Muzaffar Ali
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
One of the most anticipated films of its times shelved because of insurgency in Kashmir, Zooni is expected to come out of coma this January. Director Muzaffar Ali says his son and filmmaker Shaad Ali has found a creative way to bring his passion project to life. “Shaad is closely associated with the film. He was around 15 years of age when the shooting came to a halt in 1989 after I received a letter from the insurgents that the film was ‘un-Islamic’. Shaad was studying in Kanpur and came to join the crew during the holidays but insisted on staying back as the cinema bug had bit him; in a way, he is caught in the film’s continuity. The incompletion of Zooni has troubled him as much as it has made my existence miserable.”
Zooni is based on the 16th-century legend of Habba Khatoon, the peasant poetess who went on to become the last Chak empress of Kashmir. Muzaffar, who recently turned 80, says he has around 90 minutes of footage being restored. “Shaad will shoot the Kashmir of today with a dialogue between Dimple (Kapadia) and myself to create a different kind of narrative that will hopefully bring out the essence of my work. While I am being cautious, Dimple is very excited about the development,” gushes the Umrao Jaan director as he shows his portraits of the Kashmiri muse at Farasnama, an exhibition of his artworks in Delhi. “When the film got out of my control, I returned to painting, for here, no commercial constraint can come between my imagination and expression,” muses Muzaffar.
Evolved out of the sketches of Zooni that he made for the screenplay, the portraits exude the gentle radiance of his cinematic gaze as they demonstrate the melancholy and mystique of a woman devoted to music and poetry in the four seasons that define the Valley.
Muzaffar Ali
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Muzaffar says he hasn’t lost touch with Kashmir in all these years and recalls how the moderate climate of Kashmir spurred his imagination to attempt the magnum opus. Towards the end of his stint with the publicity department of Air India in the 1980s, he came up with the idea of holding international conferences in India to bring business to the airline. “We wanted to bring plane-full of international delegates to India but research showed that most conferences happened from April to October which meant Kashmir was the most suitable destination.”
Around the same time, his film Anjuman travelled to the Vancouver Film Festival. There, he watched The Last Emperor, Bernardo Bertolucci’s showcase of the life of the last king of China’s Qing dynasty that was shot in the Forbidden City, and felt a grand film should be made to put Kashmir on the global map. “The idea of a film on the last queen of Kashmir made sense to everybody and the then Kashmir government agreed to give me a bank guarantee.”
Muzaffar reunited the Umrao Jaan team of Khaiyyam, Shahryar, and Asha Bhosle to recreate the essence of Habba Khatoon’s Kashmiri verse in the poetry of Shahryar for the Urdu version. He says seven “truly moving” songs were recorded in the voice of Asha Bhosle. “I didn’t know they would remain with me as a closely guarded secret.” The changed political atmosphere meant he could capture only two seasons before the project was stalled.
Muzaffar holds that Habba Khatoon is part of Kashmir’s psyche and that remains alive forever. “You can’t finish intangibles like man’s quest for truth and beauty. The more you suppress it, the more it gets desperate to come out.”
Muzaffar Ali
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
An important feature of the portraits is the presence of a horse in each one of them as a witness. The exhibition is a celebration of Muzaffar’s unabated affection for the stallion. Having grown up watching a variety of indigenous breeds in his family stable in Kotwara, Uttar Pradesh, Muzaffar surprisingly stayed away from the horse during his stay at Aligarh Muslim University, known for its horse riding club, where he was sent to study by his leftist father, apparently to “declass” him from his royal background.
Excited by the form and attitude of the imposing animal, Muzaffar is moved by the sense of assignation of a horse for his master. He fondly talks about Shams, the grey and white steed he picked for Vinod Khanna who played Prince Yusuf Shah in Zooni. Muzaffar gently complains about how the dashing actor didn’t fully fulfil his commitment. Shams stayed with him for two decades before giving way to Barak, named after the former US President.
Muzaffar says he finds something new when he spends time with Barak. “It is becoming my spirit animal. I keep sketching its form for hours.”
Most of his landscapes, abstracts, and sculptures express the gentle and compassionate side of the animal that has been a constant companion of man in the march of civilisation. Muzaffar talks of painting Duldul, the white mule in Muharram processions. “I feel a horse lives in a state of prayer. That’s why it finds mention in mythical tales of every religion and it is said that horse prays for those who shelter him. When Barak is around, I feel small. His presence denudes me of whatever little vanity I carry.”
Published – November 13, 2024 11:49 am IST
