THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The three decades of friendship with Rashid Irani, a veteran film critic, is a treasured memory for photographer turned filmmaker Rafeeq Ellias. The one-hour-long documentary ‘If Memory Serves Me Right’ directed by Rafeeq is an ode to his pal who passed away in July.
When the film had its global premiere at the 13th International Documentary and Short Film Festival (IDSFFK) in Thiruvananthapuram under the homage section on Saturday, Rafeeq sat among the crowd inside the hall to watch it. He was next to the empty seat meant for his friend.
“We were meant to watch it together. I am sure he would have cracked some jokes about his narration and poses in the film,” Rafeeq speaks with eyes filled with sorrow as he watched his friend come alive on screen.
Irani was of Zoroastrian-Iranian descent and a member of one of the smallest minority communities in the country. He was Mumbai’s well-respected cinephile who had a formidable knowledge of national and international cinema. He was also one of the owners of Cafe Brabourne, the prolific Irani restaurant on Princess Street in Mumbai. His family established the restaurant in 1934.
Rafeeq’s docu-feature introduces the simple life of the cinephile, whose articles have been published in many national dailies like the Hindustan Times and The Times of India. He was a common face at almost every small and big film festival across the country. Old-age made the eccentric critic stoop a little but his excited conversations reflected how youthful he was at heart.
“Irani’s foremost passion was movies and then books, especially poetry. I saw him for the first time around three decades ago at his cafe when one of my friends took me there. The place is popular for Irani chai with omelette sandwiches and bun maska. He was sitting at the cash counter directing his waiters to take customers’ orders while passionately talking about films and articulating with hands.
He talked about all forms of cinema — from commercial and classical, Hollywood movies to blockbuster national and regional films. He showed us that film appreciation can be beautifully done in a non-intellectual way. He was famous for his fantastic memory of dialogues and his pictorial narrations. No wonder the loyal man who enjoyed a low-key life had friends of all age groups,” says Rafeeq.
Irani could have led a rich life in Mumbai with his inheritance. But the bachelor was married to cinema and books and lived in a small shabby apartment. Apart from furniture, his room was filled with thousands of books and magazines, his treasured possessions.
In the documentary, Irani proudly flaunts the secondhand book of his favourite writer Arthur Waley who is known for his translations of Chinese and Japanese literary works. An innocent smile gleams on the veteran’s face when he shows the autographed book. One that resembles the innocent joy of a child with his valuable toy.
In the film shot in the last few years, Irani explains how his love for cinema began. He was watching the American film Niagra featuring actress Marilyn Monroe with his school friends. “The man breathed cinema but did not want to make one of his own. He told me once “I love enjoying meals and not cooking them”. Though he hated watching films outside the theatre, during the lockdown days he started using a computer gifted by director Anurag Kashyap,” says Rafeeq.
The pandemic had affected Irani for the worse. “Covid made him self-reflective. His health took a turn after catching the virus,” remembers the Mumbai-based filmmaker. “This film is a way of persevering his life and will be screened in all national and international film festivals,” says Rafeeq, who has over 30 awards to his credit, including an Emmy Award for a series of UNICEF TV commercials and two national awards for his BBC documentary.