Robin Roy & Kritika Banerjee, TNN, Feb 27, 2011
It's a stormy night and the temple bells are clanging. Ma, the
"wounded" mother enters the sanctum sanctorum and lays down a
challenge, that famous chunauti: "Agar tu hai, to iska jawab jaroor
dega. Mainey aaj tak tujse kuch nahin manga." The protagonist changes
constantly, so does the temple but the idol remains the same. Mostly,
it is shot from various angles, all the better to evoke the sense it
might break into tandav, the divine dance that is part of the cycle of
creation, preservation and destruction.
From "Karan Arjun" to "Deewar", "Sholay" to "Yarana", Bholenath has
been an integral part of Hindi cinema. Interestingly, Mahadev still
beats other idols when it comes to screen time.
So what makes Lord Shiva so popular? "He is like your dadi, nani, one
who never questions you. Shiva's love is unadulterated. He gives
blessings to Ravana too. He accepts the way we are and is more
comfortable with our sins," suggests ad man Prasoon Joshi, who wrote
the lyrics for "Rang De Basanti" and " Delhi 6."
Joshi's explanation would sit easily with the sudden screen
worshipfulness of so-called "bad" characters. For instance, Vijay,
Nirupa Roy's "bad" son in "Deewar", who never set foot in a temple
before, takes off his shoes in the last scene and delivers his famous
monologue "Khush toh bahut honge tum aaj."
Lyricist Javed Akhtar says Vijay's informal tone and mode of address
captures the "informal relationship" we've always shared with Shiva,
or even Krishna. Both are gods humanized in all their glory, and
therefore, you can identify with them."
Akhtar, along with Salim Khan, scripted memorable dialogues in
blockbusters like "Sholay" and "Deewar." In "Sholay", Basanti pours
her heart out to Shiva or Bhole baba as he is better known and her
paramour Viru takes advantage of the situation to hide behind the huge
Shiva statue and inform her that He has already selected a husband for
her and it is none other than Viru.
Akhtar acknowledges that Rama is a popular deity but the downside is
that he must generally be flanked by Sita, Lakshman and Hanuman and
logistically, it is difficult for any one film character to speak to
so many gods at one go. This is part of the reason Shiva is a firm
favourite with filmmakers. He allows you, says Akhtar, "to use grand
rhetoric. The protagonist can talk alone in all his pomp and glory."
Joshi goes on to say that different aspects of Shiva's personality
make him particularly accessible not least his not minding "having
bhang, and indulging in revelry — in that sense he is human." It is a
reference to the famous Jai Jai Shiv Shankar, kata lagey na kankar
number picturized on Rajesh Khanna and Mumtaz in "Aap ki Kasam." The
song remains a party favourite.
The legendary Raj Kapoor had a special fascination with Shiva. All his
home productions start with a shloka and Prithviraj Kapoor praying to
the lingam. In "Satyam Shivam Sundaram," he went a step further with
former beauty queen Zeenat Aman playing a devout worshipper. A scene
of her worshipping the lingam kicked up a storm.
Joshi says there are two ways to depict gods in Hindi cinema: "One is
the traditional, which is projected through Ganapati visarjan or puja
of Durga Mata. The other is the cultural, which blends in very well
with the film narrative."
In a film like "Satya", the climax has Satya killing Thakurdas Jhawle,
played by Govind Namdeo, during the Ganpati visarjan. "But it is the
personal relationship with God which I find very strange. The
characters talk to God so loudly, also give him ultimatums," says
Joshi, offering an example: "Aaj ke baad mein teri chaukhat par kadam
nahi rakhunga."
He says that the Hindu faith encourages a "friendly relationship with
god." But the fascination with Shiva doesn't end there. India's first
3-D movie "Shiva Ka Insaaf" played on the theme of Shiva as the
destroyer of evil. The 1985 film starring Jackie Shroff was
Bollywood's tribute to Mahadev, the evergreen character whose reel
popularity seems never to wane.
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