They say big things come in small packages. Ours came in a smaller envelope. Just about two weeks back, we received a letter from the Rajya Sabha Secretariat, Welfare Section, mentioning that Shastry Virudh Shastry was chosen for a screening for its officials and their family members at the GMC Balayogi Auditorium, Parliament Library Building. That was that. Soon our IDs were sent for the records and we were packing our bags for a one-day trip to Delhi, and to the Parliament! Since directors Nandita Roy and Shiboprosad Mukherjee were busy shooting their Puja film, Bohurupi, only one could make it to the screening on March 23. Didi (Nandita Roy) rushed from Bolpur on March 22 and we took the night flight to Delhi with little expectations and a lot of anticipation.
Didi, who I am confirmed will soon attain nirvana or levitate or hop about like a leaping frog as great yogis probably do, told me on the flight that there will be 25 people as this is more of a government formality than anything else. On the wrong side of 60, all that gives her happiness is to be at the shooting location and she had to leave behind what she loves the most. Validation of her work is not something I have seen her bothering ever. I fell for what she said. So there, I thought we would finish in about two hours and 20 minutes, which is precisely the running length of the film. At the Parliament Library Building, we met our family friend, Debashis Saha, who lives in Delhi and was to accompany us to the screening. For him, it was a bigger dream come true than any of us! My dream was anyway to take a picture outside the iconic structure, now that I was at the Parliament. That had to wait.
We were ushered in by an official who requested me in the politest way possible to take pictures only after the show. I was desperate. After accompanying the director duo to Jakarta recently, I came back with pictures at a local bazar that could well be passed off as our own New Market!
The government officials go by the hands of a clock and not emotions, I thought, as I stepped in with the rest into the auditorium. And I was in for a surprise. A big auditorium with a seating capacity of 900 people, it was full to the brim. Paresh Rawal, a former MP, was already present with his friends from the National School of Drama and was happy to reunite with the director and little Kabir Pahwa, who plays his grandson in the film. Shastry Virudh Shastry, remake of Bengali film Posto, is about the custody battle of a child between his parents and grandparents. Windows’ first Hindi film, which it co-produced with Viacom 18 Studios, garnered significant attention since its release, securing a spot on Netflix’s Top 10 list for an impressive 20 consecutive days and receiving accolades from both audiences and critics alike.
The film’s compelling narrative, written by Anu Singh Choudhary, along with the directors, coupled with stellar performances by an ensemble cast including Paresh Rawal, Neena Kulkarni, Manoj Joshi, Shiv Pandit, Mimi Chakraborty, Amruta Subhash, Kabir Pahwa, and others, has captivated viewers across the nation. But this was probably the biggest reward of all.
Both the veteran actor and Didi were honoured on stage in presence of Secretary Rajya Sabha, IAS Rajit Punhani, Additional Secretary (MS) Dr KS Somasekhar, Joint Secretary Sashi Bhushan and Director and Welfare Officer Badruddin Khan. While Didi kept it short, thanking the audience for appreciating her Hindi directorial debut with Shiboprosad Mukherjee, in his speech, an emotional Paresh Rawal said: “I am thankful to Nanditaji and Shiboda for entrusting me with this film. You don’t get such a character every day in your life and particularly at the stage of life I am in, father roles become the order of the day. Comedy films are important, but you also need meaningful films that help you examine and re-examine yourself and introspect your relationships. I have been a big fan of Bengali films and Bengali theatre. One cannot act well in isolation; the entire team has performed very well. I would like to thank the entire team and crew once again for this film.”
The next couple of hours passed by in a jiffy with the audience laughing, crying and clapping at the end of the film.
A moment from Shastry Virudh Shastry
One lady in the audience was so touched that she was almost in tears. “We don’t have many films nowadays that are so rooted in our culture and also make us relate to them,” she said. Amidst all this, little Kabir was surrounded by the enthusiastic crowd who picked him up, quite literally so, for selfies, groupfies and the likes. I was so worried that I kept calling him in my usual high-octane voice that was probably a shocker for everyone around. But Kabir came back smiling from ear to ear. “This is for the first time that I posed for so many selfies in one day,” he said.
Once the event ended, we followed the government officials to a beautiful dining room for a special lunch that was thrown in the honour of Team Shastry Virudh Shastry. It was a sit-down lunch, which was more of a cultural exchange. Over badam soup, breads, rice, kali dal, gobi matar, paneer, kofta, orange raita, kheer and gulab jamun, many expressed their love for directors from Bengal, who are known to share a deep emotional bond with the audiences across the country. It was a high for Kabir to join everyone for lunch, as his mother allowed him to savour both kheer and gulab jamun. “I am not allowed to have more than one sweet a day, but today is different,” said the seven-year-old. He has grown a little slimmer and wiser since I saw him in Panchgani during the shoot of the film. Back then, he would look for “Director Ma’am’s” validation after every scene and wouldn’t budge without taking a candy from her. I remember how the directors stayed put for more than two months in Mumbai and Panchgani for the gruelling shoot and now, I was in Delhi to witness the overwhelming love and respect that was shown to them for the efforts they had put in.
Shiboprosad, who is very philosophical in private, shared one day what Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi had told him during their meeting in Mumbai. “He said that a film is like a river and it will flow and reach its audience without you knowing.” While coming out of the Parliament Library Building, I remembered his words more than anything else. I would have got carried away if not for Didi. “It’s time for that picture,” she reminded me. I was more than happy to oblige.
