Understanding two screenplays

Disclaimer:

If you have not seen the movies 'Hey Ram' or 'Mahanadi' this post will sound slightly vague. Also, this is just few impressions which I have about the two screenplays and not an exhaustive exploration on the same.

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A few months back, actor Kamal Haasan had released the Malayalam version of two of his screenplays, Hey Ram and Mahanadi. Although I had seen both the movies, I decided to buy "Kamalahasante Randu Thirakkathakal" just to experience the pleasure of reading a good story and even know as to how a screenplay evolves.

Both the films were landmarks in the career of the great actor. While Mahanadi deals with the sufferings in the life of an ordinary person named Krishnaswamy who yearns for life in the city, Hey Ram unravels modern India' s repressed past through a story narrated in the first person perspective by the chief protagonist Saket Ram. Both stories share the emotions of suffering, grief and betrayal. The greatness of Kamal Haasan lies in the fact that he is able to bring out so many subtleties and thoughts even in what seems a simple story like Mahanadi.

It is really fascinating if one explores a screenplay in its details and other nuances. Reading Kamal's screenplays reminded me of the screenplays by Padmarajan which were so specific that the director only had to refer to it and call 'Start', 'Action' and 'Cut'. I have heard people say that Padmarajan's screenplays even used to contain details of the required camera positions, though I didn't find such things in the screenplay of Aparan I had read a year back.

The screenplay of Hey Ram, I felt, was a very complex one and which would have required Kamal to undertake extensive research. The story spans across different regions of India, and hence, makes use of different languages too. Some scenes have been explained with the kind of background music needed at that shot. It would be really fascinating to know as to what exactly goes through the mind of the person who develops the screenplay, especially when the story, dialogue and screenplay are by the same person. How does he fit in the dialogues, songs, silent shots etc.? Unfortunately, I haven't had the fortune to interact with an artiste of the stature of Kamal to explore such facts.

Hey Ram , though critically acclaimed, was not a commercial success. There were film critics (including supposedly famous people like Gautaman Bhaskaran) who termed the movie as too complex, anti-Gandhi, too long, all scenes dominated by Kamal etc. I feel those who say Hey Ram is anti-Gandhi have simply not understood the story. It takes more than one viewing to appreciate the movie because of the kind of story it is (semi-fiction).

As I said earlier, a lot of research goes into the making of a script like Hey Ram. Since it a semi-fictional plot revolving around pre-Independent India, the kind of guns used, cars driven, kind of language used in dialogues and other such details have to be given utmost importance when giving out such details through the script and screenplay. For example , the use of "I do not" instead of "I don't" in which case the latter term was prevalent only a couple of years after India's Independence. Another example is the Mauser gun chosen by Saket Ram in the plot to assassinate Gandhi and the mantras uttered when Saket Ram when he does sanyasa and renounces everything. It is said that to make the scene look authentic Kamal had consulted Kanchi Sankaracharya regarding the mantras used at the time of Sanyasa. Similarly the introduction by the character Sriram Abhyankar by using the term "Abhivadye". Another example of deft handling through the screenplay is seen when we read the portion showing Kamal (who is depicted as doing some welding in the room) receiving a letter from the Maharaja that Abhyankar has passed away and that the plot to kill Gandhi must be undertaken in a few weeks by Saket himself. Here Kamal mentions in the screenplay that 'Thiruppavai" bhajans are heard in the background. This itself explains two things. For one, these Bhajans are sung by Vaishnavites at dawn. So it indirectly means that Kamal has been working the whole night in his room. Also, such Bhajans are sung during the moth of Maragazhi (Dec15- Jan15). So when the letter says that Gandhi should be killed in a few weeks, it synchronises with the actual date on which Gandhi was killed i.e January 30th.

Mahandi, though not of the complex storyline nature of Hey Ram was also equally riveting. The chief protagonist Krishnaswamy (played by Kamal) is a widower with two kids who is living a contented life in his village. A chance meeting with his college mate lures him into living in a city and thus lead a life which could prove beneficial to his children (as regards better schooling, learning better English etc.). The screenplay is handled so deftly that this change in mentality of Krishnaswamy is brought about in just 2-3 scenes.

But, even Kamal doen't include all visual details in the script of Mahandi. There are some visuals , as in, the signboard showing the name "Thirunageswaram" in which the Hindi transalation is striked through by black lines (showing the anti-Hindi feeling at that time?) or when Kamal's son tries to touch the gun held by the policeman when he and his sister go to visit Kamal at jail (perhaps showing how young kids are fascinated by guns?). Perhaps these were thought of at the shooting spot by the director and then incorporated in the scenes.

According to Kamal the story, screenplay and dialogue should always be handled by the same person. To an extent, I think this is true. To achieve synchronisation, it would be ideal for the person who conceived and wrote the story to do the screenplay, as in , Padmarajan for Aparan, Sreenivasan for "Chinta...Shyamala" or even Francis Ford Coppola for GodFather.

As I had seen both Mahanadi and Hey Ram, I could visualise those scenes unfolding even as I read the screenplay. But it would be really fascinating to visualise and imagine the scenes unfolding when we read the screenplay for a movie we have not seen. I am experiencing the same as I read the screenplay of "Peruvazhiyambalam" by Padmarajan.

P.S:

Yet another interesting aspect of Kamal is the title he gives for his films. Even Padmarajan was master in this aspect. But, in the case of Hey Ram, the title can mean so many things. People say 'Hey Ram' were the last words of Gandhi before he died (Ironically Gandhi does not utter these word in the film). Or, Hey Ram could be an expression of shock at the actions of the principal character 'Saket Ram' or a simliar expression at the action of Sriram Abhyankar or Nathuram Ghodse!

As to why he named the other film 'Mahanadi', you people who have seen the movie find out. If you are still in doubt read the screenplay or watch the movie once again. And let me see if you are able to deduce the logic :-).