Ganpati Bappa and the Movies

How Mumbai’s studios and streets celebrated cinema Mumbai: Mumbai’s Ganesh Utsav has always been more than a religious celebration. For generations, it has also intersected with the city’s other great passion-cinema. Long before photographs of stars welcoming Ganpati Bappa at home became an annual fixture on television and social media, the festival had a presence inside Mumbai’s film studios. Beyond the studio gates, Ganesh mandals were also bringing movies directly to neighbourhood...

min read

How Mumbai’s studios and streets celebrated cinema Mumbai: Mumbai’s Ganesh Utsav has always been more than a religious celebration. For generations, it has also intersected with the city’s other great passion-cinema. Long before photographs of stars welcoming Ganpati Bappa at home became an annual fixture on television and social media, the festival had a presence inside Mumbai’s film studios. Beyond the studio gates, Ganesh mandals were also bringing movies directly to neighbourhood audiences by turning ordinary streets into makeshift theatres. Veteran film journalist and analyst Dilip Thakur, who grew up in Girgaon and has observed Mumbai’s film culture over several decades, remembers both worlds. “Ganesh Utsav and cinema have had a very old relationship in Mumbai. It wasn’t only about film stars bringing Ganpati home. The studios, the workers and even the neighbourhood mandals were all part of this culture,” says Thakur. Ganpati Tradition Thakur points to V. Shantaram’s Rajkamal Studio while recalling the early relationship between Mumbai’s studios and Ganesh Utsav. The tradition, he says, can be linked to the period of Navrang, when an elaborate set involving a Ganesh idol and elephants was created at the studio. What began in the world of filmmaking subsequently developed into an annual studio celebration. “During Navrang, a grand set was created with Ganpati and elephants. That became an inspiration for the Ganesh festival at Rajkamal Studio, and the tradition continued,” Thakur recalls. The importance of the celebration lay not merely in its association with a celebrated filmmaker. Studios of that era had large permanent communities of technicians, craftsmen and other workers, and festivals became occasions for everyone connected with the premises. “Studios in those days were like families. Actors, technicians and workers celebrated together. Ganpati was not merely a celebrity occasion—it belonged to the entire studio,” says Thakur. Entry to Devotees Raj Kapoor’s RK Studios in Chembur developed its own distinctive Ganpati tradition. The studio’s Holi celebrations became legendary in the film industry, but its Ganesh Utsav also drew people from outside the film fraternity. The Ganpati was installed close to the main studio building, and devotees could enter the premises for darshan. “People always talk about RK Studios’ Holi, but its Ganpati celebration was also very special. The idol was installed near the main building, and ordinary people could come inside the studio for darshan,” Thakur says. For a movie fan, this meant something unusual: an opportunity to enter the premises associated with Raj Kapoor and some of Hindi cinema’s most famous films while participating in a festival shared by the wider city. The immersion procession added another dimension to the tradition. Different generations of the Kapoor family participated over the years, from Raj Kapoor to Randhir Kapoor and Rishi Kapoor, and later Ranbir Kapoor. The procession travelled from Chembur towards Girgaon Chowpatty, passing through parts of central Mumbai along the way. As round-the-clock television news expanded, cameras increasingly followed the Kapoor family and the procession. “The procession would travel from Chembur towards Girgaon Chowpatty through areas such as Kurla and Sion. Once television news channels began covering it extensively, the RK Ganpati visarjan became a major media event,” says Thakur. The connection survived beyond the studio’s heyday. Thakur recalls that people associated with RK Studios continued the Ganpati tradition for some time even after regular studio activity had ceased. “Even after the studio stopped functioning as before, people who had worked there continued the tradition for some time. That tells you how emotionally connected the workers were to the RK Ganpati,” he says. Mumbai Galli Thakur’s most vivid memories, however, come from outside the studios. Ganesh Utsav once provided an unusual second life for films that neighbourhood audiences had missed during their theatrical runs. During the 1960s and 1970s, local Ganesh mandals organised outdoor screenings with 16mm projectors. A screen—or sometimes simply an available wall—could transform a narrow lane into a neighbourhood movie theatre for an evening. “We called it ‘Galli Cinema’. A 16mm projector would arrive, a screen would be put up, and the entire lane would become a cinema hall,” Thakur recalls. Growing up in Girgaon, he experienced this culture first-hand. Films featuring stars such as Shammi Kapoor and Dev Anand were among those he remembers watching during Ganesh festivities in the 1970s. “I watched many films like this in the 1970s. If you had missed a movie when it was released in theatres, Ganpati celebrations sometimes gave you another opportunity to see it,” he says. There was no streaming, satellite television or instant access to a vast film library. A neighbourhood screening could therefore become an event in itself, attracting families, children and film enthusiasts from surrounding buildings. “There was a different joy in watching a film with the entire neighbourhood. Ganpati brought everyone together, and cinema became part of that celebration,” Thakur says. It was entertainment, but it was also a form of community movie-going that belonged to a particular period in Mumbai’s cultural history. Stars Power As the film industry changed, so did the visibility of its Ganesh celebrations. Home Ganpatis hosted by stars increasingly attracted media attention. Madhuri Dixit, Shilpa Shetty, Salman Khan and Sonali Bendre are among the film personalities whose celebrations became familiar to audiences. Thakur also sees the growth of television as an important turning point. As Mumbai’s entertainment industry became broader and more diverse, Ganesh Utsav was embraced by artists from different backgrounds. “Earlier, you saw the tradition particularly among Maharashtrian artists and film workers. Later, as the industry expanded—and especially with the growth of television—artists from many different backgrounds began bringing Ganpati home,” he observes. Television brought cameras into celebrations that once remained largely private. Social media pushed that transformation further, making celebrity Ganpati arrivals, pujas and immersions instantly accessible to fans. Pull of Girgaon Some film personalities, however, have a relationship with the festival that predates stardom. Thakur points to veteran actor Jeetendra and his enduring association with Girgaon, where the actor spent his early years. “Jeetendra has never forgotten his Girgaon connection. On the first day of Ganesh Utsav, he has continued to visit the area and seek Bappa’s blessings. That relationship goes back to his early years,” says Thakur. For him, such connections are significant because they reveal how a festival can link a star back to the neighbourhood and community that existed before fame. “It is not always about publicity. For many artists, there is a personal memory attached to Ganpati—the building they lived in, the mandal they knew or the neighbourhood where people watched their films,” he says. Khetwadi’s Culture Filmmaker Manmohan Desai was similarly surrounded by the sights and sounds of Ganesh Utsav. His association with the Khetwadi-Bhatkar Street neighbourhood placed him close to an area renowned for elaborate public Ganpati celebrations. “Manmohan Desai lived in an area where Ganpati celebrations were everywhere around him. Khetwadi had that energy—the crowds, decorations and huge pandals. He was also a devotee who would visit Lalbaugcha Raja,” Thakur recalls. The scale, colour and crowds of Mumbai’s public celebrations were part of the cultural environment in which filmmakers lived and worked. It was only natural that some of that energy would eventually make its way onto the screen. Silver Screen Hindi cinema has repeatedly turned to Ganesh Utsav for music, drama and spectacle. “Deva Ho Deva Ganpati Deva” from Humse Badhkar Kaun became one of the songs closely identified with Ganesh celebrations, while “Deva Shree Ganesha” from Agneepath gave a later generation a powerful cinematic Ganpati anthem. “Cinema takes from society, and Ganesh Utsav is such a strong part of Mumbai that it naturally entered our films,” says Thakur. Much of the world he remembers has changed. The 16mm projectors no longer routinely turn Mumbai’s lanes into movie theatres. The old studio system has faded, some historic studios have disappeared, and celebrity celebrations now reach audiences instantly through phones. But the larger relationship between Mumbai, movies and Ganpati Bappa has endured. “From Rajkamal and RK Studios to the gallis of Girgaon, Ganpati and cinema have travelled together for generations,” Thakur says. “The way we watch films has changed and the way stars celebrate has changed, but Mumbai’s emotional connection with Ganpati Bappa has not.”

Singh was committed to idea of accountability:RTI activists

Correspondent

Dec 28, 2024

3 min read

Updated: Jan 2, 2025

New Delhi: Former prime minister Manmohan Singh, who ushered in an era of transparency, accountability and democratic empowerment with the implementation of the Right to Information Act, was a little "uncertain about its impact" on government functioning, but was committed to the idea of "accountability and transparency", RTI activists and former information commissioners said.

Singh, a two-term Prime Minister who passed away at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here on Thursday at the age of 92, implemented the RTI Act in 2005.

The Act gave citizens the power to seek information from the government for a payment of Rs 10, ending decades of secrecy in government functioning.

"He told me he was a little uncertain about the impact of RTI on government functioning. Normal scenes of bureaucracy. He was a true bureaucrat who understood the importance of secrecy in the government. So he was a little apprehensive, but he was committed to the idea of accountability and transparency," the country's first chief information commissioner, Wajahat Habibullah, told PTI.

He said Singh was certain that the Central Information Commission (CIC) should be led by a person from the civil service for the simple reason that he would understand the functioning of the government and know what kind of information can be disclosed and what should be withheld.

Habibullah said there were agreements and disagreements, but Singh was unflinching in his commitment to accountability and transparency.

Aruna Roy, a bureaucrat-turned activist who was one of the key figures in shaping the RTI Act, said the statute would probably be counted as one of the most important ones because it caused a fundamental shift in the citizens' relationship with the State.

"In our many interactions with Dr Manmohan Singh on many of the legislations, including the RTI, he was always engaged and forthright about being committed to bringing in an era of transparency in India. He was diffident about having a provision for penalties against bureaucrats not complying, with an argument that the law was enough of a shock and a shift away from the prevailing culture of secrecy, and he was concerned about the bureaucracy having to face too much pressure. Nevertheless, finally, the law did have penalties -- although in a weakened form," she said.

Roy said irrespective of Singh's apprehensions, the Prime Minister's Office during his tenure was one of the best in replying to RTI applications and complying with the Act's requirements.

"His government initiated social audits in MGNREGA and was aware that transparency was an essential prerequisite to the more effective functioning of social sector legislations with a vast canvas, such as the employment guarantee, the right to food, the right to education and the forest rights Act. There can be no doubt that these landmark legislations empowered the citizens to realise their rights through transparency and RTI," she said.

Roy said by passing a strong RTI legislation, the UPA government brought in an era of consultation, deliberation and citizen monitoring, much needed in a democracy where the citizens' participatory fora were restricted to a once-in-a-five-year vote.

"Manmohan Singh did an outstanding job by bringing in the RTI Act. We will eternally be grateful to Manmohan Singh for bringing in one of the best Acts in the world. And he implemented it with reasonable effort. In implementation also, he did a fairly reasonable job," former information commissioner and RTI activist Shailesh Gandhi said.

Noted RTI activist Venkatesh Nayak said the Act was passed and implemented under Singh's first tenure as the prime minister, even though he reportedly expressed misgivings about the breadth and scope of the proposed transparency law.

"It was also during his tenure that the first attempt was made to amend the Act to keep file-notings out of its ambit. However, the true believer in democracy that he was, the amendment proposal was never tabled in Parliament due to vocal opposition from the civil society and the media. It was shelved despite being approved by the cabinet," he said.

Nayak said during his decade-long tenure as the prime minister, the largest number of guidance notes were issued to explain the details of the RTI Act for effective implementation as the Department of Personnel and Training was under his charge.

"Guidelines for implementing the proactive information disclosure scheme were issued in 2013 in two instalments. In 2023, the Supreme Court gave these guidelines its stamp of approval and made them enforceable," he said.

Noted RTI activist Anjali Bharadwaj said the Act has initiated the vital task of redistributing power in a democratic framework.

"It is perhaps this paradigm shift in the locus of power that has resulted in repeated efforts by governments to weaken it.

-PTI

Ganpati Bappa and the Movies

Singh was committed to idea of accountability:RTI activists

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