The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : A tribute to a mentor and colleague

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Wednesday, Nov 05, 2008
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A tribute to a mentor and colleague

Bageshree S.

H.S. Advani to make documentary on Films Division colleague M.V. Krishnaswamy

Photo: K. Gopinathan

Full of memories: H.S. Advani, with his film on M.V. Krishnaswamy in the background. —

Bangalore: Remember the time when every feature film in a theatre was preceded by a ‘news reel’ that showed the Prime Minister’s European tour or the progress made by public sector industries? Those were the days when television channels had not yet started beaming news — be it of sporting events or wars — round the clock into our living rooms.

H.S. Advani, who worked in the Films Division for 17 years, was the man behind many of these news reels. He comes from a time when news was accorded great sanctity and capturing it in moving images, before the arrival of digital recording, was an arduous and expensive affair. The veteran documentary filmmaker has now made a short film on M.V. Krishnaswamy, yet another big name in Films Division history and a pioneer in documentary-making in India.

Big name

“When I joined the Films Division as a photographer, M.V. Krishnaswamy was already a big name,” recalls Mr. Advani.

“It was a pleasure working with him. He was a man of meticulous planning, and it rubbed off on anyone who worked with him.” This documentary film, Mr. Advani says, is both a personal tribute and an effort to ensure that the people of Karnataka do not forget pioneers from their own land.

In the footsteps of the master who inspired him, Mr. Advani’s own career in the Films Division has had its own high points, including the coverage of the Bangladesh war. Prior to this, during the Indo-Pak war of 1965, he was trained to be a war correspondent, perhaps the first Indian to undergo such specialised training. “I was trained in handling the Eyemo camera, which was also called bomb spot camera,” he recalls. He was taught to handle arms too.

Afghanistan

Mr. Advani has also covered several diplomatic missions, including the late Zakir Hussain’s tour of Afghanistan. Two things from that visit have remained in his memory: seeing the grand Bamiyan Buddha statues and meeting Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan.

His coverage of Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s China tour in 1979 won him a national award as the “Best Newsreel Cameraman”.

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