A rambunctious ride

After four decades in advertising, Prahlad Kakar has a lot to tell in this absorbing autobiography

By Shevlin Sebastian

Advertising legend Prahlad Kakar’s autobiography, ‘Adman Madman’, co-written with editor Rupangi Sharma, begins with a laugh-out loud anecdote.

He is admitted into a kindergarten school called Kumkum on Lodhi Road, New Delhi. Prahlad became friends with Naveen, a fair and good looking boy.

The school owner’s daughter, Kumkum had eyes for Naveen.

Prahlad and Naveen used to sneak into a hidey-hole in the tall hedges. One day Kumkum discovered it. She asked to be a member. They resisted. She said she would inform her mother. So, the boys relented.

One day, Kumkum said, “If you show me yours, I’ll show you mine.” Naveen lowered his shorts and underwear. As Prahlad writes, ‘She stared at his pinkish nunu for some time.’ Then Prahlad was forced to show his.

Sometime later, the boys were summoned to the principal’s office. They saw Kumkum stamping her feet and saying, “I want a nalki.”

“What nalki, baby?” said the principal.

“A nalki like Naveen’s and Prahlad’s,” she said.

“How do you know they have a nalki?” “They showed me. Now I also want.” So, no surprises, both the boys were expelled from the school.

This is Prahlad’s conclusion to the story: ‘Nobody told her that when she grew up, she could have her own collection of nalkis’.

And the reader is off and running as he reads one of the most absorbing autobiographies in recent times. It is a linear story: from school (St Thomas, Dehradun, and Sainik School, Karnal) to college (Ferguson’s College, Pune) to an advertising career which began in 1971.

Prahlad joined Advertising and Sales Promotion Company and worked under acclaimed film director Shyam Benegal. He also assisted in Benegal’s landmark films, Ankur’, ‘Manthan’ and ‘Bhumika’.

This is a must-read for anybody in the advertising industry. You can get an idea of what happened behind the scenes for those iconic Pepsi ads, like ‘Yeh Dil Maange More’, and ‘Nothing Official about it’, which starred Sachin Tendulkar, Shah Rukh, Amitabh Bachchan and the others. There is a QR code on the back flap, which if you scan, you can see most of Prahlad’s creative work.

You can read the story of how Prahlad’s colleague, Monia Sehgal, at Genesis Film Production, rooted to give an unknown Aishwarya Rai a break. Prahlad was initially not too impressed. But he has been a most impressive mentor with many going on to have stellar careers in the media.

Prakash also talks about his romantic liaisons, his love for scuba diving, and the bakra he made of Cyrus Broacha during a shoot. This adman is indeed a madman.

Published in The Sunday Magazine of the New Indian Express, South India and Delhi)

 

Leading the charge

Photos: (from left) Sreeram KV, Sanid Asif Ali and Tony Davis; Gustoso the comic

Three young comic enthusiasts are spearheading a comics culture in Kerala

By Shevlin Sebastian

One morning, a few years ago, Sanid Asif Ali was driving to work in the suburb of Kakkanad, near Kochi. As the IT professional went past several high-rise buildings, he came across the Brahmapuram waste dumping site. Suddenly, he wondered, ‘What if a few animals were living there?’

That night, he went home and did a story about a cat named Beardo. He came across an empty packet of Italian-make Gustoso! biscuits at a garbage dump. Beardo showed it to his friends, a dog, Skinny, and a crow. The last owner of the cat had fed one to him before he died. It was one of the tastiest biscuits Beardo had eaten. So the trio went in search of these biscuits at the home of human beings in a nearby building.

The four-chapter comic discussed hunger, cruelty to animals, abandonment and the excessive garbage produced by human beings. It was uploaded on the tinkle.in website, in June 2020.

Sanid used to draw doodles from his childhood. He fell in love with comics when he came across his cousin Baijukka’s collection of Tintin comics. At eight, he started drawing comic strips. He continued throughout his teenage years.

When he grew up, Sanid began putting up single panel cartoons on Facebook. But a desire lurked in him to do a long-form comic. “I achieved it with ‘Gustoso!’” he says, with a smile. “It was a turning point in my life.” Some of his other books include ‘Krishnavanam’, ‘Hope on’ and ‘Cat needs a friend’.

Sanid met the wider comic community when he took part in the Indie Comix Fest (ICF) at Kochi in 2018. It was at this fest that Sanid met Sreeram KV. Sreeram was a writer who was interested in comics.

Through an Instagram post, Sanid also came to know that a filmmaker named Tony Davis ran a comics library at Kochi. So Sanid went to see the library.

There were Indian and international comics like Manga (from Japan), Archies, Mandrake, Asterix, Phantom, and old Malayalam comics. Sanid became a regular borrower. Sreeram also used to borrow comics from the library.

The three became friends. Tony and Sreeram collaborated to bring out an eight-part comic documentary, ‘Katha Vara Kathakal’, about the evolution of comics in Malayalam, from the 1970s to the present. It was released on YouTube in September, 2020.

The film focused on Kannadi Vishwanathan, the creator of ‘CID Moosa’ comics, Jacob Varghese, publisher of ‘Regal comics’, R Gopalakrishnan, former editor of children’s magazine, ‘Poompatta’, Abdul Hameed, creator of ‘Inspector Prakash comics’, and George Mathen, graphic novelist, ‘HalaHala’ series, among many others.

In 2019, the Comic Collective had conducted the ICF. But the organisers were involved not only in comics but movies too.

Tony told Sreeram and Sanid that they should have a dedicated community only for comics. “Comic creators and enthusiasts should join forces together,” says Tony. So, the trio organised the ICF in December, 2022. This became a success.

A year later, on December 17, 2023, the fourth edition took place.

Asked about the themes explored in the comics, Sanid says, “There are social and mythological themes. The artists spoke about their self-doubt and anxieties, the pains of childhood and an uncertain future, because of climate change. An 11-year-old boy brought along a superhero comic.” A Mumbai-based group called Urban Collective explored the concept of space in the financial capital.

Many had brought self-published works. A few comics were brought out by small publishers like Studio Niyet, Bakarmax, Kokaachi, and Blaft.

For the illustrators, one drawback was the high cost of printing. Big publishers have bulk print runs, which reduces the cost per unit. “However, it is difficult to get a mainstream publisher,” says Sreeram.

But a major publisher, HarperCollins, brought out a graphic novel about addiction called ‘Pig Flip’ by Malayali author Joshy Benedict in December, 2023. When it was originally published in Malayalam, it had received a lot of attention.

For most comic book authors, they have to self-publish. “Hence the prices of the books are high,” says Sreeram.

One artist, Kalyani B, whose book, ‘Matinee’, cost Rs 500 to print, was compelled to sell it at Rs 850. Still there were good sales.

It is about five women in a hostel in Thiruvananthapuram in the 1990s. They went to watch an adult Malayalam movie called ‘Rathinirvedam’ (Adolescent Desire). This was based on her mother’s experiences. Kalyani adapted it into a comic book.

On the morning of the fest, the organisers honoured veteran artist M Mohandas by presenting him with a memento. They also made a caricature of him surrounded by well-known characters like Ramu, Shyamu, Kapish, Mayavi, and Luttappi. He had drawn them mostly for Amar Chitra Katha comics. “Mohandas Sir had drawn these characters for over 50 years,” says Sreeram.

As for the composition of the crowd who attended, Tony says, they were mostly young people. But this year, for the first time, there was an older section who came in, including people from the film industry. Ganesh Raj, who directed the hit film ‘Anandam’ (2016) was one of them. Another was playback singer Sachin Warrier.

Asked whether there is a growing comic culture in Kochi, Tony agrees. Many books are being published, including those for children. There is readership for each age group.

Local participation is also improving, he said. Out of 46 illustrators, who took part in the recent fest, more than half were from Kerala. The rest came from Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi. “To expand the community, we encourage beginners a lot,” he says. “So, there is no screening. If you have made a comic, you can take part.”

As to the finances to conduct the fest, the trio depended on the Rs 700 registration fee they charged. They also got a sponsor, Lilo Rosh, a company which makes bags and sketchbooks for artists. Because it is volunteer-driven, they could keep the expenses low. “We are not making a profit,” says Sreeram. “Everybody is in this together. We want everybody to own the fest.”

(Published in the Sunday Magazine, The New Indian Express, South India)

The Hungry Tides

Captions: George Vadakkeparambil, 73, has acted in 40 dramas. He performed till the age of 65. He stopped because of poor health

From her childhood Alphonsa was interested in Chavittu Natakam. When her family resisted her desire to be an artist, she tried to commit suicide. Moly Kannamali, a famous Chavittu Natakam artist and film star became Alphonsa’s mentor. Today, Alphonsa has acted in many dramas. The widowed Alphonsa lives in her hut all alone. Her children have grown up, got married and moved away

Antony, a daily wage labourer, plays Raja Antony. Antony was 16 when he performed for the first time. Today, he is 76. Because he has played the role of a king many times, he is now called Raja Antony

Silosh, 35, with his family. He learned Chavittu Natakam from his uncle. He has performed more than 50 times. During high tide, at nights, Silosh and his family sit awake on the cot till the water recedes 

T.J. Xavier and his wife. In 2018, flood waters entered his house and he lost his costumes and props 

Photographer KR Sunil 

Documentary photographer KR Sunil’s exhibition focuses on the Chavittu Natakam artists who are battling poverty and climate change

By Shevlin Sebastian

In December 2015, documentary photographer KR Sunil went to the island of Gothuruth, off the coast of Kochi, to watch the annual Chavittu Natakam festival.

A brief history about the art form: In response to the Kathakali dance form, the Christian community came up with Chavittu Natakam in the 16th century. Unlike in Kathakali, the dancers sing and speak aloud and stamp their feet on the stage. This is accompanied by the beating of drums.

It developed in the coastal areas, like Kochi, Alleppey and Kodungallur. The themes are from the lives of Christian saints, Biblical themes, and the history of Christianity. The costumes have a Portuguese influence and include brocade dresses, headgear and crowns.

In the Malayalam film, 'Kutty Srank’ (2009), Mammootty played a Chavittu Natakam artist.

Sunil ended up watching the shows by different groups for four days. He went backstage and became friendly with Somanath, the make-up artist. An idea grew in Sunil’s mind to do portraits of these artists.

During the performance on the fourth day, Somanath asked Sunil not to come on the last day. Because the artists who came from the coastal region of Chellanam were dark-skinned. So Somanath would have to work hard to make them fair. Hence he would not be available to chat with Sunil.

Nevertheless Sunil went. He immediately realised they were poor people, as compared to the mainly middle class people who had performed in the previous days. They were Dalit Christians. Many of them worked as fishermen, house painters, and labourers. “But it was clear to me, after talking with them, they had a passion for the art form,” says Sunil. He decided to take portraits of them.

But when Sunil went to their houses, he got a shock. Many of them lived in dilapidated hovels. In some houses, blue plastic sheets comprised the wall or covered the large hole in the roofs. The paint was peeling off.

He found the contrast unbelievable. On stage, they played kings like Raja Antony, and prime minister Mantri Pappachen, and performed against the backdrop of castles. “But in their daily lives, they lived in abject poverty,” says Sunil. “But that did not stop them from spending money for costumes and travel.”

Sunil took the photos over four years. He noticed that in the winter months of November to January, water from high tides inundated their houses.

Many times, when he went in the morning, he noticed that everybody was sleeping. The artists would inform Sunil that the water had entered the house in the night. Since many of them slept on the floor, they sat up on the wooden cot. They went to sleep only when the waters receded at 6 a.m. The children missed school. One of them, Thankachan, left his house, and moved on to higher ground.

“This is the distinct impact of climate change,” says Sunil. “The waters began to rise after the 2004 tsunami which hit the coast of Kerala.” Sunil made them wear their Chavittu Natakam costumes and asked them to pose in the flood waters.

There are about one hundred artists. They are in the age range of the fifties, sixties and seventies. “There are no new artists, because there is no income from this art form,” says Sunil. ““There is no state or corporate support. Because they are Dalits, they have no influence. So, once these generations pass away, the art form will die.”

However, there is Silosh, who is 35 years old, who is interested and doing well.

Sunil's work had been shown at the recent ‘Contextual Cosmology’ exhibition held at the College of Fine Arts, Thiruvananthapuram. The curators were Bose Krishnamachari, Abushka Rajendra, Premjish Achari and Sujith SN. The exhibition concluded on December 31.

In his earlier projects, Sunil has focused on the marginalised. He did a series on dhow workers who were going through hard times. He did one on the Muslim community of Ponnani, and the mixed communities of Mattancherry. Sunil also said that those who live off the sea and by the side of it tend to be more open and honest. “That is the effect of living next to Nature,” he says.

(Published in The Sunday Magazine, New Indian Express, South India and Delhi)

Soul Talk

Captions: a warring couple; Russian leader Joseph Stalin with his wife Nadezhda Alliluyeva; Chairman Mao Zedong

By Shevlin Sebastian

Some people get away with murder. The police are not able to solve the case. The murderer lives to a ripe old age and passes in his sleep.

When the victim, a soul in the next world, probably, a man, realises the murderer’s soul is arriving, what is his reaction? Will he appeal to God for justice?

Would he say, “This man must be punished. How about a thousand years in hell for snuffing out my life prematurely and against your will?”

What will God reply?

What about couples who have gone through a nasty divorce? Will the souls meet in the next life? If yes, will they glide past and ignore each other? Or will they kiss and make up? Or will they have a nasty argument once again?

What about the children of these couples? How will they react when they see their parents? Will they all hug and kiss each other and make up and be a happy family once again?

What about relatives and siblings who have fought with each other mostly over money and property? And employees who did not get along with their bosses? Would they reveal their suppressed anger at their superiors when they meet them?

What about the despot who has ordered a war? Thousands of young soldiers have died. The leader moves with a several-layer security detail. It is impossible for their relatives to approach him. But can the soldiers approach him when he dies and goes off to the other world?

Surely, on that side, he no longer has a security detail. Can they remonstrate with him? Maybe even give a slap or punch him in the face.

What happened when Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong went to the other side?

Would the millions of people the trio had killed through war, concentration camps, executions, and in prison have accosted them?

Could God have set up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission?

What about Stalin’s wife, Nadezhda Alliluyeva? Will she beat him up in anger? During a dinner party at the Kremlin in November 1932, she had an argument with him. Nadezhda was distressed to hear Stalin had been having affairs. She left the party early and went home. The next morning, November 9, Nadezhda killed herself using a Mauser pistol. The mother of two was only 31.

There are so many people who get away with so many misdemeanours. And nothing seems to happen to the perpetrators. Only the victims and their families suffer for the rest of their lives. You can see world leaders smiling happily at the cameras. Many of them have blood on their hands, and they also have billions in their bank accounts.

Till someone shot him dead like a dog, Muammar Gaddafi of Libya lived a life of luxury and untrammelled power. He jailed people at his whim and fancy and destroyed so many families. He was one of the rare leaders who faced retribution while he was alive. Another leader who faced retribution while he was alive was Romanian leader Nicolae Ceausescu (1918-1989) who faced a firing squad and died.

China’s Mao Zedong, responsible for between 40 and 80 million deaths, through prison labour, starvation, and mass executions, died in his bed on September 9, 1976 at the age of 82.

Can these millions of souls approach the soul of Chairman Mao and ask him to give an explanation? Will he suffer in the next world? Or will he escape retribution once again?

Scientists say there is no life after death. They say we merge into the mud and get wiped out. But close to his death, my father recounted he had seen his parents and a brother-in-law who had died in a motorbike accident at Kolkata when he was 24 years old.

Shahul, the nurse who looked after my father, said that he had been at the bedside of over 30 end-of-life patients. All of them reported seeing their relatives and ancestors. When death approaches, the souls arrive to provide reassurance regarding the journey to the other world.

A thought arises: will we carry our resentments, anger, hatred, and frustration to the next world?

Who can provide the answers to these questions?

Probably nobody.

Following a dream

By Shevlin Sebastian

The other day I met a young man from Kannur in north Kerala who aspires to be a scriptwriter in Mollywood. He told me a story about doing a movie through the eyes of a five-year-old child. I was not sure whether it was lively. “I am not a film person,” I said. “But I think you need a conflict to make it interesting.”

He told me he wanted to be a scriptwriter from the time he was in Class 8. I am not sure whether he has done a scriptwriting course to learn about the techniques. I fear he may not have the talent. Who can tell whether you have talent? When you are young, your enthusiasm and energy can carry you through. But once youth passes, you can only survive if you have talent.

And do you have a talent that is popular? Can what you create entrance many people? Not everybody is given this gift. Oscar-winning musician AR Rahman has this gift, and so did the late singer Lata Mangeshkar. AR Rahman’s sister Raihanah said, “There are many music directors who are geniuses. But nobody knows them.”

Because they have a talent that is esoteric. Only a few people can appreciate their work. Hence, they cannot earn enough to live off their work. Their talent becomes a hobby. They need to work elsewhere to earn a living. Adds Raihanah: “Mass appeal is a divine gift.”

This young scriptwriter will spend a few years trying to achieve his dream. If he succeeds, it will be a delightful story. A man who followed his dream and achieved it. But if he has no takers for his scripts, provided he has the energy and stamina to write them, he would have lost a few years. Can he have a lucky change of direction? Find a profession for which he has a knack? Who knows?

It’s all up in the air.

We hear stories about people who made it. And we celebrate them. Dharmendra and Dev Anand came from Ludhiana and Gurdaspur respectively, to try their luck in Bollywood. Both succeeded beyond their imagination. But what we also know is that thousands of other hopefuls had come and returned with unfulfilled dreams. For decades, they felt bitter, angry and frustrated.

A friend said that the only unerring guide to make right decisions is your intuition or your gut instinct. It will lead you down the right path.

To get in touch with your intuition, he said, one should go inside. Silencing the mind, listening to your breath, and meditation will help.

An immense power lives within. He said we need to consult it and move forward under its guidance.

Is this the right way?

Maybe it is.

But nobody can say for certain.

The proverb may be right:

Many are called, but few are chosen.

Book reading at Bengaluru

Many thanks to HarperCollins Publishers for arranging this book reading at the Blue Tokai Cafe in Bengaluru earlier this month.

Thanks to fellow writer Divya Ramachandran for being the host.

Thanks also to friend Ratheesh Sundaram for his help.

And thanks, too, to Neethu M Eldose for her kind words:

Long overdue share!

Shevlin Sebastian was just a voice to me until I met him at @bluetokaicoffee at his book reading. The gentleman I heard turned out to be just as warm and positive in person. The warmth in his voice translated perfectly into his persona.

***

“When V.K. Thajudheen, a middle-aged man working in Doha, returned to his hometown, Kannur, after a few years, little did he know that instead of celebrating his daughter's summer wedding he would be put behind bars for stealing a gold necklace.” "

#TheStolenNecklace

Listening to Shevlin share #snippets from his book, I felt the joy of a writer sharing his creation. The Stolen Necklace may revolve around a small-town crime, but its twists and turns unveil the incredible journey of a common man battling the system and achieving a miraculous victory.

Grab your copy on Amazon: https://shorturl.at/CSTZ8

#BookRecommendation #authorengagement #TheStolenNecklace #MustRead

https://www.facebook.com/neethu.meldose

Thanks also to Sebastian Valiakala:

'The Stolen Necklace' is written by renowned journalist Shevlin Sebastian and expatriate businessman V.K. Thajudheen. While Shevlin was with New Indian Express (Kochi), Hindustan Times (Mumbai) and The Week (Kochi), Thajudheen was doing business in Doha.

This is a non-fiction piece that touches upon Thajudheen's quiet life with a heart-wrenching account of a theft charge and its miseries.

Thajudheen, a native of Thalassery, came to attend his daughter's wedding and was arrested by the police in a case of theft of a necklace.

But Thajudheen was able to be released from prison after proving his innocence through constant struggle.

What happened to Thajudheen today can happen to you tomorrow. This idea is what made this book so popular. The Thajudheen incident is now world famous.

The book was highlighted at the Bangalore Literature Festival. Shevlin Sebastian was also the speaker at one of the sessions.

https://www.facebook.com/sebastian.valiakala.3

A tale of two dogs

By Shevlin Sebastian

I heard the agonising wail followed by quick barks at 2 am. This surprised me. Usually, cats are the ones who make these sad moans. This was the first time I heard a dog being in this sort of emotional trauma.

The next morning, as I set out to buy milk, I saw the brown-skinned dog. I am calling him Sam. Sam stays near my house, in Kochi, on the road. He is a stray. Sam was alone. His eyes were drooping and so was his jaw. His inseparable companion, a smaller female brown-skinned dog, Molly, was no longer there.

This came as a shock to me. It meant that she had died in a car accident. I was told that dogs cannot properly gauge the distance when cars approach them. As a result, they are hit frequently. And many die like that.

That night, Sam again let out several moans. This continued for two more nights.

But on the fourth morning, I saw Molly had reunited with Sam.
So what happened? Did Molly run away with another dog? Or did they have a massive fight and Molly ran away to get some respite? Or was Molly tiring of the relationship? And wanted a change.

Did Sam go in search of Molly and then apologise and beg her to return?

I don’t know.

In the initial few days, Molly kept a distance of a foot between them. Then, over a few days, they became close as twins. What they loved most was to sleep next to each other under parked cars during hot summer afternoons.

Recently, I saw Sam jump on to a low wall and walk to the end. Molly followed. Then Sam jumped into a vacant plot of land. It comprised plants, coconut trees, and banana bushes. Molly stared at him. Then she looked to the left. Then backwards. In the past, she would have jumped right away. Now Molly turned back, reached the end of the wall and jumped back to the road. No more following Sam blindly any more.

Can Sam adjust to the new Molly? Who knows? Only time will tell.

This morning, there was another shock.

There was no Molly around. Sam sat by the side of the road, his lower jaw pressed against the tarred surface.

It seems they have not resolved things. Molly’s gone again. A crack has formed in the relationship. And it looks like they tried to paper over the differences. But it seems to have failed.

Wow, this is like human relationships.

Sam is battling to remain connected. But Molly seems to have changed. And doesn’t want to go back to play the docile role of earlier times.

I am waiting to see what happens next.

This is the woman’s century, both in the human and the animal world.

They are calling the shots.

And males will have to adjust to the new reality. 

Celebrating the memory of BR Ambedkar

Photos: The poster of the documentary; Somnath Waghmare; the Ambedkar museum in Dadar

Celebrating the memory of BR Ambedkar

Filmmaker Somnath Waghmare has made a moving documentary on Chaityabhumi, the cremation site of BR Ambedkar, the legendary leader of the Dalits. His death anniversary is on December 6

By Shevlin Sebastian

The documentary film ‘Chaityabhumi’ by filmmaker Somnath Waghmare opens with a painting of BR Ambedkar’s wife Ramabai hanging on a wall. It pans to a wooden desk. On top of a folder, you can see the spectacles worn by Ambedkar. Behind and on the sides are bookshelves which contain books.
The camera focuses on the different photographs that highlight the career of the noted social reformer, lawyer, and political leader of the Dalits. Suddenly, Ambedkar’s high-pitched, and intense voice can be heard on the soundtrack.

“Our difficulty is how to convince the heterogenous mass that we have to take a decision today in common and march in a co-operative way on that road which is bound to lead us to unity.”

This is the heritage museum on the ground floor of Ambedkar’s bungalow in Dadar. It is called Rajgruha. Ambedkar’s descendants stay on the upper floors. Visitors come from all over India and the world. Entry is free.

The film soon tracks the lakhs of people as they came, on December 6, to celebrate the death anniversary of their beloved leader. The cremation location, the Chaityabhumi, a Buddhist chaitya or temple, is next to the Dadar Chowpatty beach.

Many people wear the colour blue, which signifies the Dalit movement. One theory is that the blue represents the sky. Under the sky, everybody is equal. Ambedkar’s trademark suit was in blue.

In the documentary, Rahul Telgote, a blind musician, sitting cross-legged on the ground, hits a drum with both hands and sings:

“Oh Bhima, be born again for the oppressed, troubled and tired
Their hearts are longing for your arrival.
Oh Bhima, behold your 90 million people
The ones who are ready to die at a word from you
You are their guiding light.”

A little distance away, a young man shouts,

Emancipator of women

A group of young men in white shirts and pointed caps shout in unison: Babasaheb (this is the nickname for Ambedkar, which means respected father).

River Linking Projects

Babasaheb.

Journalist

Babasaheb.

And the young man enumerates the achievements of Ambedkar: Equality/Fraternity/Economist/The only ruler/Your ruler, our ruler/Constitution maker/The lawgiver/Bodhisattva/Crown of the world.

The action continued.

The Samata Sainik Dal (The Equality Squad), in khaki trousers, does a march past, with beating drums and flutes. One can see bald-headed Buddhist monks in yellow robes. One held a placard stating they were from the Bhikkhu Sangh of North-East Mumbai. “They are mostly Dalits who converted to Buddhism,” says Somnath. “But for the Chaityabhumi, monks had also come from Myanmar and other South-East Asian countries.”

Amidst the chanting of Buddhist prayers, people placed garlands on the statue of Ambedkar.
In 1956, to get away from the oppression of the caste system, Ambedkar adopted Buddhism, along with five lakh compatriots.

“This was more a political act, and less to do with spirituality,” says Somnath. Today, the Dalits continue to follow Buddhism.

Charan Jadhav, a singer and actor, with a blue bandana tied across his forehead, sings a song in praise of two kings: Chhatrapati Shivaji (1630-80) and Ambedkar. On the skin of Charan’s drum, the words Jai Bhim, the Dalit greeting, has been painted in blue.

“King Shivaji’s courts brought justice to the people,” sang Charan.

Adds Somnath, “The Dalits hold Shivaji in high esteem. He was a progressive ruler. He treated all classes and castes of people equally. There was no discrimination. This has been elaborated in [rationalist] Govind Pansare’s best-selling book, ‘Who was Shivaji?’.”

There are Dalit intellectual voices in the documentary. One of them is Dr. Rahul Sonpimple, scholar, President, All India Independent Schedule Caste Association.

“Ambedkar is part of my emotional and spiritual life,” he says. “When I visited Chaityabhumi, I cried. But the Indian state is the replica of the society that practises untouchability. Ambedkar was never part of public memory. Most of the monuments or the memories we have about Ambedkar are community-created.”

Commonwealth Scholar Pranjal Kureel added, “Academia and media have erased or appropriated the ideas of Babasaheb, but when you go to Chaityabhumi, you realise his ideas are still being taken forward. The fire is still burning, and the wheel is moving. The emancipation from the framework of caste is necessary for everybody, not just Dalit people. There is an assertion through art, culture and music. That is very overwhelming. Freedom of mind is the biggest thing.”

The scene then moves to the sprawling Shivaji Park grounds where hundreds of vendors have set up stalls selling many books on Ambedkar and his movement. You can find these in English, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Malayalam, and other languages. The other items on sale include photo frames, magazines, booklets, calendars, and paintings. There is Dalit literature and anti-caste treatises.

“Apparently, sales of Rs 10 crore were achieved on that day,” says Somnath. That comes as no surprise because lakhs of people were present.

At night, the family of Babasaheb paid their tributes inside the stupa. They placed garlands on the shining bronze statue. The members included Babasaheb’s great grandchildren, Sujat and Ritika, and grandson Bhimrao Ambedkar and his wife. Visitors sang hymns in praise of Lord Buddha.

At a public meeting, Prakash Ambedkar, grandson of Babasaheb, and president of the Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi, said, “I do not want to lose again the battle that we have long since won.”

Somnath decided to make a film on the Chaityabhumi because he felt that there were few stories about Dalits in the mainstream.

“Whenever people from non-Dalit backgrounds make a film on us, it is incomplete,” he says. “The Dalit cultural assertion was missing. Most stories in industries like Bollywood are only about the dominant castes. I wanted to tell the story from the Dalit viewpoint.”

Somnath shot for four years before he made the film.

Asked about the state of the Dalits in India, Somnath says, “We know who owns the resources in India. We know who owns all the land, and the cultural capital. We know who has power. We know who controls the media. In the Indian Institute of Technology, the directors are upper-caste. In the official records, the upper-castes continue to dominate in all aspects of life. This is not what I am saying. It is all there in the data.”

Since Ambedkar had done his doctoral thesis at the London School of Economics (LSE) in 1916, Somnath had a screening at the LSE on October 24. “The audience liked the film,” says Somnath.
As quoted in ‘The Guardian,’ Shakuntala Banaji, a professor of social change at LSE, said she was deeply moved after viewing the film. “After generations of misrepresentation in, or exclusion from, mainstream Indian cinemas and media, Dalit directors and producers have started to tell the stories of their communities in original and exciting ways,” she says.

Somnath said he wanted to show the real Indian society. “For most outsiders when they watch Bollywood films, they think it is the accurate picture of Indian society,” he says. “Many people are not aware of the caste system. But with films like [Marathi director] Nagraj Manjule’s ‘Fandry’ (2013) and mine, they are slowly becoming aware.”

Somnath said that after ‘Fandry’ was screened at Columbia University on April 18, 2014, the next Dalit film that was screened was ‘Chaityabhumi’ on December 3, 2023. Ambedkar had also studied at Columbia University.

Asked whether the caste system would ever be eradicated, Somnath says that it depends on the privileged castes. “Only they can dismantle it,” he says. “Maybe some powerful revolutionary might arise and do it.”

But the good news, he says, is that a lot of Dalits are in higher education. Somnath is doing his doctoral thesis in the social sciences at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences. “Until my graduation, I studied in a Marathi medium school,” he says.

As to whether he faced discrimination in his college life, he says, “Discrimination is part of a Dalit’s life. But nowadays, it is subtle. They insult me indirectly.”

Somnath got interested in a film career when he began learning media studies while doing his masters at Pune University. As for the directors who inspired him, Somnath mentions the name of the Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami (1940-2016), Nagraj and Tamil director Pa. Ranjith.

Some of Somnath’s earlier films include ‘I am Not a Witch’ (2015) and ‘The Battle of Bhima Koregaon: An Unending Journey’ (2017). He is now working on ‘Gail and Bharat’. This is a documentary biopic of the activist couple Dr. Gail Omvedt and Dr. Bharat Patankar, who have worked for long on behalf of the Dalits..

“I want to make films from the Dalit viewpoint,” he says. “This is my life's mission.”

(Published in The Federal)
https://thefederal.com/.../somnath-waghmare-interview-how...