Gaja Gamini

Gaja Gamini (English: One with a walk like an elephant) is a 2000 Indian film written and directed by M. F. Husain and is his ode to womanhood and his muse of the time, Madhuri Dixit, who stars as the lead in the film with Shahrukh Khan and Naseeruddin Shah.[2][3] The film was a box office disaster.[4]

Gaja Gamini
Directed byM. F. Husain
Produced byRakesh Nath
Written byKamna Chandra (writer)
M. F. Husain
StarringMadhuri Dixit
Shahrukh Khan
Inder Kumar
Naseeruddin Shah
Music byBhupen Hazarika
CinematographyAshok Mehta
Edited byWaman Bhosle
Virendra Gharse
Distributed byYash Raj Films [1]
Release date
1 December 2000
Running time
122 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi

Plot

The central figure of the film is represented by a mysterious figure called "Gaja Gamini" (Madhuri Dixit), who inspires, arouses, and confuses the common man. "Gaja Gamini" is the inspiration behind Leonardo da Vinci's (Naseeruddin Shah) 'Mona Lisa', Kalidas' poem "Shakuntala", and a photojournalist named Shahrukh's (Shah Rukh Khan) photographs. The mysterious "Gaja Gamini" appears as four characters, one of them being Sangeeta, a blind girl from Banaras at the beginning of time, who inspires village women (Farida Jalal, Shilpa Shirodkar, and Shabana Azmi) to revolt against a male-dominated system and carve a niche for women forever. Another character is Shakuntala, who is the subject of Kalidas' poem of the same name. Shakuntala incites jealousy in the women and love in the men around her, charming humans and animals alike in the forests of Kerala. "Gaja Gamini" is also Mona Lisa during the Renaissance, the object of painter Leonardo da Vinci's obsession. Finally, Monika, the most confusing sector of the film, is supposed to represent the woman of the New Millennium. Kamdev, the God of Love (Inder Kumar), walks the earth throughout history, attempting to win the love of "Gaja Gamini".

Thrown into this mix is a large black wall, separating two different periods, and confrontations between Science (Ashish Vidyarthi) and Art (Mohan Agashe) at different points in history, showing that the world itself can change, but its original ideas will always be the same. For example, a play by Shakespeare wrote and performed by actors in the 15th century will still be performed in the 21st century, but with different actors. The confrontations between art and science also bring about the idea that while science is firmly set on believing that which can only be proved, the basis for art is that which can be proved and an intuitive sense that can be felt. Science uses the brain, while Art uses the brain and the heart. Another facet of the film is a "gathri", a small bundle which a woman carries upon her head, like a burden, with which she must walk forever.[5][6]

Cast

Crew
  • Art direction – Sharmishtha Roy
  • Costume design – Reza Shareefi
  • Choreography – Saroj Khan, Jojo Khan
  • Sound – Buta Singh
  • Background music – Anuradha Pal

Review

Sumnan Tarafdar of Filmfare gave a positive review of the film, calling it "not something that comes along every day".[7] Taran Adarsh said "The film has a very colourful look, with the visuals being eye-catching. But as a director, Hussain fails to convey his thoughts on celluloid. On the whole, Gaja Gamini is an artistic film which will not be understood by any strata of an audience - classes or masses. Business-wise, the film is sure to spell disaster. A waste of precious celluloid".[8]

Soundtrack
Gaja Gamini
Soundtrack album by
Bhupen Hazarika
Released1 January 2000 (India)
GenreFilm soundtrack
LabelSa Re Ga Ma
ProducerBhupen Hazarika
Bhupen Hazarika chronology
Daman: A Victim of Marital Violence
(2001)		 Gaja Gamini
(2000)		 Darmiyan
(1997)

Hussain approached A. R. Rahman to compose the music for the film, but due to time constraints, he had to turn down the offer. The music was composed by Bhupen Hazarika.

SongSinger(s)Lyricist
"Gaja Gamini" Bhupen Hazarika Maya Govind
"Meri Payal Bole" Kavita Krishnamurthy Maya Govind
"Hamara Hansa Gaya Videsh" Kavita Krishnamurthy Maya Govind
"Shloka - Part 1" Suman Devgan Kalidas
"Shloka - Part 2" Suman Devgan Kalidas
"Yeh Gathri Taj Ki Tarah" M. F. Hussain M. F. Hussain
"Do Sadiyon Ke Sangam" Udit Narayan, Kavita Krishnamurthy Javed Akhtar
"Deepak Raag" Shankar Mahadevan Maya Govind
"Protest March" Instrumental
"Yeh Gathri Taj Ki Tarah" Kavita Krishnamurthy M. F. Hussain

References
  1. Gaja Gamini Yash Raj Films.
  2. "This film is my tribute to women: M F Husain". Archived from the original on 20 October 2009. Retrieved 8 October 2009. cinematic essay of Indian womanhood
  3. "Gaja Gamini Overview". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
  4. Priyanka Roy (10 June 2011). "Through the eyes of the besotted". Telegraph India. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  5. "The Paradox of Progress II: Gaja Gamini (2000)". Retrieved 8 October 2009.
  6. Gaja Gamini Archived 5 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine Yahoo! Movies.
  7. Tarafdar, Suman (2000). "Gaja Gamini". Filmfare. The Times Group. Indiatimes Movies. Archived from the original on 8 February 2001. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  8. "Gaja Gamini". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
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