A favourite pastime for many of us

Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, as the President of India, used to have select movies screened in the exclusive theatre at Rashtrapati Bhavan. L K Advani, a former Deputy Prime Minister and now a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, is also known to be very fond of movies.

With a shot at histrionics, in my childhood – both in the theatre and on the silver screen – I have always been interested in movies. I like to watch Telugu, Hindi and English movies. Though it has been a long time since I watched a movie in a cinema theatre, I had the opportunity of watching many of them, in all languages including English, in the auditorium at Andhra Pradesh Bhavan in Delhi.

In recent years, following the lockdown on account of the virus, I had the opportunity of watching many movies, of all varieties, than I ever did in the past.

It is only very recently that I came across the genre of biopics. They are informal films, based on the lives of famous persons, typically public or historical figures, dramatising the lives of those persons. They are non-fictional, and depict lives and times of famous persons. Among the movies I have watched are Jhansi Ki Rani, The Big Bull, Katha Nayakudu and Maha Nayakudu, Thalaivi, Gandhi, Mahanati, Yatra and Shabaash Mithu. The ones I have yet to watch are the once about M S Dhoni and Abraham Lincoln.

Among the ones I watched, easily the best was Gandhi, a period biographical film based on the life of Mahatma Gandhi, directed by Richard Attenborough, with Ben Kingsley delivering a stellar performance as Mahatma Gandhi. Beginning with the defining moment in 1893, of Gandhi being thrown off a South African train for being in a whites-only compartment, and concluding with his assassination in 1948, it is a very realistic and convincing depiction of the great leader's life. Gandhi's message of all faiths being equal in secular India is, in particular, stressed. No wonder the Telangana government recently decided to show the film to lakhs of schoolchildren, as part of the ongoing celebrations of the 75th year of the independence of India. The movie was also ranked by the British Film Institute as the 34th greatest British film of the 20th century.

YSR was an unforgettable part of my civil service career, especially an account of the year and more we worked together as the Chief Minister and the Chief Secretary of the Andhra Pradesh State. Savitri, yesteryear heroine of the Telugu film industry, was a person with whom I had acted as a child star. Watching Mammootty play to perfection the role of YSR In 'Yatra' reminded me very much of days with YSR, as the period in which the film was placed, and the events covered by it, pertained to the time we worked together. Watching a brilliant portrayal of Savitri by the highly talented Keerthy Suresh in 'Mahanati' was an equally thrilling experience.

Two biopics were produced on the legendary NTR, matinee idol par excellence, and arguably one of the most charismatic political leaders of the world at his time. And I had had the privilege and honour of working in his office for close to two years. At his request, at that, as soon after he assumed office, he apparently, remembered the small role I had played as a child actor, in a very popular film of his, at the zenith of his career as a film star, He then recalled from Delhi, where I was working as the Secretary to the Vice-President of India, on deputation to the Government of India. I will remember that period as probably the best time in my career, given his affection for, and trust in, me, and the exciting and unprecedented sweeping sea-change that was taking place in the administrative and political culture of the state at that time. Out of the two movies about NTR's life, namely, Maha Nayakudu and Katha Nayakudu, I watched the former, though only in bits and pieces. I was shown a character in the film, though in the wrong context, and with the wrong designation. For several weeks afterwards I had a number of calls from friends and relatives swarm calls from friends and relatives.

Another remarkably well directed biopic, in recent times, was Thalaivi, the one about the life and times of J Jayalalithaa, a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and very popular actress, in her own right, earlier. Kangana Ranaut, playing the role of Jayalalithaa did a commendable job indeed.

Given my interest in the film field, and having seen many of her blockbuster movies, I was quite happy to have been asked to receive her, when she came to meet NTR to sign the Telugu Ganga project agreement. The project intended to a project for supply drinking water to (the then) Madras city and now Chennai, and also to irrigate agricultural lands in the Southern districts of (the then) Andhra Pradesh state. As we were travelling in the lift to the third floor in which NTR's office was located I said to Jayalalithaa, merely to break the ice, "Madam, I had also worked in films as a child artist." She gave me a half smile, and said, "how interesting!" clearly indicating that she had no interest in the subject!

'The Big Bull,' starring Abhishek Bachchan as Harshad Mehta, the yesteryear stock market manipulator, was very convincing and extremely realistic. Also of the same genre was the movie I watched recently about Mithali Raj, the legendary captain of the women's cricket team of India, with the lead role being played by Taapsee Pannu. The ups and downs of the career of the great cricketer were captured remarkably well, both by the script and the cinematography.

One movie I only have a vague memory of having watched, in my childhood, is 'Jhansi Ki Rani' with the lead role played by Mehtab. Another version, released in 2018,had Kangana Raut playing the lead, as Manikarnika (Jhansi), is one I have yet to watch.

Two other movies I have yet to watch, but would like to very soon, are about M S Dhoni, one of the most popular players and captains of Indian cricket in all formats of the game, Tests, One Day Internationals and T20s, and Abraham Lincoln. The legendary and liberal minded President of United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865, a great leader who led his nation through the civil war and succeeded in preserving the union, abolishing slavery, bolstering the federal government and modernising the US economy. 'The Untold Story,' the movie about MS Dhoni, is a Hindi language biographical sports drama about the great cricketer. I am particularly keen to watch this movie, not only on account of my being an aficionado of the game of cricket, but also my association with the administration of the game as a former President of the Hyderabad Cricket Association. Sushant Singh Rajput, who played the role of Dhoni, apparently had to go through a grueling training period of 18 months before the shooting began for the movie, and also had to watch many videos for hours together to pick up some of Dhoni's special points; in particular, the helicopter shot for which the legendary cricketer was famous.

The movie about Abraham Lincoln's life and times, titled 'Lincoln', has Daniel Day-Lewis playing the lead role. It depicts, in an arrestingly realistic fashion, the events pertaining to the life of Abraham Lincoln, Director Spielberg turned out another outstanding product, and the movie was nominated for as many as 12 Academy awards.

A competition was going on for deciding who could best imitate Charlie Chaplin. Charlie Chaplin himself happened to pass by, and decided to enter the event as a participant. And came second!

(The writer is former Chief

Secretary, Government

of Andhra Pradesh)

(The opinions expressed in this column are that of the writer. The facts and opinions expressed here do not reflect the views of The Hans India)