The making of Shailendra's Teesri Kasam(ssmurthy)

The making of Teesri Kasam brought its Producer the celebrated Shailendra into a piquant pecunary situation leaving him in a staggering pool of debt, to a redpoint of no return, not withstanding the token of benevolence, Hasrat and SJ offered their services free and so did RajKapoor, though ironically that was Shailendra's "Waterloo"


Poets are often emotional people and most of the subtle nuances emanate from the largesse of their heart's accumalated feelings, kindled by differrent provocations.

In films these are all created and the seller and the sold are pipe dreaming in the eddy currents of a whirlpool called cinema.

The film "Teesri Kasam " was a poet's dream and who else but Shailendra could have been fascinated and become susceptible to the charms of making it. It was a subconscious desire to crystallise this through its making and leave his footprints through an immortal celluloid classic.

Wonder of all things that inspite of being part of the film world for more than a decade he never realised the trappings of the ground realities of film making in contrast to a viewers delight who hardly witnesses the turmoil that goes into its making.

This is where the contrast of Raj kapoor the artiste and Raj kapoor the persona stands out and even Shailendra had to pay the penalty.

However coming to composing the lyrics for the film, Shailendra being a lyricist himself and already obsessed with the theme of the film, had taken up the onus of writing most of the songs, since the overall finances with regard to economics, was also of concern.

However Hasrat was given only two songs, if I am correct, may be mainly to keep the SJSH logo in tact, and lo what a great composition Hasrat- Jai came up with the "Duniya banane wale ... mesmerising every one and establishing that they can be as sensitive, philosophical and touching as the Shankar Shailendra combo.

Raj was equally fascinated by the Hiraman's character and once he was in, the other support paraphernalia in the form of principally Shankar, Jaikishan, etc have mustered top gear in bringing out what best they could do in composing chaste music, to a rare subtle theme in a rural background.The irony of the whole subject is that inspite of all the excellent attributes this film had somehow the mass was not in tune with the class theme.

Raj with his intuitive insight, after seing the initial rushes of the print on completion, visualised the likely fate, that the film may encounter and as a salvage act offered to release it through the RK banner as a saving grace from its impending doom,

and even the slightly belated President's Gold Medal also, did little to improve the attendance in the cinema halls, except for one euphorious landmark in the semblance of SJ's music which climaxed into a basket of bountiful melodies ,thus, leaving, atleast a trace of Teesri Kasam for nostalgic remembrance amongst many like us and for posterity


rgds

ssmurthy