IFFI BOOK RELEASE MOMENTS: At the just over IFFI 2021 amongst the book releases was this one titled ‘Apoorva, Alaukik, Ekmev’ by Yashodhara Katkar, ESG Vice-Chairman Subhash Phal Desai did the honors along with writer Jyoti Kunkolienkar. The book in Marathi offers lovers of cinema interesting tidbits about the life and times of several familiar celebrities of the Maharashtra entertainment world.

A tribute to immortal personalities and their creative spirit by YASHODHARA KATKAR

By Our Special Correspondent

A LOT has been written about several creative personalities who have contributed immensely to Indian culture in general and cinema in particular. But Yashodhara Katkar’s `Apoorva, Alaukik, Ekmev’ (Marathi) goes far beyond. The book is a rich tribute not only to tinsel town personalities like actors Leelabai Pendharkar, Sulochana, Priya Tendulkar, director Rahi Anil Barve but also those from the world of literature like Marathi authors Madhavi Desai, Nirmala Deshpande, Ranjit Desai, and Konkani poet Samruddhi Kerkar among others.
This is a well-researched book on personalities who are finally getting the attention they deserve, both on and off-screen, and it’s time to showcase their formidable talent when it is on the cusp of making a breakthrough. It shines a spotlight on actors, directors and writers who we really need to know better.
Leelabai Pendharkar, for example, was an actor from the silent era movies, who transitioned to — first the “talkies” and then to the playback era. She also had the unique distinction of being the heroine of “Sairandhri,” India’s first ever “colour” film. In “Apoorva, Alaukik, Ekmev” her story touches not only on her acting career,l but also goes on to describe in detail her personal journey as the Pendharkar family matriarch, and the strong bonds she forged within her extended family in Marathi filmdom.
LIKEWISE, the book takes a close look at actor Sulochana, the on-screen mother, to the leading lights from both Hindi as well as regional films; Dr Kashinath Ghanekar, an iconic talented and popular Marathi theatre and film star, whose name in the credits was enough to have sell-out shows for his each and every play; the much loved Priya Tendulkar aka Rajani; filmmaker Rahi Anil Barve, who has directed the path-breaking techno-fantasy “Tumbadd,” and many other personalities who have enriched our lives, have found a place in “Apoorva, Alaukik, Ekmev.”
In its almost century-long innings, Indian cinema has seen the female lead take on many forms. From the bold, fighter siren, sacrificing mother, whimpering damsel-in-distress, to the woman in charge of her own destiny. In “Apoorva, Alaukik, Ekmev” we find the actors who represented these characters. The book marries the narrative with a recounting of their personal lives and this helps locate the development of these characters, the portrayal of women in cinema and the medium itself in the socio-political, socio-cultural and socio-economic matrix.
As a member of this extended cultural family, Katkar puts good use to her vantage perspective, to describe their creative journeys as well as personal trajectories and the intersectional. While doing so she underlined the narrative with her own story of growing up as a young girl in Kolhapur to becoming a Bombay woman living life on her own terms. She embellishes her narration with real life incidents and rare anecdotes, which throw light on the exceptional influence these personalities wielded on her generation and the ones that have since followed.
“Everyone talks about my grandfather, Dadasaheb Phalke awardee Bhalaji Pendharkar and the great historical and social films he made; but not so much about my grandmother Leelabai (or “Mai” as she was affectionately called), who after such a glorious stint as an actor, quit to devote herself to family. I never saw her as anything other than a dedicated grandma who spent all her bandwidth on the family. This gave the necessary space to my grandfather to pursue his creativity.
“Though Leelabai lived a tough life — as the Marathi film industry was not a profitable one — the richness she brought to our lives with her love and care is exemplary. One can’t let the world forget that it was women like her who pioneered and persevered in an era when acting in films was a social taboo.
“Yet women like my grandma helped herald the golden era of silent films, and also paved the way for others to follow in their footsteps. They laid a solid foundation for women to enter workspaces and films and flourish. Her story deserves recounting several times over,” says Katkar, who has brought out several unknown facts about these personalities in her narration.
For example, actor Sulochana, who reprised so many characters in both Hindi and regional cinema comes across not only as a hardworking, disciplined actor but also as a breadwinner, and head of the family who shouldered the responsibility of raising her late brother’s children as her own, along with her own daughter.
Dr Kashinath Ghanekar, whose life was rife with controversies, comes across in Katkar’s book as an affectionate family man and someone who cared deeply for the welfare of the back-stage workers, especially if they needed help in times of medical emergencies. Katkar recalls Priya “Rajani” Tendulkar as a dear friend, who always managed to find time despite her own hectic schedules to boost the then newbie author’s morale and push her to write and publish, especially when she felt lost in the face of difficulties.
THE personalities etched in Katkar’s memories, come alive and sparkle as real-life characters in this book, as they have been written about in a simple yet conversational and lucid style, making for a very readable and admirable book. “Apoorva, Alaukik, Ekmev” is however, not a dedication in blind adoration nor is it a nostalgic personal memoir of the author! Though it combines a few elements of both, it is actually a historical chronicle of an era whose strands flow into the present times.

(Note: ‘Apoorva, Alaukik, Ekmev’ by Yashodhara Katkar, hardcover, published by Mehta Publishing House, pgs190, Rs260. Available on: Amazon, Flipkart and MPH web portal. E book available on: play.google.com/store/books.)