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The director Anubhav Sinha, who is known for powerful films such as Article 15 and Thappad, recently narrated the struggles that influenced his life and the way he conceptualized his films. As a child, Sinha was surrounded by inspirational poetry and music, which helped him in storytelling. He reminisces about growing up where he was surrounded by people from the most talented literary and music families.
“Ghar pe bhi aisa mahaul tha, pitaji the to Middle class sarkari karamchari, humare ghar pe Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Begum Akhtar, Mehndi Hassan, Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar phir baad me Jagjit Singh, Ghulam Ali ye sab chalta tha.” (The atmosphere at home was like this – My father was a government employee, but our house was filled with the voices of Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Begum Akhtar, Mehndi Hassan, Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar and then Jagjit Singh and Ghulam Ali.)
This also guided him toward achieving most of his artistic thoughts. His grief for these incredible artists, particularly the phenomenal Begum Akhtar, is apparent in the way he recollects. He revealed that there is far more to her music for him than sheer respect.
"13 saal ki Umar me ishq tha Begum Akhtar se, ‘ISHQ’, phir unki mazaar pe jaakar roya hu mein, Thappad ki shoot ke dauran.” (At the age of 13, I was in love with Begum Akhtar—real love. I even wept at her tomb during the shoot of Thappad.”)
This heartbreaking revelation makes Sinha’s emotional connection with Begum Akhtar’s art much clearer. What began as infatuation in his childhood turned into a devotion that lasted through his life, underscoring the potency of her music. The notion of a filmmaker weeping on her tomb during a film shoot is indicative of the gravity that she holds in his life. It demonstrates that Akhtar’s effects are not only skin-deep for appreciation, but rather go far deeper and impact the entirety of his being including his creative mind.
Sinha’s films portray social realities at least at a surface level and try to address them with sensitivity and nuance. This devotion to truthfulness, in all probability, comes from some of the socio-cultural realities of his formative years. The child poets and musicians were consummate storytellers, and they captured the audience's imagination with emotions. He had this appreciation for narratives that move people, alter their world views and even motivate them into action which stems from his initial childhood experiences.
His latest works; Article 15, Thappad, Mulk, and Bheed are no exceptions. These films approach their topics, which include caste discrimination, domestic abuse, and religious and social prejudice, with an absolute candor that is discomforting. His latest series, IC 814: The Kandahar Hijack, is another evidence of his masterful storytelling that appeals to people across the globe. The series, along with the performances and production values, received a lot of acclaim for its storytelling and made Sinha popular for doing impactful work in the movie industry. There is no doubt that the early domestication in poetry and music, especially the teaching of Begum Akhtar, has profoundly impacted Anubhav Sinha’s cinema. It allows him to create emotionally powerful social commentaries like no other filmmaker can.
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