I remember the first time I had gone to meet the celebrated auteur Balu Mahendra. Wanting an interview with him, I had telephoned him seeking an appointment. He asked me to meet him at 8 am at the Balu Mahendra Film School that he ran at Saligramam, Chennai which was close to my home. Giddy with joy, my husband, a big-time fan of Balu, also accompanied me. At the appointed hour he shuffled in, the signature cravat around his neck. He was a noted votary of Tamil literature, but I noticed that he also spoke flawless English with no accent. In his office, a big photograph of director Satyajit Ray adorned the wall as did stills from one of his biggest hits, the Tamil film Moondram Pirai.
He sought permission to tape the interview and it proceeded smoothly. He spoke fondly about his wards Bala, Ameer and Sasi, all successful Tamil film directors and with a certain amount of pride just as a parent might. When I asked him what made him start the film school, he corrected me saying it was not a school, rather an ashram, a place where they lived, breathed and talked cinema. A heart attack had forced him to quit filmmaking, but the school would be his link to the film world.
We discussed cinema, his films, international films. When I praised Iranian director Majid Majidi’s craft, he said Majidi sought inspiration from his own culture which was depicted evocatively in his films. “What has kept us from delving into our culture and literature? There’s a wealth of stories hidden in Tamil literature. I tell my students to read every day at least one from Tamil literature,” he said. I had seen Sadma, the Hindi remake of Moondram Pirai, which left a deep impression on me. Discussing the film, I spoke about the last scene where the hero (Kamal) is trying to jog the memory of the amnesiac (played by Sridevi), with the help of different gestures and facial expressions. Remembering that scene, to my acute embarrassment, I burst into tears. Balu said the trauma-filled scene I had seen on screen was the same he had experienced in reality. After the interview ended, he gave me a tour of the place. He said, “Do you know the place where we are standing is where the shoot for the film Veedu (home in Tamil) took place? Who knew one day I would be running a film school in the very place? It is destiny.” he smiled.
Just two years later, a heart attack snatched the talented director from our midst. Today, the film school has been converted into a children’s school—My Montessori. No guesses where my daughter, a preschooler studies. It’s as they say, destiny.
Email: sunitarag@gmail.com
