In a rare acquisition, the Pune-based National Film Archive of India (NFAI) is in receipt of the original handwritten script of the enduring 1953 Marathi classic Gulacha Ganpati , penned by iconic, multi-faceted littérateur Puroshottam Laxman Deshpande, affectionately known as ‘Pu La’ after his initials. The film, a smash hit in its day, showcases Pu La’s versatility to the hilt: he directed, scripted, composed music as well as essayed the lead role of Narya, a naïve fool.
The picture, made when Pu La was only 34, is stamped throughout with the force and vitality of Mr. Deshpande’s comic genius, which would blossom fully with his legendary plays Batatyachi Chal (1958) and Asa Mi Asami (1964), which have now become staple classics of Marathi literature.
“It [the screenplay] is a priceless acquisition as it is in Pu La’s own handwriting. Though it is more than 60 years old, it is still in a decent condition. We will be digitising it very soon,” said Prakash Magdum, director, NFAI. According to Mr. Magdum, the fortuitous acquisition came by after Dilip Rajguru, the younger brother of the film’s producer, Vinayak Rajguru, approached the NFAI with the intention of handing over the manuscript to be preserved for posterity.
The Rajguru family was in possession of Pu La’s original draft, written in his own hand, which the dramatist began conceptualising since 1951. The final script runs into 90 pages and proffers a valuable insight into the art of one of Marathi and regional literature’s, greatest and most-beloved figures.
“We weren’t confident whether our next generation would be able to maintain this valuable document, though it has been in our family’s possession for several decades now. Hence, we decided to entrust it to the NFAI, who have the wherewithal to preserve it,” said Mr Dilip Rajguru.
The endearingly schmaltzy plot centres around Narya (Deshpande) who falls in love with the impoverished Leela (played by the actress Chitra). Our protagonist whiles away his time by enacting fantasies drawn from popular romance fiction until he is hired by a stage troupe to essay the role of a working-class hero.
Narya is later coerced by the film’s villain Sudarshan (essayed memorably by character actor Vinay Kale) to play that role for real with the objective of transforming him into an unscrupulous political leader, who is a pawn in the hands of powerful forces. It all ends with Leela rescuing the gullible Narya from the clutches of the bad guys and redeeming him from his unlawful acts.
The picture, which plays in the tradition of Frank Capra’s endearing classics, is a fine blend of social realism, comedy and melodrama.
A further shot in the arm came in form of the dazzling lyrics, which were penned by the renowned poet G.D. Madgulkar, whose memorable poetry helped make the film’s songs immensely popular.
Especially noteworthy was Pandit Bhimsen Joshi’s famous bhajan Indrayani Kathi , a highlight of the film, which later became a part of the legendary classical singer’s stage repertoire. The other gems include Ketkichya Bannat, sung by Asha Bhosle and Ethech Taka Tambu, sung by Ms. Bhosle and V R Deshpande.
