Listening to Shrirang Bhave singing I was transported to the Hindi movie, ‘Sur Sangam’ with Girish Karnad & Jaya Prada. The final sequence, a tearjerker just like the original, Shankarabharanam.
Sung by Pandit Sajan Mishra & Kavita Krishna murty the album was released in 1985. Dhanya bhag seva ka avsar paya… Charan kamal ki dhul bana mein… The ultimate submission to the guru, with the sacrifice of being one with the sur…
Suddenly Guruji starts coughing & the child completes the song. Guruji collapses on stage after acknowledging him as his student. Those two scenes had everything to bring tears to your eyes. Chaitanya Tamhane needs to see such Gurus- shishyas before working on scripts like ‘The Disciple’.
Again in spite of good music but with larger reach Hindi version was well accepted. It did not have the magic of Shankarabharanam. I am not belittling the effort but a copy or translation remains just that!
Charan kamal ki dhul bana mein moksh dwar tak aaya… the reverence today decidedly lacks it. The clear notion that he is the guiding light & whatever he says is my fate. Where do we find people like this? The unwavering determination?
Sankarabharanam has a scene where the Guruji’s daughter sings a false note & he scolds her in front of the guests. She is enamored by the groom -to -be sitting in front of her & makes the mistake.
A 1980 Telugu film with Shankar Shastri, a classical Carnatic singer finds a fan in Tulasi, a prostitute’s daughter. She cannot learn but her son does & becomes his disciple. The entire film shows the struggle Tulasi goes through & the decent moments that come her way. Years have past yet it remains a lighthouse to the movies made on Guru-shishya parampara.
Asian Entertainment 