So, every now and then there are people who get after some of the known directors and say things like ' Mein aapke saath judna chahta hoon' ( literally -I want to be attached to you) I have seen directors dealing with these people through humor, cutting humor, harshness or by simply ignoring them if they think that these prospective actors are getting attracted to the glamour but do not realize the harsh realities of the profession. Meaning thereby that they are not serious.
I have seen Barry John respond to one such ,' Mein aapke saath judna chahta hoon' communication by saying , 'Fevicol laaya kya?' ( did you bring Fevicol, the most common brand of adhesive in India). I have heard Habib saab say 'judiye, kahan judenge? ' ( okay, get attached, but which part of the body) This would put people off when they came with this communication and let the directors be.
Not that Barry John and Habib Tanvir did not talk to new people who wanted to work with them, but this kind of a comment irritated them. They sensed lack of seriousness in the people making these requests. Also, sometimes people just did not see what these directors were doing and thronged themselves on them. This resulted in the cutting remarks from the directors.
One such incident happened in front of me at habib Tanvir's residence in Bhopal. Through a friend a forty odd years', well to do lady arrived to meet Habib Saab. She brought a bunch of flowers with herself. She started making some polite talk with Habib saab and said , ' Mein aapke saath judna chahti noon' ( I want to get attached to you) Habib saab said ,' ab meri wo umra nahin rani ki aapke jaisi khoobsurat mahila ke saath mein jud sakoon' ( I am no longer of that age that I can get attached to a beautiful woman like you) The lady went quiet for a moment, then realized that it was a joke, she laughed and then insistently said again, ' par aapke saath kaam karna chahti hoon' ( but I want to work with you) Now that she directly asked the question, Habib saab told her that he was in the last leg of his life, if she wanted to work with someone she should work with a young upcoming director, not with someone who is waiting to go into his grave. The lady mistook the banter as a sign of Habib saab engaging himself with her. He politely wanted to get rid of her. She insisted again, this time holding out the flowers in her hands,' Mein yeh fool aapke liye laayee hoon' ( I have got these flowers for you) By now Habib saab's irritation level had peaked and he said ' fool nahin phool, aapko itna bhi nahin pata aur aap mere saath kaam karma chahti hain?' ( Not fool, phool- flower in Hindi pronounced differently from fool, many Hindi/Hindustani speaking people make this mistake- when you don't know even this much, you still expect to work with me?) The lady was stumped but she did not understand the nuance of pronunciation…I need not tell you what happened after.
Habib saab did flare up sometimes on incorrect pronunciation and when it came to 'fool' and 'phool', he almost always lost it, so apart from pushing him to say 'yes' to a request of including her in the theater( which she would not have been able to sustain) she pressed another button and suffered for it.
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