ENCODING TEXTS INTO AUDIO-VISUAL MEDIUM
AN INTRODUCTION
R N Dash
(Keynote Address of the writer as Chief Guest in the two days long National Seminar on Cinema on Indian English Literature organized by the Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapeeth, Varanasi during February 2012)
The illusion of Motion[1] Picture, advertised[2] as the marvel of the Century and wonder of the world, has belied the dismissive comments of its inventors[3] that it was a mere scientific curiosity, with no commercial value and no future, and has diversified and turned out to be the most powerful and preferred media of the world, along with its by-product, Television. The audio-visual media turned out to be the most popular story-teller, competing with literature, thanks to the pioneers like George Melies. [The magical effects of the invention had immediately attracted admiration from Melies, a professional magician of Paris, who had attended the first-ever[4] public show of the cinematographe, and used the creation immediately to supplement his magic shows to achieve greater commercial success. The earliest films shot by the Lumiers and Melies were only of about a minute’s duration, and were mere casual shots of actual[5] events, but Melies, while filming such shots, accidentally faced situations when film rolls snapped and had to be joined, and different scenes could be combined in a film roll that created surprises, such as persons vanishing[6] or appearing suddenly from nowhere. He had unwittingly stumbled upon the arts of trick photography and editing. On his initiative, trick photography matured into special effects (thus science-fiction films[7] were born), and duration of films started increasing[8] gradually (paving the path for long narrative films), of which he was also the pioneer. He had unwittingly converted a mere scientific curiosity into a new art-form that was also commercially profitable and would subsequently become one of the major industries of the world, providing employment to millions and adding to the National income.]
The earliest enthusiasts, keen to earn commercial gains out of the invention, re-designed Cinema into a medium for entertainment, by creating comedies, inserting magical special effects and portraying popular stories and themes, and Cinema emerged as the greatest source of entertainment, perhaps only next to sex, sports and gossip. It ignited minds of creative artists to experiment with its contents and forms, specially in Europe, where great cinematic schools were born, and Cinema became the art of all arts. In course of time, the medium was used elsewhere[9]. The medium is being increasingly used for scientific and Industrial gains, and also as a tool for better education and training. Selected films containing much to learn are being shown in educational and training institutions, and even in Corporate offices to train their executives. On easy availability of cheaper gadgets, more and more text books are being converted into video formats, making teaching more interesting for the students. On conversion of classic literature into films, students find it easier to understand the difficult works of Shakespeare and others if they have already seen their filmy versions.
The earliest films, only of about a minute’s duration, were too short to present any narrative, and had only captured actuality shots, although experiments were made to infuse chronicles of events therein. Thomas Alva Edison is believed to have made a film showing Execution of Queen Mary of Scots (in 1894); Louis Lumiere filmed some comic activities of his gardeners (The Sprinkler Sprinkled[10], in 1895); both were only of about one or two minutes’ duration. George Melies started making short narrative films on Joan of Arc (in 1899, about 3 minutes long), The Dreyfus Affairs (on a contemporary scandal, in 1899, about 5 minutes long), A Trip To The Moon (the first-ever science-fiction film[11], in 1902, about 14 minutes long); in USA, enterprising film makers including Thomas Alva Edison also started making short narrative films, of 3 to 5 minutes duration by end of the 19th Century (The Great Train Robbery, filmed by Edward Stanton Porter for Edison in 1903, which created a sensation, was about 12 minutes long, the longest till then in USA). When films became longer, the pioneering countries (France, USA, Germany, Russia and Italy) experimented with narrative films based on popular published literature, including classics; USA produced the first of the four versions of Ben-Hur (in 1907, of 15 minutes duration on the book by Lew Wallace published in 1880); dramatic works of William Shakespeare were made into feature films of about 15 minutes duration. The length of film rolls increased further; France produced a 40 minutes long film on Queen Elizabeth (in 1912, produced by Sarah Bernhard, the topmost stage artist of the country, who also enacted the lead role; this was the longest ever film till then); Italy produced The Last Days Of Pompei (in 1908, by Ambrosia Films), Quo Vadis (in 1913, by Earico Guazzoni, on the Polish book by Henryk Sienkiewicz published in 1895), and Cabiria (in 1914, by Giovanni Pastrone, on the plight of the unfortunate girl, based on folklore repeated in published stories); thus duration of narrative films increased to 40 to 60 minutes. All these films except the earliest, the aforesaid The Sprinkler Sprinkled (in fact, most of the narrative films) were based on popular stories contained in already published literature including books, periodicals and news reports; but none of such films could claim to be filmy versions of classic literature.
Feature films on literary classics was born along with the long feature films, starting with The Birth of a Nation (in 1915, By David Wark Griffith, 188 minutes long, silent, based on the then recent book The Clansmen by Thomas F Dixon, published in 1905); this film laid down the grammar for making long feature films in future. Thereafter classic literature, specially the best-sellers became the most popular source of the contents of Narrative (feature) films, and most of the acclaimed novels all over the world were encoded into Features for Cinema, and much later, many into TV serials (until recent days when the trend has declined drastically).
In India, although filming started in 1897 by some foreign camera-men, the earliest[12] Indian Films were actuality shots (including portions of stage plays) filmed by Hiralal Sen in Calcutta from 1898 onwards; the earliest Feature Film on published literature was on Alibaba And Forty Thieves[13], a popular story from the Arabian Nights, but only of five minutes duration, also filmed by Hiralal Sen in Calcutta in 1903. The first full-length Feature film Raja Harischandra (1913, by Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, about 60 minutes long) was a popular story from the Mahabharat. After many such mythological films, Features were made on popular classic literature, starting with Mrichchakatika/The Little Clay Cart (1920, by Suchet Singh for Oriental Films, on the Sanskrit stage-play by Sudraka); followed by Balidan (1927, on a story of Rabindranath Tagore); Durgesh Nandini (1927, by Madan Theatres, on the Novel by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhya); Devdas (1928, by Eastern Film Syndicate, on the story by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay published in 1917); all black-and-white silent films. The first talkie of India Alam Ara (1931, by Ardeshir Irani) was based on a popular Parsi stage-play with the same title, written by Joseph David. The first Neo-realistic film that placed Indian cinema in the arena of World cinema, Pather Panchali (1955, by Satyajit Ray) was also on a Novel with the same title by Bibhuti Bhushan Bandopadhyaya.
Early film makers had realised that converting literary masterpieces that have limited readership into films catering to mass audience was a profitable enterprise, specially if the authors are of a high sanding, which would also add respectability to the audio-visual project and earn greater profit, and efforts were made accordingly. It was convenient for the early film makers to make films on popular classics and other published literature for many reasons. Unlike the present era, their focus was on the contents (story line) in stead of the form (style of presentation), and ready-made stories of high standards were available that were already popular or acclaimed, which even the worst critics could not dismiss as stupid or insipid. Films on best-sellers would guarantee their box-office success. The task of the script writer was easier; he would concentrate on portions to be deleted and matters to be highlighted so as to bring the long texts within the limited time-frame of the proposed film. He did not have to scratch his brains to find out suitable and catchy names[14] for the characters, which is a difficult and time-taking task. Moreover, film makers were confident that commercial failure of popular stories in already published literature and classics was a rarity (in those days). Above all, filming on such subjects adds to their respectability, and ensures sure-shot escape from controversies during social or political turbulence[15]. Hence almost all major film producing countries started making feature films on classics and popular literature, giving priority to the best sellers[16]. Many such films boosted up sale[17] of such classic texts, prompting copyright holders of many books to contribute to the cost of production and sharing the profits. Many producers of films published and sold scripts, pictorial texts and coffee-table books of the popular films, earning additional income for their products.
But conversion[18] of such classics into audio-visual formats (Feature films and TV serials) has its inherent problems and limitations (apart from Copy-right and legal problems), since the media are intrinsically different; the former uses texts as the narrative device, whereas the later uses audio-visual techniques that are more impressive. Compressing Epics (such as the Ramayana, Mahabharat or the Iliad) or long classic literature (such as War and Peace of Leo Tolstoy) into the limited time-frame[19] of a Feature film becomes a stupendous job. Selection of portions of the original text to be omitted, and certain portions to be highlighted as per the discretion of the film maker may not be as per liking of the target viewers. Certain essential details[20] in the original text may have to be deleted or modified so as not to offend the contemporary sensibilities of a dynamic society with ever changing moral standards, which also differ from place to place. The film maker has to steer clear of the political, communal and religious controversies. Above all, the film has to be designed to ensure that it does not become a box-office failure, and has therefore to conform to the contemporary tastes and expectations of the patrons of mainstream cinema, mostly the students and young people. The film maker has also to display his creative[21] talents to convert the text into a form of visual art, and may have to discard the foot-prints of the author of the text, sacrificing fidelity as a priority in his efforts. Such modifications question the fidelity of a filmy version when compared with the original text.
Instances are countless. Even the earliest full-length Feature film The Birth of A Nation (1915) had deviated substantially from The Clansmen, the original text. Cecil B De Mellie, the maestro of spectacular cinema used to garnish his films of 1920s and 1930s (The Ten Commandments, 1923, The Sign Of The Cross, 1932 and Cleopatra, 1934) with overdoses of promiscuous visuals (almost on the verge of vulgarity) which had to be filtered down during their remakes (by different Directors) during 1950s and onwards, since such visuals would offend contemporary moral standards. The climax scene of The Thirty-Nine Steps (of Alfred Hitchcock, a re-make directed by Don Sharp) was filmed on top of the Big Ben, while the original text (by John Buchan) ended in a beach house having 39 steps to climb down to the sea shore. In India, the story-line of Parineeta (remade in 2005 by Pradeep Sarkar), deviated in many respects from its original text (by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyaya, published in 1914), although the film was well made and earned appreciation and many awards. Devdas (remade by Sanjay Lila Bhansali in 2002) contains an eye-catching duet dance by Chandramukhi, the courtesan with Paro, the young housewife of the aristocratic family, that too inside the conservative family mansion, which is unthinkable, whereas in the original text (by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyaya published in 1917) and its many earlier filmy versions the two women never meet, although they face each other on a road, only once, for a second, without recognizing each other. Yet the film, the costliest till then, earned tremendous response in the box-office due to its spectacular contents, and received many awards including five National Awards. Black Friday (2004-07, by Anurag Kashyap), a docu-feature on the serial bomb-blasts in Bombay (on Friday, 12th March 1993) claiming to be a faithful presentation of events chronicled in the original book (with the same title, by S Hussain Zaidi) omitted a complete chapter from the book, obviously not to offend, embarrass or annoy a popular film actor with strong political and other connections. In Chutkan ki Mahabharat (2006, by Sankalp Meshram, a childrens’ film produced by the CFSI), the boy Chutkan becomes distressed to learn that a touring dramatic group will enact the epic with fierce fights between the cousins Kauravas and Pandavas killing each-other, and persuaded them to compromise, not to fight and to live happily as cousins, and the stage play was modified accordingly, obviating the war. Worse are the films[22] that purport to present philosophy, ideals and precepts embedded in texts.
The TV serials, on the contrary, have a better reputation on the question of fidelity when compared with the original texts they portray. A large number of memorable (not necessarily popular) TV serials of the world and of India are based on already published literature. In India, most popular are the Mythological serials that have universal appeal and therefore get repeated and re-made, followed by family drama, fantasies, historicals and comedies. But many TV serials have been made on published literature that are considered outstanding. Malgudi Days (based on different stories contained in four different books, all by R K Narayan, directed by Shankar Nag, serialized in 39 episodes in Doordarshan in 1986 and repeated in other channels also) became popular since its stories reflected the lifestyle, problems and activities of common men as experienced by the viewers day to day. The serial was dubbed in other languages also, and was remade in 2006 (directed by Kavitha Lankesh). Tamas ( by Govind Nihalani, 297 minutes long consisting of six episodes serialized from 9th January 1988) is considered as one of the best TV serials of our country, without diluting the spirit of the original text (by Bhisam Sahani published in 1974, which earned him a Sahitya Academy Award), carefully maintaining a balance between the various communities aggravating the turbulence of the partition days; it earned appreciation from the Hon’ble Bombay High Court (Mr Justice Lentil and Sujata Manohar) and also the Hon’ble Supreme Court (who observed that the serial was instructive, in spite of its unpleasant contents), resting all controversies raised against the serial. (The mini TV serial was later converted into a four hour long movie).The well-made Chanakya (by Dr Chandraprakash Dwivedi, in 47 episodes serialized from September 1991 to August 1992, based on multiple texts) was acclaimed for the detailed pre-production research that made the period drama look realistic, and also the meticulous art management ensuring background, settings, costumes, props etc to conform to the relevant era, which is the most essential requirement of a period film. Bharat : Ek Khoj (based on The Discovery of India by Jawaharlal Nahru, directed by Shyam Benegal, serialized in 53 episodes during 1988-89) was a panoramic docu-drama, presenting the history and cultural heritage of India, stretching from the pre-historical era up to independence. The versatile film maker innovated various narrative devices to sustain the interest of the viewers in the long serial, by inserting spectacular visuals and dramatics. All these TV serials were in Hindi language. The first TV serial in English language, A Mouthful Of Sky (on the lifestyle, problems and aspirations of the middle-class in the post-independence era, directed by Anant Balan, Mahesh Bhatt and Ajay Goel, aired by the Doordarshan in 1995) was not based on any already published literature, but on a script written by Ashok Banker. These TV serials achieve excellence and earn critical acclaims because the makers are not constrained by any time limit, and so have ample facility to use their imaginative skills to supplement the stories by inserting matters that would sustain and enhance the interest of the target viewers, which is not possible in case of feature films of limited duration.
The reaction generated by such films vary amongst different categories of viewers; those who have already read the parent book try to compare both versions and look for fidelity in the process of transformation, although most of them get enchanted by the audio-visual spectacle; those who have not read the corresponding book earlier find it easier to follow and understand the story-lines of difficult texts when they read such texts later; many of them feel contended to have learnt the contents of a masterpiece without undergoing the rigors of reading the text version. Avid book lovers, scholars and critics often lament (without decrying such films), that the film makers have developed a tendency to sacrifice fidelity for convenience, box-office gains and other extraneous considerations, destroying the purpose and spirit envisaged in the original texts. Many such film versions have been rejected summarily by their viewers, apparently after a quick analysis; in most such cases they have been analyzing the film instead of the conversion factor. It is the competence[23] of the film maker that determines the quality of a film, whereas the quality of the text depends upon the competence of its author.
It has now been accepted that exact transformation of a book into a film version is neither possible nor desirable, for unavoidable reasons : Both media are different, it is impossible to squeeze the contents of a book line-by-line into a film of limited duration, or to transliterate the sentiments expressed therein into audio-visual language; the film has to conform to current sensibilities so as to be acceptable to the contemporary society; the film has to reflect the individualistic style of the film maker, and it has to be designed to earn profit. Hence proximity or fidelity should not be the criterion of judgment[24]. The critics, aware of the inherent problems involved in encoding texts into films, now accept that both versions being intrinsically of different media, have to be assessed separately as per their own merits, without expecting line-by-line reproduction of the original text; they limit their comparative assessment to ascertain whether the filmy version reflects the core of the text version, and has succeeded in incorporating the distinguishing features of the text that have contributed to its greatness and its classic status. The problems of ensuring fidelity in converting classics into their filmy or TV versions often inviting the wrath of the critics prompted the later generation of film makers to make films on storylines “adapted from”, “based on” or “inspired by” well known literary works, which provided them excuses to give vent to their artistic imagination, often distorting the original stories, to modernize them or to insert sub-plots and song-and-dance sequences for box-office gains. Geoffrey Wagner[25], an authority on the subject, has identified three types of such adaptations : (1) transposition, ie, a novel directly given on screen; (2) commentary, where an original is taken and either purposefully or inadvertently altered in some respect; and (3) analogy, in case of a film that shifts the action of the fiction forward in time or otherwise changes its essential context.
Unfortunately the commercial prospects and viability of such films have gradually declined along with degeneration of social values. Since cinema is a product of contemporary society, the focus of mainstream cinema goes on changing as per the demands of the contemporary audience, mostly consisting of students and youngsters. The mainstream cinema, designed to earn box-office profit by providing escapist entertainment, is targeted for the students and youngsters of urban and semi-urban world, who constitute the vast majority of the patrons of commercial cinema. Their current craze is for films on the young generation (their lifestyle, ambition, problems, adventures and mis-adventures) and action-thrillers, apart from the time-tested genres of comedies, man-woman relationship (with promiscuous contents) and the occasional spectaculars. Most such film lovers (including the mainstream film makers) who have little knowledge of classical literature, suffer from an impression that classic literature is scholastic in nature, often difficult to understand and devoid of entertaining contents, and films on such subjects are slow-moving and boring. English literature penned by non-English authors are presumed by many as of no match to those by English authors. Most of the films based on classic literature (to be distinguished from popular literature such as the Arabian Nights, and those on religion, mythology, folk tales and legends etc) lack universal appeal, are now being patronized by the elites instead of the common viewers, earn poor box-office returns, are being bracketed with the Art-house or off-beat categories, and screened in theatres for a week only, that too in morning shows, inconvenient for the targeted audience to view such films (who have therefore to wait till their DVD or VCD versions, which are also difficult to get, since they are released in limited quantity in view of poor popular demand), although most such films are critically acclaimed and become favourites of Film Societies and Film Festival circuits.
The films based on Indian English literature also suffer from the aforesaid problems and constraints. Although countless films have been made in India and abroad on Indian themes and vernacular literature from India, very few films have been made so far on Indian English Literature, and most such films have remained out of the main stream, although have been favourites of the elites, of Film Festivals and Film Societies. Indian English Literature (said to have begun with a travelogue by Sake Dean Mahomet published in England in 1793) diversified into three different genres : Non-fiction, Fiction and Poetry, pioneered by authors who were of foreign origin[26] born or bred in India, whether settled in India or abroad, but writing about India, followed by Indians[27] settled abroad, and later by Indian[28] writers living in India. Poetic creations from India have so far been ignored by film makers, unlike in many countries where Ballads have been converted into features. So has also been the fate of non-fictions (except perhaps the lone Discovery of India of Jawaharlal Nehru which could be fictionalized in the aforesaid TV serial : Bharat – Ek Khoj). The number of fictions converted into films have so far been far below expectations; even popular novels of Sobha De have not yet been made into films, which would have been sure-shot box-office grossers.
Although India has produced more than a hundred films in English language since 1920s (including dubbed versions of many popular vernacular films), very few[29] have been based on Indian English literature. The most popular and successful amongst such films was the bi-lingual Guide[30](1965), since it included all the masala envisaged in the time-tested formula for box-office success. The acclaimed films on Indian English literature, but in Hindi language include : Junoon (1979, a very well-made film by Shyam Benegal, on the story A Flight Of Pigeons by Ruskin Bond), followed by A Train To Pakistan (1998, by Pamela Rooks on the book of Kushwant Singh published in 1956); 1947 – Earth ( 1999, by Deepa Mehta, on the book Ice Candy Man by Bapi Sidhwa published in 1988); 3 Idiots (2009, a super-hit film in Hindi by Rajkumar Hirani, based on the book Five Points Someone-What Not To Do at IIT by Chetan Bhagat); and Saat Khoon Maaf (2011, a well-made film, also by Vishal Bharadwaj, on another story of Ruskin Bond, Susanna’s Seven Husbands[31]). The bi-lingual films include In Custody (1993, by Ismail Merchant, on the book by Anita Desai published in 1984); The Bandit Queen (1995, by Shekhar Kapoor, on the book by Mala Sen); Amu (2005, by Sonali Bose, on her own novel); and Sengadal/The Dead Sea (2011, by Leena Manimekalai, on the book by C Jerrold and Shobasakthi). Prominent amongst other such films made in English language were : English August (1994, the debut directorial venture of Deb Benegal, on the book by Upamanyu Chatterjee); Making of the Mahatma (1996, by Shyam Benegal, on the book Apprenticeship of a Mahatma by Fatima Meer published in South Africa); Deham (2001, by Govind Nihalani, on the book Harvest by Manjula Padmanabhan); Joggers’ Park (2003, directed by Anant Balani, written by Subhas Ghai, inspired by an earlier Bollywood movie Anokha Rishta, 1986); The Namesake (2006, by Mira Nair, on the book by Jhumpa Lahiri); The Blue Umbrella (2007, by Vishal Bharadwaj, a film for children, on another story of Ruskin Bond); The President is Coming (2009, by Kunal Roy Kapoor, on the stage-play by Anubhav Pal); and The Japanese Wife (2010, by Aparna Sen, on the story by Kunal Basu). A few such films are reportedly under production, on the books Mammaries of Upamanyu Chatterjee, Difficult Daughters of Manju Kapoor and Death of Vishnu of Manil Suri.
The dismal share of films on Indian English literature are proportionate to their source materials; such literature has so far failed to create a demand in the market, although the better amongst the young generation have fortunately developed a liking for contemporary Indian-English products, of the Vikram Seth and Chetan Bhagat type. The young generation, mostly consisting of students, eager to build their careers by using short-cut methods, concentrate on such materials that would enable them to get through various examinations, and prefer to utilise their spare time by activities other than reading, getting little opportunity to explore the vast literary treasure. Whatever few literary pieces are included in their text books happen to be out of the best of world literature (including classic Indian literature), considered far superior than the contemporary Indian English literature. Libraries in India unfortunately do not display separate sections for Indian English literature. The average Indian student is usually poor in English, rather dreads the subject, being alien. He prefers to read only so much of English literature as he is compelled, to get through his examinations. Study or even awareness of such literature is not a normal academic activity. Such lack of interest in this genre naturally affects its market, and possibilities of any improvement in the situation is quite bleak, at least in the near future. There is no doubt that Indian English literature will continue to be produced more and more; what is necessary is to make them visible, specially before the younger generation.
Unfortunately professional film producers are presently hesitant to invest in films based on literary works, specially on Indian English Literature, as discussed above, afraid of poor commercial prospects and consequent financial loss. Most such films have been produced by independent film makers, and targeted for the elite audience. Our production houses are quite capable of producing films on such subjects that could be commercially viable. Many large production houses have occasionally experimented producing off-beat films that have been commercially successful; clean family dramas filmed by Rajashree Productions have achieved box-office success; films such as Guide, Junoon and 3 Idiots based on Indian English literature have been hits or super-hits. The makers of such films will have to re-design the contents of the original texts without compromising their essence so as to make the films saleable, as was done in case of these three films. What is necessary is to encourage production of such films by offers of financial concessions and rewards. The funding agencies of Government have helped production of a large number of films, most of which have either not yet been released in theatres or in DVD/VCD formats, or have flopped in the theatres; they should take the lead by giving priority to production of films on Indian English literature; the commercial fate of such films would be certainly better, which would also encourage other film makers to follow.
[February 2012]
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[1] A misnomer, since pictures never move; what is presented is a series of still pictures in quick succession.
[2] In the Times of India, Bombay, Dt 7th July 1896, announcing the first-ever film show in India (six short silent films screened the same evening in the erstwhile Watson Hotel in Bombay).
[3] Antoine Lumieres, father of Auguste and Louis, the inventors of the technology, who therefore had no intention initially to develop the project for commercial gains.
[4] Organized by the Lumiers in Café Inde, Paris on 28th December 1895, which unfortunately was attended by only 30 visitors against 100 planned, but fortunately created an euphoria astounding the world.
[5] The first-ever film shown to the public, on 28th December 1895 was : Arrival Of A Train (of 50 seconds duration) which was a shot of a train from Marseilles arriving at Ciotat Railway Station.
[6] A Lady Vanishes (1896) : the first-ever SFX film of the world, by George Melies, only of a few seconds duration.
[7] A Trip To The Moon (1902) : The first-ever science-fiction film of the world, also by George Melies, of 14 minutes duration, manually coloured.
[8] By end of the 19th Century, the average film was about 3 minutes duration; by end of the first decade of 20th Century, the average film was 10 to 15 minutes long; by 1915, films were 40 to 50 minutes long, laying down the standard for films to be of 60 to 120 minutes duration, which is prevailing today.
[9] Also to some extent in India, by the British during the 2nd World War, and later by film personalities with political ambitions, specially in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
[11] Based on the books From The Earth To The Moon (1865) by Julius Verne, and The First Man On The Moon (1901) by H G Wells.
[13] No details or trace of the film is available since his entire stock of films got burnt in a devastating fire in 1917 causing his heart-break and death.
[14] It is not easy to think of better names for the characters of Ramkali to match the relevant situation in The Burning Train (1980, by Ravi Chopra), the fiery and cunning advocate Indrajit Chadda of Damini (1993, by Rajkumar Santoshi) or even the comic police officer Chandramukhi Chautala, the role played by Kavita Kaushik in FIR (the TV serial still running).
[15] Wise film makers of Russia continued to make feature films without any hurdle during 1905 to 1919 when the country was under serious political turbulence due to pro and anti Tsar agitations, by filming on classic literature : The Picture of Dorian Grey, 1915, on the book by Oscar Wilde; The Strong Man, 1917, on the popular Polish Novel by Stanislaw Przybyszewsky; Father Sergius, 1918, on the classic by Leo Tolstoy, and a few more.
[16] In USA, the classics Uncle Tom’s Cabin (by Harriet Beecher Stowe, 1852) continued to be the topmost best seller, till its record was broken by Ben-Hur : A tale Of The Christ (by Lew Wallace, 1880), whose best-selling record was superseded by Gone With The Wind (by Margaret Mitchell, 1936). The filmy versions of all such publications turned out to be spectacular, earning unprecedented box-office returns.
[17] About 3000 copies of Parineeta (Bengali, by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyaya, published in 1914) were sold within a week of release of its second filmy version (directed by Pradeep Sarkar) on 10th June 2005; copies of the Da Vinci Code (written by Dan Brown) were sold out and went out of market soon after its filmy version by Ron Howard) was released (in 2006.
[18] On advent of requisite technology, encoding such classics into Micro-films, Audio-tapes or discs, Text-DVDs or uploading the texts to web-sites became easy; but such encoding in text form was no match to the Filmy or TV version, and remained unpopular; they remained useful mostly for conservation of the texts.
[19] The problem does not arise in case of long TV serials, which can also include lots of extraneous matters not contained in the original text.
[20] The Mahabharat, the Holy Bible, the works of Kalidasa and Jayadev portray erotic activities and descriptions that do not conform to the contemporary moral standards and so are carefully omitted from the filmy versions.
[21] In Alibaba and 40 Thieves, a re-make by Sunil Agnihotri in 2004, Alibaba was shown wearing jeans and designer clothes; Anurag Kashyap made a modern version of Devdas (Dev-D) in 2009 with an urban back-drop, with a different ending.
[22] Bhagawad Gita, a film on the most revered scripture of Hindu religion, made by G V Iyer in 1993, almost completely failed to project the precepts of the Lord unfolded in the scripture, in spite of noble intentions and efforts of its makers, although the film was appreciated and received many awards including the National Award as the best film of the year.
[23] A great book may make a poor film, and a poor book may also make a very good film, depending upon the competence of the film maker, and many great texts have therefore flopped at the box-office. Even subsequent filmy version of a book may become a commercial failure although its earlier version was a super-hit. Out of eleven filmy versions of Devdas, only four achieved expected commercial success; later versions of many were considered no match to their earlier versions, as in case of Mutiny On The Bounty (1935/1962), The Thirty-nine Steps (1935/1959/1978), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946/1981), Umrao Jaan (1981/2006), and many more.
[28] Mulk Raj Anand, R K Narayan, Manohar Malgaonkar, Kushwant Singh, Kamala Markandaya, Nissim Ezekiel, A K Ramanujan, Kamala Das, Manoj Das, Naintara Saighal, Kiran Nagarkar, Jhumpa Lahiri, Sobha De, Arundhati Roy, Anita Desai, Sashi Tharoor, Vikram Seth, Upamanyu Chatterjee, Amitav Ghosh, Chetan Bhagat and many more.
[29] Many such films have been made by foreigners outside India : The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, in 1942; A Passage to India in 1984 directed by David Lean, on the book by E M Forster;
[30] on the novel by R K Narayan, published in 1958, filmed by Vijay Anand in 1965; an English version was marketed abroad, patronized by Pearl S Buck; a shorter version was remade in USA in 2006.
