Khamosh: Vidhu narrated the story of ‘Khamosh’ to this heroine in the auto, Naseer took up this responsibility apart from acting – Vidhu Vinod Chopra Gets Standing Ovation At Special Screening Of Murder Mystery Khamosh Kamal Naseer Shabana
‘There is a director named Vidhu Vinod who has made a wonderful murder mystery film ‘Khamosh’. This matter used to be discussed a lot 37 years ago in groups of youth fond of films. After 37 years, I got a chance to watch this film again in Juhu PVR cinema hall of Mumbai. Actor Pawan Malhotra is sitting on a nearby seat. I ask, ‘How many people will there be in this cinema hall who would have seen this film in the cinema hall even at the time of its first release?’ He says, ‘Nobody. Only the star cast had seen this film then. Pawan is shocked to know that I had seen this film in the theater even then. The film ‘Khamosh’ came before the films ‘Parinda’, ‘1942 A Love Story’ and ‘Karib’, which made Vidhu Vinod Chopra a beacon of film direction in Hindi cinema. Made at that time for only Rs 3 lakh, the actors shared all the interesting stories related to the making of this film with their fans in a special screening of this film on Friday evening.
45 years of film direction
Vidhu Vinod Chopra made his first film as a director, ‘Murder at Monkey Hill’ in the year 1978. This film managed to reach the nomination round of the Oscar Awards in the short films category. If we count from this, Vidhu is completing 45 years of making films. The celebration here last night was all about achieving this milestone. Actor, producer and director Kamal Haasan, who was especially present on this occasion, tells how Vidhu Vinod Chopra wanted to make the film ‘Saja e Maut’ with him, later Naseeruddin Shah played the same role in the film. Kamal Haasan also narrated another incident when Vidhu had taken time to meet him to narrate the story of another film, but after having dinner, Vidhu slept in the same hotel. And Vidhu spent the two hours that Kamal Haasan had kept for listening to the story, sleeping.
Naseer and Vidhu’s 50 years of friendship
Naseeruddin Shah has not only played a special character in the film ‘Khamosh’, his name is also included in the credits of the film as a still photographer. Made on a very low budget, this film featured many actors who also handled other tasks in film production. Pawan Malhotra had overseen the production and the names of many actors were seen written in the credits of the film along with people from different departments. Before the screening of the film, Naseeruddin Shah narrated the story of his and Vidhu’s friendship going back to the Pune Film Institute and told how Vidhu would often stand with both his hands in a frame style on the slope leading from the hostel to the acting class. And would see people through it. On this occasion, Vidhu also revealed to everyone the special gift that Naseer had brought for Vidhu when he went to America for the first time. The gift is a memento that reads, I Refuse to Grow Up! Naseer and Vidhu had enrolled together in Pune Film Institute in the year 1973.
The film ‘Khamosh’ is a murder mystery film in which till the end the audience is unable to understand who the murderer is. These accidents happening during the shooting of a film going on in Kashmir, start with Soni Razdan, who is playing the heroine in the film. Soni Razdan says, ‘Vidhu narrated the script of this film to me for the first time in an auto. At that time, there was not much traffic in Mumbai and people could hear each other even while sitting in an auto. The second time Vidhu told me this story while walking on foot while descending a slope of the road in Bandra. Shabana Azmi narrated the incident when Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Pawan Malhotra had gone to her house to discuss dates and collected the ticket money from her.
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On this occasion, other actors who worked in the film ‘Khamosh’, Pawan Malhotra, Avtar Gill, Deepak Kazir etc. also narrated their brief memories. Everyone’s eyes remained fixed on the film’s cinematographer Binod Pradhan till the end. When actress Shabana Azmi, who played the lead role in the film, called out Binod Pradhan after the end of the film, the entire audience present in the hall honored both of them with applause. Vidhu told how all the shots of the film were taken using Jugaad technique. For example, in the climax, when Shabana is walking on her knees, to take her shot, the camera was placed on a big cardboard and many people were pulling it together like a trolley. The shooting was done by keeping the camera in the trunk of a car while taking shots of all the lead actors of the film running after Pankaj Kapoor in the middle of the city.
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