For the last few days, I have repeatedly been getting thoughts about my first ever brush with the movies. Maybe turning 40 does that to you as reminiscing about the ‘good old days’ suddenly becomes an integral part of your life.
As per my memory, I was all of 3 and was taken by my grandmother and relatives to see Dev Anand’s Hare Rama Hare Krishna somewhere in Delhi. This was sometime in 1971. The darkening of the lights didn’t affect me (to everyone’s relief) but minutes into the film, seeing how indifferent the parents (Kishore Sahu and Achala Sachdev) were to poor Jasbir and Prashant, the floodgates of my ‘sensitive’ side burst open. This, even as Prashant was gamely trying to comfort his little sister with the beautifully composed ditty, Phoolon Ka Taaron Ka. I howled and howled and just wouldn’t stop. With angry tch tching in the audience, my grandmother had to take me out of the theatre to calm me down. Thereafter, any effort to get me back into the darkened auditorium was only met with even louder bawling on my side. And I’m sure my grandmother, having seen my ‘softer’ side, too wondered if I would be able to sit through as traumatic an event as Janice’s tragic death. So wisely, she ensured we both sat out the film in the theatre foyer so that the others could watch the movie undisturbed.
It would take my grandmother a good two whole years before she would venture to take me to see a film with her in the theatre again, this time Raj Kapoor’s Bobby. Happily, her fears were unfounded as I sat through the entire movie this time and what’s more, enjoyed the entire experience.
PS: I have seen Hare Rama Hare Krishna quite a few times since then. There’s something about that first film memory that makes me watch the entire film whenever I catch the film playing on TV while channel surfing; no matter even if I’ve caught the film from the middle. Not only have I (always) found it an extremely entertaining watch, to me, it’s probably the only decent film Dev Saab has directed.
Yeah Shan, I know exactly what you mean. Even today if I’m channel surfing and happen to see that Hare Rama Hare Krishna is showing, I end up watching it! There’s something about that first film!
Hey..
I remember a similar experience around 3 or 4(though I’m not 40 yet, or even closer).
My first thingy was Don.
And the minute Bachchan dies in the back of the car, I apparently lost it completely.
My aunt and her daughter had taken me, and though I do not remember the gory details of what happened, I apparently refused to watch the rest of the film, and was sullen for the next few days. So after a few weeks, to cheer me up, I was taken to another one of “Amta Bachchan” -Karz.
So for a long time I actually thought Rishi Kapoor was Amta Bachchan.
And till date Karz and Don are two films that I can watch anytime.
Jungle Book! And that still gets me senti.
The Kid. Laughed, cried and created a huge ruckus!!
‘Phoolon ka, taaron ka’ can still make me cry. And the parents are really cruel, specially in the way they seperate the kids. Much like Partition, an arbitrary decision, one day.
The first film I saw was Hathi Mera Sathi. I was about 6 then and my parents thought the film was about wild animals! Was very impressed with Rajesh Khanna’s handling of the elephants and other animals and shed copious tears when the elephant (Ramu?) died.
Very nice blog indeed,i came late across this,now onwards will try to be regular.Punjab Da Puttar can i have your mail id for further deep discussions over movies and comics.Thanks
Better late than never, Zaheer! Thanks for your feedback and keep those comments coming…
Slowfade, quite a coincidence your mentioning Haathi Mere Saathi. In a subsequent piece I’ve done on films that have affected me the most emotionally (http://www.upperstall.com/blogs/punjab-da-puttar/quietly-flow-the-tears/), have mentioned Haathi Mere Saati and the impact of Ramu’s death. I think a whole generation of us wept at Ramu’s death!
Your poor patient granny! We’d taken Trisha to watch Ice Age when she was less than two. We were out in 5 minutes, she bawled so bad. Now of course she’s an avid film watcher.
Irene, Trisha’s (filmwatching) genes were bound to bloom sooner or later!