A friend passes away in a far off land

We had many foreign students studying in various departments during my days at the Film Institute (1968-71). They were mostly from Afghanistan, Africa, Singapore and from neighbouring countries  Nepal, Bhutan, Ceylon etc.Each course had quota for two Foreign students and were mostly filled up. In our Cinematography class were Prem Kumar Upadhyaya from Nepal and Naapo Gbande from Ghana. Since Prem knew Hindi very well, we never felt he was a foreigner. Naapo was the most silent one who always spoke in a soft voice.Though he was much older than many of us, he looked young , tall and trim with a thin figure.  Away from home he was a little bit homesick and  always had a worried look. In due course we all became friends and he became happy and concentrated in his studies.

As a model in Lighting exercise

 

We used to have Lighting exercises in our Still Photography classes and we ourselves used to stand in as Model for each others practicals. Also we worked as a three member unit for our cinematography exercises etc.  Remember the photo, I published many years back in this Blog which was the main reason for me to write this Blog on my Institute days. The person pushing the dolly is Naapo Gbande and I am there holding the reflector while Jaya Bhaduri faces the camera handled by Mr.Edwards.

 

Camera Practicals - Naapo pushing the Dolly

 

During the strike at the Film  Institute, all foreign students supported me and stood by me at all times. In fact Naapo and David Ankora ( Sound Engineering) were always beside me to protect me from any intended attack by the Acting students.

 

David, me and Naapo

 When it was time to leave the Institute a whole lot of my foreign friends turned up at the railway station to see me off. Almost half of my friends in the photograph are from far off lands.

 

Send off at Poona Railway station

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We parted ways....immersed in our life and work we could not communicate with them later on. Meanwhile my batch mates Ramlal Agarwal and Debu Deodhar passed away  some years back. Last month in the International Dilm Festival of Kerala held at Thiruvananthapuram there were some films from Ghana. I wanted to meet those film makers to inquire about my old friends Naapo and  David. But somehow I missed meeting them. I thought of using the Internet to start searching for Naapo and I came to know of the sad news that he passed away on October 17 th 2015.

Naapo in Ghana

 

Given below is an  obituary written by Kouame Koulibaly :

A great cinematographer is gone

The film industry in Ghana lost one of its extremely brilliant cinematographers when Mr Naapo Gbande  died on October 17, 2015  at the 37 Military Hospital in Accra. He was 76.

Mr Gbande worked for several years with the defunct Ghana Film Industry Corporation (GFIC) where he shot numerous newsreels, documentaries and feature films.

He later moved on to the National Film and Television  Institute (NAFTI) as a lecturer and many of the current professional cinematographers in this country passed through his hands.

The soft-spoken Mr Gbande worked as the cinematographer on several projects with veteran film director, Mr Kwaw Ansah, who described him as an extremely creative and diligent collaborator.

“I worked with him on Harvest At 17, Love Brewed In The African Pot, Heritage Africa and several television commercials.

“He always tried to get images that truly complemented the essence of whatever was being shot. His work brought true meaning  to the functions of a DOP  on a film set,” Mr Ansah said.

A native of Kpandai in the Northern Region, Mr Gbande realised early in life that photography  was his calling and he diligently pursued it throughout his working life. Mr Gbande was trained in film photography at the Film and Television Institute of India at Pune in the Indian state of Maharashtra.

Experienced lighting technician, Mr Tetteh ‘Wrally’ Apain,  worked with Mr Gbande on numerous productions and they remained close friends.

“I enjoyed being on a set with him because he always knew what he was about. He truly understood what photography was about and every lighting technician cherished his presence during productions,” Mr Apain said about his late friend.

Apart from his teaching and practical work, Mr  Gbande was also a facilitator at several cinema workshops  in this country and abroad and he published practical guides on lighting and camera movement.

The  late cinematographer will be buried on Saturday, November 14, 2015 at the Madina Cemetery in Accra.  He will be sorely missed by the film making fraternity.  

Adieu my friend, though we couldn't meet afterwards your memory will always linger in our minds forever. Rest In Peace

Ganesh Chaturthi at Poona - 1968

Now that Ganesh Chaturthi is being celebrated with all pomp and grandeur all over India, in those days it was celebrated only  inside homes at  Southern parts of  India. It was much a low key celebration confined to the temples and homes. In my childhood the clay Ganesha idols were individually hand crafted by the potter. I too used make my own Ganesha idol with clay for worshiping at home. Later on came the ready made moulds on which clay was applied and the idol was ready in minutes. Then it grew bigger and bigger with plaster of Paris idols, chemical dyes etc..   I had first experienced a big Ganesh Chaturthi procession, with huge crowds dancing with the drum beats and celebration  in 1968 at Poona. It  was also my first time  living in Northern  India. At that time I was a student of First year Diploma  course in Motion Picture Photography at the Film Institute. There were quite a few festivals like Naag Panchami, Holi, Ganesh Chaturthi etc which were widely celebrated.

Along with a few of  my classmates I  went to watch the Ganesh Chaturthi celebration and also to take some photos.R.S.Agarwal and Debu Deodhar were  from Poona and were our local guides and took us around to various places.

One of the Floats

Debu found a float from his area in the procession and took me also for a short ride in the celebrations and also posed with his friends for a photo. It was really a memorable experience, which rush to my mind when seeing vehicles carrying Ganesha idols pass by in front of my house, at Thiruvananthapuram !

With  Debu Deodhar on my Right

D.Gautaman , Genius away from the limelight

When I joined the Film Institute, Poona in 1968  one of the Diploma Films from the earlier batch which impressed me most was " A Love Tale" which was Directed by D.Gautaman. The way a car accident sequence's  shots were edited was a real eye opener of how shots can be taken and used to create an impact much like the famous shower scene in PSYCHO directed by  Alfred  Hitchcock. The film went on to win many awards Nationally and Internationally. His  student Documentary " The Builders" also won a few awards.

D. Gautaman, as student at Film Institute

 A brilliant student, Gautaman passed out from the Film Institute with Gold Medal along with Prem Sagar ( Motion Picture Photography) and Navin Nischol (Acting)  who both became stars in their respective fields.

At the Convocation -  Front row, extreme right is Gautaman and next to him is Prem Sagar

I was sure that Gautaman will definitely  become a great feature film maker in the Indian Film scenario. For some time he had worked in the Institute as part time lecturer and had also directed a Diploma film "A View from the Fort" in which Radha Saluja did the lead role and I think cienematography was done by Bala Mahendran. It was during his sojourn at the Institute I had the the opportunity to get acquainted with him.He was quiet by nature, with an unassuming personality.It was he who proclaimed that John Abraham was a Genius, says his friend and alumni Kabeer Rowther.

Gautaman later on joined Shri Ramu Kariat to assist him in the Malayalam Feature film ABHAYAM. It ws he who recommended Bala Mahendran as a talented Cinematographer to Director Ramu Kariat  and brought him to Madras from Ceylon. In those days except for Acting students in Bombay few of the Institute Graduates could get a break in the film industry. He found it hard to face  life's insecurities at the Film Industry and sought security of Government job at the Films Division. I was told that he was selected for the job of Producer by none other than the great V. Shantaram. He was much impressed when during the interview Gautaman recollected from memory a long list of films directed by Shantaram !

For Films Division he had produced many Nationally and Internationally award winning Documentaries and rose up to the top as the Chief Producer and retired. Though he ws a native of Kerala, he settled with his family in Bangalore. After retirement  he became a Member of  Advisory Committee of U.P.S.C. While on duty in Delhi for conducting an interview he had  massive heart attack and passed away on 18 th February 2013.

D.Gautaman

He was 73, and  is survived by his wife Saramma and son Soumendhu.

It was a great loss to the Film Industry that he did not attempt to make any Feature film though he was one of the most talented Directors of our time. But Films Division becme the winner by having him at its helm and Documentaries became his forte. Film Industry's loss became Films Division's gain!

Unfortunately his passing way was not given its due importance in the media since  he chose to  work away from the limelight. All I could find only was a  small obituary note in Mathrubhumi Malayalam Newspaper.

 

He really deserves much more recognition than this. I do hope that his friends and well wishers would  come out with their memoirs and fill the void. I was told that even  on the night before his death he was talking of his time at the  Film Institute  and reminiscing about his fellow alumni who made it into the film industry.

My heartfelt condolences to his bereaving family.

Farewell Party

Hailing from different parts of India as well the world, being together in the Institute for three years, sharing experiences we have developed bonds of unbreakable friendships that lasts till today. This uniqueness I have not seen nowhere else except the FTII-ians. Even I myself do not keep in touch with my college-mates from Loyola, Madras except one who stumbled upon me in Facebook after a gap of more than 40 years! The togetherness we were enjoying at the Institute was nearing an end and soon we will walk out of its hallowed gates to seek our fortunes in the Film Industry.

Myself and Murthy had to return to Poona for a few days from our shooting at Madras to appear for our Viva Voce examinations. Our old friends were back again together and we were all happy to meet each other after a short gap. When the Viva was over it was time to bid Adieu to our friends and the Institute.

We all organized a grand Get Farewell party and had a pleasant evening at a hotel in Deccan Gymkhana. Here are the memories from that night :

After dinner Group Photo

(From L to R - K.Ramachandra Murthy, Sushil K Jolly, Harish Gupta,
K. Ramachandra Babu, Prem Kumar Upadhyay, Naapo Gbande, Ramlal Agarwal, Venugopal Thakker, K. K.Jaiswal, Anil Dhanda, S D Deodhar and Surendra Sahu)

To see us off back to Madras not only our whole batch but also friends from other departments and also friendly foreign students turned up at the Poona Railway station.

At Poona Railway Station

Another friend passes away

One of our senior most Film Institute graduate, director Aziz (P.M. Abdul Aziz) passed away at his residence on Saturday, April 18, 2010. He was 75.

He was one of the first FTII graduates from Kerala to direct a feature film. AVAL (1967) featured Madhu, Adoor Bhasi, K.P. Ummer, Bahadur and Usha Nandini. Scripted by Thoppil Bhasi, the film had songs written by Vayalar Rama Varma, Music by G. Devarajan. and cinematography by Mankada Ravi Varma. His other feature films were NJAVALPAZHANGAL, ATYUNNADHANGALIL KOODARAM PANITHAVAR and MAANPEDA. Later on he went on making documentaries, produced and directed 37 of them.

He started his career as a school teacher. His interest in art and culture made him leave his job and plunge into theatre. Chaverppada, written by him, won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi award in 1973. The play was staged at a national theatre festival in 1975. He directed TV productions including Sayahna Kodathi, Kavikal Kalpanakal and Ennappadam.

He is survived by his wife, a son and two daughters.

I met Aziz in 1972 while I was staying at Madras sharing a flat with Prabhakaran and K.G George both alumni from the Institute. As it was also frequented by others from the Institute like John Abraham and Editor Ravi, our place was nicknamed POONA HOME by Malayalam Actor Adoor Bhasi who was also our neighbour. Aziz used to come there to meet Prabhakaran who was also the Producer of the film MAANPEDA directed by Aziz. During one of his visits, he asked me to work in a Documentary for the Government of Kerala, titled "Tribal Life in Kerala" in Eastman colour. For that documentary we had travelled right from Thenmala in the south of Kerala to Kannur at the northern end. We did cover a large number of tribes in Attapady and Sultan's Battery too. It was a very interesting and unforgettable experience walking through the forests and climbing mountains to meet those remote tribal people.

Once, after our shoot at deep jungle area in Kannavam forests, near Kannur , we lugged our equipments back for many kilometres, to find our only car's tyre flat and there was no spare tyre either. Also we did not have a jack to lift the car. It was getting dark and we were a few kilometres away from the nearest road. With the help of the people we lifted the car, placed some stones underneath it, and removed the tyre. The driver then rolled it to the nearest road, caught a bus, got the puncture repaired and finally returned at 10 PM. Till then we were waiting in the jungle with a campfire to protect us from the wild animals.

When the film's negative was being it was found that a roll of 400 feet colour negative was found missing from the editing room. Inspite of many days of searching it was not to be found and we had only the black and white rush print of the missing footage with us. With the deadline approaching, we had no other go but to make dupe negative from the black and white print and while printing appropriate colour tints were added to make it look like a colour film! Months after the print was handed over to the Government department, the missing roll of colour negative was discovered in the editing room. By then it was too late to do anything.

When he showed the film for approval, the authorities insisted on including few shots of the concerned Minister too. At that time I was in Madras and with my consent he hired a camera and cameraman from Trivandrum to take the shots of the Minister at the Secretariat but he could get only a few bits of black and white negative ! Finally I had to print those shots too with a sepia tint to make it a colour film.

Later on I used to meet him often at the International Film Festival of Kerala , last time being a few years back. I convey my heartfelt sympathies to the bereaved family members.

I pray for his Soul to Rest in Peace

Film Institute Badge

A specially designed Badge was issued on the occassion of the the Tenth Anniversary of the founding of the Film Institute. It was a very small one of about an inch in height, and of interesting design. Many might not have seen it or aware of such a thing. In the earlier days I used to pin it on to my cap while shooting. Even now, I still have it with me as a memento.

Film Institute Badge

(Actual Size)

An Old Photograph

I found this photograph in my collection which was taken in 1968-69. You can see the Wisdom Tree in the background and the Studio Number One behind it. On the left is the Principal's Office and on the right is the class room theatre. I could recognize myself holding the reflector. But who are the others?

First Year - First Semester

In those days, there was only limited hostel accommodation, so I had to find some place outside sharing room with college students from Assam. The initiation ritual of “Ragging” the new comers was in full swing and since I was not staying in the hostel, I managed to elude the seniors. Of course one day the caught with me along with a few other juniors and asked us to strip to our underwear and then to go and touch the feet of a person standing near the office. We all obeyed the orders and proceeded towards him. But on seeing us coming towards him he started walking away. But we chased him and managed to touch his feet. Later on I came to know that he was the Production Manager Page ( pronounced as Pagey)

In the First year we had a Three –month orientation class where all the students except the acting students had a common curriculum including Film Appreciation, Direction, Editing, Sound Recording, Cinematography, Art Direction, History and Culture etc.

Prof. Satish Bahadur’s classes on Film Appreciation were very much liked by all students. His way of teaching was very informal. He appeared to me like the actor Omar Sharief in Dr. Zhivago! With hand rolled cigarettes, he used to show us films and explained the finer points of Cinematic art. He taught us how to read films.

Occasionally we used to have Guest lecturers giving us classes in various subjects, and one such person I remember was Mr.Achreker the Art Director of many of Raj Kapoor’s films. He told us that once an elephant refused to walk in to the set, even though they offered various goodies to it. Finally he found out the reason that below the carpet there was a tank, which was covered with wooden planks. The elephant sensed it and refused to walk on it, for fear of falling into the pit!

He told us another interesting incident. For another film they filled the tank with water for a sequence in a pond, the hero and the leading lady got in to the water and both were standing quite close to each other in waist deep water. Suddenly the lady’s face turned red and she slapped the hero! The poor hero was wondering what he had done to get slapped. Actually it was a rat from the drainage which got inside her dress and created havoc. She thought it was the hero’s hand which did this underwater mischief. Only when the rat wiggled out and swam for safety did she realize her misunderstanding.

Mr.Achreker also explained us how he erected sets in forced Perspective for Shree 420 and Awara which were really magnificent even today. The Orientation sessions familiarized us with all aspects of Film making.

A few of us who had not studied Hindi as a Subject at school were required to learn Hindi at special classes conducted in the evenings. A part time tutor was appointed for the same but the problem was he did not know English. So we could not communicate with him and then he started teaching us Urdu! Not many of us were interested in attending these useless classes, and abstained. If there are no students to teach, then he won’t get his pay. So he requested us to just sign our attendance and go off as we please.

We had a a hilarious start to our class whenever our Vice Principal Mr.Mushir Ahmed used take our Roll Call. He always called out our full names with expanded initials in a serious tone and sing song tune. The moment he starts taking the attendance the whole class will burst out with laughter, but unmindful of it he always continued it in one breath:

1. Shanker Dinkar Deodhar

2. Ramlal Saligram Agarwal

3. Kasturi Ramchandra Murthy

4. Kunjan Ramchandra Babu

5. Venugopal Khimji Thakkar

6. Krishna Kumar Jaiswal

7. Surendra Kumar Sahu

8. Anil Kumar Dhanda

9. Sushil Kanwal Jolly

10. Harish Kumar Gupta
11. Prem Kumar Upadhyay

12. Naapo Gbande.

How I joined the Film Institute

I studied in the Film Institute of India at Poona ( now Film and TV Institute of India , Pune ) during 1968 - 1971, in Motion Picture Photography.

After my B.Sc graduation in Chemistry from Loyola College, Madras I was not sure of which course to study further. So I was applying for various courses and jobs like Paper Technology, Chartered accountancy, Naval pilot etc. But I could not land up anywhere. I as a chemistry graduate familiar with photographic chemicals knew film developing and contact printing and had set up a dark room in my house. I used to take photographs with a box camera, develop the negatives and make contact prints. Some times I would borrow a folding camera with faster shutter speed and aperture settings from a photographer friend and take photographs with it. Once I took a photograph of my brother jumping from a wall from a low angle which turned out, as if he was jumping from a coconut tree. I sent it to a Weekly Tamil magazine "Kalki" and was published. That was my first published Photograph.

I was also interested in drawing and painting. During the idle days at home I bought some poster colours and copied some popular calender pictures for practice. I also tried my hand in oil painting too. Once I seriously thought of joining Santiniketan and obtained application forms for admission to Painting course. When I found that it was a Five Year course, I decided to drop the idea. Then it happened that I came across an advertisement for admission to the Film Institute of India. I used to see Hollywood films while at college and liked films like Lawrence of Arabia, Dr.Zhivago, Ryan's Daughter, Cleopatra etc which were well known for excellent cinematography as well as interesting narrations. Apart from that I did not have much interest in films. I thought why not try this new course even though I have not heard any thing about the Film Institute before seeing the advertisement.

I applied for admission for the Three year Diploma Motion Picture Photography, D.C.(M.P.P) and the written entrance examination was conducted at Adarsh Vidyalaya, Madras, which was the centre for all South Indian States. I happened to make friends with a few candidates appearing for the examinations and exchanged addresses. I remember one person in particular who knew a lot about international cinema and had answered all questions correctly while my knowledge was restricted to only Hollywood Cinema! That was his first visit to Madras and didn't know his way back to Central Station and I having studied there told him the directions and the bus numbers to Central Station. His name is K.G.George who became my best friend and my Director for several acclaimed Malayalam films like Swapnadanam, Kolangal, Yavanika, Adaminte Variyellu etc.

When the results of the entrance examination came I found that I had passed the test and was called for a personal interview at Poona. Knowing that my father will not send me to such a far off place just for an interview,I told a lie that I have already got selected for admission to the Institute. Since I had never traveled to northern India before that, I contacted some of the candidates who said that they will meet me at the Poona railway station. So I stated from my home town to Madras with my bags and baggage along with my father who came to see me off. On the way the taxi car broke down and we had to take a bus to Madras. At the station I was told that the Compartment in which I had reserved a ticket was cancelled! But somehow they provided me alternative accommodation. The Omens are not good, I thought.

I reached Poona safely and my friends were there to receive me and I stayed with them. The next day I went to the Institute for the Interview and I had the shock of my life. There were nearly 150 candidates for the 10 seats and most of them were carrying bundle of albums of photographs. Many of them were sons of Photographers or photo studio owners etc. Some of them were even carrying sophisticated cameras too. What chance I had against such people. I only knew a few things about photography and all I had with me was the only published photo of my brother. Of course I had a few water colour and two oil paintings done by me too. My worry was what to tell my parents if I fail to get admission at the Institute. With what face I will return home since I told everyone in my place that I have already secured admission. I decided to go to my cousin's place in Gujarat and try for a job there if I fail in the Interview.



My turn for the interview came and I was called in. Principal Jagat Murari, Vice Principal Mushir Ahmed, Professor of Cinematography C.V.Gopal, Cinematographer R.D.Mathur and another person were there. It so happened that a photograph was taken while I was being interviewed and it was published in the next year's Brochure! (See Photo above) I was afraid that they will ask me some complicated questions about cameras, lenses, optics etc. They saw me carrying some rolls of paper and asked me what it was. They were my paintings and they asked me questions about the use of colours and composition etc. In the meantime I was asked about my experience in photography and I showed them the only Photo.

The interview was over before noon and the results will be put up only by evening. I was tense and unsure of the results. So to while away the time along with other friends I went to see a film "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" and after the show had Masal Dosa and coffee at the Indian coffee House. It was dark and raining when we reached back at the Institute around 7 P.M. We entered the room where the results are displayed and switched on the lights. It was a great surprise that my name was second on the List of selected candidates. That was a turning point in my life. Finally I got admitted in th Film Institute of India, in spite of the ill omens when I started from home!. Unfortunately none of my friends except K.G.George could secure admission that year.