IN FOCUS - When Ladakh was created in a Mumbai studio Roshmila Bhattacharya, In 1962, China attacked India over a disputed 3,2225-kilo metre-long Himalayan border, launching simultaneous offensives in Ladakh and across the MacMohan Line on October 20. Chinese troops captured Rezang la and Tawang before ceasefire was declared on November 20. The Chinese withdraw from India, but Chetan Anand, with memories of the first Sino-Indian War still fresh on his mind, arrived in Ladakh a year later with an idea of making Indias first war movie. This was the first time a movie camera had travelled to Ladakh and overwhelmed by the scenic beauty around us we exposed over a lakh of footage only to return to Mumbai and realise that we didnt have a story, recalls MS Sathyu. Anand quickly developed a story around a small platoon of Indian soldiers believed dead who are rescued by Ladakhi tribesmen and a young captain, Bahadur Singh who dies, with his girlfriend, holding the Chinese at bay so his comrades can retreat to safety. But they are killed too. When I asked Chetan saab if we were going back to shoot in Ladakh, he surprised me by asking me to recreate the hilly terrain in a city studio, says Sathyu. Working from the photographs they had taken, he built Ladakh in Mehboob Studio with an artist, Yusuf, to paint the backgrounds. Sathyu got the Filmfare Award for Best Art Direction for his true-tolife sets. While shooting Haqeeqat in Jammu & Kashmir Sathyu remembers that there were no pucca roads, just tracks in the sand and one day the jeep he was in, drove straight into Chinese territory. The jeep behind tried to signal but since there was no barbed wire, we crossed over and were met with sten gun and machine gunfire. Fortunately, we were pulled out in the nick of time by the soldiers who were with us, says the art director . Balraj Sahani almost got swept away by flash floods while crossing an icy river. Once again, it was the jawans who jumped to his rescue. Anand had many real soldiers in his cast, including the Ladakh Scouts who played the Chinese. Amongst them, it was not difficult for Dharmendra, who played Captain Bahadur Singh to pass off as a dashing officer. He was a funny fellow. One evening, he got drunk and went missing. We went looking for him and found him sleeping peacefully in a real jawans tent at the Bartal camp, Sathyu laughs. Haqeeqat launched many careers, including that of Sanjay Khan, Sudhir, singer Bhupinder as an actor and Priya Rajvansh who played Angmo, Bhadhur Singhs girlfriend. Sathyu remembers her as a tall, beautiful girl who in her cap, costume and tribal jwellery convincingly passed off as a Ladakhi girl. The role didnt demand great histrionics, she just had to look the part and sing a song filmed on a set I had created in the studio and wasnt happy with, he says candidly. Picturising a song on a closed set didnt pose as big a challenge as filming a war sequence with real bullets. Still, there werent any mishaps except one when a persistent junior artiste, Dagru, finally got himself a bit role by turning up at Mehboob Studio everyday. He was placed on a bunker three feet up and when hit by a bullet had to tumble down. He did, with a somersault, and then lay on the floor with a smile on his face.He had broken his spine,says Sathyu. He rushed him to Nanavati Hospital but despite all our efforts, he died. We didnt know where he was from. After a long search we finally learnt that he had a wife in a village near Satara and the body was sent there, says Sathyu. The film opened at the First International Film Festival of India in New Delhi. It was premiered at Odeon cinema. The then President of India, Dr Radhakrishnan, the chiefs of the Defence Forces and Bollywood bigwigs like Prithviraj Kapoor and Raj Kapoor were present on the occasion. Sathyu has no memories of the premiere but he remembers walking out of a screening of the colorised version at IFFI in Goa a few years ago. The starkness of black-andwhite which gave the film its classic touch is lost. Scindlers List was made at a time when enough colour was available, yet Steven Spielberg shot it in black-andwhite, he points out. By colourising Haqeeqat digitally, Chetan saabs boys have ruined the film. Following my objections they dropped my name from the title credits, and Priyas too.
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 07:37:03 +0000
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