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The 34th edition of IFFI pays homage to two of Indian cinema's
stalwarts who passed away this year. While the creative genius from
South India, K S Sethumadhavan (who has to his credits masterpeices
such as Maruppakkam and Oppol) is being honoured
with a tribute with five of his films, Leela Chitnis (who passed away
in July) best remembered for the playing mother to the heroes trilogy
- Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand - is being honoured with one film.
One of cinema's earliest educated ladies, Leela Chitnis
captured her life in her autobiography Chanderi Duniyet. Born
in a Marathi-speaking household in Karwar, Karnataka, she made a name
for herself in the Natya Manvantar theatre group.
Talkie films were a fledgling artform in the 1930s and Leela
gravitated towards cinema with minor roles. Her obvious felicity with
histrionics won her notice. Soon, she was working with major names like
Master Vinayak in Chhaya (1936), Prabhat's Narayan Kale
in Wahan (1937) and Sohrab Modi in Jailor (1938). Willing
to experiment with her roles, Leela even donned a man's guise in Gentleman
Daku (1937).
In 1939, Leela became a major star. Ranjit Studios took
actor Vishnupant Pagnis (of Prabhat's Sant Tukaram) and made
Sant Tulsidas with the actor. Leela played Pagnis' wife, whose
love distracts him from his goals.
The film was a major success.
The same year, Leela studio hopped to Bombay Talkies, where
Kangan was being made under S Mukherji's supervision. It co-starred
Ashok Kumar. The friendly competition between the two young stars translated
well on screen and this bucolic love story became a thumping hit.
Leela made a hugely popular pair with Ashok Kumar and starred
in a hat-trick of hits (Kangan, Bandhan, Jhoola)
opposite him. Kumar always praised her acting abilities and candidly referred
to the days when he used to watch Leela's acting closely. He admitted
to have learnt the technique of 'speaking through the eyes' from her.
1940 saw Kumar and Leela star together in Bandhan
(its superhit song Chal chal re naujawan still reverberates in
the ears of connoisseurs). Another rural love story, Bandhan,
had Leela looking her prettiest in simple saris and double-plaited hair.
The success of the pair's Jhoola in 1941 cemented their
teaming.
But Leela was not a studio person and preferred to freelance.
This had worked for her earlier but, in the Forties, the results were
not very encouraging. She teamed again with Bombay Talkies in Chaar
Ankhen (1944) and with Ashok Kumar in Kiran (1944)
but the earlier mega success eluded her.
Filmdom in the Forties followed many of the conventional
rules for heroines. Towards the end of the decade, Leela accepted a strong
role as Dilip Kumar's mother in Shaheed (1948).
The film made a strong impression at the box office. And
Leela began her second innings as a character actor.
She landed some very good roles. Raj Kapoor's Awaara
(1951) begins with a longish prelude that tells of her marriage to Prithviraj
Kapoor (the first time they worked together); her kidnapping by a dacoit
(K N Singh), who wants revenge from Prithviraj; her subsequent estrangement
from her suspicious husband and her later struggle to bring up her child
(played by a young Shashi Kapoor).
Leela played the central role in Bimal Roy's Maa
(1952) and even tried her hand at directing a film with Aaj Ki Baat
(1954). From the mid-1950s, she was often typecast as the protagonist's
woebegone mother.
The occasional impactful role still came Leela's way. She
worked often with major filmmakers like B R Chopra: she was Vyjayanthimala's
mother in Naya Daur (1957) and her mother-in-law in Sadhana.
Dev Anand's Navketan Films cast her in Kaala Bazaar (1960), Hum
Dono (1961) and in Guide (1965).
She was particularly good in Guide as Dev Anand's
helpless mother, who cannot overcome her trepidation at society's condemnation
of her son living in with Waheeda. Famous bhajans like Tora manwa
kyon ghabraye re Ramji ke dware (Sadhana) and Na main
dhan chahoon na ratan chahoon (Kaala Bazaar) were picturised
on her.
Leela worked very sporadically in the 70s, making an exception
only for films like Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978). Approaching
70, she dropped out of public notice and migrated to the US. But the memory
of that aristocratic bone structure, sympathetic countenance and benign
eyes lingers on.
Bandhan (1940) will be screened at
IFFI 2003
The B R Chopra retrospective also includes some of her other films
Naya Daur
Sadhna |
