<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">His is a passion that spills over the borders of his canvasses and onto the profound frame of his infinite imagination. His sketches painted with firm brushstrokes, his colours splashed with vibrant hues, leaving an indelible impact on the awestruck viewer. But then that is the power of an M F Husain creation.<br />And he stretches life beyond his still canvases and artworks too.
To the moving, walking, talking world of cinema too. His unbridled imagination running as wild on the large screen as the horses that stride his art. His muse of the last several years being the same – the mystifying Ms Madhuri. From canvas to camera, from painting the beauty to watching her sashay across the screen with the allure of the temptress in <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Gaj Gamini</span> His first creation on celluloid. And now he’s onto his second – <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Meenaxi – A tale of Two Cities</span>, starring not Madhuri, but his new inspiration Tabu. Another tower of talent.<br />But he is quick to point out that his passion for la Dixit hasn’t diminished in any way. Even the thought is unthinkable, as a furrow crosses his serene demeanour. He is quick to explain “Madhuri is Maya, an illusion, a universal form. Tabu is a woman of the world. They are different.�<br />We believe him. For he then tells us of his next paean to his Muse Madhuri, a series of paintings that portray the epitome of love and sacrifice – the Chandramukhi of Sarat Chandra’s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Devdas</span>. And with beaming pride and that glint in his eyes he proclaims, “Perhaps, Sarat Chandra had written this character of Chandramukhi only for Madhuri.� That was passionate fervour at it’s creative best, as we discovered in this relaxed conversation at the artist’s Cuffe Parade apartment, over steaming cups of chai made with healthy lemon grass. Read on ... <br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">It’s rather surprising that Madhuri hasn’t been cast in </span><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Menaxi – A Tale of Two Cities</span><span style="" font-weight:="" bold=""> ?</span><br />M.F.H: “This script was specially written for Tabu just like <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Gaja Gamini</span> was specially written for Madhuri. The cast entirely depends on the theme. There’s a painted imagery in mind and the theme emerges from that. It’s not like there’s a story and then you go out to search for your character. That’s the difference...it’s better to give full scope and freedom to actors and let them be what they are. I don’t believe in peaople ‘acting’ ... everything should be natural.� <br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Is it true that you had initially offered Sushmita Sen the role Tabu is playing in this movie? </span><br />M.F.H: “Yes, I had thought of Sushmita for this role, but there was some difficulty with the dates.� <br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">You’ve reigned in the realm of ‘Art’ for decades now...don’t you find filmmaking a rather difficult, expensive and risky proposition?</span><br />M.F.H: “Well, I can’t call my films commercial film...for I don’t really believe in that, I think there are just two kinds – good films and bad films. When you are actually in the process of creating something, you don’t consider whether people will like it or not...that’s the integrity of the artist. If you’re dedicated to the medium and the art, you should not care for anybody.�<br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Cinema is a ‘moving’ medium and you as an artist ideate in the ‘still’ medium. How do recreate that ‘still’ art form within the frame of the camera and on to the large screen?</span><br />M.F.H: “The painted vision is always there, but normally a director is not a painter, so his approach is very different. There is not just one criteria or one way to make a film. One makes a film according to his own method. When a painter visualises a film, the two most important things he considers are the form and the colour. Form is there everywhere and the colour expounds the temperament of the language.�<br />“There may be a hundred Shah Rukh’s ... but none can ever match the Dilip Kumar portrayal of <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Devdas’.</span> <br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">So you must be keenly waiting to watch Madhuri in </span><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Devdas</span><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">? </span><br />M.F.H: “I’ve seen P.C Barua’s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Devdas</span> which is one of the greatest masterpieces of all time. At the time the film was released, I was hardly fifteen years old, but I would go and see the film everyday till the time it was being screened in the theatres. I’ve always felt that Sarat Chandra’s character of Chandramukhi is more powerful than ‘Paro’. The latter was a romantic lady deeply in love, but Chandramukhi was the one who sacrificed, the one whose love was not fulfilled. When I saw the 1965 version of <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Devdas</span>, the main attraction there was Dilip Kumar; I don’t think anybody has, or anybody can ever play that role better than him. There maybe hundred Shah Rukh’s...but none can ever match the Dilip Kumar portrayal of Devdas�. In the past fifty years I haven’t come across a director levelling up to the calibre and stature of P C Barua. There are some good directors, entertainers, money-makers...and there’s nothing wrong with it...that’s just their attitude and I’m not condemning it.�<br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">“I’ve nothing to do with Sanjay Leela Bhansali or the film </span><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Devdas</span><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">; I’m concerned with only Sarat Chandra, Chandramukhi and Madhuri.� </span><br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">There were some reports that claimed that you’ve done a series of paintings of Madhuri as Chandramukhi in </span><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Devdas</span><span style="" font-weight:="" bold=""> to take up for her, considering she hasn’t been given enough publicity for this movie.</span><br />M.F.H:“Yes, I am concerned about her as she is a great actress and a fabulous human being. She’s a phenomenon, which unfortunately Bollywood has not been able to tap to it’s full potential so far. She herself admits that she has displayed only thirty per cent of her talent and ability. Where are the scripts? There are no scripts for thirty plus actresses here... they all write scripts for the twenty plus juvenile category. Our film industry is still very juvenile. In fact, this is a very sad state. Our cinema has corrupted the taste of the masses and today the essence of Indian culture is not there. Madhuri is such a dignified lady...in the last seventeen years she’s not uttered a word against anybody in this industry. She’s really remarkable. In fact I always tell Madhuri that I’ve learnt a lot from her. She’s always told me that it’s better to just concentrate on your work and stay peaceful. Your work speaks for yourself, you don’t have to defend yourself and you’re not here to prove anything. Perhaps, Sarat Chandra had written this character of Chandramukhi only for Madhuri. Only she could justify this character. Likewise, when Madonna played the role of <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Evita</span>, it was almost like the role was made just for her and she did a brilliant job of it. My paintings are a series on Sarat Chandra’s Chandramukhi in different stages.<br />I’m taking her right from the temples of the dancers, through the various forms. It’s just a take-off and I portray Madhuri in all the stages here. I’ve nothing to do with Sanjay Leela Bhansali or the film <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Devdas</span>; I’m concerned with only Sarat Chandra, Chandramukhi and Madhuri.Madhuri is such a dignified lady ... in the last seventeen years she’s not uttered a word against anybody in this industry.� <br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Tell us something about </span><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="" font-style:="" italic="">Meenaxi - A Tale of Two Cities’</span><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">. </span><br />M.F.H: “In this film Tabu plays two roles, one a girl from Rajasthan, and a girl from Prague. There is no relation between the two ... they just happen to be identical. The male lead here is a new face from Hyderabad. The main character played by Tabu is called ‘Meenaxi’...and I’ve spelt this name with an ‘xi’. The conventionally spelt Meenakshi means the eye of a fish...in my ‘Menaxi’ mena means the eye and ‘xi’ means reflection. If people don’t understand, let it be that way, I’d rather not explain. People who are intelligent will question and they’ll understand. � <br />“Where are the scripts? There are no scripts for thirty plus actresses ... they all write scripts for the twenty plus category. Our film industry is still very juvenile. In fact this is a very sad state, our cinema has corrupted the taste of the masses and today the essence of Indian culture is not there.� <br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">In your career as an artist, is there any one face, Indian or International that you’ve always desired to paint?</span><br />M.F.H: “It’s a woman. It’s a universal face. That’s why in <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Gaja Gamini</span>, I never showed Madhuri’s face. I showed her in a different form. I have never even painted her face...as Madhuri is a Maya, a universal form. Also, I lost my mother when I was one-and-a-half-years old and she had refused to get herself photographed, hence I was left with no framed picture of my mother in my mind. Not being able to see your mother is one of the greatest losses in someone’s life. So this is that face, that image of a woman that I visualise. Even when I painted Mother Teresa, I never painted her face. There is reason behind it that’s difficult to explain and comprehend. This is the mystery of creation.� <br />“That’s why in Gaja Gamini I never showed Madhuri’s face. I showed her in a different form. I have never even painted her face...as Madhuri is a maya, a universal form.� <span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">What’s the real secret of you wanting to go bare-foot everywhere? </span><br />M.F.H: “Walking bare-feet works as good acupressure for me, it’s good for the body and the health. A person’s feet should be like a dancers’ feet...moulding itself in to different shapes. That’s my secret.� </div> </div>
