Remembering a literary doyen

Bhisham Sahni’s literary skills, subtle looks and charming demeanour has made generations of readers, viewers and art connoisseurs bow with respect. Considered to be one of Hindi literature’s most prolific writers, his novels, short stories and screenplays have reached the length and breadth of the country as they have always addressed important social issues, invoking a surge of emotions and intrigue.

A five-day festival, beginning from August 6, celebrating his birth anniversary is being organised by Life-Word-Image at India Habitat Centre, which will commemorate some of the playwright’s famous works. The festival will also showcase his films along with discussions and screening of his landmark <g data-gr-id="32">composition,Tamas.</g>

On Thursday, the festival began with the screening of one of Sahni’s best films Mohan Joshi Haazir Ho, directed by Saeed Akhtar Mirza. In the film, Sahni plays the lead role where he is a tenant (Mohan Joshi), who has filed a lawsuit against his landlord (Amjad Khan) demanding the repair of a building in which he lives. The building is old and <g data-gr-id="44">dilapidated</g> but his fellow tenants have contradicting views and are not united in the cause. Hence, his (Bhisham Sahni) struggle starts from visiting selfish, rapacious lawyers (Naseeruddin Shah and Satish Shah) who promise them justice but actually refrain from doing anything for him. The film describes his pain and the trouble he goes through for six long years, portraying intense courtroom scenes, leaving the audience enthralled.

Bhisham Sahni’s role is hard-hitting and profound and the climax leaves the audience overwhelmed when the building collapses and he <g data-gr-id="34">dies</g> under it. The film highlights the plight of the common man alongside the high-handedness, <g data-gr-id="33">avidity</g> of self-indulgent legal counsels.

Sahni has also acted in films like Tamas, Little Buddha and Mr and Mrs Iyer, that was his last. In Mr and Mrs Iyer, he played the character of an old Muslim who along with his wife travel with the lead character of Meenakshi Iyer (Konkona Sen Sharma).

His play Kabira <g data-gr-id="41">Khadaa</g> Bazaar Mein that was staged on Friday revolves around the life of the 15th century poet-philosopher Kabir, portraying his complex philosophical thoughts in simple words to the masses, the poet’s deep compassion for the downtrodden and his struggle against all forms of oppression, religious intolerance and misrule.

The festival will also hold a reminiscence of Bhisham Sahni’s past accolades and literary prowess on Saturday. A discussion on Tamas will be held on Sunday, followed by screening of the film in two parts, one on Monday and the other on Tuesday.

The literary legend has received a number of awards during his lifetime, including the Padma Shri (1969) and the Padma Bhushan (1998), the Sahitya Akademi Award (1975) for Tamas and the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship (2002).