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ZIKR US PARIVASH KA
There couldn’t have been a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than to watch the beautifully filmed documentary ‘Zikr us parivash ka,’ commemorating 100 years of the Ghazal Queen, Begum Akhtar. Part of the ongoing Apeejay Literary Festival, the hour long documentary was shown at Max Muller Bhawan at Park Mansions.
It isn’t easy to film and narrate the life of an artist as beloved as Begum Akhtar. But Nirmal Chander covers her life with great care, bringing out delicate flavours and nuances of an era, now long bygone.
With a beautiful balance of information, research and evocative story-telling, the film brings out the maestro’s life and journey, right from the time of her birth to a courtesan, Mushtari Bai, her early days in Faizabad, her rise to fame, her subsequent marriage to the well to do lawyer, Abbasi, her giving up of music post marriage and then her second stint with music after her recital on All India Radio and her performance in Calcutta.
All along, there are sensitive and heart warming anecdotes shared by a variety of people: musicians, music lovers as well as her distant relatives and students. Featured in the video are names such as Yatindra Mishra, Shruti Shudolikar, Shanti Hiranand, Saleem Kidwai, Arvind Parikh and others.
Some of her choicest ghazals and thumris appear most appropriately with visuals, captured beautifully on the camera by cinematographer Ranjan Palit. The film is shot across Lucknow, Calcutta and Mumbai. The film maker takes the trouble to trace her journey till the very end of her life, right up to her mazaar in Lucknow where she is buried next to her mother, Mushtari bai. Quite aptly, the background ghazal at that moment is ‘Humko mita sake yeh zamaane mein dum nahi...’
One cannot thank Sangeet Natak Akademi for commissioning Nirmal Chander who has done complete justice to an artist who continues to stir millions of hearts and whose voice and style of singing have remained unmatched. If only, they would release the film on DVDS for one to watch at leisure and share with others as well.
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