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Lucknow has great potential in cinema: Muzaffar Ali
“Lucknow is my Kadad (Stature), it is fitrat (habit) and also my Sabak (learning)
“Lucknow is my Kadad (Stature), it is fitrat (habit) and also my Sabak (learning). The city has given me everything which no other city has given. I have never considered this as a city or a religion (mazhab), but it is more like a living person to me. It is important to respect others’ religion and culture to survive in cinema and that is there in the people of Awadh as it is also known for its adab (respect),” said Padamashree filmmaker Muzaffar Ali.
Ali was speaking at the Gomti Book Festival in Lucknow on the topic ‘Lucknow in Indian cinema’ in a conversation with author Sathya Saran here on Friday.
“Awadh has a rich culture, and its folklore is world famous, which I tried to reflect in my films. My father’s word was always the last word for me and he helped me love and respect my roots. This is why the majority of the music in the filmography was influenced by Awadh. In fact, for my first film, Gaman, in 1978, I chose Kotwara, Uttar Pradesh, as my work location rather than shooting on large sets in Mumbai. All my films have an Awadh connection because my roots are here and it has taught me so much in my entire life,” the filmmaker said, replying to a question of Sathya Saran.
“I had in mind my father’s dying wish that nobody in the village should go hungry and lose their lives due to a lack of employment. This made me decide that all my movies should be shot in UP. All of them had regional artists, from a set designer to a costume designer. Each single person in my village is exposed to a camera. I have mentioned all these in my autobiography ‘In the Light and Shade of Time-ZIKR,’” he said.
Speaking about UP’s culture, he said that Aligarh has an Urdu and poetry culture, “which I became acquainted with while studying at the Aligarh Muslim University. I never became a poet, but I tried to express myself through my films.”
The director also shared some anecdotes during his shoot with actor Rekha and Anupam Kher and said a director-actor relationship is like an insect and insect-rearing. “I first rear them and take out silk from them in the form of acting,” he added.
When asked how his sketches, which he drew, were converted into films, Muzaffar Ali, who is also a very good painter and sketch artist, said, “I kept sketching and these pages and pen taught me a new way of life as my paintings helped local artisans understand the kinds of sets and costumes I wanted.”
