GP Sippy: A legendary filmmaker.
GP Sippy, born in 1913, who had died recently, in 2007, can be considered as one of the legendary filmmakers who had the vision of producing films which were rich in content and also addressed the popular tastes of film lovers of the country. Most of his films were directed by his won son Ramesh Sippy.
The notable films include Seeta Aur Geeta, Andaz, Sholay, Shaan, Saagar, etc. His films had a wide range of subjects including the story of two twin sisters in Seeta Aur Geeta, where one of them was oppressed by family members and the other took revenge against such oppression, to story of a widow who required company of another person whose wife died previously in Andaz, 1971. not only that he had produced films which had given the Indian industry huge revenue and stand as one of the most hit films being produced in the entire century, but the different aspects of the films are well appreciated and act as trendsetters for the future generation.
Very significantly GP Sippy, did not cast the same actors in all his films and justified his casting based on the requirement of the story and capability of the actor. For example, Amzad Khan acted as Gabbar Singh in Sholay, and became a role model of all the villains who tried to show the cruel features of dacoits and bandits who operated on the northern part of India. There was a different presentation of his villain in the film Shaan, in 1980, where Shakal acted as industrial giant who operated from abroad. A very polished state of affairs followed in that film. Besides the action sequences in most of his films were very much related to story and formed part of the film.
When films were produced on romantic subjects, the treatment became totally different. Kamal Hassan showed all his choreographic skills and sense of humour as opposed to Rishi Kapoor in Sagar, who was shy and conservative in approach of their own presentation before Dimple Kapadia. Besides, he had shot the sequences in very colourful locations in most of the films.
Another significant part of the films of GP Sippy include very successful music. Shankar Jaikishan had provided very quality music in the film Seeta Aur Geeta, in 1971. After that film Jaikishan died, and RD Burman contributed to the major films produced by GP Sippy and directed by Ramesh Sippy. Even music played a significant role in Shahrukh Khan’s film Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman in the early 90s.
There was another hallmark of all these films in the matching of performances by legendary actors. Big B, Shatrughun Sinha and Shashi Kapoor did not find it difficult to act in the same film in Shaan. Dharmender, Big B and Sanjeev Kumar, all played their individual roles in Sholay with variety and composure. Hema Malini and Jaya Bacchan had also done well in their respective roles.
GP Sippy’s films should be preserved and restored for producers of the modern generation to learn how to make the best use of resources made available to them.
The notable films include Seeta Aur Geeta, Andaz, Sholay, Shaan, Saagar, etc. His films had a wide range of subjects including the story of two twin sisters in Seeta Aur Geeta, where one of them was oppressed by family members and the other took revenge against such oppression, to story of a widow who required company of another person whose wife died previously in Andaz, 1971. not only that he had produced films which had given the Indian industry huge revenue and stand as one of the most hit films being produced in the entire century, but the different aspects of the films are well appreciated and act as trendsetters for the future generation.
Very significantly GP Sippy, did not cast the same actors in all his films and justified his casting based on the requirement of the story and capability of the actor. For example, Amzad Khan acted as Gabbar Singh in Sholay, and became a role model of all the villains who tried to show the cruel features of dacoits and bandits who operated on the northern part of India. There was a different presentation of his villain in the film Shaan, in 1980, where Shakal acted as industrial giant who operated from abroad. A very polished state of affairs followed in that film. Besides the action sequences in most of his films were very much related to story and formed part of the film.
When films were produced on romantic subjects, the treatment became totally different. Kamal Hassan showed all his choreographic skills and sense of humour as opposed to Rishi Kapoor in Sagar, who was shy and conservative in approach of their own presentation before Dimple Kapadia. Besides, he had shot the sequences in very colourful locations in most of the films.
Another significant part of the films of GP Sippy include very successful music. Shankar Jaikishan had provided very quality music in the film Seeta Aur Geeta, in 1971. After that film Jaikishan died, and RD Burman contributed to the major films produced by GP Sippy and directed by Ramesh Sippy. Even music played a significant role in Shahrukh Khan’s film Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman in the early 90s.
There was another hallmark of all these films in the matching of performances by legendary actors. Big B, Shatrughun Sinha and Shashi Kapoor did not find it difficult to act in the same film in Shaan. Dharmender, Big B and Sanjeev Kumar, all played their individual roles in Sholay with variety and composure. Hema Malini and Jaya Bacchan had also done well in their respective roles.
GP Sippy’s films should be preserved and restored for producers of the modern generation to learn how to make the best use of resources made available to them.
1 comment:
The storyline of most of the films produced by GP Sippy were different and that was one of the reasons filmlovers always discovered something new in his films. Sholay was made with rural background whereas Shaan was made with modern technology, display of dockyard, modern locations, etc. New filmmakers can learn a lot from the the films of GP Sippy.
Rumi Chatterji.
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