Ketan Anand

"Who was Chetan Anand — and why does his cinema still carry such a deep, emotional charge? In this clip, his son Ketan Anand introduces the filmmaker behind Haqeeqat (1964), a man who ""suffered in silence for a long time,"" and the learning he received from that pain, which poured into his films. It was during this time that Kaifi Azmi wrote some of his most remarkable poems for him. The product of this collaboration was a war song that became part of India's collective memory. As Ketan Anand puts it, ""This is not a jingoistic song… this is the pain of human stupidity."" No chest-beating, but a meditation or rather a question on why we go on fighting and killing while talking of love and peace. Somewhere, it is out of this pain that one must evolve. And Anand's cinema did exactly that. This video is an excerpt from the session with Ketan Anand, Ravikant, Pavan Jha and Neville Tuli, part of the series 'Deconstructing the Film Song: A Musical Glue for Nation-Building,' presented by the Tuli Research Centre for India Studies (TRIS) as part of the 7th Self-Discovery via Rediscovering India Festival."

“Milo Na Tum to hum Ghabrayen” from Chetan Anand's Heer Raanjha (1970) is the film's song of joy. Sung by Lata Mangeshkar and Mohammed Rafi, with music by Madan Mohan and lyrics by Kaifi Azmi, it captures the first flush of love as playful delight, capturing the confusion, the shyness, the sudden overflow of happiness that makes the heart ask, “What has happened to us?” Reminiscing about the song, filmmaker Ketan Anand revealed that this was the first time in the film that the colour yellow floods the screen. This change of palette signals the change of mood. After the earlier, more restrained tones, the arrival of yellow signals spring, joy and the fullness of life. “He went bananas with this song,” said Ketan Anand about his father, who expressed that joy in this song through Bhangra (traditional Punjabi folk dance) and the vibrant colours. This video is from 'A Musical Glue for Nation-Building: Deconstructing the Film Song', presented by the Tuli Research Centre for India Studies (T.R.I.S.) at the 7th Self-Discovery via Rediscovering India Festival.

In this clip from the workshop ""A Musical Glue for Nation-Building: Deconstructing the Film Song,"" Ketan Anand, son of legendary filmmaker Chetan Anand, recalls how he brokered the casting of Navin Nischol in the lead role of Hanste Zakhm (1973), sharing a first-hand account of the decisions that shaped the film. Featuring Ketan Anand, Ravikant, Pavan Jha, and Neville Tuli as panelists, this session was presented by the Tuli Research Centre for India Studies (T.R.I.S.) at the 7th Self-Discovery via Rediscovering India Festival.