Pancham UnMixed - a review

This is an excellent review by Shashi Rao....


Pancham Unmixed - Mujhe Chalte Jaana Hai (an unending journey...)

April 26 - Arclight Hollywood Cinema - LA
Time: 6:30pm

The world premiere of the documentary on Pancham featured as part of the Indian Film Festival of LA - known as IFFLA. Indian cinema has
arrived and is staying comfortably in Hollywood!

The evening started off with festivities with a live band outdoors, celebrities mingling and lots of anticipation.

I am glad to have no prior intimation on the concept of this movie. All I knew was it was presented in a documentary format.

The movie hall was filled 85-90% to capacity - unbelievable but thrilled to see such a diverse crowd. Apprehension also lingered on
how such a venture would be received - a documentary on an Indian music composer which was mostly narrated in Hinglish, Hindi and
Bangla.

The movie begins with introductory credits - Pancham is introduced with pictures and titles on screen.

What is interesting about the documentary's narration is:
1. There are interviews but you never see or hear the interviewer. This gives the effect of a narration unmonitored, unguided and
unprompted.
2. There are hardly any videos featuring Pancham. It is a celebration of this talented person's life - a few friends gathered in remembering him. The impact is effective - he cannot be seen or heard...but he is around.

The initial interviews narrate the tale of his childhood, his early beginings as a music composer. Manna Dey explaining the story behind
his name Pancham and the amazing camaraderie they shared inspite of the 20-year age gap between them.

Amazing to hear Ameen Sayani as his "Binaca Geetmala voice" recounts his meetings with Pancham at Mehmoods' - the impressive variety in
music which he provided in his debut Chote Nawab.

The movie and more to the point the audience begin to settle down eager for the next stage in Pancham's career. We have Asha Bhosle
explaining her first meeting with Pancham. One finds her narration a tad distant and devoid of any personal recollections.

Shammi Kapoor demonstrates a sharp memory and a candid attitude to his reminiscences. A real treat is his effortless humming of the
nepali tune on which 'Deewana Mujh Sa Nahin' is based on.

What follows next is an amazing array of narrations, demonstrations and personal interviews with some of the most talented,
knowledgeable people close to Pancham. Close to Pancham each in his/her own unique way.

The documentary does not lose its pace to monotony or repetitiveness. In fact there are a few curve balls (or the doosra)
thrown in - which completely catches you off guard. You simply cannot avoid a chuckle or a clap of amazement or appreciation. Some
highlights:
- Bhanuda's wonderful narration of Pancham composing a song while taking a shower. He starts with the final note of the guitar and
works his way backwards.
- Taufiq Qureshi's mind-blowing performance of scatting - demonstrating Pancham's unique sensuous style of 'Ha Haah Ha..Huh-a-
Huh Huh' - amazing breath control that went on for minutes.
- Shantanu Moitra's knowledgeable demonstration of Pancham's technique of overlaying a folk instrument or tune with
modern/western instrument. As most Pancham fans suspect, he discloses his influence of Pancham's style when he composed the
ektaara tune on the piano for 'Piya Bole Piyu Bole'.
- The audience was rolling with amazed laughter when Gulshan Bawra narrates how Pancham's gets influences not just with music - but
with headlines, movie plots, etc. The story behind watching the movie XANADU, reading the headlines on Pakistani President Zia-Ul-
Haq - and coming up with 'Jaane Jaa O Meri Jaane Jaa'.
- Pt. Ronu Majumdar demonstrating with his flute in his own humble way Pancham's creation, the hidden ragas, the immense hard work and
talent in some of the seemingly simple compositions.
- Vishal Bharadwaj's journey back to his college days - the impact of Pancham - to his unforgivable statement of how one can never ever
escape Pancham…'Bas Who Aa Jaata Hai…' - he demonstrates 'Beedi Jalai Le' and when he comes to the 'Dhidhing-Dang-Ding' part - he
stops and says...'See...this is Pancham...you can never escape him'.

There are numerous personal accounts that are touching yet never mushy or overtly emotional.
- Pyarelal's fond recounting of how Pancham wooed his first wife Rita Patel in Simla and how Pyarelal helped him. Later Sachin Bhowmick provides an amusing anecdote of Pancham's getting duped in love.
- One gets a lump in their throat when Anju-ji (Mrs. Gulshan Bawra) remembers getting the call on the fateful morning of Pancham's
demise. One feels her helplessness when she sounds apologetic on taking 30 minutes to reach Pancham's home - blaming their age for
not rushing any faster.
- Shammi Kapoor, Shakti Samanta, Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma, Manohari, Bhupinder and Shailendra Singh do not mince words when explaining
Pancham's bad phase - there is no sensationalism - just matter-of-fact statements.
- The surprise one gets at the end of Gulzar's funny narration of being dropped as a 'hot potato' which ends in a stark insight into
the crying human inside - missing those pranks...the person.
- A senior artist and great talent such as Pt. Hari Parasad Chaurasia humbly admitting to hanging around Pancham's recording -
even if it meant simply playing the fake flute in air.
- The bits and pieces around the Pancham Dubai team, their gatherings, their lives woven around Pancham – makes this
documentary more personal to relate with.

There are those intense technical insights:
- Kavita Krishnamurthy demonstrates amazing talent in recalling each nuance and suggestion that Pancham made which embellished the songs. One simply wonders why she is not singing more often.
- Gautam Rajadhyaksha's impassioned comparison of Pancham to Puccini and Richard Rogers and his reasoning for the comparison.
- Bhanu Gupta's demonstration of playing with open notes, Ranjit Gazmer (Kancha), Ramesh Iyer and Ankush C's demonstrations of some
simple instruments used innovatively.
- The consistent demonstration of Pancham using side instruments for the main rhythm - the amazing use of the guitar simply to provide
the first note - the Dha...
- Shantanu Moitra, Shanker-Ehsan-Loy and Taufeeq Qureshi amaze you every time they appear on screen - their technical narrations are
something that explains the complexities underlying Pancham's compositions and his talent at making it look simple.

And then there are those surprising highs:
- Javed-saab's regret on a king dying just after his coronation is followed by the punch line regarding a comment made by Cassius Clay
on being a champion. Amazing - simply amazing!!
- Vidhu Vinod Chopra who shocks you with his initial (misconceived) abrasive attitude - only to reveal an unparalled passion and belief
in his icon.
- Randhir Kapoor who is still celebrating Pancham and whistling from the sidelines on Pancham's final sixer.
- Shrishti Behl's matter-of-fact recollections of her Pancham uncle. The Behl family's closeness comes across so human when their faces
light-up on visualising Pancham playing for Ramesh Behl in the skies above - or their interest in Pancham's remix video models - one
understands the concept of laughter getting mixed with tears.

Some scenes simply get engraved in your mind - be it Shammi Kapoor's heartbreaking yet stoic last stare into the camera or Bhanu-da's
simple statement 'He was my God' or Manna Dey's matter-of-fact 'I loved him...I just loved him' or Bhupinder's attempt at controlling
his singing voice heavy with memories of yore

Brahmanand like a master craftsman weaves his tale without any sign or fingerprint of the master on his work. His effort succeeds
because it lets the artists featured live and breathe. There is no trace of a scripted approach or a story with an agenda.

It is just as he promises `a simple story told in a very simple format'.

Amazingly in the post-movie Q&A session - a young African-American who never knew anything about Pancham made a pertinent comment - 'I
don't know his music - but it seems like his story cried out to be told!' Another comment from an American artist currently working in
India corroborated the experience of watching a human tale focused on his works, talent and music.

At the content and technical level, my initial reactions included the perception that there were a couple of short-comings in the
documentary. But when I asked the director Brahmanand, I realized these apparent shortcomings were not because of his team's lack of
trying - it was just not to be. For instance:
- One misses some of the living entities who had worked a lot with Pancham or knew him at a personal level. Lata Mangeshkar, Dev Anand,
Ramesh Sippy, Rajesh Khanna, etc. come to mind. For various reasons - none could provide an interview in the 2.5 years of the movie's
making.
- The song clips are from the DVD/VCD of Ultra, Shemaroo, etc. These portions display their inherent weak quality in terms of sound and
quality. How one wishes the director had access to the original archives and music spools. Had this been an effort to document even
a trivial music talent in Minnesota - I am sure the excellent archival material would far outshine the person's talent. Hats off
to Brahmanand's team for producing a effective story with the limited resources at their disposal. The entire documentary resounds
to the concept of mind over matter or should we say man over matter.

The movie ends on a celebratory note - with the feeling of satisfaction and exultation. It feels like attending the wake of a
good friend who was eulogized and cherished by a group of very close friends.

There are tons of details and incidents in the movie which I simply cannot convey on a few pieces of paper. One has to view it to
experience its 10,000 sq. ft. landscape. I might as well be attempting to draw the complete picture of the Grand Canyon.

The premiere was embellished by the presence of Pete Gavankar – Pancham's closest friend, brother, producer of Pantera and an
amazing person who at his age with his unbridled enthusiasm makes you sorely miss Pancham. He provided some terrific insights before
and after the movie – his tales of Pancham can provide Brahmanand enough fodder for Pancham Unmixed – Part II.

Finally the one thought that struck my mind was that this movie could have (and still would) saved me and the Pancham Yahoogroup
about 10-12 years of hard effort. All we have to do is simply make it mandatory for every member to watch this movie as a basic
qualification. A ton of energy in explaining the obvious and repetitive postings can be avoided. This movie is indeed
our `Pancham – for the Dummies'.

A blissful and content Loin still on his unending journey for…Pancham UnMixed!!!.