The first time I heard Pritish Nandy바카라™s name, I was 10 and I was in a theatre watching Sanjay Gupta바카라™s Kaante (2002). My father recognised the name, and read it aloud off the screen with reverence. He바카라™d read his editorials/columns and was aware of Nandy as a public intellectual of the time. Three hours later, Pritish Nandy Communications (PNC) was a name I would carry home from that theatre. And it was a name that appeared more frequently during the 2000s, producing a kind of an urban-centric Hindi film, which some would dub as the 바카라˜multiplex바카라™ film.
They would navigate most shades of a city life: from boyish naivete (in Jhankaar Beats), social apathy (in Chameli, 2003), complex relationships (in Shabd, 2004), political idealism (in Hazaaron Khwahishein Aisi, 2005) to adultery (in Ankahee, 2005). Hindi cinema had been reinvented around 2001 with Farhan Akhtar바카라™s Dil Chahta Hai, and one could see that the archaic tropes of the 1980s and 1990s were being rejected, in favour of more progressive, sophisticated and inward-looking films. These would tackle more nuanced subject matters, staying away coding their characters in binaries: good/bad, hero/villain. These films were more 바카라˜realistic바카라™, and they strived to achieve a certain degree of authenticity 바카라“ which mainstream Bollywood usually didn바카라™t.
Nandy바카라™s company was one of the major proponents of this cinema 바카라“ alongside UTV Spotboy (spearheaded by Ronnie Screwvala and Siddharth Roy Kapur), which had films like Shyam Benegal바카라™s Welcome to Sajjanpur (2008), Dibakar Banerjee바카라™s Oye Lucky Lucky Oye! (2008), Nishikant Kamat바카라™s Mumbai Meri Jaan (2009) and Anurag Kashyap바카라™s DevD (2009) under their belt. The winds were changing, and it was clear that Bollywood was not something to be just run with age-old family wisdom. There was scope for intellectual curiosity, corporate structure and an overall push for riskier films to be put out 바카라“ which could coexist alongside the star-led films.
As Pritish Nandy found out (like Screwvala and Roy Kapur) 바카라“ the corporate set-up only works when you바카라™re delivering successes. But given that both PNC and UTV were batting for riskier films, and as a result their failures were significantly more than their successes. It didn바카라™t last for long, but that glorious run of the multiplex film, resulted in filmmakers like Homi Adajania, Sujoy Ghosh, Dibakar Banerjee, Rajat Kapoor finding a foothold within the industry. In a way, OTT platforms owe a huge debt to PNC바카라™s roster of filmmakers considering how most of them have gone on to work with them directly.
Eventually, Nandy바카라™s producing career tapered off 바카라“ and it was only fitting he would make a comeback through a streaming platform. Producing Four More Shots Please! on Amazon Prime Video, Nandy made a case for how much he still held onto the urban pulse by centering his show around empowered women. Whatever one might think of the genre, it became one of the most successful shows in the realm 바카라“ with his daughter Rangita Nandy at the show바카라™s helm for three seasons.
Passing on at the age of 73, Pritish Nandy leaves behind a considerable legacy of shaping an entire generation of journalists (from his stints at Times of India, Illustrated Weekly) 바카라“ most of whom are in decision-making positions in the journalism industry today. He also leaves behind a path for the middle-of-the-road cinema, which can be 바카라˜entertaining바카라™, but also strives to be high-brow. One that can hope to be risque, frothy and also socially/politically conscious.
As Hindi cinema battles its identity crisis (whether it바카라™s for the classes or masses? It can be both) 바카라“ one can hope that Nandy바카라™s film바카라™s work can provide some necessary inspiration. Go well, good sir!
