Fraternity is enshrined in our Constitution in the
Preamble along with Equality , Liberty and Justice thus - ‘.. Fraternity assuring the
dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation’.
It therefore has direct relationship with the dignity of the individuals
and unity and integrity of the Nation.
It is among the most important values and ideals of our Constitution . It requires the
participation of not only the State but the people too . Without the
participation and Involvement of the people the fraternity is incomplete. And
therefore remains the most challenging of the values and ideals to be
accomplished. Dr B R Ambedkar the Chairman of the Constitution drafting
committee had said this on 25 November 1949 to the Constituent Assembly “
without fraternity , equality and liberty will be no deeper than coats of
paint”
Dadasaheb Phalke
Historical Reference
The first Indian silent movie was made by Dadasaheb
Phalke in 1913, ‘Raja Harishchandra’ based on the legend of the
King Harishchndra who stood for truthfulness.
The inception, growth and flowering of the ‘National movement’ and ‘Indian cinema’ is a story of the spread of fraternity despite
the numerous contradiction which existed in the Indian society. Cinema was
deeply influenced by the spirit of the freedom struggle. The cinema industry
was in Kolkata , Kolhapur, Pune , Mumbai
, Lahore and Chennai mainly prior to
independence. New Theatre Kolkata , Prabhat studios Pune, Bombay Talkies Mumbai
were some famous studios who made many meaningful films of social, cultural ,
mythological themes . The cinema brought all India talent to the cinema centres
of India , it was a ‘social churning’
. KL Sehgal, Prithvi Raj Kapoor ,
Kedar Sharma , A R Kardar all landed in
Kolkata from Punjab for work and later shifted to Mumbai . In Kolkata they
worked under and interacted with directors
and artists like P C Barua, K C Dey ,
Nitin Bose and technicians who would shine later such as Bimal Roy . The great
Bengal school of film making was being created. In Mumbai Himanshu Roy a well
educated person and Devika Rani established ‘Bombay Talkies’ in 1935 as a
landmark studio based on the German system of film making . Prior to that he
had made and acted in films in Germany and made the famous movies ‘Light of
Asia’ on the life of ‘Gautam Buddha’ in which he himself played the lead role.
He had established various departments – Art direction, script writing, film
processing . Artists such as Shashadhar Mukherjee, Ashok Kumar, Dilip Kumar , Dev Anand, Nabendu Ghosh and
Kamal Amrohi would emerge from this
studio . Shantaram would establish with his team the famous Prabhat studio in
Pune where the Film and Television Institute is now situated. It was a learning
and grooming ground for the film makers and stars of the future.
Cinema – Collaborative Art Form
Cinema is a collaborative popular
Art form. It was not an
individual venture such as writing poetry, painting, writing a play or playing
an instrument. A large number of artists and technicians play an important role
– cinematographer, sound recordist, art director ,story and screenplay writers,
musician, lyricist, playback singers, editor, publicist, costume designer,
financer, producer, actors and the
director. Even though cinema is a director’s medium and his say is final without collaboration cinema cannot exist.
It is a symbol of commercial and creative
nationalism. Merit was the
consideration; and caste, community, religious
considerations were secondary. Audience was the final judge and it was only the talent which reflected on the
silver screen. Such a venture was only possible in an atmosphere of
‘Harmony’, respect for each other’s place and talent . Cinema was a Complex
creative Art form and therefore a well knit team work was intrinsic for its
success.
Influence of Progressive writers and IPTA
The Progressive writers’ Association was established
in Lucknow in April 1936. The Aim was to
organise the progressive writers from all over India and to motivate them to
write literature on the common man and the oppressed society and to contribute
to freedom struggle . Premchand Presided the conference and Sajjad Zaheer was
the secretary. IPTA ( Indian People’s Theatre Association ) was established in
1943 and its purpose was to educate and motivate the people through cultural
programmes primarily theatre. Many members of the Communist party of India were
its members . It had its branches in
many major cities . Many IPTA artists and progressive writers later entered
cinema and contributed with their ideology and talent . The cinema of Raj
Kapoor , Mehboob Khan , Khwaja Ahmad Abbas
, Chetan Anand, Bimal Roy, Guru Dutt was deeply influenced by the ideology
of the progressive writers and IPTA artists who were in various capacities
working in the industry . Great stories , songs and music was the biggest
contribution along with the ideology of
‘Fraternity’ and International brotherhood. The October Revolution of 1917 and
its writers like Maxim Gorky were big
influences . The word ‘Comrade’ had captivated the imagination of many and was
a popular greeting! Many members of IPTA lived in commune in Andheri Mumbai together
for many years. Prithvi Raj Kapoor, Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, Balraj Sahni, Shailendra
, Jaan Nisar Akhtar, Josh Malihabadi, Prem Dhawan , Kaifi Azmi, Sahir
Ludhiyanvi, Chetan Anand, Krishna Chandra , Rajender Singh Bedi , Majrooh
Sultanpuri , Rithvik Ghatak and many others were its members.
Soon after the
independence the nation was plagued by the outcome of partition , communal issue and death of Mahatma Gandhi
further aggravated the problem. The atmosphere in Mumbai was tense . Artists
like Prithvi Raj Kapoor , Balraj Sahni and others went out in the streets to
protect people against communal onslaught .Mehboob Khan and A R Kardar left for
Pakistan in fear but returned within a year . Muslim artists received threats
and Saadat Hasan Manto the famous writer
left for Pakistan despite the advise
of his friend Ashok Kumar to stay back.
In Lahore Manto missed Mumbai and his friends terribly and wrote their life
sketches . But situation soon normalised and cinema makers plunged themselves
to create a niche of their respective banners.
Cinema Hall – ‘Temple of Fraternity’
Cinema Hall , the single theatre which has diminished
in stature with the advent of the multiplexes was a symbol of ‘fraternity’. A
new ‘Temple’ of togetherness . People from various hues would sit inside the
hall well before the commencement of cinema . The hall would house people of
different strata, rich and not so rich , of different caste and of different
stations in life , but inside the hall they would be concentrating together on
the screen for the magic to appear on the silver screen . Sometimes they would react
together sometimes differently but their purpose would be same ; to seek entertainment.
The ‘Cinema Hall’ compelled them to set aside their class , caste , community and
religious biases and prejudices and
share the common space for a period of three hours! The moving images of the
20th century -Cinema , captivated the imagination of the people . The outside
world was full of injustice and unfairness . This was an escape . There would
be tickets of various categories-
stall, upper stall and balcony but to opt for any was an economic consideration
and not social. The cinema hall and its peripheral world would be contributing
to the entertainment aspect of the people – the various food vendors, the
parking lot person , the black marketeers , people selling cinema literature.
There would be confluence and interaction of people while leaving and entering
the premises and feedback would be obtained
. It would be a lovers’ nest in some corner seats, meeting of friends,
cosying of married couples away from the grind of the household life after an extended working day.
Cinema would
subscribe to the common interest; what appealed to the heart and mind . And
therefore songs and music was one such instrument of bringing people to cinema
houses and to carry forward for years the lingering taste. People would sing songs all their
lives and thus a common purpose was evolved . Radio clubs, Binaca
Geet-mala, are witnesses of that era.
The cinema songs initiated the collective game of ‘Antakshri’ . Singing film songs ending with the last
letter and is still so popular. People would sing in moving trains in picnics ,
it brought people together. Apart from the stars of the film the singers would
become household names – K L Sehgal, Mohamad Rafi, Mukesh , Kishore Kumar ,
Lata Mangeshkar . Their songs would be
sung in family functions , cultural programmes and would ring around the Nation . A perennial
hum of harmony and serenity. The sound waves
would carry the music far and wide akin to birds carrying seeds of
regeneration within them. Even those whose mother tongue was not Hindi would
sing Hindi songs. It is recorded that cinema songs has contributed immensely in
the spread of Hindi in South Indian states.
Cinema – Theme of Untouchability
The evil of untouchability was countered during the
freedom struggle by the founding fathers . Mahatma Gandhi and B R Ambedkar took
on the challenge head on despite differences .
This was happening in mid thirties of the 20th century. During this time
Himanshu Roy of Bombay Talkies produced ‘Achoot Kanya’ (
untouchable Girl) in 1936 starring the debutant Ashok Kumar and Devika Rani .
This was a love story of a brahmin boy
and an untouchable girl and was a hit , considering the times when it was
released it was a revolutionary step propagating ‘Fraternity’ . Bimal Roy has
directed many women centric films and received numerous awards during his
career. In 1959 he directed ‘Sujata’
a story of an untouchable girl
adopted by a Brahmin family in peculiar circumstances . The father is
fond of her but the mother dislikes her and often taunts her, but she is
treated well by their daughter. Adir played by Sunil Dutt who is expected to
marry the daughter falls in love with
Sujata knowing well of her birth. He is adamant and in the end Sujata and Adir
are married. It was bold theme of its time and was a commercial and critical
success. Bimal Roy won Best Film and Director awards of Filmfare and Nutan was
adjudged the best heroine by Filmfare.
Dilip Kumar in Shaheed -1948
Cinema – Theme of Unity and Integrity
Integrity and unity are closely linked to fraternity
and therefore post independence themes of Patriotism , Nationalism , sacrifice
were presented in films . Dilip Kumar’s ‘Shaeed’ was released in
1948 and it portrayed the life of a revolutionary who sacrifices his life for
the Nation. The movie directed by Ramesh Sehgal was a superhit and
catapulted Dilip Kumar to stardom .
This song from the film sung by Mohamad Rafi and written by Raja Mehdi Ali
Khan is regularly played during
Independence and Republic days function till date:
“ Watan ki raah mein watan ke naujawan shaheed
ho
Pukarti hei ye zameen aasmaan shaheed ho”
The film maker and actor Manoj Kumar starring in film ‘Shaheed’
of 1965 was also a big success . It was based on the life of Bhagat Singh and
Manoj Kumar played the role . Bhagat Singh’s associates Batkeshwar Datt and
Rajguru were also portrayed . Much research work went into the film for many
years and Manoj Kumar himself was involved . The songs of the film were very
popular and were composed by Prem Dhawan, and are sung till date :
‘ Mera Rang de Basanti chola mai rangde Basanti
chola’ ;
‘ Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamare dil mein
hai , dekhna hai zor kitna bajue katil mein hai’ ;
‘ Aye watan aye watan humko teri kasam ,
teri rahon mein jaan tak luta jayenge , phool kya cheez hai tere kadmon mein
hum bhent apne saron ki chada jayenge’
Later Manoj Kumar would produce and directed ‘Upkar’,
‘Purab Pachhim’, ‘Kranti’ exploring the theme of Nationalism .
Numerous songs have conveyed the theme of oneness and
togetherness in films and all these songs have been very popular as well! ‘ Chodo kal ki baaten kal ki baat
purani naye daur mein likkne ge hum ye
nayi Kahani ; Hum Hindustani ! Hum Hindustani ! ( Film Hum Hindustani –
1960)
‘ Pyar Baant te chalo, pyar baant tec halo; Kya
Hindu kya Musalman hum sag hain bhai bhai ; pyar baante chalo’ ( Hum
sab Ustad Hain 1965)
‘ Tu Hindu Banega na Musalmaan Banega Insaan ki
aulad hai Insaan banega’ ( Dhool ka phool 1959)
‘ Hum layen hein toofan se Kishti nikal ke Is
Desh ko rakhna mere Bachhon sanbhal ke’ ( Jagriti 1954)
‘ Insaaf ki dagar pe , bachhon dikhawo
chalke , Ye Desh hai tumhara Neta tumheen ho kal ke’
( Ganga Jamuna 1961)
Cinema of Inclusiveness
Till 1970s
there was a group of cinema
categorised as ‘Muslim social’. These films had characters of Muslim
community and the subject dealt with
the social issues, love story etc. Large number of audience across religion subscribed to
such films and they were
successful – ‘Barsaat ki Raat’ , ‘Mere
Mehboob’, ‘ Taj Mahal’, ‘ Jahan Ara’, ‘ Mere Huzoor’ ‘ Bahu Begum’ . The music
of all these films was also very popular and continues till to date . This showed that the Indian people identified
with the stories of the minority
community because the emotions were common.
In other films , to present a picture of fraternity often there
would be a character of Muslim name among friends . This looked normal on
screen and the fact that the movie would succeed confirmed the acceptance of
the audience . It was also to show that the society was all encompassing , unity in diversity ! The
first film which comes to mind is ‘Guide’ . Gafoor ( Anwar Hussain ) is
the driver and friend of Raju Guide
played by Devanand. They fall out on account of Rozy but when Gafoor learns
that Raju was out of jail and is keeping fast for rains in a remote temple , he
rushes to be by his side. ‘Zanjeer’ which made history on the strength of its
writers Salim-Javed and Amitabh Bachhan’s intense performance had character of
the Pathan Sher Khan played by Pran whom Inspector Vijay played by Amitabh
Bachhan confronts, there is a physical fight when Sher Khan challenges him ,
but thereafter they become friends as Sher Khan sings “ Yari hai Imaan
mera Yaar meri Zindagi” . ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’ was symbol of fraternity
as three brothers lost in their childhood are
raised by three people of different religions.
Perhaps ‘Garm Hawa’ of 1974 starring the iconic
actor Balraj Sahni and directed by M S Sathyu based on the script by Kaifi Azmi
remains the most representative film on the predicament of a progressive Muslim
in India post partition.
The cinema also portrayed other communities such as Christians and
Parsis , thus conveying that that their aspirations and emotions and problems
were common, sometimes some peculiarities of the communities were exaggerated
to add humour . The film ‘Bobby’ in 1973
starring Dimple Kapadia and ‘Julie’ in 1975 starring Laxmi told
stories of girls belonging to Christian community who fall in love with Hindu
boys . The Christian families and their lives were presented in a sensitive
manner by Basu Chatterjee in the film ‘Baton
Baton mein’ starring Amol Palekar and Tina Munim in 1979 shows us the life
and love among Goan Christians settled in Mumbai . People identified with it ,
the foot tapping music and its simplicity added to its commercial success. Such
films correct our stereotypes and promote wider acceptance.
Sayeed Akhtar Mirza made film ‘Albert Pinto ko
gussa kyon aata hai’ starring Naseeruddin Shah in 1980 which is story of a
Christian mill worker who during the course of his journey understands his
identity . Basu Chatterjee also portrayed the Parsis in a humorous yet
sympathetic way in his 1978 film ‘Khatta Mitha’ starring Ashok Kumar ,
Rakesh Roshan, Deven Verma and Bindiya
Goswami. The film was well received and its music was popular. Perhaps the
finest film depicting the Parsi culture was
‘Pestonji’ starring
Naseeruddin Shah and Anupam Kher directed by Vijaya Mehta in 1987.
In 1957 Guru
Dutt directed his famous movie ‘Pyasa’ which showed a loving
relationship between the poet Vijay played by Gurudutt and Gulabo a prostitute.
She is saved by Gurudutt from the police as he says that she was his wife. As
it turns out she recites his poetry and in the end publishes them to make him
famous when he is presumed to be dead. They walk together hand in hand against
the setting sun! Amitabh Bachhan and Rekha starrer ‘ Muquaddar ka Sikandar’
also had theme of love between the hero and a courtesan which ends
tragically.
.
Cinema of
Diversity
theme of harmony and fraternity between two regions
particularly the North and South India was presented as love stories in order
to give new colour and wider acceptance . The film ‘Ek Duje ke liye’ was
directed by K Balachander in 1981 and was
a remake of his Telugu film. It starred Kamal Hassan and Rati Agnihotri
belonging to South and North , and are neighbours in the film who fall in love . They overcome their
communication problem through the language of Love . It was an emotional and
tragic film and a huge success and established the footprints of Kamal Hassan
in Mumbai. In 2014 Karan Johar produced ‘Two States’ starring Arjun
Kapoor who is Punjabi and Alia Bhatt who is a Tamil Brahmin. Both fall in love
as Management students and promise to marry but have to resolve the prejudices
and perceptions of their parents, presented in a humorous manner the film was a
success testifying the taste of people and acceptance of such stories which are
treated with understanding.
Cinema of the Poor
The stories of rich and poor have been very popular .
The earliest such film which comes to mind is ‘Deedar’ a 1951 film
starring Dilip Kumar , Nargis , Ashok Kumar and Nimmi. Nargis is a daughter of a very rich
man and Dilip Kumar is son of a poor lady who stays in the servant quarters of
Nimmi’s father . They play and sing together but are ordered to leave by the
rich father of Nargis and are separated.
In the meantime Dilip loses his eyesight in an accident ,Nimmi takes care of
him and loves him . He is later cured by the fiancé of Nargis played by Ashok
Kumar who is a Doctor , but on learning
that she does not recognize him and was in love with Ashok Kumar he again
injures his eyes and returns to Nimmi.
In 2001 ‘Kabhi
Khushi Kabhi Gam’ directed by Karan Johar also explores the rich and poor story . It was a multi-starrer
consisting of Amitabh Bachhan, Jaya Bhaduri, Shah Rukh Khan , Kajol, Hritik
Roshan and Kareena Kapoor. Shahrukh Khan son of Amitabh Bachhan marries Kajol
whose mother Farida Jalal works as household help in their house . He is banished
from the family by Amitabh Bachhan , to be reconciled in the end.
The Nation also consisted of farmers and industrial
workers . And therefore there were films which brought out their lives on screen . Bimal Roy directed
and produced the iconic movie ‘Do Beegha Zameen’ in 1953 starring Balraj
Sahni and Nirupa Roy. It shows how a poor farmer has to leave his village and
work as rickshaw puller in Kolkata in order to earn money to release his ‘Do
beegha land’ which he fails. In 1959 SS
Vasan directed ‘Paigam’ a film starring Dilip Kumar , Raj Kumar and
Vaijantimala. The film explored the rights of the mill workers and was a big
hit. Raj Kapoor also showed the lives of the poor with a large heart in ‘Shree
420’ and ‘Aawara’.
Cinema and Human Dignity
‘Dignity’ is yet another aspect of ‘Fraternity’.
Numerous films have dealt with the subject of dignity . Raj Kapoor in his film
‘Boot polish’ ( 1954) showed two
children left homeless being motivated to work as ‘shoe-shining’ kids and earn
their living . David who is a Do-gooder
bootlegger teaches them to sing , to polish shoes. Two songs in this film sung
by him sum up the theme of the film . Written by the legendary Shailendra and
put to catchy music by Shankar Jaikishan they remain ever popular- ‘ Nanhe
munne bacchon teri mutthi mein kya hai – mutthi mein hai taqdir hamari hamne
kismat ko bas mein kiya hai’ ( little children what is there in your
fist ? In fist we have our fate which we
have put under control!).
‘ Thair zara o jane wale babu mister bhole bhale
, kabse baithe aas lagaye hum matwale polish wale’ ( wait your
passersby , gentleman mister innocent
looking , we have been waiting for you
,we merry shoe shiners ! )
Hindi cinema has therefore played a leading role in
the spread of ‘Fraternity’.
