Book Review
Guide, The Film: Perspectives
Lata Jagtiani & Other Writers
Blue Pencil, New Delhi, 2019
ISBN: 978-81-939555-2-9
An unintended blessing of Corona-enforced lockdown, I thought, was that I would be able to finish some half-read books and watch and rewatch some of my favourite films. With this thought I resumed ‘Guide, The Film: Perspectives’ which had been sitting on my desk for a while. My desire appeared to be facing a serious setback as Doordarshan decided to take us back to their golden era by carpet-bombing DD National and DD Bharati with their classic serials, Ramayan, Mahabharat, Buniyad, Dekh Bhai Dekh and NFDC films etc. I didn’t want to miss the nostalgia, but by then I was quite engrossed in the book and I had to finish it by rationing my time between different pulls.
Book review is not a regular feature on my blog, though I have done a few, but some readers have been requesting me off and on to write book reviews – a reader specially mentioned a well-known book written by Manek Premchand. I have read his books, but I became his admirer after I read his blog which showed his wide interests and command over language. Alas, that blog seems to have vanished. On my query, Manekji replied that there was some technical glitch which he hoped to resolve soon. I wish it comes to life again. He happens to be associated with ‘Guide The Film: Perspectives’, too, as is evident from the cover of the book. He has written an excellent introduction laying out before us the contours and objective of the book. It is a compilation of 14 essays written by different authors, including the ‘Introduction’ by him, each dealing with some aspect of Navketan’s path-breaking film Guide (1965), based on RK Narayan’s English novel The Guide. I am familiar with some of the contributors whose writings I like. That is plenty of reasons to give my perspective on the book, though belated.
There are many aspects about the cult movie which evoke awe and admiration. The bold theme of an Indian wife trapped in a loveless marriage with a self-obsessed, insensitive husband, breaking free to live-in with another man who lets her realise her artistic talent and bloom as a famous dancer. Their romantic love going terribly awry as the man gets ensnared in temptations of money, good life, gambling, liquor, high society; and the woman now feeling driven like slave through endless programmes, travels – not for the sake of her art, but for life in the fast lane for the man. Alienated from each other, the man becomes more and more possessive at the slightest hint of the husband being generous towards the woman, lest she should go back to him. In one such moment, the man stoops to forging the woman’s signature, which is soon caught and lands him in jail when the woman refuses to testify in his favour. There are contrasting perspectives of the two protagonists on this episode. His motive is not ‘cheating’ but only to keep her from her husband. For her, it is plain forgery and cheating for money, which she would have happily given had he asked her. Thus, both feeling wronged and betrayed by the other person. On release from jail, the fallen man is at a crossroads – his city 1 ½ miles, and Anjanpur (the Unknown Place) 685 miles away. Since Wahan kaun hai tera, he decides to go to the unknown. He finally lands up at a village temple, tired, emaciated, hungry, covered in a saffron shawl thrown at him by a kindly sadhu to protect him from the cold. The simple villagers led by Bhola (The Innocent One) take him as a swami who would mitigate their suffering caused by drought and famine, by bringing rains by fasting, as in the legends.
And, finally the fallen man accepting the enforced sainthood, moved by the faith of the villagers, and achieving the ultimate redemption when nothing remains except the union between his Physical Self and the Real Self, in a detailed exposition of Vedant never attempted before.
And all through this epic journey are great lyrics of Shailendra which are a vehicle for moving the story forward. And equally superb music by SD Burman. Most importantly, Vijay Anand’s masterly direction who also wrote the dialogues and the script, and edited the film. He was the true auteur of Guide the film.
Despite Guide being such a masterpiece on various counts, RK Narayan was very unhappy about the major departures from his novel. As the English version of the film (with the same cast, but screenplay by Pearl S Buck, and directed by Tad Danielewski), released earlier, failed miserably, Vijay Anand knew what was required to make the Hindi version acceptable to the Indian audience. There had to be a justification for the married woman to leave her husband for another man – the husband had to be darker than in the novel, with womanising added to his vile traits. The lady had to be a damsel in distress who is given a helping hand by the guide who cannot bear the woman suffer the misery and let her talent be stifled. Thus the lead characters are given a soft, romantic hue, though with some human failings. And the climax cannot be left ambiguous as in the book, hence the elaborate metaphysical ending when the enforced saint achieves real sainthood by his ultimate sacrifice which brings in the rains.
Does this book do full justice to all the above aspects about the movie? Lata Jagtiani’s omnibus article of about 70 pages, following the Introduction, is titled ‘Guide: A Perspective’ – almost a replica of the title of the book. And she covers all possible perspectives one could think of, in different sub-sections: ‘The Origin of the Novel The Guide’; ‘RK Narayan’s Novel The Guide’; ‘Enter Dev Anand; The Hindi Film Guide’; ‘Vijay Anand’s Changes’ – she elaborates five major changes; ‘The Long Playing Record’ – she discusses eight tracks including the ‘Snake Dance’. She finally quotes RK Narayan that loneliness is the only truth in life, and draws a very perceptive conclusion that “Marco discards Rosie, who, in turn, discards Raju, and, finally, Raju discards the physical world to self-actualise”, because there is room for only one at the peak of self-actualisation. With such a comprehensive article there is bound to be an overlap in the following articles, about which Manekji gives a forewarning in his Introduction.
Shailendra, Lyrics and SD Burman’s music
The next article is quite grandiosely titled, ‘Kaanton Se Kheench Ke Ye Aanchal: Women’s Emancipation‘ by Ajay Kanagat. I have to come back to this article at the end of my review. The one after this, by Antara Nanda Mondal, too, is devoted to a single song – ‘Wahan Kaun Hai Tera, Musafir, Jayega Kahaan…Life in a Nutshell‘. Antara is the Editor-in-chief of the site learningandcreativity.com, and a regular writer there. Her articles on music are always backed by deep research and display a serious approach to the subject. In Wahan Kaun Hai Tera she shows a similar insight and takes a comprehensive look, placing it in the context of the movie, when Raju comes out of the jail, not sure where to go. Even though his city is only 1 ½ miles away, but Bhool gaye wo, tu bhi bhula de, therefore, Raju trudges through the unending paths to the Unknown. Koi bhi teri raah na dekhe, Nain bichhaye na koi becomes a metaphor for everyone’s final journey. And finally Shailendra writes the fundamental truth, sung and composed so movingly by SD Burman as an atmospheric song – Kahte hain gyani/ Duniya hai faani/ Paani pe likhi likhaai/ Hai sabki dekhi/ Hai sabki jaani/ Haath kisi ke na ayi/ Kuchh tera na mera/ Musafir jayega kahan. The wise men say, the world is transitory, like writing on water. Everyone has seen it, everyone knows it, but no one can hold on to it. Antara has placed each phrase in the context of the scene in the movie, and aptly concludes that the song encapsulates the ultimate truth of life, when you realise you came alone and will leave alone. Another article which focusses on a single song is ‘The Confluence of Conflicting Perspectives‘ by Kalpana Swamy in which she discusses the different perspectives of Raju-Rosie about betrayal/betrayed on the basis of the back-to-back songs Mose chhal kiye jaaye sainya beimaan – Kya se kya ho gaya bewafa tere pyar mein. Kalpana is spot on in highlighting how they are in two different worlds. When Raju is being taken away by the police, Rosie asks him why did he do it, if he needed the money he could have asked her. Raju is bewildered, “समझता था कोई समझे या ना समझे, रोज़ी ज़रूर समझ जायेगी”, to which an equally bewildered Rosie replies, “सच तो ये है राजू, न मैं तुम्हें समझी न तुम मुझे समझे.”
There are two more articles devoted exclusively to the songs of the movie: ‘The Sojourn of a Soul‘ by Deepa Booty, and ‘Shailendra’s Lyrical Narrative’ by Dharmakirthi. Deepa takes an interesting approach in associating each track with a Ras (रस). Since Vijay Anand-Shailendra-SD Burman would not have created the songs with this approach in mind, some of her associations appear far-fetched. Piya tose naina laage re – Veer Ras; Mose chhal kiye jaaye – Vibhatsa Ras; and Kya se kya ho gaya – Raudra Ras may make you scratch your brains if you associate Veer Ras with Khoob ladi mardaani wah to Jhansiwali rani thi, or with Ramdhari Singh Dinkar’s याचना नहीं अब रण होगा, जीवन जय या कि मरण होगा; Vibhatsa Ras with Bhim drinking the blood from Duhshashan’s chest; and Raudra Ras with Lord Shiva’s Tandav Dance. But she does love her subject passionately, and her write-up is otherwise quite informative. Dharmakirthi, too, looks at the songs, but from the perspective of Shailendra’s lyrics. One can ignore the hyperbole, “Shailendra is my modern day Kalidasa”, but I entirely agree with him that the story can be better understood by viewing the songs in the order of their appearance in the movie. Incidentally, he sees Shringar Ras in Piya tose naina laage re, which is perfectly acceptable.
Guide the film, Vijay Anand
Gaurav Sahay’s ’The Impact Points of an Undulating Story on Celluloid’ is an excellent article describing some important events in the film that have great impact on the viewers. He makes an interesting point whether Raju’s life can be seen as an outcome of the exercise of his free will or pre-ordained, and it is Guide’s greatness that you can view it as a combination of both. He uses Shailendra’s lyrics inevitably for underscoring his points.
Monica Kar’s ’The Power of the Spoken Word’ focusses on Vijay Anand’s dialogues. After enumerating the elements of great dialogues as summed up by Staton Rabin, she goes on to mention the powerful dialogues for various characters, including the minor characters. She befittingly ends her article with the final words of the Saint Raju: Na sukh hai na dukh hai, …Sirf main hoon, main hoon, main sirf main. You can’t but agree with her that among the elements that make the film unforgettable is also Vijay Anand’s superb dialogues.
’Navketan and Vijay Anand’ by Sudeep Pahwa is a superb article which, without verbosity, highlights the multiple roles of Vijay Anand – scriptwriter, dialogue writer, editor and director – in making Guide a great movie. ’A Spiritual Odyssey’ by Vijay Kumar is another well-written article, focussing on Raju’s ultimate sacrifice. The final redemption makes you view Raju’s entire life as a spiritual odyssey. The author also adds a section giving the overview of the songs. A number of authors have already done it, but you can never have enough of Guide’s songs.
’Les Acteurs Principaux: The Key Players & Their Personas with Psyche and Myth as Spicy Fillings’ is written by a practising psychiatrist, Dr. Pisharoty Chandran. He spends a good part of the article in explaining the literature on psychiatry, psychodynamics, difference between Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD) and Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD), Id, Ego and Super-ego, and finally tries to fit in his theory to Rosie and other principal players in the story. I have to leave it to the experts to make sense of this article.
The novel and the film
Lata Jagtiani had covered a good ground on this subject in her overview article, and I was looking for something more comprehensive and analytical. ’The Guide: The Novel versus the Film’ by MV Devraj covers a still narrower ground. This might be due to the absence of a centralised co-ordination of the various authors and their contributions. I am mentioning this because a striking difference which no author seems to have highlighted is that, in the book after Raju goes to jail his mother and Rosie never enter his life again, but in the movie they do during his ‘sainthood’. That is another masterstroke of Vijay Anand as this scene not only enhances the pathos, it also redeems the mother and Rosie by their awareness that perhaps they had not been entirely fair to him, and further glorifies his final redemption as he is beyond even this attachment. But with all the accolades to Vijay Anand, one should not mistake that RK Narayn’s The Guide is lesser. One cannot but agree with Mr Devraj that both the novel and the film are master class creations. And it is a truism for any film adaptation of a great classic novel, the two are different mediums. The pleasure of reading a great book can never be recreated on celluloid.
Cherry on the cake
’How Much Do You Know on This Subject’ by Bobby Sing is a compilation of 25 questions on the novel and the two films based on it, in Hindi and English. Unpretentious, it is cherry on the cake. His stated objective is to “excite and engage the young Hindi movie lovers who might still not have seen this unmistakable classic”, but it is bound to interest, excite and challenge the connoisseurs too. Some questions do not require any prior knowledge, such as #21, “What is the unique feature of the song Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai?”, but others require knowledge of varying degrees.
I have to come back to ‘Kaanton Se Kheench Ke Ye Aanchal: Women’s Emancipation‘ which I mentioned earlier. I had left it for the end for a reason. It is neither about the song nor about women’s emancipation. The author gives a simple summary of the story of the film, and in the end mentions the song. This article does not belong in this anthology.
Overall the book is very strong on the lyrics, songs and music. You become more aware of the exceptional talent of Vijay Anand, and his contribution in creating this masterpiece. The book will inspire you to go back to the movie again and watch it with a better understanding. It might also inspire you to read the novel, The Guide, and more of RK Narayan, if you have not already. And it just might make you curious to check out the English version of the movie, which I did in spite of sufficient warnings to keep away from it. A pirated version of the English version of the movie, rarely seen before, is now available on the YouTube. If you love your Guide, and you love its songs, as the authors of the book so obviously do, this is a book worth having and reading.
{ 50 comments… read them below or add one }
A very good and insightful review of this book, AK. Thanks for this. I agree totally about its being a book worth reading if you love Guide. I liked it a lot despite not liking Guide (though I love its songs), so that says a lot.
BTW, what was your opinion of the English version of the film? I’m curious.
Madhu,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation. You don’t like Guide even on revisit after reading this book? I remember you have reviewed the book. The English version of the film is ‘bad’, period. It is disjointed, and because of sudden jumps, at places you can’t make head or tail of it. One scene I found particularly discordant – when Rosie visits Raju in jail, Dev Anand acts flippant and comical when it required poignant treatment. I think you have reviewed this film too, in which you gave clear warning against it. I am very selective in watching movies, but in this case curiosity got the better of me.
The only reason I can think of is that because of differences between the author, the director and the producer, their heart was not in the project, and they just wanted to be done with it. Seeing its failure, Vijay Anand put his heart and soul into the Hindi version.
Over a decade back on a visit to Chicago I saw The Guide – English -version in a social gathering of Indians when some Indian films were screened. The film was not either absorbing or boring but certainly a far cry from the Hindi version that I saw at Delhi’s Plaza in the mid sixties.
My memory does not serve me well on the English version. Hindi one was a beautifully made film. The ever green songs of SDB, the enchanting photography of Fali Mistry are still remembered. .
Mr Vasudevan,
Lucky that you have seen the English film The Guide, probably legally. In India, I understand it was never released, and the YT link is probably a pirated copy which surfaced last year. The legal copy might have been better, the YT link I saw lacked soul.
AK ji,
R K Narayan, reviewing THE GUIDE for LIFE magazine, had called it ” The misguided Guide”.
Dr Shetty,
Yes, RK Narayan’s sarcastic article was well-known. I think right from their first meeting the chemistry between him and Dev Anand was missing. He imagined his Raju to be located in Malgudi. Dev Anand can never belong to Malgudi, therefore, his childhood was removed from both the versions. I think his article was in the context of the English version. For the Hindi version Vijay Anand/Dev Anand did not bother for RK Narayan, and made their own film.
Dr Pradeep Kumar Shetty ji, AK ji ;
Yes. I had Life Magazine that carried the article and was published in mid 65 or 66 when I was in 2nd year of IIT delhi. Shetty is right …..the title was …..The misguided Guide . I will look for that copy and see if I still have in my old collectors drawers. If I remember correctly the American magazine …SPAN…also brought a small article on Guide .
The Life magazine however extensively covered the critic’s comments with many fotos added . RK Narayan was very critical of the English version . Even Pearl Buck was not happy the way the narration went thru . The Snake dance number, however , was well appreciated . Looking at pirated version on YT it seems the hindi version snake dance sequence has been cut and pasted on English version.
For critical analysis and for comparison of various inputs of different departments , I think it is worth watching English version….and I am sure everyone will find Goldie team beating their counterparts of English version …in every department.
It is difficult to say which department was the soul of the movie. Goldie…Shailendra …SDB….Fali Mistry….Waheeda….or Dev ? well that is my series of selection. But what about Kishore Sahu ? On screen everyone disliked him ….even his work of exploration in udaipur caves was not seriously taken up ….but later on a single dialogue of waheeda ji shrieking ……Marcus yeh moortiyan chhila chhila ke kahengi ki mein jeena chhati hun , main jeena chhahati hun. Such masterful combo strokes of story, screenplay, dialogue , direction , sets..etc can come up from Goldie only .
Later on ….another scene ….Dev asking Waheeda ….Yeh achanak Marcus ki yaad kaise aane lagi. Such situations in the film made one stick or rather glued to their seats to have more.
Now finally Marcus comes to Dev to present the publication of his findings in the caves and told him….. Yaad nahi maina kaha tha ghabraao nahi tumahara naam bhi kitab mein chhape ga…..aur wo maine kah diya ki ….heh khandrat ki khoj mein Raju guide ka bahut bara haath hai.
OH ! what a recall . In new Delhi , it is a practice of film distributers to see that the classic contented films are released in areas depending upon the geo location of cinema halls . Guide was released in best visited cinema halls ignoring the highly congested commercial areas where people have the attitude of see and go…..likes of areas around railway stations. Initially for two weeks the people were confused about the movie and not rated very high as was expected from Navketan house. I too was a little taken back as I was expecting a Clean comedy after Goldie’s early wake up any time movie….Tere Ghar Ke Saamne. But the movie slowly picked up the moment and scaled many heights as we all know about .
KS Bhatiaji,
I will love to read the article ’The Misguided Guide’. I wish you are able to locate it.
Your observations on the movie are a wonderful nostalgic review. Among your listings, the least credit I will give to Dev Anand the actor. He couldn’t help it, it was difficult for him not to be Dev Anand, though in Guide he has been able to ‘act’ in parts, for which credit has to be shared with Vijay Anand for the script, dialogue and direction.
My impression is you appreciate the film more on re-watch, if you see it with focus on the lyrics, songs and direction.
AK ji,
Absolutely. RKN reviewed the English version.
Bhatia ji,
It is always a pleasure to read about your personal experiences. You were an young man during the Golden Age of Hindi film music . You savoured and treasured those and are sharing them with music lovers. Thank you.
The 1972 Kannada movie ನಾಗರಹಾವು ( NAGARAHAVU) , based on three novels by ತರಾಸು ( ThaRaSu) and directed by ace director ( considered Numero Uno ) Puttanna Kanagal, became an all-time classic. Arathi ( earlier introduced by Puttanna and had featured in a few movies) and Vishnuvardhan ( one film old) gained stardom and Ambarish, who debuted with the movie also went onto become a villain first and a hero later. The movie went on to win 8 State awards ( Best Film, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor & Actress including. ThaRaSu got the best story award and Puttanna, best screenplay.)The songs are popular to this day. The slow motion technique was used for the first time in the song, ಬಾರೇ ಬಾರೇ ಚೆಂದದ ಚೆಲುವಿನ ತಾರೆ ( Baare baare chendada cheluvina thare). If I am not mistaken, Ek pyar ka nagma hai, SHOR, was the second instance.
Coming to the main issue after the information overload (!)….
The renowned author ThaRaSu’s caustic comments made the headlines on the morning of the movie’s release (which was quite unusual for a Kannada movie. He must have attended a preview.)
ನಾಗರಹಾವು ಅಲ್ಲ, ಕೇರೆ ಹಾವು.
( It is a rat snake and not a cobra!)
Many of the novels by ThaRaSu were earlier made into successful movies by other directors,but none matcing up to NAGARAHAVU. The author himself had written the screenplay, dialogues,a few songs for many of them.
Surprisingly, Puttanna made another film ಮಸಣದ ಹೂವು ( MASANADA HOOVU),1984, based on ThaRaSu’s novel. He passed away when the movie was almost complete and it was later completed by Ravi. ThaRaSu also passed away the same year. The movie was a success and won a handful of awards at the State awards, including The Best Actress.
Dr Shetty,
Thanks for the information on Tharasu, and the remake of his novel. His reaction about the adaptation of his novel mirrors RK Narayan’s. That only shows that the two mediums are so different that very sensitive writers ‘possessive’ about their work will always be sceptical about the film. One faithful remake of a classic is Bimal Roy’s Devdas. The earlier version starring KL Saigal (1935) chopped off the entire childhood of Devdas-Paro. Sarat Chandra had the usual scepticism about the film medium, and insisted to be present at its shooting. After watching some scenes on the sets he was satisfied with the director PC Barua’s vision.
AK ji,
To be read as King Cobra, not just cobra.
Nagarahavu means King Cobra. Hence the comment.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali ( 2002) made Paru and Chandramukhi meet and dance merrily to Dola re dola re… In Bimal Roy’s DEVDAS, 1955,we see them cross paths and have a glance of each other during the song Manjil ke chaah mein…
Kai yahan khoyenge, Kai yahan paayenge…
Raahi kai abhi jaayenge,Kai abhi aayenge…
Paaru and Chandramukhi focused with the first and second part of both the lines, respectively.
Do they cross paths with each other in Sharat Chandra’s novel, DEVDAS, 1917?
Dr Shetty,
Thanks for the clarification, but my larger point about dichotomy between a writer and a film maker remains valid.
In Sarat Chandra’s ‘Devdas’, Paro and Chandramukhi do not ever meet, though both separately go to Tal Sonapur to meetDevdas, but miss him. From this it was a small stretch for Bimal Roy’s artistic imagination to have Parvati’s palki cross Chandramukhi on foot going in the opposite direction. You may like to read my article on the Book, the Author and the three film versions.
https://www.songsofyore.com/one-hundred-years-of-sarat-chandras-devdas/
AK ji @8;
I entirely agree with you. It is the age of the viewer that matter most. Youth at the age of 15 or 16 have at their disposal all types of movies….and he has yet to develop the taste for classic movies….when his mind is oriented to romantic , musical and fantasy films. Guide story and narration was not like hour glass sandy flow that quickly get drowned ones throat….. but one with story of drifting sand on the shore……letting your eyes and mind open all the time. Who could have one imagined the lovable Guide will later turn out to be a saint one day …..first imposed upon and then in reality. [ Here I will recall the excellent acting by Jagirdar.].
Yes, every time one sees the movie as a rewatch….even in clips…the beauty and hardwork are reflected in its enhanced glory…. of a kind that glitters in every frame. Look at the camera position and angles where waheeda danced on the fort walls and scenes captured thru small mirrors with clever editing of Goldie anand…..and excellent camerawork of Fali Mistry.
AK ji , the trick to aging gracefully is to enjoy every moment of life as it comes to you. Wrinkles must be written upon our forehead for others to read our healthy mind and heart. Wrinkles conveys many things when mouth stops speaking.The trick to aging gracefully is to enjoy art in its many forms. When Dev was aging he changed to different hair styles to remain in his youthful mannerism and style. Goldie resorted to longer hairs , wide specs , chhapals to match the khadi shoulder bag…..to carry his philosophical , poetic appearance……of the style of Gulzar Saheb. But some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again . A wrapup there after when not succeeding.
R Vasudevan ji, Dr, Shetty ji, Venkatraman ji;
Decade of 70 and 80 belonged to Door Darshan when many popular serials were aired making all of us very disciplined to adhere to finishing household activities well before the start of our favorite prog. My father and myself never missed to watch Narayanans …..Malgudi Days. It is a known fact that each episode was a class in itself with beautiful display of acting , slow narration of story …..with a little bits of laughs . But what made me think of was the location of the small town ….Malgudi ! Looking so original with natural sceneries , real huts with right props. Everyone dressing in a dedicated style of a must for any villager. Slow moving old vintage car and lorries .[ yes lorries not buses or trucks]. Manual and animal driven carts adding to authenticity of the total setup.
My curiosity begins and I started looking up for Malgudi’s location on Maps etc. Not finding any clue I started asking my South Indian friends too. They too negativated my efforts. one lucky day a group of engineers from tamil Naidu were to meet me for discussion of various dams which were under progress. As usual after wrap-up of meeting I asked one for the location of Malgudi. He told me there is no town or village by this name but there is one by the name of MASANGUDI which is on Mysore Ooty road , just at the foot hills of Nilgiris where Pykara Hydro Electic Project is going on. Since you are coming on inspection of pykara project we will show you that place along with Wild century. I think that whole day I wore best of my smile.
Masangudi is as look alike as Malgudi. Slow local traffic , small pan bidi shops that all appeared alike when viewed from distance . The Pykara Guest house is near by where we stayed and had plenty of vadas and dosa….very tasty served live in minutes. For dinner nearby old houses of british times are handy and an experience to dine in the dark in the company of wild sounds . Yes the hotels are like charms of old banglows very well protected by light voltage current carrying poles to scare away the elephants and tigers. ……Well beyond this there are more stories but some other time.
KS Bhatiaji,
I am fascinated by your search for ‘Malgudi’. I read an interesting description of location hunting by the filmmakers, assisted by RK Narayan:
“Narayan proceeds next to the 300 mile expedition undertaken by the film-makers to acquaint themselves with the landscape of the novel. Guided by Narayan, the team observes carefully the flight of steps on the banks of Cauvery that figure prominently in the novel. Next the team drives to the tiny pilgrim town of Nanjagund where they carefully notice the pilgrim population bathing in the sacred waters of Kabini, and the shops selling cheap sweets and toys. They trek to the nearby forests, hills and dusty villages till they reach the base of Gopalswami Hills. A five mile uphill drive brings them to the summit where they see the original ‘Peak House’ that inspired the ‘Peak House’ of the novel. The house is a fifty year old bungalow with a glassed verandah that affords a view of the wildlife at night. They observe the foot tracks that wind through the underground, and leads to a decrepit temple whose immense timber doors serve as an emblem of its antiquity. The purpose of the visit, in the eyes of Narayan and ostensibly the other crew, was to identify the locations as they occur in the novel to preserve the authenticity of the novel’s milieu. Narayan was under the impression that the spots identified by him would be used as the locations in which the film is set.”
There was a long silence from the filmmakers after this expedition. RK Narayan came to know that they were locating his story in exotic locales like Udaipur, which was shocking to him – this was far from his beloved Malgudi. It is said that RK Narayan had met Satyajit Ray earlier, but Ray expressed doubts whether he would be able to do full justice to the typical culture of a small South Indian town. But no such doubts bothered the brash American director. Since Malgudi, in any case, was an imaginary town, he could locate it anywhere, ‘We are out to expand the notion of Malgudi – Malgudi will be where we place it, in Kashmir, Rajasthan, Bombay, Delhi, even Ceylon.’
RK Narayan tried to convince the filmmakers to his point of view, but in his own words, so typical of his wry humour, “I began to realise that monologue is the privilege of the filmmaker, and that it was futile to try butting in with my own observations. But for some obscure reason, they seemed to need my presence, though not my voice. I must be seen and not heard.”
It is an interesting epilogue that among the seven Filmfare Awards, the most till then, won by the film Guide, the Award for the Best Story went to RK Narayan. I don’t know whether he was present to receive the Award, or whether after the super-success of the Hindi version he became more favourably disposed towards the film adaptation of his novel.
That’s a beautiful review AK, and I’m humbled by your thoughts! I’m equally in admiration of your own writing and mission, which show up in every essay of yours.Grateful!
Sadly, my website has been down for a while, but I haven’t found (actually looked for) someone who’ll maintain it for me, without my having to sell a kidney 🙂
Manekji,
Thanks a lot for dropping in and your appreciation. It is sad that your site has so many of your nice articles has vanished into the thin air. Wishing you the best.
Bhatia ji,AK ji ,
Most of the episodes of MALGUDI DAYS,1987, were shot at the sleepy hill town of Agumbe, in Shivamogga district, Karnataka. The 150 years old Dodda Mane ( Big House),in the centre of the town,was shown as Swami’s home.
( Whenever we go to Shivamogga or Theerthahalli_ the birth place of Kuvempu, considered as the tallest among the modern day Kannada writer_ from Mangaluru we make it a point to stop there for a while. The Sunset point nearby attracts many tourists.)
Shankar Nag, the director,was a hugely popular hero in Kannada. Younger brother of Anant Nag. Dynamic,a livewire,he turned into a producer and director,too. An accident,at the age of 36, took him away in the year 1990.
Master Manjunath, ‘ Swamy’ , was a popular child artiste. Almost 60 Kannada movies,a few Telugu movies and 4 Hindi movies: UTSAV, AGNEEPATH ( Young Vijay Deenanath Chavan), VISHWATMA,BENAAM BADSHAH. Quit acting at the age of 19 to persue studies.
Girish Karnad,Anant Nag, matinee idol Vishnuvardhan, Ramesh Bhat, Dina Pathak, Deven Bhojani, Harish Patel, Vaishali Kasaravalli ( wife of renowned , multiple National awards winning director Girish Kasaravalli), B Jayashree ( celebrity theatre artiste and singer, grand daughter of Gubbi Veeranna veteran theatre and film personality who introduced Rajkumar to the screen),Shankar Nag himself and his wife Arundhati Nag were among the huge starcast of the series.
John Devraj, a self taught sculptor, painter, converted the Agumbe village into Malgudi.
R K Laxman drew cartoons for the series and L Vaidyanathan scored the music.
Apart from Malgudi Days, parts of R K Narayan’s other short story collections A Horse and Two Goats, An Astrologer’s Day and other short stories and the novels Swami And His Friends and The Vendor of Sweets were used for the series….13 episodes in English and (all) 54 in Hindi. Was revived in 2006. Kavita Lankesh directed 15 episodes.
RKN was pleased with the screen adaptation of his works. That was a huge compliment to the creativity of Shankar Nag and his team.
Did I go overboard with my details?!?
Dr Shetty,
Lovely! You are lucky to have been to ‘Malgudi’. ‘Malgudi Days’ was very authentic to RK Narayan’s vision. He must have thought something like this for his ‘Guide’ too, but Dev Anand was too big a star for this. Please carry on, I like your details.
Malgudi may be a town created imaginatively by RK Narayan for his story as did by Thomas Hardy in his novels the place like Dorset, Casterbridge etc. We can see several villages in the shape of Malgudi in Tamilnadu,
Kerala and Maharastra.
The art director of Malgudi days TV serial
did a fantastic job re-reacting Malgudi the way RK Narayan imagined.
AKji,
Thanks for the excellent review of the book. It appears that the book is worth a read from the brief but focused study of the chapters in this post. My focus of interest would be the articles by Lata Jagtiani and the articles on the songs and on Shailendra’s lyrics.
I happened to the read the book first and then the Hindi version of the film. Both the novel and the film are influential mediums; they have their exclusive impact on their respective target audience/ viewers, which may not be necessarily overlapping. The novel and its adaptation traverses at several points but resist/defy uniformity.
R K Narayanan’s novel is a successful verbal narration. And the film is an equally successful visual interpretation by Vijayanand. The article by Jagtaini and Devraj, I hope, must have discussed the similarities and dissimilarities between the novel and its film adaptation and the process of adaptation. That would be quite interesting. Wish to read the book at the first available opportunity.
I entirely agree with Bhatiaji and you on the order of credit, Vijay Anand, Shailendra and S D Burman…….
Thank you for bringing to notice the availability of the English version of the film on YT. Yesterday I watched it.
Venkataramanji,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation. Lata Jagtiani’s article is quite comprehensive. You would get more than you expect on Shailendra’s lyrics. Many authors have written on the songs, some others on different themes also have taken the help of Shailendra’s lyrics.
On the novel-film difference, I would not like to say more than what I have said in the review. After you have been able to lay your hands on the book, you can make your own judgment whether it covers this aspect to your satisfaction.
R Vasudevan ji @20;
Perfect appraisal !! If someone ask me to plan a village set I won’t be able to think beyond Malgudi . My search for Malgudi led me to Masangudi village. It was a good experience.Curiosity always follows passions . Swadesh was another movie which I liked for its content and treatment. There too you get a good feeling of modern village .
The other set up I liked is villages of North east. Again so simple slow moving life….living there for two years during 79,80 was a great relief from the madding crowds.
AK ji @15; Dr. Shetty @18;
Thanks for very detailed and impressive narration of the background of the various sites where filming took place. My heart felt feelings goes to R K Narayanan for not adhering to his imaginative village. But having all done ….all we got as finished product was awesome …and for that Goldie deserve the maximum honors .
I am still in search mode of LIFE magazine that carried the article on GUIDE. Scanned thru various magazine covers on googles too. During this weeding out exercise the house looks cleaner now. As my wife says….carry on search.
KS Bhatiaji,
Don’t worry. There is plenty of material ‘about’ the article on the net. The article is included in his collection of essays in a book titled, ‘A Writer’s Nightmare’. Therefore, it is not difficult to access it. But thanks a lot.
I enjoyed your conversation with Mr Vasudevan about ‘authentic’ villages. Shyam Benegal’s Ankur and Nishant must be mentioned. He depicts the village in all its starkness, its feudal order (of those days), oppression and injustice. He avoids all filmy tropes of village belles dressed in colourful ghaghara-cholis, dancing and singing, and a pardesi who falls for the romance. He acknowledges his inspiration is Satyajit Ray, on whom he has made a one-hour documentary.
AK ji @25;
Shyam Benegal’s Ankur and Nishant really were down to earth production houses . Add Gobind Nahalani who continued with stark realities thru natural approach….no commercial angle added for narration ! In fact these were the core of producers and directors who started Parallel cinema with no glamour of any sort. Even the comedy films were simple to highlight the living in chaupals and still the outcome of romantic movies in a very shy and simple way. Thanks to teams of the likes of … Farooq Shaikh, Deepti Naval, Rakesh Bedi, Ravi Baswani and Saeed Jaffrey….etc. Shabana and other actors were there for serious but realistic movies. One thing to note that all such movie had stamping of Vanraj Bhatia whose music also holds you attentive all the time.
Coming back to villages , I think RK’s Boot Polish was the one who impressed me a lot. Leaking huts during storms says it all. All characters looked part of the real village. The photography and acting was superb….so also music and sound recording. If I remember correctly David and V Ratra got nomination for best acting and best cinematography in colva vory awards…..or they won it…I am not sure.
Goldie in Guide too adhered to atmosphere of a realistic Village … adding authentic props wherever required. I liked the local made vintage styled car made of tin and other material used by Dev and driven by Anwar Hussain. The car seems to be made of spares. The steering wheel , the door handle….all seems to be of an old lorry car. Such station wagon type cars were very popular during early 50s . They were mostly remade American cars and were popular in Hill stations of the north. A great value addition for summer holidays!!
AKji, Bhatiaji, Pradeepji, Vasudevanji,
Thoroughly enjoyed the discussions on Malgudi and other related topics.
Bhatiaji’s writings are always a reader’s delight especially the writings on the search for Malgudi and the similarities with Masangudi.
Thanks to Akji for the description of location hunting by the film makers with R K Narayan.
Pradeepji has provided a fine account of the Malgudi days series in DD and its location and making. I think the music for the earlier episodes were by Sharang Dev. I am not sure whether he is the same Sharang Dev, son of Pandit Jasraj. L Vaidyanathan replaced him later and scored wonderful music with a typical South Indian flavour which synched well with background of the story. Thana na na Thana nana na still lingers in our ears.
Many fictional towns and places can be found in the literary works of many authors.
Raja Rao (a contemporary of R K Narayan) too created a fictional town Kanthapura in the novel bearing the same name. The beginning gives us a distinct view of the town:
“Our village—I don’t think you have ever heard of it—Kanthapura is its name, and it is in the province of Kara. High on the Ghats is it, high up the steep mountains that face the cool Arabian seas, up the Malabar Coast is it, up Mangalore and Puttur and many a centre of cardamom and coffee, rice and sugarcane. Roads, narrow, dusty, rut-covered roads, wind through the forests of teak and of jack, of sandal and of sal, and hanging over bellowing gorges and leaping over elephant-haunted valleys, they turn now to the left and now to the right…”
The geography and the landscape should be familiar to Pradeepji; and the novel too.
Vasudevanji mentioned Thomas Hardy’s Dorset, Casterbridge etc. Although the places that appear in his novels actually exist, in many cases he gave the place a fictional name. For example, Hardy’s home town of Dorchester is called Casterbridge in his books, especially in “The Mayor of Casterbridge”. In the preface to the novel “Far From the Madding Crowd” he described Wessex as “a merely realistic dream country”. When he created the concept of a fictional Wessex, it consisted merely of the small area of Dorset in which Hardy grew up. By the time he wrote “Jude the Obscure”, the boundaries had extended to include a few more nighbouring places, renamed “Christminster” in the novel. The nature and significance of ideas of “Wessex” were developed over a long series of novels through a lengthy period of time. The idea of Wessex plays an important artistic role in Hardy’s works. It seems, Wessex played an economic role in Hardy’s career. Here one can draw a similarity with R K Narayan’s creation of Malgudi.
It is said that R K Narayan was influenced by William Faulkner. The American writer is primarily known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where he spent most of his life. The word Yoknapatawpha is derived from two Chickasaw words—Yocona and petopha, meaning “split land.” The area was originally Chickasaw land (Indigenous native Indian territory). White settlement started around 1800. AKji might have come across this information while doing his Route 66 trip.
Another fictional place, though a mystical one, that I have come across is Shangri-La described in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by British author James Hilton. Hilton describes Shangri-La as a mystical, harmonious valley, enclosed in the western end of the Kunlun Mountains of Tibet. Shangri-La has become synonymous with any earthly paradise, and particularly a mythical Himalayan utopia.
Even we can find many such fictional places in Agatha Christie’a books. The first one that I could recollect Is the St. Mary Mead. An earlier mention of St. Mary Mead, a fictional village, exists in the Hercule Poirot novel The Mystery of the Blue Train. St. Mary Mead would later be the home of Christie’s detective Miss Marple. The Murder at the Vicarage is the first novel to feature the character of Miss Marple and her village St Mary Mead. The town of Chipping Cleghorn too is fictional but it all seems very real in the bok “A Murder is Announced”. Another Miss Marple thriller.
And in the Harry Potter Series of J K Rowling Hogsmeade Village is the only settlement in Britain inhabited solely by magical beings,
On 27. Thanks Mr Venkatraman for giving more information on Thomas Hardy and the places mentioned. TH was my favorite author in my younger days having read all his 14 novels and umpteen short stories.
I doubt any other writer has described country life as Hardy had depicted
in his works. Through his novels he virtually transport us to those
places and settings. A great writer. I never imagined through Dev”s Guide movie I will be mentioning about TH. Thanks again Mr V
Venkataramanji,
Your survey of fictional places in literature is excellent. Chickasaw land – I did not come across any reference to this in my Route 66 trip.
It is interesting how some places enter into language as an idiom. For example, Shangri-La is used to mean a place which is like paradise on earth. Small towns/villages in Bhutan, Scottish Highlands can be described as Shangri-La.
I am reminded of 221B Baker Street. We all know that it is a fictional address. When Holmes stories were written, Baker Street didn’t have number as high as 221. Later when the street was extended, a Sherlock Holmes Museum was located in 239 Baker Street which was later assigned the number 221B, with a blue plaque announcing that it was the house of Sherlock Holmes, the Consulting Detective.
Very Very Nice Review Akji…one of the best films of our cinena. I had seen this movie in 1992 in VCP-VCR era (the last phase of vcp-vcr era thereafter satellite channels attack had cut down that era). We used to bring 3 or 4 video cassettes (rent 10 rs for each cassette and 50 rs for VCP) mostly on a Saturday night..once in a month or 2. The Next Day was the GOLDEN SUNDAY of DD golden era…which never allowed us to sleep in morning…so it was a continuous Jaagaran until the MOOK BADHIRO KE LIYE SAMACHAR at 1.00 p.m. 🙂
This film was a heavy dose for me. I was 15. I still can remember the heavier effects I got in my mind after watching this movie for so many days !!!
Jignesh,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation. If the movie has such an impact on you at 15, it is worth a re-watch.
An interesting review that makes one want to read the book. The discussions in the comments section on the film, author’s views, fictional places created by the authors etc were also interesting.
I read the book first and saw the film much later, although I was attracted to the songs right from the beginning. While reading the book,it was another RKN work. While watching the film the book didn’t come to the mind. I was most impressed by the film script and the songs. Vijay Anand and SDB carried the picture to great heights.
Dr.Shetty,
I knew that Malgudi Days was shot in Karnataka but didn’t know that the place is near Agumbe. Thanks for the information. This is one serial that is evergreen.
This would be of interest to everybody.
https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/the-train-will-now-stop-at-malgudi/article29341705.ece
Giriji,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation.
Venkataramanji,
Thanks a lot for this fascinating link about recreating ‘Malgudi’ and its railway station. RK Narayan gives a lively account of the inauguration of Malgudi Railway Station, and the arrival of its first train, in ‘The Guide’, in the words of Raju recalling the event when he was a child:
“One day we were all given a holiday. “The train comes to our town today,” people said excitedly. The station was decorated with festoons and bunting. A piper was playing, bands were banging away. Coconuts were broken on the railway track, and an engine steamed in, pulling a couple of cars. Many of the important people of the town were there. The Collector and the Police Superintendent and the Municipal Chairman, and many of the local tradesmen, who flourished green invitation cards in their hands, were assembled at the station. The police guarded the platform and did not allow the crowds in. I felt cheated by this. I felt indignant that anyone should prohibit my entry to the platform. I squeezed myself through the railings at the farthest end, and by the time the engine arrived I was there to receive it. I was probably so small that no one noticed my presence.
“Tables were laid and official gentlemen sat around refreshing themselves, and then several got up and lectured. I was aware only of the word “Malgudi” recurring in their speeches. There was a clapping of hands. The band struck up, the engine whistled, the bell rang, the guard blew his whistle, and the men who had been consuming refreshments climbed into the train. I was half inclined to follow their example, but there were many policemen to stop me. The train moved and was soon out of sight. A big crowd was now allowed to come onto the platform. My father’s shop had record sales that day.”
AKji @ 35,
Yes, R K Narayan had great fascination for trains, railways etc., it seems. While reading the lively account of the inauguration of the Malgudi station and the arrival of the first train, makes one feel as part of the milieu. It was the image of a railway station that R K Narayan first perceived when he was planning to write.
“As I sat in a room nibbling my pen and wondering what to write, Malgudi with its little railway station swam into view, all ready-made,” he says in his memoir ‘My Days”.
And Malgudi town with all the detail and its characters, being his own creation, was very close to his heart. In the first place, he was upset due to the change of location, I presume. You have presented a description of location hunting by the filmmakers, assisted by RK Narayan. As you have said, Narayan was under the impression that the spots identified by him would be used as the locations.
The other reason could be the compensation. In the “Misguided Guide” R K Narayan writes about his first meeting with the eloquent and elegant Devanand,
‘After a breakfast of Idlis and Dosas, the talk was all about The Guide and its cinematic merits. Within an hour we have become so friendly that he could ask without embarrassment “what price do you demand for your story?” The checkbook was out and the pen poised over it. I had the impression that if I had suggested that the entire face of the check could be covered with closely knit figures, he would have obliged me. But I hemmed and hawed, suggesting a slight advance, and told him to go ahead. I was sure that if the picture turned out to be a success; he would share with me the glory and the profits. Oh! Certainly, he affirmed, if the picture, by God’s grace, turns out to be a success, we would be on the top of the world and Sky would be the limit.’
R K Narayan continues in his “My Days”,
‘As we proceeded the sky seemed to be lowered steadily and when the time came to demand a share of the profits, you could puncture the sky with an umbrella. I was told that the film failed to make any profit.’
He also adds the producers spent a huge sum on themselves as salaries and in hosting alcoholic parties.
Most probably after the Hindi version, he said,
‘The film Guide a bastard offspring from my book, has much less to do with me and far more to do with Dev.’
Venkataramanji,
It would not be prudent to pass any judgment whether Anands shortchanged RK Narayan on the commercial arrangements. Dev Anand in his autobiography Romancing with Life touches upon his interaction with RKN very briefly, but in essence the two accounts match – that Dev Anand was very direct about having a clear business deal. After he had ‘devoured’ the book in ‘one go’ and decided to make a bilingual film on it, he didn’t waste any time. He called RKN from the US (where Dev Anand was then) and spelt out his ‘immediate requirement’, “Your whole-hearted blessings, besides your assurance that you will sell the rights to me for filming the book as we want.” RKN ‘gave a long pause and then asked’ him when he was coming back. “Whenever you say. I have finalised the deal verbally, but without your signed approval, nothing can move further.”
One can visualise a literate man with middle-class morality being uncomfortable in discussing business in their first meeting. Business is crude, but film is not only art, it is also business, legal contracts and money. I can also understand RKN’s reaction to the producers blowing up money on parties and alcohol – but why crib, that is their world.
If I compare this with Devdas and Sarat Chandra-PC Barua-Bimal Roy, they all came from the same cultural milieu. RK Narayan and Dev Anand were poles apart from each other and they came from two different planets. This also translated into the difference between the novel and the film. The two became two different products. I have suggested earlier in my comments that Dev Anand was too big a star for Raju from Malgudi, who changed into ‘silk jibba and lace dhoti’ when he wanted to impress Rosie. Vijay Anand had the additional reason to rewrite the film because of the failure of the English version.
It was possible to make an authentic Guide, but for that you needed a Girish Karnad. It would have been a great NFDC film, won some National Awards, though not the Filmfare Awards. Masses would not have cared for the film, discerning audience would have seen it with some effort.
Talking of NFDC, DD Bharati has been showing their films everyday at 1pm. I would strongly recommend two films if you have not seen already, Rooi Ka Bojh and Deeksha.
Akji @ 37,
I am not passing any judgement. Just quoted Narayan. Yes, I agree with what you have said. They belonged to two different worlds. I don’t blame Dev Anand or Vijay Anand, as you have said after all it is business. Dev Anand always spoke of R K Narayan with great regard.
AKji,
R K Narayan was new to the film world. In 1947 he wrote a story for a Tamil film “Miss Malini”. The film was produced by R K Narayan’s friend S S Vasan. No print of the film is available now.
The story was later rewritten by him as the 1949 novel “Mr. Sampath – The Printer of Malgudi”, which in turn was adapted as the Hindi film
” Mr. Sampat” (1952) produced and directed by S. S. Vasan. Padmini & Motilal were in the lead roles. Here too the film adaptation was significantly different from the source novel. And the film was not successful at the box office. So Guide was not R K Narayan’s first such experience.
Another novel, “The Financial Expert”, was made into a Kannada film “Banker Margayya”.
R K Narayan wrote a story for Jupiter Pictures which was not produced. He also wrote the draft for Gemini’s Tamil film “Moondru Pillaigal” (1952) and it is said that he contributed to the script of another Tamil film “Avvaiyar” (1953).
Venkataramanji,
Thanks a lot for this additional information.
N Venkataraman ji ,
You will find it difficult to believe. I have typed all the above information except the last paragraph! Some sentences, almost the same! Eerie, quirky coincidence! Some additional facts also are there which I will post, hopefully, tomorrow.
I took the opportunity that this lock-down offered to see the Hindi and English versions of the film.
Pradeepji @ 41,
You mean my info @39.
Yes. the timing may be a coincidence. And our source may be the same.
Would look forward to your additional information.
Adding some more trivia.
R K Narayan had a fascination for umbrellas. I can recollect two of his writings on Umbrella, “ Umbrella Devotee” and the “Lost Umbrella”.
In the former article he deals with various phobias an umbrella devotee is subject to, various techniques in using a umbrella and the perils of lending one. And in his opinion everybody should have at least three umbrellas, rather “Umbrellae”. He writes, ‘why not “Umbrellae” for plural to add dignity of the subject.’
In the other essay “The Lost Umbrella”, R. K. Narayan describes how he often forgets his umbrella at shops, for which he filed a detailed complaint with the police. R. K. Narayan says that an umbrella is a highly prized possession to anyone. It should be carried carefully without leaving it at any point of the journey.
An excerpt from T S Nagarajan a photo Journalist,
‘With his unopened umbrella in hand, Narayan was a familiar figure in the city (Mysore). For him an umbrella was “a status symbol and an elegant adjunct to walking”. He had collected umbrellas from all over the world, and the strange thing was that he retained most of them. He hated lending his umbrella to anyone. He liked Kerala and its people because of their ‘devotion to umbrellas’. “They are the only people who have realized its place in life.” he once told me.’
The link to the article by T S Nagarajan,
https://churumuri.blog/2007/01/06/ts-nagarajan-the-rk-narayan-only-i-knew/
Much has been said about RK Narayan’s displeasure about how Guide was made ( hindi version) & his scathing critique in life.
The Navketan story – Cinema Modern briefly touched on this subject.
Siddhartha Bhatia says that RKN was angry with the English version ( though it had been true to the original story except for location)
The book further quotes Sushma ( Goldie’s) wife saying that Goldie received call from RKN congratulating him & he was very appreciative of Goldie going to the extent of telling him that his script was stronger than the story.
There is biography of Goldie in Marathi by reputed film journalist Anita Padhye . She was a close friend of Goldie in his later years.
In that book she writes about Dev Anand”s reaction to RKN criticism . According to the book Dev had questioned why RKN chose to write that article 1 year after guide was released also why he accepted filmfare-s trophy for best story if he was so displeased with the distortion of his story. RKN did not answer these questions as claimed by the book
Good to see a write up about one of my all time favourites. I haven’t read all the discussions, only the article, but one thing that I missed was mention of the voices singing those timeless classics of Guide. Rafi, Lata, Kishore. Because I think in spite of “Wahan kaun hai tera” being the iconic philosophical one from this film (and how wonderful it is) each and every other song could be the signature one: “Tere mere sapne ab ek rang hai” , “Piya tose naina laage re” “kya se kya ho gaya” “gaata rahe mera dil”.
Nasreen,
Welcome back. You are coming back after a long time. This was a book review, therefore, I didn’t want to give too many details from my side. The book focusses a great deal on the film’s music, and several articles are devoted to this aspect. Wahan kaun hai tera is an iconic song, not only for SD Burman’s voice from another planet, but also its lyrics and picturisation in the film. There is an article devoted exclusively to this song.
Ireally enjoyed a nice article on my ever faourite film, Guide.
May I add a few of my thoughts on it?
Vijay Anand was a very able director, par excellence, if I may say so.
This he had proved in the very first film, he had written, complete with all details, when he presented it to Dev anand in 1958. He was only 18 yrs old. Dev anand was very favorably impressed with, what he read, n agreed to make the film. Vijay anand directed the film, which was w run away success. The film was , Nau Do Gyarah.
Naturally, he had further mature over the years, when he took on the challenge of making guide, lock stock n barrel.
There are 2 to 3 points about Guide, unique to itself, thanks to the director. He had the forevision to propagate the story by leaps n bounds, by placing two songs , back to bach.
1. Mose chhal kiye ja, and 2. Kya se kya ho gaya.
Both are lyrical n musical gems.
The words of every song, music , rendition by lataji n rafisaheb, and performance of actors, all beyond imagination and expectations.All due to a genius, called Vijay anad.
You hardly see a movie, with two songs in a sequence. ( i have seen one such movie, unfortunately name , at present, eludes my memory.if anyone can emember it, please onlige).
SECOND point i wish to high lighy is the song, Kanto se khinch ke ye anchal, chhodke bandhan bandhi payal, koi na roko mere dil ki udan ko, dil ye chala, ahaha,
Aaj fir jeeneki tamanna hai, aaj fir marane ka irada hai.
Have you noticed, a unique feature of the song?
This song proves to be the, turning point of the–movie, lives of Rosie, n Raju guide.
Unique point is–in my opinion , and as far as I can remember, this is the ONLY song, in hindi film songs, tat starts with ANTARA and ends the stanza with MUKHADA.
What an experiment? Bold n beautiful. It describes it all,
Rosie breakinf free of all restrictions, ready and poised to start a new life, with desire to scale heights, and ready to succumb, if that so happens. What a song, and what a situation and presentation.
Only a trio of Vijay anand, Shalendra, n S.D Burman dare do this miracle..
One more piece of information. Tabla playing, in two songs are ear catching, and capyivating. –piya tose naina lage re, and mose chhal kiye jay.
Why? because it was Shivkumar Sharma, playing on the tabla. (Fondly called, Shivji, shivkumar was an aclaimmed tabla vadak, before he finally took on santoor as his final choice).
Lastly, one point I wish to stress. Dev anand played a life time role in Guide, very successfully n impressively.Why? Necause of Vijay anand . Basically, Dev was a director’s actor. He required an able director to extract the best out of him, other wise he would flop.
Guide, Humdodo, Tere mere sapne, teen deviya are few
examples of good performances.
How would you respond this?
Ifeel, I have said all, I wanted to convey. I am open to all comments and criticisms, and questions, if any.
Thanks to bear with me so far. Deepak Desai.
Dr Deepak Desai,
Thanks a lot for your detailed comments. About Hindi films one thing I have learnt in ten years of blogging, not to make absolute statements. On back to back songs, please check up the film Dekh Kabira Roya songs. On song starting from antara, to my knowledge there are several. Please check Ae ri main to prem diwani by Roshan-Lata Mangehskar, and better still Abhi to main jawan hun by Lata Mangeshkar-Husnlal-Bhatgatram in the film Afsana.
Thanks a lot for giving us the insight on the film Guide.I have seen both english and hindi versions of this film.Less said the better about the english version.The hindi version was very superior.Guide-the hindi version was all Vijay Anand show.I cant imagine any other director could have handled this but Only Vijay Anand had that craft . Simply superb.
Anil Desai,
Welcome to Songs Of Yore. One appreciates ‘Guide’ more at a mature age. I was impressed in the second viewing many years later of the first viewing. Your assessment of the two versions is very apt. After realising the disaster that the English version was, Vijay Anand and the team took extra care with the Hindi version. SD Burman’s music was a big plus point. Dev Anand was not only Dev Anand, he also acted in the film.