The Face On The Screen

While​ ​he​ ​was​ ​at​ ​school​ ​V​ ​Shantaram​ ​became​ ​known​ ​for​ ​his​ ​mimicry​ ​and​ ​so,​ ​he readily​ ​agreed​ ​when​ ​the​ ​stage​ ​actor​ ​Govindrao​ ​Tembe​ ​recruited​ ​him​ ​for​ ​the Gandharva​ ​Natak​ ​Mandali​ ​which​ ​he​ ​had​ ​established​ ​with​​ ​fellow​ ​actors​​ ​Ganpatrao Bodas​ ​and​ ​Bal​ ​Gandharva.​ ​However,​ ​his​ ​first brush​ ​with​ ​acting​ ​was​ ​not​ ​successful.

A ​rude​ ​shock​ ​awaited​ ​Shantaram​.​ ​On​ ​his very​ ​first​ ​day​ ​there,​ ​he​ ​realised​ ​that​ ​he​ ​could​ ​not​ ​sing​ ​and​ ​had​ ​no​ ​sense​ ​of​ ​music. Those were​ ​the​ ​days​ ​of​ ​musical​ ​plays​ ​and​ ​this​ ​inability​ ​damned​ ​Shantaram.​ ​He​ ​could​ ​at​ ​best be​ ​a​ ​junior​ ​artiste​ ​or​ ​a​ ​back-stage​ ​hand.​ ​A​ ​year​ ​later,​ ​Shantaram​ ​returned​ ​home​ ​vowing never​ ​to​ ​return​ ​to​ ​the​ ​theatre.

V.​ ​Shantaram’s​ ​golden​ ​moment​ ​came​ ​when​ ​he​ ​played​ ​the​ ​young​ ​farmer​ ​in​ ​a​ ​film​ ​which became​ ​a​ ​classic​ ​of​ ​Indian​ ​cinema:​ ​​Savkari​ ​Pash​​ ​​aka​ ​The​ ​Indian​ ​Shylock​ ​(1925)​. Based​ ​on​ ​a​ ​short​ ​​ ​novel​ ​by​ ​​Narayan​ ​Hari​ ​Apte.​ ​The​ ​film​ ​told the​ ​true-to-life story​ ​of​ ​a​ ​young​ ​farmer​ ​who​ ​is​ ​caught​ ​in​ ​a​ ​debt​ ​trap​ ​by​ ​the​ ​village​ ​money-lender. ​The film​ ​anticipated​ ​the​ ​Neo-realist​ ​style​ popularized​ ​by​ ​the​ ​Italian​ ​filmmakers almost​ ​a​ ​quarter​ ​of​ ​a​ ​century​ ​later.

In​ ​the​ ​same​ ​year​ ​he​ ​was​ ​seen​ ​in​ ​three​ ​other​ ​films:​ ​​Shahala​ ​Shah​ ​(translation: Checkmate)​;​ ​Rana​ ​Hamir;​ ​​Maya​ ​Bazar​ ​(translation:​ ​Market​ ​of​ ​Illusions).​​ ​He continued​ ​to​ ​act​ ​in​ ​other​ ​films​ ​till​ ​he​ ​made​ ​his​ ​debut​ ​as​ ​a​ ​director​ ​in​ ​1927​ ​with​ ​​Netaji Palkar​:​ ​​Gaja​ ​Gauri​ ​(1926);​ ​Bhakt​ ​Prahlad ​(1926);​ ​Murliwala​ ​(1927);​ ​Sati​ ​Savitri (1927)​.

Another​ ​highlight​ ​of​ ​Shantaram's​ ​“acting”​ ​career​ ​was​ ​​Udaykal​ ​aka​ ​Thunder​ ​of​ ​the​ ​Hills (1931),​​ ​based​ ​on​ ​the​ ​story​ ​of​ ​warrior​ ​King​ ​Shivaji.​ ​Shantaram​ ​not​ ​only​ ​directed​ ​the​ ​film but​ ​also​ ​played​ ​the​ ​title​ ​role​ ​of​ ​Shivaji.​ ​Earlier​ ​titled​ ​Swarajyache​ ​Toran​ ​(translation:​ ​Flag of​ ​Self-rule),​ ​it​ ​was​ ​re-titled​ ​because​ ​the​ ​Censor​ ​Board​ ​saw​ ​it​ ​as​ ​an​ ​implicit​ ​​ ​attempt​ ​to propagate​ ​the​ ​national​ ​movement.

Shantaram’s​ ​return​ ​to​ ​histrionics​ ​was​ ​quite​ ​accidental.​ ​By the 1940s he​ ​had​ become ​a​ ​director​ ​of​ ​repute.​ ​In​ ​1944​ ​he​ ​picked​ ​up​ ​the​ ​rights​ ​of​ ​a​ ​real​ ​life novella​ ​by​ ​K.A. Abbas​ ​​And​ ​One​ ​Did​ ​Not​ ​Come​ ​Back​,​ ​about​ ​Dr​ ​Dwarkanath​ ​Kotnis,​ ​a Sholapur​ ​doctor​ ​who,​ ​with​ ​four​ ​other​ ​Indian​ ​doctors,​ ​went​ ​to​ ​China​ ​on​ ​a​ ​mercy mission​ ​during​ ​the​ ​Second​ ​Sino-Japanese​ ​War.​ ​The​ ​script​ ​was​ ​completed​ ​in​ ​1945​ ​and casting​ ​began​ ​in​ ​right​ ​earnest.

Four​ ​actors​ ​were​ ​quickly​ ​cast​ ​(Salvi,​ ​Ulhas,​ ​Hudlikar​ ​and​ ​Jankidas)​ ​but​ ​the​ ​actor​ ​to play​ ​the​ ​main​ ​role​ ​of​ ​Dwarkanath​ ​Kotnis​ ​eluded​ ​Shantaram.​ ​The​ ​story​ ​goes​ ​that,​ ​one day,​ ​while​ ​shaving​, ​Shantaram​ ​noticed​ ​the​ ​close​ ​resemblance​ ​he​ bore to ​the​ ​doctor and​ so, ​quickly ​cast​ ​himself​ ​in​ ​the​ ​role​ ​of​ ​Dr​ ​Kotnis.​​ ​​Jayashree​ ​was​ ​the automatic​ ​choice​ ​for​ ​his​ ​lady​ ​love,​ ​the​ ​nurse​ ​Ching​ ​Lan.

Soon​ ​after​ ​the​ ​release​ ​of​ ​​Dr.​ ​Kotnis​ ​Ki​ ​Amar​ ​Kahani​​ ​Shantaram​ ​re-edited​ ​the​ ​film​ ​and readied​ ​the​ ​English​ ​version​ ​​The​ ​Journey​ ​of​ ​Dr​ ​Kotnis​.​​ ​The​ ​English​ ​version​ ​was​ ​shown at​ ​the​ ​India​ ​League​ ​in​ ​London​ ​and​ ​eventually​ ​bought​ ​for​ ​distribution​ ​in​ ​England.

Shantaram’s​ ​next​ ​foray​ ​into​ ​acting​ ​was​ ​also​ ​by​ ​happenstance.​​ ​Parchhain​ ​(translation: Shadow)​ ​(1952)​​ ​was​ ​not​ his​ ​kind​ ​of​ ​story​ ​but,​ ​strapped​ ​for​ ​cash​ ​due​ ​to​ ​a​ ​major​ ​studio​ ​rehaul,​ ​he started​ ​work​ ​on​ ​the​ ​story​ ​by​ ​Shams​ ​Lakhnavi​ ​(who​ ​had​ ​also​ ​written​ ​​Dahej​).​ ​Then Jayashree​ ​fell​ ​ill​ ​and​ ​the​ ​film​ ​kept​ ​getting​ ​postponed.​ ​Eventually,​ ​Shantaram,​ ​fed​ ​up​ ​with his​ ​original​ ​lead​ ​actor,​ ​decided​ ​to​ ​play​ ​the​ ​lead​ ​himself.

As​ ​expected​ ​the​ ​film​ ​sank​ ​without​ ​a​ ​trace and is​ now ​a mere​ ​footnote​ ​in​ ​Shantaram’s​ ​career.​ ​If​ there is ​anything​ ​noteworthy​ ​they​ ​are​ ​the​ ​few​ ​bare-chested photos​ ​of​ ​the​ ​legendary​ ​director.​ ​He​ ​is​ ​probably​ ​the​ ​only​ ​“leading​ ​man”​ ​of​ ​that​ ​era​ ​to appear​ ​bare-chested​ ​thus​ ​anticipating​ ​Dara Singh's and Salman​ ​Khan’s​ ​shirtless​ ​acts​ ​by​ ​several​ ​decades.

Shantaram’s next film ​Do Aankhen Barah Haath ​aka ​Two Hands Twelve Eyes (1957) saw a return of form: a fine blend of entertainment with social commitment. The film is based on a true-life incident which took place in the small kingdom of Aundh in pre-Independent​ ​India.

​Do Aankhen Barah Haath ​tells of an idealistic jailor who is given permission to try out his concept of open-jail reform on six hardened criminals and how he keeps them together with sheer moral force. Shantaram's natural ruggedness was so appropriate for the film that it's​ ​difficult​ ​visualise​ ​any​ ​other​ ​actor​ ​of​ ​that​ ​era​ ​playing​ ​the​ ​Jailor​ ​Adinath.

Why Shantaram made ​Stree (translation: The Woman) (1961) is a mystery because he had never believed in remakes. Why he played the role of the young lovelorn King Dushyant is an even greater mystery since, by then, he was in his 60s. A clue can be found to both mysteries in his autobiography Shantarama.

“When I made​ Shakuntala in 1943 I was too immature to understand the true nature of Kalidas’s great work. Working on ​Stree gave me great satisfaction.” ​Stree​​ ​was​ ​Shantaram’s​ ​last​ ​film​ ​as​ ​an​ ​actor.​ ​Though​ ​he​ ​continued​ ​to​ ​direct​ ​for​ ​the​ ​next quarter​ ​of​ ​a​ ​century​ ​- ​well​ ​into​ ​the​ ​mid​ ​1980s​ ​-​ ​he​ ​never​ ​acted​ ​again.

​In​ ​an​ ​acting career​ ​which​ ​spanned​ ​an​ ​amazing​ ​40​ ​years​ ​(1921-1961)​ ​he​ ​acted​ ​in​ ​25​ ​films​ ​--​ ​three​ ​of which​ ​are​ ​landmark​ ​films​ ​in​ ​the​ ​history​ ​of​ ​Hindi​ ​cinema​ ​(Savkari​ ​Pash,​ ​Dr​ ​Kotnis​ ​Ki Amar​ ​Kahani​ ​and​ ​Do​ ​Aankhen​ ​Barah​ ​Haath).​ ​By​ ​an​y ​assessment​ ​this​ ​is​ ​an​ ​incredible feat​ ​considering​ ​that​ ​he​ ​was​ ​only​ ​an​ ​incidental​ ​actor​ ​--​ ​a​ ​fact​ ​which​ ​is​ ​eclipsed​ ​by​ ​his phenomenal​ ​directorial​ ​career.​ ​Truly​ ​he​ ​was​ ​the​ ​first​ ​Renaissance​ ​Filmmaker​ ​of​ ​India.