Part 4

Continued from Part 3
The choices and the compromises that a writer has to make while writing a scene depends largely on the director's sensibility and understanding of the material. The degrees of freedom as a writer is thus in a way restricted, restrained and reigned in by director's diktat. But what if the unthinkable happens and the writer gets to wield the megaphone while shouldering the responsibilities of the writer simultaneously? Would he make all the choices and take all the decisions that would not have otherwise been possible working under a different director? Even more challenging - would he suit up to a different kind of subject/genre that has been explored yet or found largely risky and therefore left untouched? When it came to Jandhyala, a resounding yes was the unequivocal answer to the above questions. Despite being in the comfort zone of the commercial cinema, scripting one blockbuster after another, without waying away too much from the set parameters of broad entertainment formula, and despite finding wide recognition and the much deserved respect tapping the softer sides of human persona in the artistic medium, Jandhyala took on the much tougher route of convincing the audience with a different kind of cinema, that borrowed the sensibilities of the artistic ones but still can be touted as regular commercial fare.

It is a different kind of cinema that the audience hadn't yet been exposed to. The subjects of "mudda mandAram" and "nAlugu sthambAlATa" aren't completely commercial and neither could they be classified as completely artistic. The films carried over the sensibilities of the 70s cinema and the commercialism of the 80s fares. That they all were teenage romance movies without any huge star casts, set in normal households dealing everyday issues, was a fitting homage to the nouveau cinema, a trend started in the Tamil industry in the 70s under the baton of Balachanders and Bharatirajas. Inspite of being teenage romance movies, Jandhayla never exploited the crass aspect of the subject to tittilate the audience and render the imagery under the spotlight of pure commercialism. The subject of "mudda mandAram" starts off with the idea of abandonment/detachment in relationships in rich families, followed with the enchantment towards the opposite sex during the teenage years, leading up the elopement of the lead couple and the consequences that ensue from such foolhardy actions - not exactly the kind of subjects that box-office beckons to, and not exactly the kind of content that would make the family audience feel warm and cozy.

Same goes with "nAlugu sthambAlATa" - a very poetic title to start with. Herein, there are 4 players ending up as two mismatched couples, for no other reason except than the whims of fate and fancies of destiny. There are no villains except than the circumstances that stand up as the mightiest evil of all. Love merges into sacrifice, becoming the only sane situation in the imbroglio. Again, not the kind of material that star writers and new directors would like to tackle. Jandhyala's ability lies in creating a very personal human drama out of those situations. Whereas love stories restrict themselves mostly till the point when the love birds, against all odd situations, emerge victorious in the end, Jandhyala goes one step further and tackles the life after the victory point. It is interesting to note that both "mudda mandAram" and "nAlugu sthambAlATA" tackle the teenage pregnacy situation in as realistic way as could be possible in cine-medium. While in "mudda mandAram", the point becomes the springboard to launch the movie into a de-glamorized world where social stigmas rule the roost, the same issue becomes a point of great character study in "nAlugu..." depicting how 4 people react to the same situation in different ways - affection, sacrifice, nobility and possessiveness - the four pillars that define love.

"Pygmalion" is considered one of the seminal works in George Bernard Shaw's literary oeuvre. The story is about a Phoenetics Professor, Henry Higgins, who takes a country bumpkin, Eliza Doolittle, under his wing, as a part of a wager with his friend, and starts grooming her to be a fitting disciple under his tutelage. In the process, the close proximity with Eliza culminates into affection, admiration and finally love. While the professor is too arrogant to admit and profess his love, Eliza is too innocent to realize the ways of the world. Shaw's acclaimed work deals with the drama that ensues where cultures and classes clash. Jandhyala's "aNanda bhairavi" is a variation of similar theme. Adapated from Kondamudi SreeRamMurthy's novel, "ananda bhairavi" too deals with the theme of a teacher mentoring a road side acrobat-performing kid into a premium dancer in the traditional variety. The way it differs from the Pygmalion is that, instead of the teacher himself falling for the pupil, it is the teacher's kid that starts to adore his compatriot. The conflict becomes even tougher than in Pygmalion, when a person hailing from a traditional background has to accept an 'untouchable', whom he till then considers as a daughter (as his own creation, in figurative terms), as a daughter-in-law. The issue not only becomes one of cultures, classes and castes, but also one of morality.

Jandhyala's "Ananda bhairavi" can be considered as his best work that balanced his artistic urge with great human drama. Take out all the artistic references from the story, the classical music, the traditional dances, and the movie would still hold up as a great one, because of the very good dramatic situations that involve setting up of the key players right in each other's path and resolving them in a manner that is both poetic and justified. The teacher sees his son as the prime obstacle between her protege and his pride. The son views the teacher as an impediment between his adoration for the student and his art. The student is torn between the loyalties towards her love towards the son and the passion (for her art) towards the teacher. The resolution is even stunning when such an unresolvable situation could be untangled through the only way that it is ever possible. All the surrounding padding aside, "paDamaTi sandhyAragam" deals with a similar culture clash, where nationalities also come into play along with the traditions. No narrow answer provides a valid answer and no narrow outlook provides the ultimate solution. The theme of universal acceptance resonates throughout these two movies, echoing the fact that man hangs over all the boundaries he drew up, rises above all the walls he put up and untouched by all the cultures and traditions he created (Please note the reflecting of the same theme in Saptapadi, also penned by Jandhyala).

One can play safe by sticking to the same stories that worked and working with the same themes that found wide acceptance or one can come out of the groove/rut and question his own talent and his innate art, by tackling subjects that lie outside the perimeter of appeal and applause. Jandhyala's works, particularly as a writer/director, indicate his penchant for challenge and his admiration for the unusual. That he emerged victorious dealing with such, proves his penmanship beyond reproach.

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