madhumati (1958), his first and only collaboration with Ritwik Ghatak (who wrote the screenplay) and one of the earliest films to deal with reincarnation. It is believed to have been the source of inspiration for many later works dealing with the theme of reincarnation in Indian cinema, Indian television, and perhaps world cinema. It may have been the source of inspiration for the American film The Reincarnation of Peter Proud (1975) and the Hindi film Karz (1980), both of which dealt with reincarnation and have been influential in their respective cultures. Karz in particular was remade several times: as the Kannada film Yuga Purusha (1989), the Tamil film Enakkul Oruvan (1984), and more recently the Bollywood film Karzzzz (2008). Karz may have also inspired the American film Chances Are (1989).The most recent film to be directly inspired by Madhumati is the hit Bollywood film Om Shanti Om (2007), which led to Roy's daughter Rinki Bhattacharya accusing the film of plagiarism and threatening legal action against its producers.
Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, popularly known as Dadasaheb Phalke was an Indian producer-director-screenwriter, known as the father of Indian cinema. Starting with his debut film, Raja Harishchandra 1913, now known as India's first full-length feature, he made 95 movies and 26 short films in his career span of 19 years, till 1937, including his most noted works, Mohini Bhasmasur (1913),Satyavan Savitri (1914), Lanka Dahan (1917), Shri Krishna Janma (1918) and Kaliya Mardan (1919).
The Dadasaheb Phalke Award for lifetime contribution to Cinema, was instituted in his honour, by Govt. of India in 1969, and is the most prestigious and coveted award in Indian Cinema.
The award for a particular year is given during the end of the following year along with the National Film Awards. The Bombay High Court had directed the Directorate of Film Festivals of India (DFFI) to consider uncensored films for the competition, a case which DFFI contested and won in the Supreme Court in late 2006. The case had delayed announcement of the award for 2006, which was announced in the middle of 2008. The 2007 award which had to be announced at the end of 2008 was announced in September 2009. The 2008 award was announced on 19 January, 2010.
Dhundiraj Govind Phalke was born in a chitpavan brahmin family on 30 April 1870 at Trimbakeshwar, 30 km from Nasik, India, where his father was an accomplished Sanskrit scholar.
He joined Sir J. J. School of Art, Mumbai in 1885. After passing from J.J.School in 1890, Phalke went to the Kala Bhavan in Baroda, where he studied Sculpture, Engineering Drawing, Painting and Photography.
He began his career as a small town photographer in Godhra but had to leave business after the death of his first wife and child in an outbreak of the bubonic plague. He soon met the German magician Carl Hertz, one of the 40 magicians employed by the Lumiere Brothers.
Soon after, he had the opportunity to work with the Archeological Survey of India as a draftsman. However, restless with his job and its constraints, he turned to the business of printing. He specialized in lithography and oleography, and worked for painter Raja Ravi Varma. Phalke later started his own printing press, made his first trip abroad to Germany, to learn about the latest technology and machinery.
However, following a dispute with his partners about the running of the press, he gave up printing and turned his attention to moving pictures, after watching a silent film, The Life of Christ and envisioning Indian gods on the screen. He made his first film, Raja Harishchandra, in 1912; it was first shown publicly on 3 May 1913 at Mumbai's Coronation Cinema, effectively marking the beginning of the Indian film industry. Around one year before, Ramchandra Gopal (known as Dadasaheb Torne) had filmed a stage drama called Pundalik and shown it in the same theater. However, the credit for making the first Indian feature film is attributed to Dadasaheb Phalke.
Once again, Phalke proved successful in his new art, and proceeded to make several silent films, shorts, documentary feature, educational, comic, tapping all the potential of this new medium. However, film, having proved its financial viability, soon attracted businessmen who favored money over aesthetics.
Phalke formed a film company, Hindustan Films in partnership with five businessmen from Mumbai, in the hope that by having the financial aspect of his profession handled by experts in the field, he would be free to pursue the creative aspect. He set up a model studio and trained technicians, actors, but very soon, he ran into insurmountable problems with his partners. In 1920, Phalke resigned from Hindustan company, made his first announcement of retirement from cinema,and he wrote 'Rangbhoomi', an acclaimed play.
But lacking his imaginative genius, the Hindustan company ran into deep financial loss, and he was finally persuaded to return. However, Phalke felt constrained by the business, and, after directing a few films for the company, he withdrew.
But then the times changed, and Phalke fell victim to the emerging technology of sound film. Unable to cope with the talkies, the man who had fathered the Indian film industry became obsolete. His last silent movie “Setubandhan” was released in 1932, which later released by dubbing voice. During 1936-38, he produced his last film Gangavataran (1937), before retiring to Nashik, where he died in 16 February 1944.
Dadasaheb Phalke, the Father of Indian Cinema, by Bapu Vatave, National Book Trust, 2004
Sorry for delay guys. I knew nobody visits and read my blogs so I am addressing this to whoever will read it. For past few weeks I was restless and confused with the game of my own mind and heart. I was trying to balance between personal and professional life. I am not here to write about my professional life because this blog belongs only to me and myself. But friends promise me you won’t tell about my this side to anyone which I am going to share with you further.
Today, I would like to share something which I never did before.The emotions somewhere in my heart are still unfolded and untouched by anybody.Yes, you are right. It’s about the Love.Even I failed to stay away from the true gift of the Nature to the Mankind, “LOVE”.
6th March, 1985 that was the first day of the boy in this world. That boy was me, Akash. I was born in as usual circumstances like others. My relatives and other visitors used to tell that I have my mother’s eyes and face. I was fair, fat enough with circled face. By days, weeks, months and years passed as I grown up and began to identify signals, signs, voices, little bit language (words). Then my family started calling me by the word which I have never thought would get attached to my life which I won’t be able to get rid of with. “Nepali Boy !” This is what my family and other visitors used to call me. My eyes were short, my nose was ok but I don’t know what made them to call me with that.
Mom admitted me in a school located at Nana Chowk, near KennedyBridge, which I think Late John F. Kennedy never visited. A group of Sindhis made a foundation of this School which is known as Sind Model English Primary. I was not supposed to have coincidently any Nepali friend. After a couple of years passed from Jr. Kindergarten and Sr. Kindergarten, came a year of my 1st Standard. The class was taught by Kalpana Miss who was very kind hearted and ruthless as well if no child does his/her home work. I began to make friends, guess what? There were few Nepalese too, namely; Mahesh, Tamang, Sunil Sherpa (he came in 3rd std.) and Jagat. In our class, there was a small cute looking girl, who always kept crying, don’t know for what reason, she was SNEHA. I still dream about her. Whenever she began to cry a girl next to her used to make her quiet. I will not tell her name. If I tell you her name then it will expose my personal interest of crush in her since, as a future partner, which I don’t want to reveal. The day came when nobody did their homework in class. I mean few did and few didn’t which included me too.
Kalpana Miss with her warm still and twisted smile made us to stand on our bench. One by one she made our legs as red as rose. Rose because it been lucky for me. That girl talked to me first time in whole academic year. I was crying like other losers in class. She came close to me with her two tie ribbon hair, smiled like an angel and tried to get me calm. She offered water from her bottle which I think wasn’t belonging to her.
Years passed by and class kept on changing for every year. All friends were categorized and separated in different divisions each year. Only one friend stayed with me till the end of School Days. Yes, the friend was that girl whom I admired a lot. During our 8thstd that girl came to know about my feelings for her through some common friends.Suddenly, she stopped talking to me. I think I was not her good friend. She never gave me any reason for her dominating behavior. I was quiet shy at that age so never dare to ask her. She always had her friends group around whom I used to consider as her Security League. They never let me close to her to talk and not even let me see her during lectures. Whoever find out that I am watching her they could cover her face, head and hands through their own body. To hell with Bloody Gals Power!!
One day her friends informed this to our class teacher. My class teacher was very humble and full of energy who always tried to pursue hidden talent within us. She was cool minded teacher. Her name was Ms. Raval. She took my condition very much positively. She explained to whole class that this is a general tendency of our mind when we spend so many years with opposite sexes. It is natural for one to get attract with their friends during that age. I was not old enough to understand her theses. Then also for me she was the angel who managed to make my day from being my worst nightmare.
During our 10thStd, I was restless with the thought of getting separate with that girl whose name was LOVE, after SSC Exam. One of my friend who later became one of my good friend had had suggested me to propose her. At the end of that academic year I finally managed to gather the confidence and went to talk to her. I did the same what my friend has suggested me. She didn’t show me any negative behavior and with very much calmly asked me to be her friend, only friend. I was speechless for few moments. Then I smiled and agreed to be her only friend nothing more than that.
I made my mind that I will never think about her from that moment.Since, we got admitted into different colleges our ways got different. She got more friends in her college. Even I found more beautiful blonde girls in college. Let’s say, better than her, beautiful than her and attractive than her.Priti was the first girl in college on whom I had crushed. She was from Marathi division. Within few weeks I managed to propose her. She rejected me with the excuse that she wana concentrate on her career first. I agreed on her decision and I respected her seriousness with her future. I dropped the idea and again I felt light and merry that after the school girl I really got attracted to another girl and I proposed and then for her sake future I was taken back. Then few more months passed and I came to know that Priti got a Boyfriend from her own division. Whenever she used to pass by myself and my only friend from school who became my close friend who accompanied me till now, used to smile and laugh at her. I don’t know whether he had observed but i noticed, whenever I used look at Priti she always made sad face seems she felt guilt on something. She might thought that i felt cheated. It wasn't like that. I was never serious about her.
As the time got passed I realized that I can’t stick on one girl. The excitement was some girls got good face, some got long and beautiful hair, some got hot figure, some got cute smile, some got deep blue eyes, some got long legs, etc. I began to learn that one cannot get satisfy by one girl, at least not me.
Then there gone a huge list of girls followed on whom I really had crushed. The purpose of using word REALLY is that If anybody had accepted me as their boyfriend I would have got married with that girl. Even I didn't let our Student General Secretary, Miss Jaya. What a girl she was! A perfect figured girl I have never seen at that time. But she was much older than me. So I dropped the plan.
The girl whose name is LOVE was just making new friends at her new college. We never had any reason from then to meet and talk to each other. But I kept meeting her again and again through my only very good friend later.
Things had never been same in my life. She knew what crisis I been through. I lost the very precious gift of my life. I don’t want to discuss about that. Then, by destiny we kept on meeting again and again after many years. I found out that my feelings for her had not got changed. In fact, I was trying to find her in every girls and nobody deserved her place. So, I never had long and good relationship with any girl. Oh Gosh!! Why did I wasted all these years finding her love in other girls? Why didn’t I spend all the happiest moments with her?
She meets me, she talk to me. I enjoy being with her again. But nowadays, she is suffering through some pain which she doesn’t want to be unfold to me or anybody. That day she cried before me. I felt to hold her, to give my shoulder’s support but I was bound with my borders. I can’t touch her without her permission so I kept myself little away from her and offer a tissue paper. It also hurts me when she feels any pain. My concept of being with her is to make her forget the whole world and to treat her like a Princess. I never asked her in these years what she been through. I never asked what sorrow she is suffering with. The fact is I don’t want to know. I really want to make her happy and keep smiling forever. She doesn’t know what her smiles make me feel. I feel alive. The one thing in the world which generates energy within me is her smile. It’s a living source of life for me.
When I meet her I really felt to love her. She can never understand what I wish to give her. She is not aware of my feelings. This girl whose name is LOVE is just a perfect girl for me. She thinks she had changed a lot. For me she is the same girl who had offered a bottle of water to me in my 1st Std. This girl whose name is LOVE, she is just a simple, dainty girl with lovely eyes. She is lost, lost in time and space, lost in my thoughts as sugar in milk. Her face got a fairy likeness. Her temper reminds me the picture of mother Mary. When she laughs it seems the petals are falling. When she walks in her thought lonely there one can hear a melody of life. She is just a little girl who is still waiting at the side of a corner in hope her Prince Charm would come someday and take her to the Castle in Paradise and where she would forget all her sorrow and pain, and live happily ever after!!
She had been with me spiritually for every moments of my life since I saw her. It seems she had lost from many births ago, though sometimes it seems as affair of yesterday and sometimes seems an affair of today or it seems as a moment affair. She was just standing by my side and now she has vanished. I don’t know what trick what chase is this. My senses are mystified and they are searching for that girl whose name is LOVE. Plenty of time I call out for her in my name. If she ever reads or hears this, if she be alive or dying just for one time please come and meet me once do not sully my devotion.
The word “love” is possibly the most beautiful in the world. Someone can say, “I love God”, or “I love my wife”, or “I love my Country, or “I love my children”, or “I love my friend”, or “I love my neighbor”, or “I love my dog”, or “I love football” or “I love chocolate”, and most people will think they understand. But the kinds of “love” appropriate to all these objects of those “loves” are as different as anything can be. Someone who truly loves God desires to promote the glory of God, and to be with Him forever, and to help others to know and love Him as well. He who really loves his wife desires to make her happy and safe, to see her good qualities replicated in the building of a family with her, to sacrifice himself, even his life, if necessary, to protect her, and to help her secure eternal happiness in the next life. She who loves her husband obeys his just wishes, and desires to assist him in fulfilling his duties as a man, that he may be worthy of her love and loyalty, and of eternal salvation. Those who best love their children are desirous of raising them properly; to prepare them for life in this world and the next, and sacrifice their own personal interests and preferences for their children’s good. He who loves his Country wants to see it act honorably and justly, and desires to keep it free and safe from enemies, foreign and domestic, even if he must give his life for that cause. She who properly loves her friend enjoys her company and helps her in need. He who correctly loves his neighbor may or may not like his Neighbor, but treats him as he himself would be treated, with courtesy and respect for his person, but not necessarily for his ideas or deeds if they are unworthy of him. The person who properly “loves” football enjoys watching or playing the game, but (we hope) does not sacrifice all for its sake, recognizing it is just a game. And she who “loves” chocolate desires to consume it for the pleasure it gives her. Love of God constitutes the highest form of love, for God Is Love.
This kind is followed closely by love of family, country, and neighbor for love of the God Who made them. This kind of love is called Charity, and is primarily concerned with giving. The kind of “love” that consumes something for pleasure is more properly called “desire”. This kind involves taking, and is obviously of the lowest kind. Alas, how common it is to find these two very different things being confused! Just as there are indeed those who sacrifice all on the altar of sports or food, or some other triviality, so are there many deluded people who establish relationships with others for the purpose of consuming each other for their own selfish pleasure, often putting each other at risk for incurable, fatal diseases, or worse, eternal damnation, and dare to call that “love”. Such relationships are easily recognized by the chronic disputes, insecurity, dishonesty, promiscuity, and/or shortness of duration that characterize them. These incidents are more properly called examples of lust than of love, and cause great harm to everyone involved, causing, among other problems, habits that are as addictive as drugs, leading its victims from one destructive relationship to another. Children that result from these selfish alliances are frequently either slaughtered in the womb, or brought up like wild animals that travel in packs called street gangs, at great expense to taxpayers who must substitute for the absent father and/or mother, and at great cost to others by the damage they do by their irresponsible acts, not having been raised in a normal family environment that teaches respect for the rights of others. The uncountable destruction wrought by this sort of “love” rivals, if not exceeds, that brought about by hatred.
I contend that this confusion over the meaning of the word “love” has caused a great many people to go through life without ever having experienced real love. As a by-product of this deficiency, there is also confusion over the meaning and purpose of hate. When a person truly loves someone or something, this love necessarily results in abhorrence for anything that threatens the well-being or honor of the beloved. This abhorrence is called “hate”. When directed against evil deeds and the false ideas that spawn and support them, hatred is a proper, necessary, and inevitable component of love. In fact, he who is incapable of this type of hatred is also incapable of that highest love known as Charity. However, when hatred is directed against persons, it is misdirected and uncharitable. Our modern society, unfortunately, fails to draw distinctions between persons and their deeds or ideas, and creates false divisions in mankind by pushing people into identifying themselves with their ideas and actions, usually for political or economic exploitation. Owing to our nations false national ideology that pretends that all ideas and beliefs are equal and somehow sacred, conflicts frequently arise, in which hatred is directed against the people who have false ideas that cause behavior that is destructive, rather than against the ideas themselves. But people are not ideas, nor are they deeds. People are made in the image and likeness of God, and, as such, are good in their essence. Whether they are what can be called “good” or “bad” people depends upon how they utilize the free will God has granted them. Ideas, beliefs, and deeds, by contrast, can be good or evil in their very essence. And, let us never forget, ideas and beliefs have consequences. Nobody can truly keep his beliefs to himself, for they will affect everything he does. He who does not act according to his beliefs must eventually believe in accordance with his acts, or go mad.
A Nazi, therefore, is not Nazism, but is rather a person, potentially capable of much good, but who has unfortunately been deceived by a foolish and dangerous ideology that prompts him to do evil things. A robber is not robbery, but a person who, because he falsely believes or “feels” he has an excuse that is superior to the laws of God and Man, commits the sin of robbery. A prostitute is not prostitution, but a person who commits the sin of fornication for profit. A sodomite (the legal term for one who practices certain unnatural sexual acts) is not sodomy, but a person who commits the sin of sodomy. A sinner is not sin. None of the above persons have to continue doing what they have been doing. With a little Divine Grace, some repentance, and a bit of humility, all these persons are capable of casting aside these sins and errors as being unworthy of someone redeemed by the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ. And many have done so, to their great happiness. Therefore, if we would truly love our neighbor, who is a sinner, we would gently inform him that he was created by a loving God for higher things than wallowing in sin. We would also correct, publicly if necessary, those who would tell the sinner that there is nothing wrong with his sin, for to tell any of these afflicted souls that there is nothing wrong with their false ideas or the evil deeds that they help generate, would be criminally irresponsible and very unloving. It would be equally wrong to hold up a sign, as some well-intentioned but apparently ignorant people have done, telling them that God hates them. God, being Love, loves all His creatures, even the worst sinners, but He also hates sin for the harm it does to the sinner and to society. If we would truly love our neighbor, so should we all.
Earth Day is a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's environment. It was founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in held on April 22, 1970. Earth Day is celebrated in spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Many communities celebrate Earth Week, an entire week of activities focused on environmental issues. The first Earth Week originated in Philadelphia in 1970 (starting April 16 and culminating on Earth Day, April 22.) Earth Day Network, a group that wishes to become the coordinator of Earth Day globally, asserts that Earth Day is now observed on April 22 on virtually every country on Earth. World Environment Day, celebrated on June 5 in a different nation every year, is the principal United Nations environmental observance.
U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin announced his idea for a nationwide teach-in day on the environment in a speech to a fledgling conservation group in Seattle on 20 September 1969, and then again six days later in Atlantic City to a meeting of the United Auto Workers. Senator Nelson hoped that a grassroots outcry about environmental issues might prove to Washington, D.C. just how distressed Americans were in every constituency. Senator Nelson invited Republican Representative Paul N “Pete” McCloskey to serve as his co-chair and they incorporated a new non-profit organization, environmental Teach-In, Inc., to stimulate participation across the country. Both continued to give speeches plugging the event.
On September 29, 1969, in a front-page New York Times article, Gladwin Hill wrote:
"Rising concern about the "environmental crisis" is sweeping the nation's campuses with an intensity that may be on its way to eclipsing student discontent over the war in Vietnam...a national day of observance of environmental problems, analogous to the mass demonstrations on Vietnam, is being planned for next spring, when a nationwide environmental 'teach-in'...coordinated from the office of Senator Gaylord Nelson is planned...” Denis Hayes, a Harvard graduate student, read the NYT article and traveled to Washington to get involved. He had been student body president and a campus activist at StanfordUniversity in McCloskey’s district and where Teach-In board member Paul Ehrlich was a professor. He thought he might be asked to organize Boston. Instead, Nelson eventually asked Hayes to drop out of Harvard, assemble a staff, and direct the effort to organize the United States. Hayes would go on to become a widely recognized environmental advocate.
Nelson's suggestion was difficult to implement, as the Earth Day movement proved to be autonomous with no central governing body. As Senator Nelson attests, it simply grew on its own:
Earth Day worked because of the spontaneous response at the grassroots level. We had neither the time nor resources to organize 20 million demonstrators and the thousands of schools and local communities that participated. That was the remarkable thing about Earth Day. It organized itself.
Official Earth Week logo that was used as the backdrop for the prime time CBS News Special Report with Walter Cronkite about Earth Day 1970
On April 22 1970, Earth Day marked the beginning of the modern environmental movement. Approximately 20 million Americans participated. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, Freeway and expressway revolts, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values.
Media coverage of the first Earth Day included a One-Hour Prime-time CBS News Special Report called "Earth Day: A Question of Survival," with correspondents reporting from a dozen major cities across the country, and narrated by Walter Cronkite (whose backdrop was the Earth Week Committee of Philadelphia's logo).The largest segment of the special report (20 minutes of the 60-minute program) focused on Earth Day in Philadelphia.
Forty years after the first Earth Day, the world is in greater peril than ever. While climate change is the greatest challenge of our time, it also presents the greatest opportunity – an unprecedented opportunity to build a healthy, prosperous, clean energy economy now and for the future.
Earth Day 2010 can be a turning point to advance climate policy, energy efficiency, renewable energy and green jobs. Earth Day Network is galvanizing millions who make personal commitments to sustainability. Earth Day 2010 is a pivotal opportunity for individuals, corporations and governments to join together and create a global green economy. Join the more than one billion people in 190 countries that are taking action for Earth Day.
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar is viewed as messiah of dalits and downtrodden in India. He was the chairman of the drafting committee that was constituted by the Constituent Assembly in 1947 to draft a constitution for the independent India. He played a seminal role in the framing of the constitution. Bhimrao Ambedkar was also the first Law Minister of India. For his yeoman service to the nation, B.R. Ambedkar was bestowed with Bharat Ratna in 1990.
Dr.Bhimrao Ambedkar was born on April 14, 1891 in Mhow (presently in Madhya Pradesh). He was the fourteenth child of Ramji and Bhimabai Sakpal Ambavedkar. B.R. Ambedkar belonged to the "untouchable" Mahar Caste. His father and grandfather served in the British Army. In those days, the government ensured that all the army personnel and their children were educated and ran special schools for this purpose. This ensured good education for Bhimrao Ambedkar, which would have otherwise been denied to him by the virtue of his caste.
Bhimrao Ambedkar experienced caste discrimination right from the childhood. After his retirement, Bhimrao's father settled in Satara Maharashtra. Bhimrao was enrolled in the local school. Here, he had to sit on the floor in one corner in the classroom and teachers would not touch his notebooks. In spite of these hardships, Bhimrao continued his studies and passed his Matriculation examination from Bombay University with flying colours in 1908. Bhim Rao Ambedkar joined the Elphinstone College for further education. In 1912, he graduated in Political Science and Economics from Bombay University and got a job in Baroda.
In 1913, Bhimrao Ambedkar lost his father. In the same year Maharaja of Baroda awarded scholarship to Bhim Rao Ambedkar and sent him to America for further studies. Bhimrao reached New York in July 1913. For the first time in his life, Bhim Rao was not demeaned for being a Mahar. He immersed himself in the studies and attained a degree in Master of Arts and a Doctorate in Philosophy from Columbia University in 1916 for his thesis "National Dividend for India: A Historical and Analytical Study." From America, Dr.Ambedkar proceeded to London to study economics and political science. But the Baroda government terminated his scholarship and recalled him back.
The Maharaja of Baroda appointed Dr. Ambedkar as his political secretary. But no one would take orders from him because he was a Mahar. Bhimrao Ambedkar returned to Bombay in November 1917. With the help of Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur, a sympathizer of the cause for the upliftment of the depressed classes, he started a fortnightly newspaper, the "Mooknayak" (Dumb Hero) on January 31, 1920. The Maharaja also convened many meetings and conferences of the "untouchables" which Bhimrao addressed. In September 1920, after accumulating sufficient funds, Ambedkar went back to London to complete his studies. He became a barrister and got a Doctorate in science.
After completing his studies in London, Ambedkar returned to India. In July 1924, he founded the Bahishkrit Hitkaraini Sabha (Outcastes Welfare Association). The aim of the Sabha was to uplift the downtrodden socially and politically and bring them to the level of the others in the Indian society. In 1927, he led the Mahad March at the Chowdar Tank at Colaba, near Bombay, to give the untouchables the right to draw water from the public tank where he burnt copies of the 'Manusmriti' publicly.
In 1929, Ambedkar made the controversial decision to co-operate with the all-British Simon Commission which was to look into setting up a responsible Indian Government in India. The Congress decided to boycott the Commission and drafted its own version of a constitution for free India. The Congress version had no provisions for the depressed classes. Ambedkar became more skeptical of the Congress's commitment to safeguard the rights of the depressed classes.
When a separate electorate was announced for the depressed classes under Ramsay McDonald 'Communal Award', Gandhiji went on a fast unto death against this decision. Leaders rushed to Dr. Ambedkar to drop his demand. On September 24, 1932, Dr. Ambedkar and Gandhiji reached an understanding, which became the famous Poona Pact. According to the pact the separate electorate demand was replaced with special concessions like reserved seats in the regional legislative assemblies and Central Council of States.
Dr. Ambedkar attended all the three Round Table Conferences in London and forcefully argued for the welfare of the "untouchables". Meanwhile, British Government decided to hold provincial elections in 1937. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar set up the "Independent Labor Party" in August 1936 to contest the elections in the Bombay province. He and many candidates of his party were elected to the Bombay Legislative Assembly.
In 1937, Dr. Ambedkar introduced a Bill to abolish the "khoti" system of land tenure in the Konkan region, the serfdom of agricultural tenants and the Mahar "watan" system of working for the Government as slaves. A clause of an agrarian bill referred to the depressed classes as "Harijans," or people of God. Bhimrao was strongly opposed to this title for the untouchables. He argued that if the "untouchables" were people of God then all others would be people of monsters. He was against any such reference. But the Indian National Congress succeeded in introducing the term Harijan. Ambedkar felt bitter that they could not have any say in what they were called.
Achievements: Dr. B.R. Ambedkar was elected as the chairman of the drafting committee that was constituted by the Constituent Assembly to draft a constitution for the independent India; he was the first Law Minister of India; conferred Bharat Ratna in 1990.
In 1947, when India became independent, the first Prime Minister Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, invited Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, who had been elected as a Member of the Constituent Assembly from Bengal, to join his Cabinet as a Law Minister. The Constituent Assembly entrusted the job of drafting the Constitution to a committee and Dr. Ambedkar was elected as Chairman of this Drafting Committee. In February 1948, Dr. Ambedkar presented the Draft Constitution before the people of India; it was adopted on November 26, 1949.
In October 1948, Dr. Ambedkar submitted the Hindu Code Bill to the Constituent Assembly in an attempt to codify the Hindu law. The Bill caused great divisions even in the Congress party. Consideration for the bill was postponed to September 1951. When the Bill was taken up it was truncated. A dejected Ambedkar relinquished his position as Law Minister.
On May 24, 1956, on the occasion of Buddha Jayanti, he declared in Bombay, that he would adopt Buddhism in October. On 0ctober 14, 1956 he embraced Buddhism along with many of his followers. On December 6, 1956, Baba Saheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar died peacefully in his sleep.
Humans as the Homo sapience evolved on this planet about 150,000 years before present. Some of the oldest civilizations known in the history of humanity have been dated 10,000 years old. Human Being is a social animal. Social animal has a tendency to govern and to be governed by a set of rules framed by the society itself. There are two fundamental types of human nature. Creative and possessive. Creative humans use human intellect for creative endeavors which enriches human thought; knowledge and wealth thereby contribute to the development of human heritage for the posterity. Possessive people, on the other hand do not believe in the use of human intellect for creative purpose. Rather, they believe in appropriation, amassing and even usurpation of the products of the labor of the creative people. This type of people posses a strong urge to become the governing class by all means in order to achieve their aims. Lesser the degree of civilization in the society, greater is the probability of succeeding this type of people in becoming the governing class. However, in a more civilized society the creative people can offer resistance to possessive people and try to safeguard their interests.
This is a continuous process in the human society. Karl Marx has scientifically analyzed this conflict by applying the principles of dialectical materialism to the sphere of social phenomenon and described it as the historical materialism. Slavery, apartheid, gender bias and caste system are the abominable creations of possessive peoples for the exploitation of creative people. These are man made evils created by man for the exploitation of man. Those, who have raised their voices against these evils and given a relentless fight against the prevailing social order of their times in order to free the creative peoples from the shackles imposed on them have become immortal personalities in the human history. Some of these great persons are better known as founders of religions. Gautam Buddha, Jesus Christ and Guru Nanak for example. Some have become famous as saints as Kabeerjee, Ravidasjee and Tukarama. Some have become source of inspiration and guidance to the underprivileged classes as Krantiba Jotiba Phoolay and Periyar Ramaswamy Naicker and some are revered even more than gods as Bharatratna Dr. Bhimrao Ramjee Ambedkar.
Gautam Buddha, Jesus Christ, Guru Nanak Kabeer, Ravidas, Tukarama, Krantiba Jotirao Phoolay, Periyar and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar they all belong to the great class of exalted Homo sapience called as Humanists.
Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar was truly a multi-faceted personality. A veritable emancipator of Dalits, a great national leader and patriot, a great author, a great educationist, a great political philosopher, a great religious guide and above all a great humanist without any parallel among his contemporaries. All these facets of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar's personality had strong humanistic underpinnings. It is only regrettable that the press in the past as well as the contemporary has projected Ambedkar mainly as a great social rebel and a bitter critic of the Hindu religion. Critics of Dr. Ambedkar have ignored his basic humanistic instincts and strong humanitarian convictions behind his every act or speech through out his life. It is important to trace the origin and consolidation of his humanistic convictions.
Origins of Dr. Ambedkar's Humanistic Convictions.
Dr. Ambedkar's father, Subhedar Ramji was a known follower of the Kabeerpanth. Many of the Kabir's Dohas are the veritable gems of rationalism and the most daring expressions of the humanitarian beliefs. Dr. Ambedkar's mind was thus deeply imbued with Kabeer's philosophy in the childhood days. On passing his matriculation examination, he was felicitated by his teacher and was presented with a copy of a book on the life of Buddha. This gift must have made a profound impact on the mind of young Ambedkar. Dr. Ambedkar stayed in America, the land of liberty, for his higher studies. There he studied the western liberal thought and the humanitarian philosophy expounded by great thinkers such as Prof. John Dewey, who was also his teacher, John Stuart Mill, Edmund Burke, and Prof. Harold Laski to name a few. The impact of this original thinker on Dr. Ambedkar's mind is evident from the frequent quotations one comes across in his writings and speeches. The contrast between the social milieu which he lived in, and the liberal academic thought he studied could not have resulted in anything but making him an ardent humanist.
Proof of Dr. Ambedkar's Unflinching Humanistic Convictions.
Following events in the life of Dr. Ambedkar bears testimony to his humanitarian concerns and convictions.
Mahad Tank Satyagraha
Untouchables were barred however; the animals were allowed to use the water of the Chawdar tank in the Mahad town of Maharashtra. This glaring manifestation of inhuman attitude of the society was challenged by Dr. Ambedkar to usher a new era of social revolution. On 20th March 1927, 10,000 satygrahis assembled at Mahad under the leadership of Dr. Ambedkar and marched to the Chawdar tank to assert their human right to drink the water from the public place. The procession was attacked by caste Hindus and many satyagrahis were injured by them. There were many ex-military persons among the satyagrahis who had shown their bravery during the World War I. They could have retaliated in a befitting manner. However Dr. Ambedkar appealed to his comrades not to indulge in violence. Only a person who is the humanist to his innermost core can show such steadfast faith in the non-violence in such situation.
The name of Mahad town is also permanently linked with human rights because one more reason. Dr. Ambedkar organized a conference of satyagrahis on the 25th December 1927 in which the Manusmriti was burned. Burning of the Manusmriti was a revolutionary step which sought to denounce the inhuman laws of scriptures and proclamation of right to equality and justice.
Pune Pact
In the field of politics also, Dr. Ambedkar remain firm with his convictions.
Signing the Pune pact is perhaps the ultimate testimony of Dr. Ambedkar's humanitarian credentials. He was fully aware of the reason for Gandhi's fast and also the consequence of signing the pact, yet only on the humanitarian ground to save the life of Gandhi he did it. The essence of his political philosophy, the trilogy of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity he had borrowed from Buddha's philosophy. His political aims and objectives as expressed in the manifesto of the independent labour party founded by him. Many of the current provisions for the welfare and protection of labor have their origin in the manifesto of the independent labour party.
Fundamental rights assured to all citizens of our country is a great leap towards establishing the basic human values in the society that was based on graded inequality. As the chairperson of the constitution drafting committee Dr. Ambedkar was instrumental in the incorporation of the principle of fundamental rights in the constitution.
Dr. Ambedkar was a firm believer in the parliamentary democracy. That is why when the fear of fascism represented by Hitler was looming large over the world,
he decided to co-operate with the British government in its fight against the fascism. Because as a humanist he could foresee the dangerous consequences of the victory of the fascism. Today some myopic people criticize Dr. Ambedkar for this. However, by criticizing Dr. Ambedkar on this score, they inadvertently expose their fascist leanings.
A few months before his Mahaparinirvana he embraced Buddhism. It was a great tribute of a great humanist to the greatest humanistic philosophy of Buddha. By initiating millions of his follower in to the Buddhist fold, he asserted his faith in the humanistic values preached by Buddha in alleviating the sufferings of his lot. He thus reached the pinnacle of the humanism by becoming a Bodhisattva.
Sonbai walks in the lanes of an unnamed village with a ghada (metal matka, water container) on her head. She is in the middle of her hen-party, with all members skillfully balancing the ghadas on their heads, and you know that Sonbai is a leader.
As the group of these exotically dressed women pass through a gang of by-sitters loitering around the quintessential banyan-tree-chowraha combination, they are welcomed with derogatory remarks. One of the men calls her a diamond yet unpolished. Sonbai pretends to ignore and avoids a retort, but not without uttering a few disapproving obscenities to her friends and followers. The leader knows how to handle those men whose idea of contempt of a woman comes from low self-respect and a pretense of strong masculinity.
As the group of women disperses to walk towards their ‘destiny’ation. Sonbai has business to attend to, and she walks up to the baniya store to buy some oil. The baniya demands money for the goods purchased; in an undertone, he probably insinuates acceptance of other favors in the absence of currency . Sonbai dodges any implied meanings, cajoles him with purpose and walks off with the desired quantity of oil with a smirk on her face. She cannot tell the baniya off, as he employs her and her husband. As the boss sees the luscious back of Sonbai walking away, he can’t help but yell out his frustration with a risque remark; “Sasuri puri raat jagati hogi marad ko” – reason why once again her husband didn’t show up for work. Yes, she can do that. She has the beauty and attraction capable of doing that, but they are reserved for but one man.
And she meets the man sleeping outside what’s almost a hut. Sonbai gets playful, and teases the husband. The husband is grumpy over the hopeless working conditions in this hopeless land. He wants to go to a city to find a good job. Sonbai is clearly unhappy with his dream, and pleads, shows love and plays about every card available up the sleeve of a woman in love.
A gang of sepoys pass by an insect-infested scarecrow standing in the middle of a farm. The scarecrow has just been beheaded by a farmer’s stone. It doesn’t mind it, as it is not a living organism.
There are women at the lake feeling water in their ghadas. The sepoys, now visibly leads by someone arrive at the lake and all women scatter, expectedly. Un-expectedly one maintains her ground, looks in the eye of the leader. The leader, a lanky figure with commanding eye stares back. His eyes hold more bewilderment which turns into lust quickly, still not just letting it out. Both the alpha male and female exchange dialogues; – the male wants to quench his thirst and the woman wants him to behave properly, not like an animal. The woman gives him water when he promises to comply, but when he is done drinking, we know the woman played nicely and won. The leader, called Subedar, was not able to get what he wanted. Not yet.
The Subedar would not live without having Sonbai, or he promised havoc that no one can afford. Sonbai would not give away her pride, and the man who is supposed to protect her is not around. The men who are supposed to protect her have given in to the will of the man who holds the gun. Some woman who are aged, mature and with a knowledge of the schemes of the world also try to persuade Sonbai to give herself in to the Subedar, for the greater good of the village and its people. No, is the answer. Always. Firm. What happens after that, is the clash between only the power and the seemingly weak, but also between the conventional wisdom and someone who have just found their way of doing things.
The 1980’s saw a very consistent and continued rise of parallel films in Hindi film industry. On one hand we had films that still linger in our memory as Torture series, on the other hand a fistful of directors fresh out of film institutes, full of attitude and josh to change the world were giving a new voice to their dreams, hopes, frustrations and struggles.
One from the crop of those directors was Ketan Mehta. His first film, Bhav ni Bhavai and second film Holi (with Aamir Khan) were two different subjects completely unrelated in nature, with the central theme of rebel. While the rebel had a form of subdued frustration in the first one, the second took it to another level of aggression.
His third film, MirchMasala had a different class raising its head against the societal norms. This is a story which can be described as a microcosm of India at any time in the history. The women in the film have been conveniently denied their rights, and not only by men but by conventions. There are male characters who do not quite agree with the stronger members of the society, but their voice is oppressed. How they find their own voice against the society is a theme Ketan Mehta once again tries to explore with. The original story is written by Chunilal Madia and screenplay by Ketan Mehta and Shafi Hakim. There is a Zaverchand Meghani flavor to the subject matter, but to do justice to writers they maintain their own style.
At times you feel that all the characters are a little bit too obvious. A villain is a villain and he is supposed to be bad. So he is bad, with a wicked mustache. Often the “Men bad, women good” is not so subtle. An educated men is like one in the frogs’ party. He is ridiculed for his unconventional views, harassed and he also wears spectacles. So we are to understand that the villagers do not value education or anything that challenges their existing thought process. But Sonbai is one character that makes up for any nitpicking flaws.
The cast includes Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah, Deepti Naval, Supriya, Deena, Ratna Pathak, Raju Panchal, Om Puri, Raj Babbar (in a cameo), Suresh Oberoi, Ben Gilani, Paresh Rawal and Mohan Gokhle. There is Amole Gupte in a small role, and he is also AD of the film. The acting is adequate from the supporting lot. Naseeruddin Shah acts well but his character is sort of uni-dimensional. Om Puri acts as a character of an age that he even today does not look, but very convincingly. Deepti Naval is good, and so are sisters Supriya and Ratna in their bubbly, naive villager act.
Show stealer is without any doubt Smita Patil. Here she looks so sensuous you wish why she didn’t do a few more ‘Jaane Kaise Kab Kahan’. She looks so strong in her character as a woman who after all her village life knows her ways, you wish why she did not go for politics as a parallel career. And you realize what we are missing in the roles of women today, and the actresses that depict them. Watch it for Sonbai and Smita Patil.
A lower-middle age house in the Mumbai Suburb of Dombivli, an alarm rings in the morning, the household goes into a frenzy of activities where the man of the house, Madhav Shreedhar Apte gets ready for work, goes to work travelling in the Mumbai Locals, works and then comes back in the evening, feeds his young daughter and then goes to sleep. The next morning the same routine starts again, and the next morning.
The Marathi movie “Dombivli Fast” (DF)starts with the above routine scene about a middle class home but ends with the most under-rated climax of all, simple yet hard-hitting.
Madhav Apte is a common man with strong principles. He has strong values and he does not believe in bending any rules for anybody, even when the future of his children is involved. He fights with people around when he sees injustice and corruption, which include his colleagues, his boss, the shop keepers, man who delivers water in a water tanker, school principal and even his wife. His principals and his behavior is a cause of fights between his wife and him. She is tired of only preaching of changing the world but not doing anything about it.
He is pushed to a corner by everybody who finds his policy of righted ness too difficult to handle and one day he snaps. He goes on a rampage trying to do right, everything that goes against his principal and then starts a mayhem on the street of Mumbai, ultimately ending in a tragic climax.
The story is very similar to Michael Douglas’s starrer “Falling Down” but DF stands out because of good acting and brilliant direction. There are many characters in the movie but the three main characters are Madhav Apte, His wife and a police Inspector.
Madhav Apte who is frustrated by the system and the people around. His wife. Alka who is initially frustrated by her husband’s behavior toward the system and is ready to change to fit into the world and later when she is worried about her husband being shot by the police. The Police Inspector, Subhas Anasphure who is again frustrated by the system but understands that he is the system. The story moves forward through the eyes of these three characters where each reflects and questions their own belief and principles.
Madhav Apte tries to do whatever he sees wrong but is surprised to see that the very people he tries to help are the people who are pulling him down. A telling scene is when he tries to help an old couple in a hospital and to his horror finds that the couple do not approve of his threatening ways even though he is right.
The police meanwhile are clueless and try to stop his rampage. The rest of the story is how Madhav Apte meets his end and in turn trying to correct everything that is wrong with the world.
Directed by Nishikant Kamat makes his directorial debut with this movie. He is the same person who wrote the screenplay for Neha Dupia’s skin flick “Julie”. He handles the thriller very well. The directors excels in the movie. He also has written the screenplay for the movie. He is also directing Madhavan in the Tamil flick “Evano Oruvan” which is a remake of DombivliFast set in Chennai. Nishikant Kamat made TV serials before he directed films.
Shilpa Tulaskar plays Alka Apte, Madhav Apte’s wife. She is a veteran of Marathi Movies and has acted in many Marathi movies and serials and plays. She gives a good performance of a frustrated wife. The transformation into a scared woman whose husband is on a rampage is also worth watching, Madhav Apte is the main protagonist of the film but Alka is the one who entices him to go on a rampage. She had to really be the nagging wife and she does excel in that.
Sandesh Jadhav is the Police inspector Subas Anasphure who is after Madhav Apte. I haven’t seen him in any movie and it seems he was very active on the Marathi theatre scene. He has a deep voice which commands authority and is so perfect in the role. He understands that whatever Madhav Apte is doing is the correct action but illegal and is tied to the system. He does not want to make Madhav Apte a martyr but hopes that people do make him one. Sandesh Jadhav has played his part very well.
Finally coming to the main character, Madhav Apte, played by Sandeep Kulkarni. I really had to find who Sandeep Kulkarni was before watching the movie and there is no info available about him on the internet. Sandeep Kulkarni has acted in quite a number of plays, serials and movies. He had played a doctor in “Shwaas” Here he plays the frustrated Madhav Apte who is strong on his principles but his friends, family and colleague always want to deter him from the path. Looking at the movie, it is difficult to imagine any other actor in Marathi cinema who could have done the same role. Watch him talking to the deaf and dumb boy on the footpath venting out his frustration. It was brilliant.
DombivliFast can be described as a sober version of Sunny Deol’s “Ghayal” without the happy ending and Sunny Deol’s he-manism. One is forced to look at himself after seeing the movie. It does not dwell into stuff like country and love for the country which normally happens in most of these movies but at the very structure of morality on which any society is based. Madhav Apte, his wife or the inspector looks at morality in their own way and according to their convenience,
The inspector also accepts bribe and is not shown as a righteous one. When he asks his wife would she had managed to run the house on his salary, she answers a flat “No”. They both know that it is wrong but carry on for luxuries rather than basic survival.
The politicians, the shopkeeper, the school principal wants to earn more not for survival but for the luxuries of life.
The most telling scene of the movie which summarizes the whole movie is the climax when Madhav Apte is shot in the train. An injured Madhav Apte asks the Inspector
Ayushya gela ithe Chaavtya seat var basun, jara khidki var basu?
(Whole Life I spent on the fourth seat, can i seat on the window seat for sometime. )
Those few words of Madhav Apte tells the story of middle class Indian. What each Indian has is what he terms the fourth seat, means to just scrap through life. What he desires is the Windows seat, a chance to live a better life without compromising on their principle.
The movie forces you to reflect back on us and as the inspector said to look hard at our self in the mirror to answer a simple question
