[Reader-list] Papa ajoba

[mahmood farooqui]

Dear Anuja,

I have hugely enjoyed your blog on Papa Ajuba. The pictures too are
lovely and highly evocative, can't imagine camera assistants wearing
ties in today's times, anywhere. We have such few film histories
anyway that memoirs like these becomely doubly useful, apart from
charting the personal journey of your grandfather, they stand for
filling in missing links for the way films were actually made as well
as the material culture of their making. The details on the make up
material and how it was prepared was wonderful, as was the encounter
with Shammi Kapur, at a theatre festival at a college, no less! I want
to ask your grandfather a few questions-did he have a criterion for
judging the quality of a film other than its success in the market?
Were there directors known for doing good, clean work? What sense did
they have of international cinema? How and when did the star system
come into vogue? Since he was familiar with pre-47 style of
filmmaking, did he notice a sharp break or a break of any sort once
the studio system broke down and newer producers came into the
picture? I am particularly keen on unearthing the arrival and origin
of the star system in the 50s...

Many thanks for the work...