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Between 1976 and 1999, Ghai made 15 films, 11 of which were blockbusters, and one of which (Karz) attained cult status


Karma’s Child
Author: Subhash Ghai with Suveen Sinha
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 281
Price: Rs 699

Film director, producer, writer, actor, lyricist, music director, and screenwriter Subhash Ghai has worn many hats over the course of his illustrious career. The self-made man behind some of Indian cinema’s most iconic movies recently released his memoir, written along with journalist and author Suveen Sinha, which recounts his inspiring journey spanning over four decades in films.

Ghai was born in Nagpur in 1943 into an educated, well-to-do family. After Partition, his family moved to old Delhi. His friends during his childhood days included sons of tonga drivers, rickshaw-pullers, halwais, and handymen. The group of friends were crazy about movies and often bunked school to watch shows in the theatre. When he was 10, Ghai’s parents separated, and he started living with his father. Consequently, he also became responsible for his two younger siblings. Though his grades were low, he liked music, singing, and plays. When his father brought home another woman, Ghai ran away. When brought home, he consumed poison out of defiance. Though he survived, he silently promised to become someone big someday.

For as long as he can recall, Ghai has looked at the world through a sort of viewfinder in his head. "It is like I have been watching this great drama of life unfold before my eyes," he writes in the book’s Foreword. This is what probably led him to write and direct plays while pursuing commerce in college. Thereafter, he followed his dreams and joined the first acting batch of the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune. A talent hunt in 1965 kick-started his acting career; however, all the films in which he acted failed to establish him. The idea of writing began to appeal to him more and more.

Between 1976 and 1999, Ghai made 15 films, 11 of which were blockbusters, and one of which (Karz) attained cult status. While all of Ghai’s films had fascinating villains, his leading men were often anti-heroes too. Kalicharan (1976), a city-based crime drama, successfully marked his arrival as a director. His next film, Vishwanath (1978), is an unconventional story about a criminal lawyer who goes on to become a criminal. Krodhi (1981) emerged from stories of the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and other ancient Indian epics that Ghai had heard from his mother. "If you are making an Indian film, you have to be well-versed with Indian history and mythology," he writes. In contrast with his earlier work, Gautam Govinda (1979) was set in a fictional village called Dharampur.

In 1978, Ghai launched his production company, Mukta Arts, named after his wife Rehana (who changed her name to Mukta when they married in 1970). Subhash was deeply inspired by the 1975 Hollywood film The Reincarnation of Peter Proud and wove in its concept of rebirth and reincarnation for the plot of Karz (1980). He wanted to make it a modern film, though with an Indian soul. This was followed by another huge hit, Vidhaata (1982), about the relationship between a man and his grandson whom he had raised since infancy.

The 1983 blockbuster Hero proved to be a milestone for Ghai. Then, Meri Jung (1985) went on to complete a silver jubilee. Karma (1986), which addressed the subject of terrorism and countered it with patriotism, ran to packed theatres across the country. Ram Lakhan (1989) too was a megahit with something for everyone. Thereafter, Saudagar (1991) won Ghai the Filmfare award for Best Director, the only one of his career. Khal Nayak (1993) was among the fastest money spinners the industry had ever seen. "It opened up the overseas market for Hindi films as well, drawing huge crowds in the theatres of the USA," writes Sinha. Pardes (1997), which clocked a golden jubilee, was a film about preserving Indian values under the onslaught of migration and westernisation. Taal (1999) marked the culmination of Ghai’s pursuit of excellence within the boundaries of commercial cinema as well as his coming of age as a spiritual person.

In 2001, Mukta Arts became the first Indian film production house to go public and get listed on the stock exchanges. Over a period of time, he decided to set up a film school. According to him, establishing Whistling Woods was equal to making 20 films. "Ghai visited some thirty film schools in different countries over six months to study their courses and assess their relevance to the Indian film industry," writes Sinha. He invested around Rs 100 crore to make it Asia’s largest institute of its kind and one of the world’s best.

The book also has several pictures from Ghai’s life as well as posters of his various films. Even though many of his films are remembered for their grandeur, ironically, Ghai believes that one should never try to make a big, monumental film. "The right way is to focus on telling a good story in an interesting manner," he explains. Ghai often hosted big celebrations, for which he earned the reputation as the new showman after Raj Kapoor. "Somewhere in there is a story that proves the old saying that destinies are created and destroyed every day in the Mumbai film industry," reflects Sinha.

During the Covid pandemic, Ghai wrote 60 to 70 poems, some of which became songs. In 2021, he announced that 36 Farmhouse (2022) would have three songs written and set to music by him.

In a sense, the book is also the story of the Hindi film industry from the 1960s until the present day. Whereas previously, films were made keeping a family audience in mind, with a target age ranging between six and sixty, today’s movies are distinctly different. Moreover, the business of making films has transformed considerably and is constantly evolving. "Actors have managers. Public relations have replaced human relations," explains Sinha in the book’s Afterword.

Source : Business-standard.com