[atlasvoice]

Published date: Apr 1976, Hi Newspaper

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Kem Chho, Chandra Bhai? Fine, I see. Thought I’d discover what makes you tick. Tell me what’s doing. 

Chandra Barot does not answer at once. He’s busy buttoning his cuff. And then:  

I’m directing Don. And this is keeping me on my toes right now. It’s a fun experience, shooting with Amitabh and Zeenat and Pran and Satyen. Here, look at these colour stills of Don. 

Is the film about a clown or something?  

Two minutes. Full of silent shaking laughter. And then:  

The circus scene? Well only one particular sequence was shot there. Don is about a smuggler —the type of stunt full story that keeps the audience on its seat-edge. Story-wise, there’s nothing remarkable, really. It’s all dhushum dhishum, But the script is by Salim/Javed And It’s a director’s dream a fantastic script. I think it’s the best they’ve ever turned out.

Naturally, Chandra bhai naturally. Well, let’s go back, shall we, Don Barot? Sounds vaguely Spanish, doesn’t it?  

Over to Barot. You won’t believe it, but in the early ’60s, I was a cashier in Barclays Bank in Dar-es-Saiaam. Born and brought up there, you know. Typical East African of Indian origin. I first visited this country in ’64.

Pity you had to land up just when Nehru died. But tell me, what transformed this Barclays cashier into a Hindi film director?

It happened in ’97. I was planning to settle down in London, and decided to visit my sister here in Bombay before jetting to the B. Isles, Kamal Barot, my sister who’s a playback singer. And she introduced me to Kalyanji-Anandji We got quite friendly with each other, and before I could say Tanzania, I’d been introduced to Manoj Kumar. And before I could say Roti Kapada Aur Makaan, Manoj Kumar took me on as an Assistant Director

Well, well, strange are the ways of Fate, Chandra bhai. But haven’t I heard that Manoj Kumar has a platoon of assistant directors?

Woh to hai, and when I jioined him, I was the ninth and junior most assistant. He used to call us his Navratnas And when I left him to take on Don, I was number One.

Mr. Barot, you’re certainly a Horatio Algerish character. Please to explain this phenomenon of the Fast Rise.

I worked with Manoj Saab in four movies Yadgaar, Purah Aur Pacchim, Shor and Roti Kapada aur Makaan, The thing is, he always treated me as a close friend, never as an assistant. There was therefore no restriction of complexes, and I learnt a lot, and I learnt fast.

You’ve certainly been lucky, Chandra.

I agree. It surprises me too. Sometimes I sit back and wonder how come a chap who was counting notes at a counter is today ordering spot boys around.

If you “vibed’ so much with Manoj, Why did you leave him?  

It’s like this. Manoj’s No. 1 assistant, Sikandar Khanna, branched out Independently midway through Shor, and I took over his place. And then Nariman Irani, Manoj’s cameraman In Shor and Roti Kapada aur Makaan, decided to produce his own film And he asked me to direct it for him. I was naturally reluctant to drop out of Manoj’s team, but Manoj himself told me not to let this chance go by.  

But tell me, Chandra bhai, hasn’t working with Manoj cramped your style? Isn’t Manoj known to stick to patriotic or ultra-social themes, and take a couple of years over each film of his?  

Pause. Call for Chandra Barot, Ten minutes of staring at a painting opposite. And then Barot is Back: Ah, where were we? Of course. My style vis-a-vis Manoj’s.  

Pause to answer the doorbell. Then Chandra again.  

I’m basically trying to direct in my own style. And Manoj’s perfectionism and finesse has definitely rubbed off on me. Moreover, the technical crew and even the cast is full of familiar faces. So the atmosphere is very much like those days as an Assistant Director, except for the absence of Manoj ji.  

Well, Chandra, it’s been a pleasure and all that, but tell me, after Don, what?  

After Don? I’m going to produce my own film with Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu and Pran with the story by Abrar Alvi, and life’s cool.  

And so I leave Chandra Don, Barot to his cool life, and walk out into the warm March afternoon.