Birthday of Sri Guru Ramdas Ji

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Rajinder Singh Bedi remembered Father of Indian parallel cinema Rajinder Singh Bedi and (right) A scene from “Devdas” S eptember 1 is the birth centenary of Rajinder Singh Bedi, one of the greatest fiction writers of the 20th century. He was also named the father of Indian parallel cinema with his directoral debut ‘Dastak’ (1970). Better known for his haunting Partition tales, Rajinder was a son of Punjab. Born in Sialkot (now in Pakistan) BUREAU REPORT on September 1, 1915, he spent his early years in Lahore, where he received his education in Urdu. But he never graduated from any college. After partition his family settled in Fazilka. His literary career spanning 50 years and 72 short stories represented the finest creative writing in Urdu literature. His stories ‘Garam Kot’ and ‘Lajwanti’ are considered among the masterpieces in Urdu short story. His later collection of short stories were ‘Kokh Jali’ and ‘Apne Dukh Mujhe De Do’ and also a collection of plays ’Saat Khel’ While his output was not prodigious, his stories are memorable, chastising ancient beliefs and superstitions, which keep the ordinary person igno- 36 Punjab Advance October 2015
ant and the women oppressed. Some of the most memorable characters from Bedi’s stories are women – Indu from ‘Apney Dukh Mujhei De Doe’ (Give Me Your Sorrows), Munni from ‘Lambi Larki’ (Tall Girl), the eponymous Lajwanti and Jogia, and Rano from Bedi’s only novel, ‘Ek Chadar Maili Si’ (A Sheet So Dirty). When he shifted to Bombay, he flourished in the film industry and in his 35 years spent there, he wrote screenplays, scenes, and dialogues of around 17 movies, including directing some of them. Almost all of these films proved to be highquality, quaint, and memorable, however, never proving to be box-office hits. Despite being written a few decades ago from Bedi’s long experience as the ‘father of Indian parallel cinema’, many of the challenges it describes still exist in Bollywood and Lollywood, though more acute in the latter. Bedi was prolific in the film world. His first script was for Badi Bahen which was an instant hit. Then came Aaram, Do Sitare, Daag, Devdas, Mirza Ghalib, Madhumati - often the films were successful but the writer got little credit. Moreover while Bombay films did give him money they also put his literary conscience into a quandary - how not to compromise artistic values to crass commercial demands? He later teamed up with four other outstanding film personalities - Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Balraj Sahni, Amar Kumar and Homi Sethna - to form a cine operative committed to making better cinema. He also became a regular dialogue writer for Hrishikesh Mukherjee: his was the soft, sensitive presence behind Anupama, Mem Didi, Satyakam, Abhiman. Bedi managed to produce and direct a few films including Dastak and Phagun. Dastak (1970), which was also his directorial debut, is more closer to Basu Chatterjee’s Sara Akash (1969) than any of the other parallel cinema films, mainly because both films narrate a middle class relationship, probing the densities of married life through a semi-realist prism. However, Bedi’s film cuts closer to the bone, exploring ‘the suggestion that a woman economically dependent on her husband is comparable to a prostitute’ Dastak (1970), which was also his directorial debut, is more closer to Basu Chatterjee’s Sara Akash (1969) than any of the other parallel cinema films, mainly because both films narrate a middle class relationship, probing the densities of married life through a semi-realist prism. (Flemming, 1985) Dastak deals with a married couple who move into an apartment previously run as a pleasure house. Phagun, a more ambitious statement on marital tensions, failed at the box-office. Padma Sachdev explains: "His own films flopped because he was a writer not a businessman." Bedi had by then lost a lot of money and mortgaged his house. He will always be remembered for his perceptive stories but most of all he will be remembered for Ek Chader Maili Si. It is the heartbreaking story of Rano who after her husband's death is compelled to marry his younger brother, one whom she has always brought up like her son. Into the tragic tale, Bedi weaves the entire social phenomena of Punjab in those days. Well-known film scribe Firoze Rangoonwala recalls that when Krishan Chander, the famous Urdu writer read it, he hugged Bedi and said: "You don't know what you've created." Ek Chader won Bedi the Sahitya Akademi Award. Bedi fell deeply in love with the heroine of his film Aankhin Dekhi, who married someone else after the completion of the film. This took a toll on his life. His health deteriorated after the death of his son, Narendra Bedi, who made commercially successful films, and his wife in quick succession. He fought cancer and paralysis, lost one eye, yet kept his spirit. Though the exact date of Rajinder Singh Bedi’s death is not mentioned anywhere, it is believed that he died barely 10 days after the anti-Sikh riots and the anguish that the country went through after Indira Gandhi’s assassination in November, 1984. This famous Urdu author and Hindi film director lay at his residence in Khar, Bombay, dangerously ill and yet undoubtedly aware of the communal madness that his country was going through in the early days of November. No, Bedi was not a deeply religious Sikh but he was a deeply sensitive man. October 2015 Punjab Advance 37
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Page 6 and 7: It’s Brand Punjab A New Ease of D
Page 8 and 9: turing sector, 25 per cent of them
Page 10 and 11: project to create two smart cities
Page 12 and 13: Cabinet clears fresh T incentives h
Page 14 and 15: Governance Reforms Punjab leads the
Page 16 and 17: Governance Reforms Punjab Governanc
Page 18 and 19: Smart CitieS An artist view of Smar
Page 20 and 21: War widows’ pension up T he Punja
Page 22 and 23: T he entire Guru Gobind Singh Marg
Page 24 and 25: PUNJABIS OVERSEAS The Sikh Samarita
Page 26 and 27: Nature's Mosaic An accomplished med
Page 28 and 29: Awards Kasel, aulakh and tasneem ge
Page 30 and 31: Craft Punjabi jutti goes phoren “
Page 32 and 33: Career n Competition Overcoming Ord
Page 34 and 35: Career n Competition Current ISRO g
Page 38 and 39: Films Sardaarji biggest blockbuster
Page 40 and 41: Sports Punjab Police sweep men’s
Page 42 and 43: Health Dengue Symptoms, Precautions
Page 44 and 45: Health Walk your way to health Dr.R
Page 46 and 47: Children’s world Hi kids, “ L a
Page 48 and 49: Forecast Your stars this month Dr.
Page 50: Last Word A male bastion falls I wa

Birthday of Sri Guru Ramdas Ji

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