From ancient times, black and white colours have had a strong connection with the subliminal part of our psyche. Our spiritual masters may have always depicted evil and goodness by these two prominent shades but psychologists now know that despite all the vibrant colours of the universe, most human dreams are only viewed by the mind in black and white. And probably because memories constitute the bedrock of all our dreams, nostalgia generally comes gift wrapped in hues of black and white.
For an average cinegoer, nostalgia constitutes of nothing more than the black and white (B & W) films with their lyrical images. These films may have been short on technique, yet they engraved everlasting influences upon viewers’ mind and soul with their delectable concoction of emotion, drama and music. Though movie making was a nascent art then, enterprising cameramen and directors constantly evolved newer ways and means to convert their imagination into reality on screen. Be it a rural background or a sophisticated urban tale, master cameramen like R. D. Mathur, Radhu Karmakar, Jal Mistry, V. Murthy or Subrata Mitra stupefied generations with their B & W magic under the guidance of K. Asif, Mehboob Khan, Bimal Roy (a cameraman himself), Guru Dutt and Satyajit Ray. Perhaps it wouldn’t be wrong to say that B & W films hooked viewers for life because of their simple stories and easy on the eye appeal.
Technological advances have forced B & W movies out of circulation and modern day films are only shot in colour since newer cameras and computer aided editing platforms make production economical as well as easier to monitor, manoeuvre and assemble. With scripts meandering more towards realms of action and the super natural rather than human drama, colour seems to be the dominant fit for most films these days.
Producers may accuse audiences for their allegiance to colour but talk to an average cinegoer and you find most of them still pine for something akin to B & W era films. Obviously, with the overwhelming response to the new B&W silent film “The Artist” at the box office as well as BAFTA and Oscars, one is intrigued whether B & W films have any future on the Indian silver screen!
Well known cinematographer and director A. K. Bir believes subjects with “spiritual or artistic dimensions or introspective themes with emotional interaction need B&W canvass.” Affirming “tone and colour of a film is dictated by content as well as conviction of a director”, Bir is convinced that “B&W is best suited to explore various dimensions of human relationships.” Known for his inventive lighting in acclaimed films like “27 Down”, “Gharonda”, “Khatta-Meetha”, “Lavanya”, “Preeti”, “Shararat”, etc., Bir feels artistic creators have options as well as courage to shoot films as per the needs of their stories but this doesn’t happen anymore because most contemporary directors are “businessmen who don’t tell stories but mould scripts into pre-determined marketing packages!”
Binod Pradhan, another highly successful cinematographer of hits like “Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron”, “Parinda”, “Munnabhai MBBS” and “Rang De Basanti”, is game to shoot in B&W since “it makes everything look more artistic, more romantic”. Conceding he is partial to B&W films probably because “they were seen in my formative years and had a lot of emotion”, Pradhan feels “colour has a tendency to distract from the main story, whereas B&W does not overshadow the emotion or content of a scene.”
But why are there no takers for B&W films these days? To this, both agree that apart from availability of raw stock, lighting for B&W images is difficult as it requires a high degree of precision. Both praise earlier film makers for their skill and eye for detail especially as they didn’t have modern day gadgets like monitors and laptops for instant viewing and re-correction of an error. If Bir lauds the masters for translucent images from “Kagaz ke Phool”, “Pyaasa” and “Do Beegha Zamin”, Pradhan is gung ho about the lyrical feel of Pather “Pancheli” and “Charulata”. Pradhan contends “the director-cameraman teams in the B&W era had to be highly competent as they could see the results only after negatives came back from the processing lab”, long after their return from a location.
Bir lauds the B&W creators for negotiating various constraints of space and time without the aid of sophisticated technology. “Unlike today, cameras were not highly refined and it took a lot of thought to create a dream sequence or a morning scene inside a studio”, informs Pradhan. If Bir is astounded by the astronomical efforts to bounce light in creating scenes like ‘merger of souls’ in “Kaagaz Ke Phool”, Pradhan is mesmerised by several cinematic moments that were achieved inspite of slow shutter and film speeds. Both praise the film makers’ ingenuity and inspiration, ascribing them as natural corollaries of creative passion.
Though Bir laments loss of finer sensibilities in modern era, he is convinced B&W films could still be accepted by audiences if the exposition is inspiring and engaging. According to Bir, “the success of ‘The Artist’ proves a good film will always have takers everywhere.” Pradhan too has no doubt that shooting a B&W film wouldn’t be too difficult given the enormous progress in camera and computer technology. Pradhan adds that the constraints exist only in the vision and conviction of a film maker since “time and again, audiences have demonstrated that a good story, well narrated, is always welcome”.
With both the ace cameramen ready to try their knowledge and skills on a B&W canvass, perhaps we might just see a rare film that might take everyone by surprise. And if the accomplishments of “The Artist” are anything to go by, probably some maverick director might soon provide us with the aesthetic grace and beauty of black and white magic on the big screen. Who knows, in an industry notorious of copying Hollywood movies by the dozen, this B&W act too might soon see an encore!
