It’s time to revisit the films that changed the course of Hindi films... And OP Srivastava’s book allows us to do this at our own leisure, one film at a time. With the meticulous eye for detail that his years as a banker must have gifted him, Srivastava sifts through material, much of which is mired in oblivion, to give us the history of parallel cinema through the 50 prominent films that formed the bulk of the movement.
The book presents the subject to the reader right at the start, with an introduction that explains, contextualises and elaborates on what the author refers to as the renaissance of cinema, which he states began with Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali in 1955 and was taken up by Mrinal Sen when he forayed into Hindi films with Bhuvan Shome.
The brief history provides details of the inspiration, development, and influences that shaped the growth of the movement that finally found itself merging into a more popular format, combining meaningful stories with entertainment.
The list of films spans the creations of the pioneers in the genre, Mrinal Sen (Bhuwan Shome, Mrigayaa), Basu Chatterji (Sara Akash), Mani Kaul (Uski Roti, Ashad ka Ek Din), and Kumar Shahani (Maya Darpan), and includes Shyam Benegal, whose wide arc of films concretised parallel cinema, giving it space in mainstream cinema halls to reach a wide spectrum of audiences. Benegal’s cinematographer-turned-directors, Govind Nihalani (Aakrosh), Sai Paranjpe (Sparsh, Katha), are other well-known names, as are Kundan Shah (Jaane Bhi Di Yaaron) and Sayeed Mirza (Mohan Joshi Haazir Ho). MS Sathyu’s groundbreaking Garm Hawa is also on the list, as are Kalpana Lajmi’s Rudali and Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay. Some lesser-known films may find a new lease of life on OTT channels, thanks to the book; among them, Ek Ghar by Girish Kasarvalli.
The format of the book can be viewed as comfortable or routine, depending on the viewer. Simple language with no frills and a wealth of information add value.
It ends with an epilogue in which the author continues the line he drew through the 50 films that make up the portrait of parallel cinema to end in the films like Kuch Khatta Kuch Meetha by the pioneering Basu Chatterji himself and including Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Prakash Jha, Gulzar, Vishal Bhardwaj, Anurag Kashyap, Shekhar Kapur, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Sujoy Ghosh, and Shoojit Sircar who have brought in a cinema with shades of every hue that blend realism, fiction, and entertainment into a seamless package.
It’s a note of hope that despite the crossroads the star-studded Hindi cinema scene is floundering at, there is a chance good cinema will find its breath again.