Emergency-era censorship affected films so badly that even a spot of blood was cut out

Kishore Kumar's songs were taken off AIR. Stars such as Dev Anand were harassed. Even Raj Kapoor and Satyajit Ray were given advice on film-making.

File photo | Sanjay Gandhi | Commons

The Emergency in 1975 impacted the film industry badly. Absurd censorship rules were implemented and even an image of a liquor bottle or a spot of blood was cut. Action sequences were limited to six in number and only ninety seconds in duration. Documentary film-makers K.L. Khandpur and N.S. Thapa, who were heading the Central Board of Film Certification, became government lackeys and censors, often telling veteran directors how to re-edit their films. Raw film negative was rationed.

Any film personality who did not toe the government line or fulfil Sanjay Gandhi’s demands was punished. Kishore Kumar’s songs were banned on AIR. Film-makers like Dev and Vijay Anand, Feroz Khan, Amol Palekar and Atma Ram were harassed. Film stars were commandeered to New Delhi for the International Film Festival to parade before international delegates. I recall a particular incident with horror. The Information and Broadcasting Minister V.C. Shukla called all film-makers for a meeting in Bombay. Everyone from Raj Kapoor and Satyajit Ray downwards was there. The minister, on being told of the raw stock, especially colour negative, shortage, told a stunned audience, ‘Why don’t you change your black-and-white cameras and buy colour ones?’

The change in content was palpable. Out went social dramas, as focus shifted to the big, bad, city and its underbelly. There was angst on the streets and it was reflected on the screen. Plagiarizing became legitimate under the guise of inspiration, as Hollywood films were blatantly copied and mutilated. The potboiler came into its own. Melodrama, hard-hitting dialogue, irrelevant comedy interludes and elaborate dance numbers became the norm. Multi-starrers—an abomination—were a regular feature. Catchy music was the saving grace and after Sholay, ingeniously crafted action sequences were seen on Indian screens.

Strange-looking sets, funny costumes and gauche production design mark the films of the 1970s. All sound tracks were post-synced or dubbed, that is, the dialogue was re-recorded separately and replaced the original location recording owing to ambient sounds and in place of foleys (everyday sound effects that are added to films to enhance audio quality), we had exaggerated sound effects.

The regional films followed a poorer imitation of these effects. Salim–Javed together with Amitabh Bachchan and with some help from Prakash Mehra, Manmohan Desai, Ramesh Sippy and Yash Chopra, created a new screen persona—the angry young man, with the earthiness of the 1950s, a mind of the 1970s and a postmodern outlook.

On the other hand, new-wave directors, helped by the Film Finance Corporation—later NFDC—were discovering their own distinct voice, far away from high decibel glitz of mainstream glamour of popular cinema. Stark realism, repression and oppression and the travails of contemporary life, often rural, was their leitmotif. Light, frothy romance mixed with a depiction of changing social mores marked the films of these directors.

This period saw many technicians do brilliant work. Important cinematographers included Fali and Jal Mistry, Radhu Karmarkar, Faredoon Irani, Nariman Irani, V.K. Murthy, K.H. Kapadia, Marcus Bartley, Subrata Mitra, K.K. Mahajan, Prem Sagar, Praveen Bhat, Pratap Sinha, D.K. Prabhakar, Manmohan Singh, A.K. Bir, Kamlakar Rao, Shaji Karun and Balu Mahendra and they all did some fine photography. Top song-recordists included Minoo Katrak, Robin Chatterjee, Mangesh Desai, B.N. Sharma, D. Bhansali and Kaushik. M.R. Achrekar, Sudhendu Roy, Ram Yedekar, Shanti Das and T.K. Desai were the top art directors. Hira Lal, Sohan Lal, Satyanarayan, P.L. Raj, Suresh Bhatt, Saroj Khan, Madhav Kishen, Oscar Vijay and Gopi Kishan were the famous choreographers. M.S. Shinde, Pran Mehra, B.S. Glad, Waman Guru, Babu Sheikh, Maruti Rao, Bhanu Das and Das Dhaimade were among the top editors. Film Centre, Ramnord, Navrang and Famous were the major laboratories and filmmaking hubs. Mehboob, Natraj, Filmistan, RK, Ranjit, Filmalaya, Mohan, Rooptara, Chandivali, Film City and Raj Kamal were the main studios where films were shot.

The 1970s was the decade when I really settled down in the film world. For me, heading Navketan, then the most active production house in Bombay, at the age of twenty-three, was a heady feeling. My position opened access to the hallowed royalty of Bollywood. I also had a dream run as a lyricist with several hits, working in tandem with young composers Bappi Lahiri and Rajesh Roshan. I was a bit of an anomaly in Bollywood—an English- speaking Stephenian who was clued into world cinema and yet operated in the mainstream industry. I interacted with some of the most commercial, even crass producers, distributors, exhibitors and technicians. At the same time, I was also friends with the young new wave film-makers and actors.

I wrote scripts, songs, executive-produced films, wrote about cinema and learnt the tricks of the trade from masters and veterans 24×7. In 1975 I managed to get each of the three Anand brothers to make a film for Navketan to celebrate the banner’s silver jubilee. It was the first time since the 1950s that a production company had three films—Jaaneman, Bullet and Des Pardes—on the floor simultaneously. I became the youngest member of the esteemed Film Producers Guild of India—then limited to only thirty-five of the top film-makers—and was soon an office-bearer and, thus, a major interlocutor in the industry’s internal problems as well its interaction with the Government. It was an honour and privilege to sit on the same table as V. Shantaram, Raj Kapoor, B.R. Chopra, Sohrab Modi, Vijay Anand, Yash Chopra, L.V. Prasad and other such giants. I learnt a lot and argued a lot. I was in a hurry to change the status quo.

I received a lot of warmth from my seniors and became friends with artistes, writers, cameramen, recordists, composers and directors and especially top singers like Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar, Mohammad Rafi, Asha Bhonsle, Mukesh and Manna Dey. I was also friends with all the top musicians including Shiv Kumar Sharma, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Dattaram, Kersi Lord, Manohari Singh, Gorakh, Amar Haldipur, Uttam Singh and others. I was the media darling and was often featured in gossip columns and sometimes in mainline press, particularly because I was articulate in English and Hindi. This was also the time I became a regular at film parties. I turned a producer in 1977 with Man Pasand, one of the youngest in those days.

This excerpt from Words Sounds Images: A History of Media and Entertainment in India has been published with permission from HarperCollins India.