"Remembering my Filmy Chacha Hardeep Chatrath'................................... by K J S Chatrath

   

                                                                 Hardeep/Hardip Chatrath

I remember him as "Billa Chacha". 

He was my father's younger brother. In 1947 our extended family staying in Sialkot and Lahore got uprooted. My father, had left that city two decades earlier after passing his LL.B from Punjab University, Lahore and had started practising Law at Ferozepur. Just before partition he was appointed to the Punjab Civil Service and posted as City Magistrate, Amritsar. 

So around August 1947 members of our larger family came to our house in Amritsar and took shelter there. One of them was Hardeep or Hardip Chatrath, my father's younger brother. He was called Billa as he had very light eyes. While the others, stunned by the blow of partition, were still struggling to start life afresh, my Billa Chacha took a train and went to Bombay.  

I recall here that my grandfather (Hardeep Chatrath's father) was one of the big daddies of Sialkot. He had a lock making factory, a sports goods factory and three cinema halls. I visited Sialkot in 2006 and went and saw one of those 3 cinema halls. It was earlier called Rose Cinema or Gulab Cinema. Thus there was some interest in films in the family which Hardeep Chatrath  took much further. 

 

 "Husn Bano" was produced by Hardip & Bal and released on January 1, 1956. It is a fantasy movie directed by Aakkoo. Dashing Mahipal and sharp featured and pretty Shakila were in the main lead. Cast included two well known 'bad men' of those days-  Habib and Hiralal. Lighter moments were provided by Tun Tn(Uma Devi). The film's music was composed by Ramlal Heerapanna, with lyrics by Sartaj, Sahir Chandpuri, and Pyarelal Santoshi (P.L.Santoshi). This C class film was neither a hit nor a flop but established Hardip Chatrath as one of the up and coming producers of Hindi film world.

 Cutting back into filmy history of those days, film Nagin (1954) starring Pradip Kumar and Vijayanthimala was a blockbuster. My Filmy Chacha must have been impressed by the great success of 'Nagin' and so he decided to produce a film focusing on the theme of snakes or nagas. 

  

 This was his film NAG LOK released in1957. It was directed by the well known Babubhai Mistry and starred Ajit, Krishna Kumari, and Shahu Modak.  The film's theme revolves around the mythical world of Nagas and incorporated elements of fantasy and folklore related to Naglok, which in Hindu mythology is the realm of the serpents or Nagas. However this film did not do miracles at the box office. 

 

 The next film he came out with was 'Abdulla' in 1960. It was produced by Amrit Chatrath. It was another C class film with Mahipal and Shakila in the lead. Cast included Hiralal as the villain and Helen with her dance number and the welknown comedian of those days -Maruti.    The film featured some memorable songs performed by legendary singers—including Mukesh, Mohammed Rafi, Talat Mahmood, and Asha Bhosle.

  

Then in 1960 he, along with Shyam Dhawan as co-producer, came up with a block buster "Ek Phool Char Kante". It  portrayed an innocent love sequence between the two super-hit actors Sunil Dutt and Waheeda Rehman. The "Phool" of the title refers to Waheeda Rahman while the four "Kante" are not the expected four eligible bachelors vying for the  "Phool" but Waheeda's four uncles- each with different likes and dislikes. My Filmy Chacha, who had by then  an experience of about a decade in Bombay film world took some bold steps. He assigned theresponsibility of directing the fil to Bhappie-Soni a new comer. Bhappie didnt disappoint and the film was recognised as a good directorial debut. 

The film features a plot centered on a young man, played by Sunil Dutt, determined to win the hand of Sushma (Waheeda Rehman) by outwitting her four quirky uncles—each with unique tastes and demands he must meet to prove himself a worthy suitor. The story thrives on comic set-pieces as the protagonist adopts different disguises and talents, matching each uncle's eccentric obsession, ranging from religious ritual to dramatic acting and even Western musical flair.

The film's music, composed by Shankar-Jaikishan became very popular. And here comes another bold move by my Filmy Chacha. Among the standout musical moments of the film was the inclusion of Iqbal Singh (known as the 'Indian Elvis'), a Sikh performer who electrified audiences with his energetic rock 'n' roll performances. This was the first ever introduction of Rock-N-Roll in Indian cinema. Bombshell baby of broadway (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVKdl6lJaDE).         

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ggi-J9-1y8 . At the same time an impressive song in the classical Indian mode and sung by Mukesh was introduced in the film to the accompaniment of a classical dance number by Waheeda Rahman.

Ek Phool Char Kante showed that era’s creative fusion between Indian cinema and international pop culture. It’s soundtrack, featuring voices like Mukesh and Lata Mangeshkar with lyrics by Shailendra, includes evergreen hits such as "Matwali Naar Thumak Thumak Chali Jaaye"  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIv_4YWPaic .

The film’s legacy lies both in its comedy and musical daring, with Hardeep Chatrath’s role as producer pivotal in bringing this unique cinematic experiment to the screen. 

Turning back to history, towards the end of 1961 was released Junglee starring Shammi Kapoor and newcomer Saira Bano. It was an instant hit.  It was not my Chacha's film but it must have impressed him a lot to make his next film - Janwar. 

 

Janwar was a 1965 Hindi-language musical romance film produced by Hardeep Chatrath and directed by Bhappi Sonie and it became an instant hit.  

Besides lead actors Shammi Kapoor and Rajshree, the movie included a bevy of prominent supporting artists like Prithviraj Kapoor, Rehman, Shyama, Achala Sachdev, Rajendranath, Asit Sen and Manorama besides others. 

Music of this film had stalwarts like Shankar-Jaikishan as music directors with lyrics by Hasrat Jaipuri and Shailendra - both the music directors and the lyrics writers were the most popular in their respective fields at that time. 

Film’s music became very popular including the song "Dekho Ab To Kisi Ko Nahin Hai Khabar,"  which reminded one of The Beatles' "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgxIIqXi0uM.  Another very popular song was “Lal Chaddi, Maidan kharee” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5UCn_aqsuQ. 

"Janwar" was shot at multiple picturesque and prominent locations, including Calcutta (now Kolkata), West Bengal, Dal Lake, Srinagar, Kashmir, Kufri, near Shimla, Himachal Pradesh (noted for snow sequences) besides in the studios. 

The idyllic settings of Kashmir (particularly Dal Lake, Srinagar) and the snow-capped landscapes in Kufri made the film visually appealing and boosted Kashmir’s popularity as a Bollywood filming destination.

Then came another hit from my Filmy Chacha- 'Jawan Mohabbat' .

 

Jawan Mohabbat was  released in 1971. This Bollywood romantic drama was produced by Hardeep Chatrath and Krishan Kapoor. It is noted for its impressive cast, melodious music, and dramatic romantic plot.

Shammi Kapoor was the hero and  Asha Parekh was the heroine with supporting cast including stalwarts like Balraj Sahni, Pran and Rajendrath. 

It was directed by Bhappi Sonie and was edited by the legendry Hrishikesh Mukherjee and it’s music composers were Shankar-Jaikishan. 

Music by Shankar-Jaikishan, with lyrics by Hasrat Jaipuri, Rajendra Krishan, and Shailendra, was a major highlight of the film, featuring leading singers like Asha Bhosle, Mohammed Rafi, and Lata Mangeshkar. One of its songs 'Rootho No Rootho' was great hit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVhW6EOtSWM  

The film did well at the box office.

This was the last film that he produced. He did not produce any film after that. Perhaps financiers were not coming forward to back his possible new projects. In his difficult times he became a serious devotee of Sai Baba.

Once I went to Bombay and visited him in his flat to pay my respects. He was dressed up for our visit wearing a pure silk kurta and a pure silk tahmat (lungi). We were treated with utmost love and affection. 

We were ushered into his Pooja Room where a huge photo of Sai Baba was placed on a table. What intrigued us was a a small mound of 'vibhuti' in front of the photo.  He then went on to tell us how vibuti was getting accumulated in front of Sai Baba's photo, day and night. He explained that this miracle had become widely known and people were coming to his flat to take vibhuti parshad. And, to cap it all, he told us that he had cleared the vibhuti early morning and that this accumulation had taken place in four to five hours. 

I am a self proclaimed atheist and do not believe in God not to speak of Holy Babas, so I quietly listened to him. He gave us a small packet of vibhuti before we left his flat.

I was then working in Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and in Doordarshan. I remember that on the very first day of my joining that Ministry, I submitted a formal note to my boss- the Secretary Information and Broadcastingg Mr. S.S.Gill, informing him that Mr. Hardeep Chatrath, the film producer was my uncle and that I had no official or even personal dealings with him. 

 Coming back to my Chacha, he was a man of foresight. Taking note of the fact that his life as a film producer was almost over, he thought to diversify. He wanted to set up a unit near Bombay to manufacture domestic gas cyliners. But this did not quite work out. 

His firs love remained production of films. And then came his end, in a somewhat filmy way. As the story in the family goes, he came home one day very excited and told his wife that Amitabh Bachhan had agreed to do a film with him. He was so excited that he could not take it and died of a sudden heart attack. This, of course is our family gossip and I have no ways of denying or authenticating the news. 

May his soul rest in eternal peace.