Jaya, Shabana, Mani, Adoor…
How Were India’s Finest Filmmakers Made?
by Radha Chadha
How exactly does one shape an actor like Shabana Azmi or Jaya Bachchan? Or hone the raw talent of a director like Adoor Gopalakrishnan? Or train the sensibilites of a cinematographer like K.K. Mahajan? I was fascinated – indeed obsessed – with these questions, even more so as my father, Jagat Murari, was the man who ‘made’ scores upon scores of outstanding filmmakers at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). Did he have a secret formula, I wondered?
That elusive secret is at the heart of my new book, The Maker of Filmmakers: How Jagat Murari and FTII Changed Indian Cinema Forever, which is as much a biography of Jagat Murari as that of FTII, the iconic film school he built.
A visionary educator and award-winning filmmaker, his journey began in post-war America, where — while still a film student at USC — he interned with the legendary Orson Welles during the filming of Macbeth in 1947.
The lessons he absorbed on that set shaped not only his future, but the future of Indian cinema. Returning to a newly independent India, he went on to build the Film and Television Institute of India from the ground up.
Under his leadership, FTII became a magical place that turned out top talent with unerring consistency. His alumni became the big names of Bollywood, spearheaded the Indian New Wave, kickstarted regional language cinema, and helped usher television into the country. Drawing from thousands of his diary entries, personal documents, rare photographs, and interviews with his former students, many of whom are now industry legends, I have woven together the story of the man who reshaped Indian cinema, and helped make it the global powerhouse it is today.
I see my father’s legacy continuing at New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF), where so many of the selected films are powered by newer generations of FTII talent — directors, actors, editors, cinematographers, sound designers, and screenplay writers. It feels like a “back to the future” moment to me.
I am thrilled to be coming to NYIFF withThe Maker of Filmmakers, and am looking forward to my session with Festival Director
Aseem Chhabra on 30 May. I will also be screening a montage of rare student films of iconic FTII alumni, including Jaya Bachchan, Shabana Azmi, Mani Kaul, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Shatrughan Sinha,and others.
See you there!
Event Details
The Maker of Filmmakers: How Jagat Murari and FTII Changed Indian Cinema Forever will be available for sale during the event, with a book signing to follow.
Radha Chadha
Radha Chadha is an author, columnist and one of Asia’s foremost experts on marketing and consumer insights.
Her book The Cult of the Luxury Brand: Inside Asia’s Love Affair with Luxury was a bestseller, and is considered the go-to book for understanding luxury in Asia. After two decades at top advertising agencies — Ogilvy, JWT, Grey and Bates Asia — she founded her own brand consultancy in Hong Kong. For over a decade, Radha also wrote a widely read column for Mint, one of India’s leading business newspapers. She holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and a BA from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi. She now lives in Dubai.
Radha grew up on the campus of the Film and Television Institute of India, where her father, Jagat Murari, shaped a generation of filmmakers. Her latest book, The Maker of Filmmakers: How Jagat Murari and FTII Changed Indian Cinema Forever, is a portrait of that pivotal time, when India’s cinematic legacy was transformed.
Aseem Chhabra
Aseem Chhabra is the Festival Director of the New York Indian Film Festival. He is a writer, film critic, and the author of three major biographies: Shashi Kapoor: The Householder, the Star ; Priyanka Chopra: The Incredible Story of a Global Bollywood Star; and Irrfan Khan: The Man, The Dreamer, the Star. A film journalist in New York City and New Delhi, his work has been published in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Hindu, Outlook, BBC, Scroll, and many more publications. He’s also been a commentator about Indian cinema and popular culture on NPR, CNN, BBC, CBC, and ABC’s ‘Good Morning America.’
He has been also involved in programming South Asian films for a number of film festivals in the US, including the MIAAC Film Festival in New York City. As an elected member of the board of the South Asian Journalists Association, and the New York Chapter coordinator of SAJA, he often chairs panel discussions on social and political issues, and hosts book reading events and arts discussions. He holds an MS in Journalism from Columbia University, and an MBA from Boston University.