EXTRAORDINARY MOVIES ABOUT ORDINARY LIVES
India Today|May 22, 2023
This book by Anirudha Bhattacharjee celebrates the feelgood cinema of Basu Chatterji
Aditya Sinha
EXTRAORDINARY MOVIES ABOUT ORDINARY LIVES

BASU CHATTERJI AND MIDDLE- OF-THE-ROAD CINEMA

By Anirudha Bhattacharjee

PENGUIN VINTAGE

As soon as I saw Basu Chatterji on a store shelf, I wanted to read it. Though many current readers may not readily know of him—their touchstones of middle-of-the-road cinema would be gems such as Dum Laga ke Haisha (2015) or Badhaai Ho (2018)— he was, as Pearl Padamsee put it, the master of the low-budget film. His were the antithesis of the other memorable strain of the ’70s films—the angry-young-man movies. Chatterji’s films were anything but angry—they were middle-class character studies that sought to, as biographer Anirudha Bhattacharjee says in his book, find the lighter interludes of an ordinary life filled with burdens and obligations. Or, he depicted the independent-minded young woman.

Chatterji was loved by producers because he kept to a low budget and a quick three-week shoot. He was loved by actors because, as testified by the over 60 film personalities Bhattacharjee interviewed, the shoot was “like a picnic” (and film raconteurs like Utpal Dutt or Dadamoni Ashok Kumar also enjoyed the post-shoot whisky-fuelled “adda”). He was loved by cinema-goers because in the chaos that was urban India, in his films the oasis was the family.

Bu hikaye India Today dergisinin May 22, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

Bu hikaye India Today dergisinin May 22, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

INDIA TODAY DERGISINDEN DAHA FAZLA HIKAYETümünü görüntüle
Shuttle Star
India Today

Shuttle Star

Ashwini Ponnappa was the only Indian to compete in the inaugural edition of BDMNTN-XL, a new international badminton tourney with a new format, held in Indonesia

time-read
1 min  |
November 25, 2024
There's No Planet B
India Today

There's No Planet B

All Living Things-Environmental Film Festival (ALT EFF) returns with 72 films to be screened across multiple locations from Nov. 22 to Dec. 8

time-read
2 dak  |
November 25, 2024
AMPED UP AND UNPLUGGED
India Today

AMPED UP AND UNPLUGGED

THE MAHINDRA INDEPENDENCE ROCK FESTIVAL PROMISES AN INTERESTING LINE-UP OF OLD AND NEW ACTS, CEMENTING ITS REPUTATION AS THE 'WOODSTOCK OF INDIA'

time-read
2 dak  |
November 25, 2024
A Musical Marriage
India Today

A Musical Marriage

Faezeh Jalali has returned to the Prithvi Theatre Festival with Runaway Brides, a hilarious musical about Indian weddings

time-read
2 dak  |
November 25, 2024
THE PRICE OF FREEDOM
India Today

THE PRICE OF FREEDOM

Nikhil Advani’s adaptation of Freedom at Midnight details our tumultuous transition to an independent nation

time-read
2 dak  |
November 25, 2024
Family Saga
India Today

Family Saga

RAMONA SEN's The Lady on the Horse doesn't lose its pace while narrating the story of five generations of a family in Calcutta

time-read
2 dak  |
November 25, 2024
THE ETERNAL MOTHER
India Today

THE ETERNAL MOTHER

Prayaag Akbar's new novel delves into the complexities of contemporary India

time-read
2 dak  |
November 25, 2024
TURNING A NEW LEAF
India Today

TURNING A NEW LEAF

Since the turn of the century, we have lost hundreds of thousands of trees. Many had stood for centuries, weathering storms, wars, droughts and famines.

time-read
1 min  |
November 25, 2024
INDIA'S BEATING GREEN HEART
India Today

INDIA'S BEATING GREEN HEART

Ramachandra Guha's new book-Speaking with Nature-is a chronicle of homegrown environmentalism that speaks to the world

time-read
3 dak  |
November 25, 2024
A NEW LEASE FOR OLD FILMS
India Today

A NEW LEASE FOR OLD FILMS

NOSTALGIA AND CURIOSITY BRING AUDIENCES BACK TO THE THEATRES TO REVISIT MOVIES OF THE YESTERYEARS

time-read
6 dak  |
November 25, 2024