Doordarshan brings out rare telefilm to honour Farooque Shaikh's memory

MUMBAI: Actor Farooque Shaikh's passing on December 28 has drawn a rush of memories from state broadcasters All India Radio and Doordarshan, with whom he did some stellar work from the seventies through the nineties.
On Sunday, January 5, Doordarshan's national channel telecast Sai Paranjpye's 'Katha' at noon, but saved a little-known nugget starring the actor for the 1.30am slot on Monday.
'Hindola', a 107-minute telefilm made in 1993, sees Farooque Shaikh play a cardiac surgeon who must confront a man that is trying to steal his wife's affections. In fact it is the television equivalent of 'Katha', displaying the warp and weft of his talent as few film-makers cared to explore.
Doordarshan had commissioned 22-year-old director Abir Mishra to execute his father Ravi's script. The youngster assembled a team led by Shaikh, Shekhar Suman, Vikram Gokhale, Smita Jayakar, Rekha Sahai, Namrata Sahni and composer Mohinderjit Singh, who sings his own compositions in a special appearance.
Shaikh plays 40-year-old Dr Manu Mathur, a genial heart specialist with ostensibly not a romantic bone in his body. His beautiful wife Smita Jayakar continues to nurture a schoolgirl fantasy of her college sweetheart, Shekhar Suman, and does not care to hide her feelings from her husband either.
The story unfolds when the couple is invited to dinner by Suman's sister Rekha Sahai. Old friends meet and the latent fire is stoked once more. Suman is a successful architect but continues to mope depressively for his lost love, although it was his indecisiveness that caused her to leave in the first place.
Unlike 'Maya Memsaab', which Shaikh was shooting almost simultaneously, he was unwilling to play helpless cuckold in 'Hindola'. He begins to deal the slow punches by first questioning Suman's annual turnover. He then asks how a client may be convinced of his skills as an architect. He goes on to discuss the changing FSI ratio when his wife Smita interjects and asks him to avoid shop talk. Shaikh retorts, "Well, what do I talk to him about? You and he are old flames. You probably need to have an intimate conversation. I cannot possibly participate in that."
Shortly after, the two men are alone together. Mincing no words, Shaikh compares his rival with a modern-day Ravan waiting to prey upon innocent women. "Biwiyan public property nahin hoti, Ranjit Sahab (Suman)! When I decide to strike, I will not require this 'baanar-bhaloo wali sena' (an army of monkeys and bears). I will — direct shoot!" he exclaims, pointing his fingers like a gun towards his opponent. As Suman squirms in silence, his indignant sister arrives and interjects, "Khana lagvaoon, Ramchandraji?'' Now it is Shaikh's turn to slip into stunned silence.
The actor steps out of his comfort zone frequently during the film. He discards his classic white kurta pyjama for bright green bush shirts. He indelicately throws a spoonful of chutney in his wife's plate to interrupt her reverie while she watches the romantic boat scene in 'Awara'. When she brings home a creeper plant one day, he slaps his pillow in anger and disdainfully compares his rival to a vine that cannot grow without support.
The film sparkles with humour and sensitivity. Every character is well-crafted, the dialogues full of repartee and wit, and to this day, the four songs by Mohinderjit Singh are sought after on the internet.
'Hindola' was made in a time when Doordarshan's audiences had not become immune to adult content on private television channels. Yet, the broadcaster allowed some tasteful verbal and physical intimacy between the actors. Once in the middle of the night, Shaikh rouses his wife by playing the tabla on her hips. When Smita petulantly asks what it is he wants, he smiles and says, "Well, we wouldn't go for a film at this hour, would we?" They laugh knowingly and the scene closes.
A hilarious ending draws the curtains upon the plot. In fact, even the cast doubles up with laughter in the candid camera shots.
In the closing scene, Shaikh arrives in his favourite chikan ensemble. He gently blindfolds his wife with her own dupatta and leads her with a waltz to see a breathtakingly beautiful sunset that fills her eyes with tears of gratitude for the blessing of his love.
'Hindola' was among the earliest films to include candid camera in the end titles. Here Shaikh is seen keeling over and falling in embarrassment as he plays the tabla for one song sequence. In another, he addresses cameraman Ravi Kiran and laughs, "Ravi Sahab hans rahe hain!'' The unit remembers how he addressed everybody from its young director Abir Mishra to the common helper as "Sahab" throughout the shoot.