‘Perfect link between parallel, commercial cinema’
I am privileged to have had the longest association with Basu da, starting from Rajnigandha to Chhoti Si Baat, Chitchor and Baton Baton Mein to Do Ladke Dono Kadke and Apne Paraye .I have fond memories of those times. It was a very beautiful journey. Our relationship was simple, yet so endearing, just like the films we used to make together.
His films were unique – very simple, no shouting from the rooftops, no melodrama or any villain, all of them were without any such frills. But life was still so beautiful, so very lovable in his films. To be able to tell a story with a sense of humour was something very special that Basu da had.
Basu da was the perfect link between parallel cinema and hardcore commercial cinema. He started with parallel cinema and continued to do it, but wasn’t obscure. His films were very appealing even to a common man, so that was his biggest contribution to cinema. I was part of that parallel cinema movement and I enjoyed it totally.
In films, we are always in a hurry to label a person. We like to have an angry young man and a He-Man and all those kinds of heroes. Basu da broke that and created a new awakening. He remained honest and simple to the core, yet went on portraying different, layers of simple, day-to-day lives through films. He managed it so effortlessly. No one ever really made films like him again. There is that void and it will always be there.
Basu da was my mentor. I learnt so much from him not just as an actor, but also took a lot of the knowledge that I gained while working with him into my directorial technique. It was a wonderful relationship for so many years. We had a very strong bond, which only ended with his death.
(Actor-filmmaker Amol Palekar started his acting career in Hindi films with Basu Chattejee’s Rajnigandha in 1974 and it ushered in the start of a memorable cinematic collaboration. While Basu was the pioneer of middle-of-the-road cinema, Palekar became its poster boy.)