Frank Capra: The Age of Capra Corns and Why we will Always need A bit of Them in our Lives

Frank Capra and James Stewart

If movies could move the masses, then surely the man expected of directing them would have the name of Frank Capra. One among the long line of Italian migrants who made it to the United States and consequently Hollywood, Capra is one of the finest embodiment of the American Dream coming true.

18th of May,2020 marks the 123rd birth anniversary of the most celebrated filmmaker of the Depression Era. A chemical engineering graduate of the Throop College of Technology (later the California Institute of Technology), who once couldn't find job in his field and consequently turned to art, films and poetry, having discovered them while in college. The rags to riches story of Capra is in itself an inspiration.

It's a Wonderful Life

If you start looking for films made by Capra, the first recommendation that pops up, would surely have the name of It's a Wonderful Life (1946). This is an absolute classic that you watch with your whole family, sitting by the fireplace and the sparkling Christmas tree by your side. However the movie was a complete flop on its release and found popularity with the television audience of the 70s, rechristening it as something like a Christmas Carol for generations to come. The simple reason behind this, was the fact that Capra's movies found the love of the audience in the Depression Era and this film was a post WWII effort, when most of the audience could no longer identify with his political/religious beliefs and values. America had surely undergone a drastic change in a matter of years and preferred realism over high ideals of the yore.

Meet John Doe

The messages that Capra wanted to put forward through his films, dwelt on the good and evil prevalent in the society, with evil predominantly breathing down the neck of good. The triumph of the often lone warrior (read protagonist) of the good cause takes place ultimately, but only after arduous trials. The messages from these larger than life protagonists of the Capra Corns, form some of the most memorable monologues in the history of American films.

No other filmmaker dominated a decade in American film history like Frank Capra did. The 30s were his years and the audience lapped up whatever he offered them on screen. The films of Capra were larger than life and were often to a certain extent hard to believe portrayal of the American Dream and its people. But they served the purpose and kept the spirits of staggering Depression Era economy, high.

Mr Deeds Goes to Town

The villains in Capra's films were not nefarious gangsters or cold blooded serial killers. They were the white collared bankers, the crooked media moguls and of course the leech like politicians. The protagonists were often idealistic, incorruptible, capable but simple minded small town men who get embroiled in the muck of city life after being invited there by the villains of the high chair. These villains of course wish to take them for a ride but are outwitted by the heroes of high principles and strong values. The leading ladies are pawns of the villains in the beginning but get slowly reformed by being in company of the good-natured and pure heroes and fall in love with them.

The stories of his biggest hits, Mr Deeds Goes to Town (1936), Mr Smith Goes to Washington (1939) or Meet John Doe (1941), You Can't Take It with You (1938) with their dosage of high ideals and wishful thinking will come across as over the top, melodramatic and too sentimental, especially today. However, in their defense one can always say, that these films were made to deliver a certain message to the masses and they served their purpose perfectly. They spoke of the David-Goliathesque battles between the pure and the corrupted, the helpless and the greedy. People needed these films to hold on to their hopes and continue their struggle in the war torn times of the Great Depression.

Mr Smith Goes to Washington

" Movies should be a positive expression that there is hope, love, mercy, justice and charity. . . . It is (the filmmaker’s) responsibility to emphasize the positive qualities of humanity by showing the triumph of the individual over adversities." ---- Frank Capra.

One has to always remember that Frank Capra was no stranger to entertaining the masses and a perfectionist. Other than, the somewhat didactic films that I have spoken of earlier. He made some rip roaring screwball comedies and adventure films. These include It Happened One Night (1934), the delightful dark comedy Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) ( Cary Grant is a riot here ), tales of adventure and self discovery in  Lost Horizon (1937), The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1931).

It Happened One Night

We have all heard about the Nazi propaganda films commissioned by Goebbels and Hitler. But many of us are unaware of similar films made by the USA to cheer up the Allied soldiers as well as the American people. Yes, these films too were made by Capra after WWII broke out and are a part of his Why We Fight series of documentaries commissioned by the government of the United States of America.

Arsenic and Old Lace

The term Capra Corn referring to the movies made by Frank Capra was never a title of endearment thrust upon the films by the critics. They got the name because the films were characterized by too much of sentimentality and too much of idealism. They were larger than lives, the characters, sometimes the story too. The kind of world we live in today and where people lived in the 30s accepted them with a pinch of salt, knowing how far the Capra Corns strayed from reality sometimes. Capra showed struggle, the working class fighting against the politicians, industrialists, people in power. Some part of it is of course taken from Capra's life itself, where he struggled to meet ends and fought against his own family to get proper education and make his American Dream come true.

We would all like to have people like Capra's heroes in our lives. Someone so pure and painted in white that he takes care of the troubles of all that surround him. The chosen one is hard to find and people still find it difficult to accept that they are just another cog in the mean machine, as it was in the 30s too. However that doesn't mean we stop helping each other, if we try, as Capra had preached we could solve each others' problems and try to live in peace and good health. Watch these Capra Corns if you are on the lookout for some inspiration, something to cheer you up when the times are gloomy. Oh yes, the times we are living in could indeed do with some magic of a Jefferson Smith or a George Bailey. The world needs good people, be one whenever you can, even though nobody asked you for it. I still feel a lump build up my throat every time I watch one of them Capra Corns, am sure you will too! Gee Whiz!

Frank Capra

Ek Je Chilo Ghora Ek Je Chilo Gautam

In a few hours from now, the Smarane Gautam 2.0 concert will begin in Nazrul Mancha. It is a tribute concert remembering Gautam Chattopadhyay, reminiscing about the songs of Moheener Ghoraguli. I am quite sure that most of you reading this have at least heard the name of Moheener Ghoraguli, courtsey some well-covered songs especially Pritam making James sing Bheegi Bheegi in Life in a Metro. It goes without saying, comparing the lyrics of Prithibita Naki (about alienation and apathy in urban lifestyle) to  Bheegi Bheegi is like comparing Biriyani's aloo to that of potoler torkari's aloo.

You might have heard the name, the name itself might have elicited some interest, but eventually could not make much sense of the same. This is what exactly happened while giving a name to India's pioneer band. The members wanted it to be nonsensical, a far cry from anything remotely related to songs, music or lyrics. The name itself has been taken from a poem by Jibanananda Das. Personally, whenever I hear the name Moheener Ghoraguli, I immediately draw a mental image of breaking free. Of a herd of horses galloping through an endless field on a full moon basked night, breaking through all shackles. If you find it difficult to conjure this image, then you can perhaps find a somewhat similar imagery watching the Khwabon ke Parindey song from ZNMD. Indeed, like the unstoppable horses, Moheen broke through many shackles too.

Gautam Chattopadhyay, Moni Da, as he was affectionately addressed by all, is the true embodiment of a pioneer and a man whose thinking, philosophy and works were ahead by decades from any contemporary. Brought up in an atmosphere of music, literature at home, he was an able musician from his formative years. For a certain period of time, he was a part of a local band called The Urge, mostly playing for the elites in pubs of Park Street. But soon enough a realization dawned upon him that he was slowly becoming a part of the same stagnation that engulfed all spheres of life around him. This was the time of the Naxalbari Movement in Bengal. Soon enough he left Urge and became an active member of this movement, moving from one village to another. He met the oppressed, he conversed with the disillusioned and tried as all might have hoped to bring in a revolution.

 He was jailed for one and a half years. This was the time period when Dylan was blowing in the wind too (internationally, the anti-Vietnam war protests raged in the USA and there was labor unrest in France). Moni da, wrote many of his songs during this period of imprisonment. After he was released (on a condition that he was prohibited to reside in Bengal), he took the job of a medical representative and moved cities like Jabalpur and Bhopal. 

It was in the early 70s that he returned to Kolkata again, the stupor of Naxalbari, having somewhat faded. Moheener Ghoraguli was born out of a sense of rejection that the disillusionized youth were facing during those years. Its aim was to emerge as a voice of those who had lost faith in the system, in the people, in the class divide. Moheen and their songs were a far cry from the soothing melodies and easy lyrics that comprised of the Bengali Sworno Joog of music.

Moheener Ghoraguli began with friends and cousins who had grown up admiring Moni da, much of their musical pedigree was derived from the man himself too. Biswanath Chattopadhyay(drums), Pradip Chatterjee (bass and flute), Ranjon Ghoshal( visuals, management), Abraham Mazumdar (violin), Tapas Das (guitar, vocals), Tapesh Bandopadhyay(guitar) came together to form Moheen. The songs spoke of the turbulent times, lost beauty of the countryside and of course the emptiness and alienation prevalent throughout, in spite of the exterior tidiness.

The listeners of those times were simply not ready to accept what Moheen had to offer. The alternative lyrics, alternative musical arrangements, instruments only found some acceptance among the youth. Moni however never changed what Moheen was supposed to stand for. The poor sales of records as well as scathing reviews of the critics, many describing the songs as টুং টাং আবৃত্তি contributed towards the dissolving of the band in 1981. The members too had to move abroad with career commitments, releasing three albums Songbigno Pakhikul O Kolkata Bishoyok (1977), Ajaana Udonto Bostu ba Aw-Oo-Baw (1978) and Dreeshyomaan Moheener Ghoraguli (1979).

In the late 80s, Subrata Ghosh (Garer Maath fame ) discovered the songs of Moheen and after much effort found out about Moni da and the band. They began jamming together and a revival ofMoheen began to take place. Lots of songs were composed during this period. Finally a compilation titled
Abar Bochhor Kuri Porey came out in the Kolkata Book Fair of 1995. It was a compilation containing songs edited by Moheener Ghoraguli and featured upcoming young talents in the Bengali music industry in vocals, music.

Jhora Somoyer Gaan (1996), Maya, (1997) Khyapar Gaan (1999) were some other compilation albums released under the banner of Moheener Ghoraguli. It featured collaboration between many artists, bands, the names of Gautam Chattopadhyay and other past Moheen members, Arunendu Das feature prominently in the albums. Everybody could come and work under the umbrella of Moheen. Just like Monida, Moheen too had become an umbrella under the shade of which anybody could come and work and create menaingful songs, expressing what the regular music and lyrics couldn't. Songs of the bauls, the ভাটিয়ালি songs, everything was fused together to create a folk-rock flavor in many songs.

The themes of these songs ranged from various societal issues relevant throughout our history. From songs praising the eternal Ganga to young flower buds who find themselves confined within the walls of red-light districts barring borders, nationality or religion, Moheen wrote about all. There were of course songs about inner emptiness, self-loathing and existential crisis grappling the society. To think about how all these songs were written 40 years ago surely paints a picture of the progressiveness of Moheen and their music.

The jibonmukhi songs of Bengal that came into existence holding the hands of Suman, Anjan and Nachiketa had its roots in the music of Moheener Ghoraguli one may conclude. The title for this piece is taken from a song by Anjan himself. Monida other than being a songwriter and composer directed documentaries and took great interest in the local ethnicity, races and tribes existing in our land. His first and only feature film Nagmoti(1983) won a National Award as the Best Feature Film in Bengali ( if any kind soul has information about the existing print of this film, kindly contact me). He passed away suddenly from a heart attack in 1999 after scouting the location for his film featuring the Karbi people.

Moni da, to his admirers like me, represents an institution whom you will never understand completely. When you have gone through his works, you will learn about the times existing during which they were composed. The most astonishing thing would be the evergreen relevance that you find in his song writing. He is a father figure who completely changed the Bengali band scenario in the 90s through his works and arrangements other than founding it too. Many a Crosswindz or Lakkhichara was groomed and influenced by him before they were to take stage. You will never cease to wonder how a physiology graduate of Presidency College became the father figure for several generations of musicians. Nobody gets over the unkempt yet breathtaking, chain-smoking, bristle bearded,ever-smiling maverick rockstar and poet who has the Ghorer Ferar Gaan ready to lure you into the tranquility of home at one moment and then lament about  

                                                                 

                                                                 পেটে ভীষণ খিদা 

                                                             তবু মুখে বাউল গান রে 

                                                           বাঙালী করেছে ভগবান রে

the next.

          সত্যিই মাঝে মাঝে  মণি ছাড়া ভীষণ শূণ্য লাগে. If you haven't listened to much of Moheen then I suggest you to do so soon. It would be honouring the legacy of a man who stayed in the shadows for the most part and brought out the best in others. You will also of course be greatly moved by the power of Monida's songs and get a little close to the scenarios that exist around you. You will definitely find a new view of seeing things.

Antaheen - The eternal wait and longing : Of neons in soft focus and Seeping riffs of six strings

Nowadays Radhika Apte is a name on everyone's lips and you find her to be the face of online media streaming in our land. Netflix perhaps has been rightly rechristened as Radflix by many. Let's go back by a few years now, a decade to be precise. 23rd of January, 2009 was the date we got the first glimpse of wide-eyed, then demure Apte on the silver screen, the movie was Antaheen. The unspoken softness that one associates with her Brinda, a suitable Bengali adjective for that perhaps would be স্নিগ্ধতা, still resonates very much in our minds. Let's talk about Antaheen a bit more now.

Many of you may be wondering that 23rd of Jan, was a few months back (and that most of us have had enough of the year since, eagerly awaiting for Pujo now), then why talk about Antaheen now?

The answer to that would be the coming of the rains. I associate Antaheen with the rains, of the drops of rain, that drip unceasingly on the glass panes, of your homes, cabs or lids of the eye. Hence I believe the late or even nonexistent arrival of the monsoon can be blamed for me writing this piece this late, the wait for me too has been Antaheen.

 

Tony da in one of his interviews, recall how he had come by to meet Radhika in a Mumbai cafe, (Rahul Bose, of course, introduced them through his theatre connections) he had just entered the cafe, when he found Radhika, sitting cross-legged with her feet up on a chair and holding a string of spaghetti suspended mid-air and staring at it intently as it underwent the long process of being drawn into her mouth. This lasting image, immediately made him decide she would be his Brinda.

 

The reason for Antaheen still resonating among us might be attributed to the fact that it held a mirror to what was to come in the next few years and how modern-day relationships would take shape, in a world of wide spread social network prevalence. The wait for a phone call, rather the special one is no more eternal of course but is nonetheless often long anyways. There might even be some people still who would care to wait for it, even if it was to take a whole lifetime. Dating now has definitely moved beyond telephones. The online chat rooms of the 2000s, do not exist in the way they used to. However whenever we find Avik and Brinda in the movie, most of us root for them to complete their daily tasks quickly, go home and open their laptops. The way of their romance, with a certain anonymity, mystery almost makes us want them to not meet as the Boy In The Box and the Raat Jaga Tara for as long as possible. Knowing each other inside out often takes away a special element of a relationship, echoed by Eagles as they sing

                                                        

                                                         " You're not quite lovers

                                                       And you're not quite friends

                                                           After the thrill is gone.  "

The music of Antaheen marked the foray of Shantanu Moitra into Bengali films. One can see that the soundscape in the film is very minimalistic in nature and thus the lyrics are heard distinctly through the different situations. The pauses here are as important as any background score or lip-synced song( just one, in form of যাও পাখি  বলো ). Chandril da and Anindya da of চন্দ্রবিন্দু wrote the songs. It was a first-timer for them too, as চন্দ্রবিন্দু is predominantly known in circles for their collegeমুখী and চ্যাংড়া songs, although they have loads of romantic numbers to their credit as well. The music becomes a very important part of the cinematography. They form a prelude to different situations in the film. The songs appear gradually, building up the tempo of the scenes and are never thrusted right into your face. The use of the music in this manner to tell a story had not been done before in Tollywood.

The story of Antaheen has been taken from life itself, Tony da maintains. Everybody in the film were regular characters, whom you may bump into, the next time you visit a friend's or colleague's place perhaps. Abhik's পিসিমা, someone who sits at home all day and embroiders, has stayed unmarried and brought him up, making an endless number of sacrifices in the way. Rina di and Kalyan Ray's characters of a separated couple, who are still friends and care for each other immensely. She knows each corner of the shelf of his wardrobe and he recites poems for her, both of their lives are incomplete without each other. The separation that exists between these two people is nothing but অভিমানের পাহাড়, as Avik puts it. The separation is perhaps the biggest compromise that these two people have agreed upon, to keep the friendship alive.

     

            

                                                                                                      

Brinda's death brings forth the conclusion of this movie, which has been resented unanimously by viewers. Tony da says that her death provides a certain closure to the characters of Mr. and Mrs. Mehra in the film, the couple with a deceased girl child, who saw glimpses of her in Brinda. An interesting anecdote can be shared here about how Abhik, a person who expresses very little, joy or sorrow alike, reacts to Brinda's death and after realizing that she was indeed his Raat Jaga Tara across the laptop screen, who would never come online again. Tony da asked Rahul to emote the same, and we watch on screen Abhik simply sitting by his laptop, touching it slightly as if holding hands of the dead Brinda who he had known only through his laptop. 

The romanticism associated with writing letters to dear ones has more or less vanished today. Tony da says, being technologically challenged, he always imagined that mails being sent or received during the 2000s perhaps floated through the endless mesh of wires and clouds and then reached the other person. The blinking of the screen and the ping associated with coming of a message, as you sit, expecting it, still gives a flutter in the heart for some us though!