Karmas Child: The Story of Indian Cinemas Ultimate Showman
Subhash Ghai's fascinating journey in the world of films
'All autobiographies are lies' is how Subhash Ghai's Karma's Child begins. That itself is a lie, since the book is quite a truthful account of his remarkable journey through films.
Ghai uses a narrator, journalist Suveen Sinha and the book gives a detached fly on the wall third person perspective on how the 'Showman', as Ghai is called, made his films.
The outsider
It's also a remarkable tale of a young man from nowhere who paves a path for himself, evolving from actor to writer, director, producer, distributor, exhibitor, entrepreneur, talent builder and educator through four decades in a rapidly changing, unpredictable industry. It has all the elements of a film script, and the book tries to capture that journey through generous servings of anecdotes, conversations, and experiences.
The title is derived from Ghai's belief in tadbeer (effort) and not so much in taqdeer (karma or destiny). After his qualification from FTII, Ghai won a Filmfare talent hunt contest along with Rajesh Khanna, but due to a quirk of fate, Khanna was called in a day earlier for his audition and Ghai lost his chance. Rajesh Khanna went on to become a big superstar and Ghai hesitatingly took on some lesser roles and pushed himself to become a writer instead. Ghai believes people use Karma as an excuse to console themselves when they fail, but the truth is it's tadbeer that can get you to where you want to be.
Some of the most interesting parts in the book are the ones where Ghai describes the challenges of handling stars like Shatrughan Sinha (for his habit of turning up late on sets), Premnath (for his alcoholism), Amjad Khan(for his ego), Simi Garewal(for her need to understand her role) and Raj Kumar(for his insecurities). The twists and turns in managing their needs and the need of completing the film on time illustrate why filmmaking is not an easy craft.
Betting on new talent
Tired of star tantrums, Ghai decided to work with newer talent in his film Hero. He is credited to having launched, groomed,and managed new entrants like Jackie Shroff, Madhuri Dixit, Mahima Chaudhary, Manisha Koirala among others. To his credit are also memorable villains that he created like Dr Dang, Lion, Khal-Nayak, Shaaka and Sir Judah.
For the film Karz, Ghai needed Simi Garewal to play the sophisticated vamp, Kamini. He describes with much humor how he got her around to deliver the dialogues she believed she hadn't signed up for.
Among the lessons he learnt from the Telugu film doyen, LV Prasad, Ghai fondly remembers how to work on the visualisation of scenes and anticipate the audience reaction. LV Prasad believed that in the theatre the audience has a collective morality, unlike in real life, where they are free to fall in love, drink, and smoke. Ghai credits him for teaching him the nuances of cinematic screenplay writing.
One skill that pushed Ghai into direction was his innate ability to narrate screenplays with dramatic effect, so much that producers and actors could visualise the film very well. This gave him his first film, Kalicharan with Shatrughan Sinha in the lead.
In the late 80s, as the tide turned to romantic films, Ghai moved on from crime capers (Kalicharan, Vidhaata, Karz, Karma, Khalnayak, Krodhi, Meri Jung, Trimurti) to women oriented films (Taal, Pardes, Yaadein).
Ghai spent a lot of time developing characters for his films, adding nuances and building dialogues, writing and rewriting them till it felt right. By the time he launched his studio, he already had built a team of his regular music collaborators, dialogue, screenplay, lyrics, music, cameraman and even villains.
Through the chapters, one learns of the way Ghai created music, inspired by how directors Guru Dutt and Raj Kapoor made musicals.
The showman
As Piracy and video parlours proliferated, providing the convenience of watching films at home, Ghai made Karma, a big, ambitious film for which he created a spectacular opening sequence that you could only enjoy on the big screen. Ghai also renovated many single screen theatres to enhance the experience and draw audiences back, making the film a box office blockbuster.
The book has easy grammar and a generous set of photographs from his films. If you want to learn what it takes to make a film, grab a copy of this book.
Added on : 6th January, 2025
'All autobiographies are lies' is how Subhash Ghai's Karma's Child begins. That itself is a lie, since the book is quite a truthful account of his remarkable journey through films.
Ghai uses a narrator, journalist Suveen Sinha and the book gives a detached fly on the wall third person perspective on how the 'Showman', as Ghai is called, made his films.
The outsider
It's also a remarkable tale of a young man from nowhere who paves a path for himself, evolving from actor to writer, director, producer, distributor, exhibitor, entrepreneur, talent builder and educator through four decades in a rapidly changing, unpredictable industry. It has all the elements of a film script, and the book tries to capture that journey through generous servings of anecdotes, conversations, and experiences.
The title is derived from Ghai's belief in tadbeer (effort) and not so much in taqdeer (karma or destiny). After his qualification from FTII, Ghai won a Filmfare talent hunt contest along with Rajesh Khanna, but due to a quirk of fate, Khanna was called in a day earlier for his audition and Ghai lost his chance. Rajesh Khanna went on to become a big superstar and Ghai hesitatingly took on some lesser roles and pushed himself to become a writer instead. Ghai believes people use Karma as an excuse to console themselves when they fail, but the truth is it's tadbeer that can get you to where you want to be.
Some of the most interesting parts in the book are the ones where Ghai describes the challenges of handling stars like Shatrughan Sinha (for his habit of turning up late on sets), Premnath (for his alcoholism), Amjad Khan(for his ego), Simi Garewal(for her need to understand her role) and Raj Kumar(for his insecurities). The twists and turns in managing their needs and the need of completing the film on time illustrate why filmmaking is not an easy craft.
Betting on new talent
Tired of star tantrums, Ghai decided to work with newer talent in his film Hero. He is credited to having launched, groomed,and managed new entrants like Jackie Shroff, Madhuri Dixit, Mahima Chaudhary, Manisha Koirala among others. To his credit are also memorable villains that he created like Dr Dang, Lion, Khal-Nayak, Shaaka and Sir Judah.
For the film Karz, Ghai needed Simi Garewal to play the sophisticated vamp, Kamini. He describes with much humor how he got her around to deliver the dialogues she believed she hadn't signed up for.
Among the lessons he learnt from the Telugu film doyen, LV Prasad, Ghai fondly remembers how to work on the visualisation of scenes and anticipate the audience reaction. LV Prasad believed that in the theatre the audience has a collective morality, unlike in real life, where they are free to fall in love, drink, and smoke. Ghai credits him for teaching him the nuances of cinematic screenplay writing.
One skill that pushed Ghai into direction was his innate ability to narrate screenplays with dramatic effect, so much that producers and actors could visualise the film very well. This gave him his first film, Kalicharan with Shatrughan Sinha in the lead.
In the late 80s, as the tide turned to romantic films, Ghai moved on from crime capers (Kalicharan, Vidhaata, Karz, Karma, Khalnayak, Krodhi, Meri Jung, Trimurti) to women oriented films (Taal, Pardes, Yaadein).
Ghai spent a lot of time developing characters for his films, adding nuances and building dialogues, writing and rewriting them till it felt right. By the time he launched his studio, he already had built a team of his regular music collaborators, dialogue, screenplay, lyrics, music, cameraman and even villains.
Through the chapters, one learns of the way Ghai created music, inspired by how directors Guru Dutt and Raj Kapoor made musicals.
The showman
As Piracy and video parlours proliferated, providing the convenience of watching films at home, Ghai made Karma, a big, ambitious film for which he created a spectacular opening sequence that you could only enjoy on the big screen. Ghai also renovated many single screen theatres to enhance the experience and draw audiences back, making the film a box office blockbuster.
The book has easy grammar and a generous set of photographs from his films. If you want to learn what it takes to make a film, grab a copy of this book.
Added on : 6th January, 2025