Did you see Train to Pakistan? Im the Sikh priest in it. No, that wasnt film producer Suresh Jindals opening line. But thats perhaps the best way to put a face to the man behind so many screen successes the man who became a producer with the hit, Rajnigandha, starring absolute non-entities and followed it up with the Satyajit Ray-directed Shatranj ke Khilari, which flopped at the Indian box office only to sweep the Cannes jury off its feet.
The 55-year-olds repertoire of feature films may be small, but each one bears the stamp of quality. Now, after Rajnigandha, Shatranj ke Khilari, Katha and Dance in the Wind, he gets cracking early next month on the Canadian-British co-funded Such a Long Journey, based on Rohinton Mistrys incisive novel on the quirky side of Parsi life.
Paul Stephens, the Canadian producer, approached him three years ago for co-producing the film. It takes time finding the finances. Richard Attenborough had to wait 18 years to begin work on Gandhi, says Jindal wryly.
Jindal met Attenborough for the first time in the mid-70s. Ray wanted him to play a small part in Shatranj ke Khilari. Have you heard of Dickies folly? One day I will make it, Attenborough casually told Jindal, who had indeed heard of his grand Gandhi plans. In 1980, in India for a recce tour for the film, Attenborough asked Jindal to be line producer, drawing up schedules, getting the cast right, and working out budgets.
After acquiring an engineering degree from UCLA, Jindal came back home and attempted to get a licence to start manufacturing tape recorders.
The guys at the licence office kept asking me for a diary. This was in June! When I told my brother he laughed and told me the diary was an euphemism for a bribe. I decided this line was not for me, he says.
So he switched to films, an area deemed decidedly unrespectable for folks from good families. In 1973, he launched Devki Chitra, a film production company named after his mother.
His first film was Rajnigandha, with a minimalist budget of Rs 7 lakh. He needed additional financial support but faced rejection everywhere. Kaunsi gandha?, financiers would ask. They were willing to put in all the money if I just replaced the hero (Amol Palekar)! says Jindal.
Then distributors couldnt get Rajnigandha round their tongues and so concluded the film would flop. The producer just hoped the film would break even; it raked in six times the investment.
Jindal has never been the fastidious artiste playing to an audience of one. All my films are made for the box office, he says. After all, a film has been your obsession, your paranoia and you want to share it. When people appreciate it, you know youve connected.
He met Satyajit Ray through his friend, Tinnu Anand, who had worked as Rays assistant for six years. Ray was contemplating filming Shatranj ke Khilari. He told Jindal: I didnt like Rajnigandha, but my family and friends liked it. Jindal was not fazed. I was just imploding with excitement, he enthuses.
Sanjeev Kumar and Amjad Khan, flush with the success of Sholay, were lead actors. A third major role had been reserved for Saeed Jaffrey, who had met Ray in the Beirut airport, lunged for the maestros feet and sought at least one shot in a Ray film. Shatranj ke Khiladi was to give him considerably more than that.
The chief casting problem was the young lad in Garam Hawa whom Ray had set his heart on. Farooque Shaikh was apprehensive about doing such a small role. Jindal pointed out that even a small role with a great director could go a long way. He was vindicated when Sai Paranjpe told Shaikh she selected him for the lead in Chashme Baddoor after seeing Shatranj ke Khilari.
Even Attenborough would do a small part for Ray. Satyajit, I would even read the telephone directory for you, he said when we first met him, laughs Jindal.
Instinct drives Jindal to invest in a film. There are rarely any scripts to go by, only ideas. And that lack of initial clarity gets reflected in our films, he explains. Film financing is a more incendiary topic, though. Its the story of my mid-life crisis, Jindal explodes, launching into an apoplectic tirade.
I believe in the new cinema movement, but what has it done? Will anyone except Ray and Ghatak endure? The films arent passionate; they are cerebral.
The National Film Development Corporation is meant to fund young, upcoming directors. And who are their beneficiaries? Middle-aged directors who keep going back to them for film funding while making their fast buck with sitcoms. I call them our countrys GI (government-issue) intellectuals.
After Such a Long Journey, Jindal plans to begin work next winter on The Dicing with friend Mani Kaul. This ones a big $4 million venture, my most ambitious and expensive project yet, as he puts it. It will be scripted by Jean Claude Carriere of Peter Brooks Mahabharata fame.
The time is ripe for Indian films in English. After all, our authors in English are doing well internationally, arent they? Sure. But dont start wondering whether his next productions going to be based on a Booker winner. Arundhati Roys The God of Small Things, says Jindal, is a book-film: The music and images conjured up with words makes even the idea of a film redundant. Not that it matters Jindal has enough projects on his plate to ensure that the final cut is a long way off.
Meera Warrier
