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ShareHis fascination for British cemeteries, love for research and curiosity about Indian history led him into the world of documentaries. Kareena Gianani reports
Prem Kapur reacts no differently than a debutante director as his documentary Rajghat gets ready to be premiered on Doordarshan on October 2 -- watching re-runs, feeling nervous from time to time, and biting his nails before screenings. At 76, a new idea excites him as much as his first documentary did, in 1969.
"Rajghat was the most challenging film to make. The government approached me to make a one-and-a-half-hour documentary on a samadhi but I didn't want to make a regular experience by throwing in Mahatma Gandhi's clips and a dull narration. I have chosen to involve the visitors of Rajghat."
Kapur started his career as a journalist. He worked with Dharmayug Weekly, a film magazine, in 1960. "I was flanked by Bollywood stars who made fortunes with masala movies but I longed to dabble in documentary films. I guess it was my choice of the PhD in aesthetics called Erotic sculptures in temples with special reference to Khajuraho and Konark that did it."
He had the urge to put thorough research and study into his films and explore new subjects. Triveni (1969), a documentary on the city of Allahabad was the culmination of this fancy.
However, it was his two-hour-long documentary Two Monsoons (1984) that brought him creative satisfaction and international acclaim. "It all happened by chance. I went to London to meet Sir Richard Attenborough with a story idea that was grim and dealt with occult and dead bodies. He politely refused and asked me to pursue something else, promising his support."
Kapur's career was never the same after that. He decided to answer a question that haunted him since 1949 as a young boy in Allahabad. "Our postmaster often received letters from family members of British administrators buried here, requesting to keep flowers on their graves. He passed them on to my father who entrusted me with that responsibility."
Kapur would spend hours in the cemeteries and wondered about his connection with people whose families lived across the globe. He decided to make a documentary tracing the social history of the British through their cemeteries all across India. Sir Attenborough promised to render his narration in spite of his busy schedule, and the stage was set.
Starting in 1978, Kapur visited cemeteries in 23 cities across India and then left for UK to trace their descendents. "The movie brings many unknown facts to light. For instance, I found that on an average, a British travelling 18 months by sea to reach India in 1858 only lived to see two monsoons in India. The journey and the climatic changes often proved fatal. Most of the early adventurers gained neither fame nor fortune -- just an early grave."
The result was a series of graveyards and tombstones unique to India. There was also a pattern of second and subsequent sons of a family coming here; rarely the eldest. "This was mainly because the eldest son inherited his father's fortune while the younger sons were chosen to be priests or serve the military services. They all came seeking riches to India -- escaping fates and risking lives." Kapur's movie explains how their loot from India almost funded the Industrial Revolution.
Kapur still remembers the smirk on the faces of his English technicians when he started work there. "They sniggered when I told them I wished to interview the descendents of Lord Mountbatten and Fifth Baron ofBrabourne. But, my interviews and enthusiastic narrations put an end to their speculations," he says. Kapur admits the British often gave him one-sided accounts, reluctant to talk about the atrocities committed. Most felt comfortable talking about their grandparents winning Rugby matches and their nobility to build railways and museums. Few admitted feeling worse about Indians being grossly
underpaid as employees.
In 1982, Kapur met Indira Gandhi and proposed to make a documentary on her life and she agreed. "I was humbled - she gave me 16 hours of her time and the documentary is special since it was shot six weeks before her death," he remembers.
However, after decades of filmmaking, one notices a trace of bitterness in his tone when he talks about the fate of documentaries. "I consciously chose to experiment with a genre that involves history and research. Yet, I find few takers for my films in India. I fought racial discrimination in UK to release Two Monsoons but here, few are interested to know their past. Commercial success for such films is hard to come by. I will never give up filmmaking but I wish to witness a change in attitudes here."
