Basu Chatterji: And Middle-Of-The-Road Cinema Hardcover – 8 August 2023

Writing a book on a character who had very little eccentricity and even little extra marital affairs is not easy . Since almost the entire body of the book would have to be occupied by only his works . Aniruddha Bhattacharjee travels from the first reel to the last encompassing every detail possible, talking and meeting almost all relevant characters on the way. Either through the buses and the taxis or in rare cases through the celluloid extension. This is a wonderful tell all and leaves a trail for the next generation of writers. Like all his other books, he restrains himself and limits himself at the right place so as to not to be categorised as yet another hagiography . However among all his book, this is the one with the least scope for any further improvement.....

I remember watching those classic light comedies with family on Doordarshan in my childhood, unaware about its maker! Chhoti Si Baat, Chitchor, Khatta Meetha, Baton Baton Mein, Shaukeen and offcourse beloved detective Byomkesh Bakshi! It's later in my youth that I discover that all of them made by Basu Chatterji! Like many viewers, I always got confused between two Basu da! Basu Bhattacharya is another Basu da hard to miss!This book is due one! Feel so glad that it came from Anirudha Bhattacharjee, the man who gave us three lovely books on three gem of artists who contributed immensely to Hindi Film Music: Junior and Senior Burman (co authored by Balaji Vittal )and the vocal maverick named Kishore Kumar (co authored by Parthiv Dhar). This one his solo debut! It has apt extended title: And Middle of the Road Cinema. Most of Basu da's early and middle films befits so snugly to that territory! The book celebrates Basu da in person by chronicles narrated by his near and dear ones of family and profession; mostly through the author's personal Interviews and tete-a-tete, as one can realize reading the book. Some worthy sixteen pages devoted to some rare images, Basu da's cartoons (he made for Blitz), gallery of his film images and some fine artwork of his cinema moments by Mehnaaz Hussain and Dr. Jayati Sengupta.So what's takeway, reading it! First it was diving in whirlpool of nostalgia: 70s, old Bombay, portrayal of middle class milieu with sensibility, well researched chronicle of film society movement, foray into acting talents surging from FTII. Aniruddha da, gave us detailed and well researched pen picture and chronicle of Basu da as the man and the filmmaker and his time; in many cases minute analysis and fine observations of his cinema. It also talks lot about many actors who played small character roles or negligible part in his cinema! Surprise to know that most of them belongs to FTII! Interesting to note here are cameo of him in his films, as in most case common cinegoers or even some film buff like me miss while watching his cinema! The book succinctly portrayed valuable insight on music score of Basu da films too! The book also chronicles detail and well researched documentation of various Film Society Movement in Mumbai and other places. The book covered Basu da's film journey in three phases, the third mostly focused on his television work: popular one like Rajni and Byomkesh Bakshi. However get little info on lesser popular ones like Kakkaji Kahin & Bhim Bhavani.What a good book on cinema do is pushing you towards your due exploration of cinema, the journey forward! Reading this I come to know about many Basu da films that are long long due for me! Esp.his debut 'Sara Akash' which he felt his the best one! Also due in my cinema journey are his some less successful ones like Priyatama, Ratnadeep, Man Pasand, Chakravyuh and few others! It's time to explore those now! Will begin with Sara Akash! If meaningful middle of the road Hindi cinema is what you grow with, this is trip down that memory lane!

Basu Chatterjee's films are still loved today thanks to cable and OTT platforms. Anirudh Bhattacharjee's book tells you why it is so and what are the common themes/threads in his films. The main theme is that this is a cinematic reflection of Chatterjee's own middle-class upbringing and the daily commute by Mumbai local trains before he became famous as a director. The background interviews with artists and technicians also give an overall all-round view as to why the films were such successes and even why some of them flopped badly. Cinema lovers will love the book for its holistic look at one of the most prolific authors of "Middle-class cinema" and why - as with everything else - he gradually faded away in the late 1980s and early 1990s.At times the background information may sound labored and pedantic to many readers but in my view, this is what forms the muscle to the overall view of one of the important directors of Indian cinema.This book is an important and even necessary look at a Director whose works were as much a tribute to Bombay/ Mumbai as it was about daily ordinary middle-class citizens. It is charming without being gooey and objective without being harsh - like Basu Chatterjee films.

This is a very well researched book, replete with quotes from actors who were part of Basu Chatterjee films, that included leads as well as character actors. The book also contains a lot of interesting trivia related to films that are close to our hearts & are a part of our livees. A definitive recommended read for any and every Basu Chatterjee fan. I wish the author pens a book on Hrishikesh Mukherjee too. Would be an apt tribute.