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Shaheed-e-mohabbat

V S Srinivasan

Gurdas Mann. Click for bigger pic!

You'd think it's a rather large gulf to bridge, from bhangra pop to a film on blighted love. But on reflection, it shouldn't spark comment. Both rely on emotional responses, both celebrate romance in one way or the other.

And so Gurdas Mann, who broke into the limelight ages ago with Dil Da Mamla Hai, is now making Shaheed-e-Mohabbat -- Buta Singh, a film starring himself, and based on the story of an ex-serviceman who, separated then forsaken by his wife, finally commits suicide. The tale apparently even moved India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.

While the story naturally has some appeal, since it is about Partition, about marriage across the communal divide, it holds some attraction for people of other political colour too.

A still from Shaheed-e-mohabbat -- Buta Singh. Click for bigger pic!

"This film will be made in Hindi and Punjabi. Till date, I have only made Punjabi films, but then the market for regional films is very low, except in the south where the films do well. It was essential that I also aim at the Hindi market," he says.

He has already starred in 10 Punjabi films, many of which were hits. "When Suraj Sanim, the scriptwriter, narrated the story to me, I was in tears. So I knew it would click well with the audience. It is a different film from the kaat koot films of today."

The film is set in 1947. The exodus has begun after Partition. A Sikh ex-military man in his thirties finds a 16-year-old Muslim girl alone in a nearby village and brings her home. But the villagers tell him he should either marry her or leave her in a camp where people bound for Pakistan are located.

Click for bigger pic!

But he decides that since he's far older, he'd better leave her at the camp. As he is about to send her off with a man bound for the camp and who is prepared to marry her there, she asks Buta Singh if he is so poor that he cannot even feed her two rotis per day to keep her alive. Whereupon Buta Singh decides to marry her.

They have a baby girl. And Buta is pretty happy that despite being overage, matrimonially speaking, he's leading a pleasant life. Others of his class usually had to actually buy women from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar whom they married.

A jealous uncle who realises the family property will now go to the Muslim girl, forcibly dumps Buta's wife into a truck bound for Pakistan. Buta realises what has happened, sells all his land and goes along with his child to Pakistan illegally. He's quickly arrested and brought before a judge who's quite willing to free him if his wife owns up.

Click for bigger pic!

But, under pressure from her family, the girl backs off. A disillusioned and distraught Buta jumps with his daughter before an oncoming train. He dies, but his daughter is saved. Pakistani youth, overcome by this, hail him thus: Shaheed-e-mohabat (a martyr in the cause of love), erect a memorial and a trust in his name.

Helped by the trust, the daughter completed her education and is now settled in Libya.

Gurdas wanted to produce the film himself, and so he got Manoj Punj to direct this film. He's abnegated the right to do the music himself, handing the job to Amar Haldipur instead. "Since I was acting in it, I did not want to take on the additional responsibility," he says.

He is very happy with his progress from singer to actor to producer. "It's been a very satisfying experience. I never thought I would be a singer. I just used to sing in college, that's all. A friend of mine at Doordarshan invited me to sing for one of the programmes. Later I sang Dil da mamla hai on one New Year's eve programme and the song caught on. I became a star overnight," he laughs. But Mann still prefers the stage.

Click for bigger pic!

"That is where true pleasure lies.... People react instantaneously. The love that people give you because of such shows is tremendous. They cheer you and encourage you a lot. That is certainly a lot of fun."

Mann tripped convention when he sang Dil da mamla hai, singing solo instead of with a partner. But that just increased his popularity by 100 per cent. His attachment to theatre has much to do with his beginnings in the Punjab Kala Manch.

"I've done a lot of plays and have written my own lyrics for my songs, apart from composing and singing them. And dancing gives you great pleasure. It gives you physical exercise and mental refreshment. So I was happy doing it. I've recently come up with a couple of albums that earned me a couple of awards from the Indian fraternity in the US and the UK. That is the recognition which makes me happy, apart from the love of the people," he says.