After 25 years, Govind Nihalani’s Tamas will feature again on the small screen. He talks to Iknoor Kaur about its making, the impact it had when it was aired on Doordarshan and about his forthcoming 3D animation film
There are many films on Partition, but one that stands out amongst all is Govind Nihalani’s Tamas. Nihalani always wanted to make a film on Partition, but felt incompetent to do so. In 1980 he went to Sri lanka and his eyes fell on a book called Tamas, meaning darkness. The name intrigued him and once he started reading it, he didn’t put it down. He says that the book helped him deal with a sensitive topic. After 25 years of the release of the film, it will be screened on HISTORY TV18 on August 15.
The 72-year-old director confessed that this film was a depiction of his memories, of fear and panic from 1947. He elaborated on how the film finally took shape. “I am a product of Partition. My family came to India in 1947 and I was a toddler then. I have seen blood oozing out of people and felt fear in its truest form. So, for me it is something I feel strongly about. I was a second unit director and cameraman on the film Gandhi in 1980 and I happened to go to Sri lanka and it all started from there. During that period I was at a party where I met Gill who was heading Doordarshan at that time. I asked him whether he would think of a project like this on television. I sent him a proposal and for six months didn’t hear from him. Then I met him again and after a month I got the letter, but there was no one ready to sponsor the film because of its controversial element. Eventually, lalit Bijlani of Blaze Films called me and I mentioned this to him. The whole thing started rolling from there.”
Govind has always considered television a stronger medium than films. He justified, “The response I got to Tamas was like an eye-opener. The viewer doesn’t see the whole story in one go. They see it in parts and make opinions based on the part they see. So the impact on people was much more than imagined.”
He faced a lot of criticism too. “I was under police protection for four weeks. A lot of people also thought I was trying to blame Hindus for the Partition and there was so much agitation. When you watch a story on television, people respond to the episodes. Their response changes by the end of the series. I love this about television,” he shared. Nihalani feels that the present generation must watch Tamas. He said, “I think they will be keen to know on what cost we have achieved freedom.”
The director throughout his vast career, ranging from Aakrosh to Dev, which was his last film in 2004, has experimented with subjects. He says that none of his film was made to earn money. “I have never made a commercial film. If I would have, I think I would have been much more successful than I am today. The issues in all my stories have been slightly more serious than what we find in mainstream films,” he said.
Om Puri was a common face in his films. The filmmaker added that today with actors willingly experimenting with different films, the job of directors has become simpler. He shared, “It is good to see young talent in the industry. The actors are more refined and focussed. They are not scared to experiment. Today’s directors also have the right kind of attitude. They too are young and have their own vision. New scripts are being written and they are approaching cinema with courage.”
Since 2004, Govind has not directed any film. However, he revealed to us the details of his forthcoming film.
“I started working on a 3D animation film right after Dev. There were a few problems I faced, but now the movie is finally over and should released soon. It is called Kamlu Happy Happy. Kamlu is a baby camel and it is about his adventures in Rajasthan.” He will also be doing a Marathi and a Hindi film.