Memories Of Three Generations
The nepotism debate is dialed down quite a bit when a strong case is made for the passing on of creative genes from one generation to the next. The other advantage of producing a docuseries on one’s own family is that there is unlimited access to the cream of the film industry, all lined up to share memories, impressions, anecdotes and, of course, unstinted praise.
With audiences having woefully short memories, it is important to record the achievements of the greats, and it is a good thing that documentary series like The Romantics (on Yash Chopra) and Angry Young Men (on Salim Javed) and now, The Roshans, were produced. However, a slightly more analytical and less hagiographical approach would have a greater historical value—even just placing the work of the subjects of the documentary within a social context, and looking more closely at their process of working.
That said, what this four-part series, directed by Shashi Ranjan, shows is a golden era, when a man could come in from nowhere, get a chance to prove his talent, and be absorbed into the great tribe that was the film industry. There must have been camps and cliques even when Roshan Lal Nagrath came to Mumbai to become a music composer. It was a struggle, and had director Kidar Sharma not reposed faith in the young composer, he would have returned to his hometown after his first flop, Neki Aur Badi (1949). When his producers wanted to change the music director for Sharma’s next film, Baawre Nain (1950), the director refused. This film was a hit, and Roshan’s career took off.
It is delightful to get nuggets of information, such as Rakesh Roshan being born in the garage of music directors Husnlal- Bhagatram, where Roshan and his wife, singer Ira, lived before he became successful enough to buy his own home. There is also the phenomenon of true music fandom, when filmmakers as well as listeners understood the intricacies of a hit composition—and this is voiced not just by younger composers (Anu Malik, Vishal Dadlani) and singers (Asha Bhosale, Suman Kalyanpur), but also connoisseurs like Javed Akhtar and Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The interviews and music clips from various films reveal the real depth of Roshan’s artistry. What the show could have done without, is the clumsy enactments using actors – viewers are quite capable of visualizing a scene as it is narrated.
Roshan passed away at just 50, handing over the baton of music to his son Rajesh, who worked as an assistant to Laxmikant-Pyarelal for a few years before branching off on his own, and also built up a collection of wonderful hits in films like Julie, Des Pardes, Lootmaar, Kunwara Baap, and many of his brother Rakesh Roshan’s films. Very often, the current generation dances to remixed tunes without bothering about the original composer, and Mungda could be counted as one of those all-time favourite dance numbers. Rajesh Roshan has had a fairly successful career, but admits that he never managed to do what it takes to get more work—he never went to a producer to pitch for composing assignments, so, even with his expertise, he did not reach the heights he could have with more A-list projects.
In the segment on Rakesh Roshan, he is honest enough to admit that he did not quite make it as an actor, despite his talent and good looks. He found his forte as a filmmaker and has given Hindi cinema some genre-breaking films like the reincarnation drama, Karan Arjun, sci-fi and superhero films like Koi Mil Gaya and Krrish, besides, of course, launching his son Hrithik Roshan in Koi Mil Gaya, which made him a craze with the young audiences. Rakesh Roshan was also shot in a Mafia hit and recovered from cancer—his indomitable will and inner strength are spoken about with admiration by his wife Pinky and Hrithik.
Hrithik Roshan’s career from being as assistant to his father to getting overnight superstardom, and then tackling difficult roles in so many films is something that is well- documented in fanzines. Rakesh and Rajesh Roshan’s wives and the other children and grandchildren make an appearance, Hrithik’s failed marriage and current romance are judiciously kept out. Obviously, the best stories come from the stars who worked with them. Shah Rukh Khan’s quotes are full of warmth and wit, like turning down Karan Arjun, because did not want to play yet another romantic hero, then nudging Aamir Khan out and snapping it up. Both Shah Rukh and his co-star Salman gave the director a lot of trouble, because they could not, or did not, want to understand his way of working. After the film turned out to be a hit, at least SRK apologized, Salman does not appear in the series.
The show is crammed with talking heads though – besides Asha Bhosale, Javed Akhtar, SRK and Bhansali, there are Karan Johar, Farhan Akhtar, Zoya Akhtar, Madhuri Dixit, Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Priyanka Chopra, Preity Zinta, Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Tiger Shroff, Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik, Kumar Sanu, Sachin-Jigar –so many industry lights shining on this one gifted family. Plus, archival interview footage, family moments – and it is an entertaining package. Somewhat like leafing through a glossy coffee table book full of trivia—no depth, but such a shiny collection of memories.
(This piece first appeared in rediff.com)