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ShareHe gave cinema audiences their first taste of 'exotic' locales. And he gave them La Tagore in a swimsuit. Shakti Samanta speaks to Kareena N Gianani about the '70s, his protégés and his formula for success
One thing Shakti Samanta is really proud of is the fact that he owes his success to no godfather or an illustrious filmy family. "I am a self-made man. In those days, no one took a rookie under their wing just like that. I came empty-handed."
But this legendary director and producer did not remain empty-handed for too long. Samanta gave Hindi cinema films like Aradhana, An Evening In Paris, Kati Patang and Amar Prem,and swears his early life was spent dreaming of becoming an actor. Born in 1926 in Dehradun into a family of engineers, Samanta secretly nurtured a passion for cinema since childhood but studied science to please his family. "They didn't know that their bathroom singer had such colourful dreams."
Circa 1946, he convinced them to let him teach science at the Anglo-Urdu High School at Dapoli, a hill station 235 kms from Mumbai. "The school was closed on Fridays and, for the next two years, I would set off for Bombay on Thursdays and return late on Fridays." Initially, Samanta did what most film aspirants would do at that time -- he hung around outside film studios, hoping to get some work. But the big day came a year later. "After India's partition, actors and directors fled, and projects were stalled. I knew that was my cue," says Samanta. Finally, in 1948, Ashok Kumar called him for a chat at Bombay Talkies and instantly took a liking to the 'charming, fervent Bengali boy'. "He advised me to take up direction. I was too intimidated to argue and agreed to everything he said," says Samanta with a smile. Kumar referred him to directors like Gyan Mukherjee and Phani Majumdar, who Samanta assisted till 1953, after which he went on to direct his first film, Bahu (1954).
"I always had a soft corner for music, thrillers and romance and I followed my heart in my films." Samanta's first few musical thrillers included Howrah Bridge (1958) and China Town (1962). But it was Kashmir Ki Kali (1964) that put him on the cinematic map. "Why did I stick to romances after that? Well, you couldn't go wrong with that formula," he says. Kapoor, says Samanta, always surpassed himself. "For his dance sequence, every take would be different from the previous one -- and better. During Kashmir Ki Kali, he adjusted his steps to let just the right amount of sunlight fall on his faceso he looked good on screen," he relates. As for Tagore, Samanta knew she was the one after he saw her in a Bengali film. "I met her parents and convinced them that Kashmir... would do wonders for her." Tagore was excited at her debut in Hindi films and surprisingly, adds Samanta, not even a star like Kapoor daunted her. He adds, however, that Tagore did get scared when she was asked to dance. "She was used to the Bengali film style -- sitting under trees and lip-synching," he smiles.
Soon after Kashmir..., Samanta gave Hindi cinema-goers a high by treating them to a different genre -- a romantic thriller that was set abroad for the very first time -- An Evening in Paris (1967). "I never really moved away from thrillers -- An Evening..., too, had the element of the evil look-alike." It wasn't just the exotic locales that made the audience sit up. "I know, Tagore's bikini also had a lot to do with it," admits Samanta with a knowing smile. "Never before had the 'good' girl donned a swimsuit. But why not? Her character was very chic -- it demanded that kind of confidence and Tagore carried it off superbly."
Samanta earned a reputation of restricting his work relationship to his favourite few -- Shammi Kapoor, Sharmila Tagore, Rajesh Khanna and SD and RD Burman -- something he justifies as an obvious choice. "Had there been actors more charming than Kapoor, more stylish than Khanna and more versatile than Tagore, I would've reconsidered my casting decisions. There was just no room for speculation -- they were family."
After Shammi Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore, it was Rajesh Khanna's career that Samanta helped skyrocket. "I clearly remember Khanna's audition. Amongst all the wannabes, he was fresh with his own style and a glint in his eye." Khanna didn't let him down, and the duo worked together onKati Patang, Amar Prem and Mehbooba through the seventies, before the audience started rejecting his films. "Times change, you know,and the 'angry, young man' best represented those days. I believe that had Khanna reinvented himself and not joined politics, he may have stayed around," points out Samanta.
Samanta has no qualms about his not-so-successful career after the '80s. "I just couldn't bring myself to direct or produce hardcore action movies. My soft touch was no longer in demand and I had to exit," he says with no hint of regret.
He has no intention of occupying the director's seat again. "It's not because I mind the corporatisation of films or the new actors today, I just don't want to anymore." Ask him to name his current favourites and he shakes his head and says, "None. I don't watch too many films now. I've dabbled in almost everything related to filmmaking and, at 84, I want to put my feet up..."
