HrishiDa all set for a rebirth in city

Decorous, dist­i­nct and decidedly South Indian, the moustache could mean many things up North. But for Utpal Dutt’s Bhavani Shankar, a rabid flag-bearer of all things traditional, a man without a moustache was a man without character.

Tweaking that weirdest obsession with facial hair, acclaimed director, Hrishikesh Mukherjee had spun a tale of mirth, an episode so acidic in humour that ‘Golmaal’ rocked Hindi cinema. It was Dutt’s and Amol Palekar’s comic camaraderie at work, a combo Mukherjee milked to the hilt to dish out a relentless line of hits.

Now, here’s the missing link between Golmaal, Hrishikesh, Palekar and Bengaluru: Pickle Jar, a city-based community collective, is all set to unveil a three-day Hrishikesh Mukherjee film festival from December 2,3 and 4. Yes, the same group that had sparked a nostalgic drive with Smita Patil’s films.

The entire range of HrishiDa movies will hit the screens at the National Gallery of Modern Art and Alliance Francaise de Bangalore. If middle class ethos, portrayed on celluloid with class and simplicity, peppered with ample doses of humour and satire is your cup of tea, then dive right in. But for first-timers, a question could linger unanswered: How could Mukherjee, recipient of the Dada Saheb Phalke award, the Padma Vibhushan and eight Filmfare awards, be defined by humour alone?

Master storyteller
The Pickle Jar brains offer this rejoinder: HrishiDa was a master storyteller. His light-hearted features, Golmaal, Chupke Chupke, and Khoobsurat were adequately balanced with films of social relevance: Satyakam, Namak Haram and Asli Naqli. Anand, Anupama and Aashirwad were emotional masterpieces.

In showcasing Mukherjee’s versatility, the festival will bring to the fore the his rare ability to create a strong impact with simple narratives. His films had raised the ordinary drudgery of life to an extraordinary level of art. Pickle Jar founder Vasanthi Hariprakash elaborates: “That style seems to be fading away in today’s culture of blockbusters and high-budget films. Through this festival, we are trying to revive the values, the idealism and the ethos his films stood for.”

Rich music was one defining unifier of most Mukherjee films. The festival will pay its tribute to all those timeless classics with a grand musical finale ‘Kuch Dil Ne Kaha’ at Kassia auditorium on December 4. Nostalgia will hit a new high with a special segment of Amol Palekar hits - Chitchor, Baaton Baaton Mein, Chotisi Baat and more. Inspiring those replays will be the man himself: Amol Palekar.