Why Nasir Husain deserves to be counted amongst the greats

Nasir Husain. Pics/ NH Films/Nuzhat Khan

In his second book, Music, Masti and Modernity: The Cinema of Nasir Husain, film journalist Akshay Manwani talks about the method and passion of man who gave us hits such as Yaadon Ki Baraat and Hum Kisise Kum Naheen. Here's why he believes Husain deserves to be counted amongst the greats.

Why Nasir?
I have grown up on movies like Yaadon Ki Baarat (1973) and Hum Kisise Se Kum Nahin (1977). But I was most fascinated when I heard that he wrote the dialogues for Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar (1992). He's always seen as a light, fun and commercial filmmaker, who lacks intensity. The main aim of the book was to say that just because a filmmaker is not serious, doesn't mean that he isn't important enough.

Nasir Husain with Salim-Javed

Music was the core
Mansoor (Khan, Husain's son) also told me that for his father's had a great ear for music and knew exactly what would work and what wouldn't. He knew what a hit song was. Some said songs from his movies had a Western feel, but that isn't entirely true. Movies like Caravan (made in 1971 with songs like Dilbar Dil Se Pyaare) had a folk influence. He just inherently knew what a good song was. In fact, once he became aware of this talent, he started incorporating music in his movies as a core element. For example, In Teesri Manzil (1966), the main character is a drummer, and in Caravan, the setting is a gypsy one, which gives space for banjara music.

Burman or Majrooh?
It's true that Husain had a fascination for poetry and hence Majorooh's lyrics were very important to him and he did 12 films with him. But Burman was more important as a technician. Husain was almost 10 years older to Burman, but they got along very well and were on the same wavelength. It was because music was always more important for Husain. Take this strange fact, there has never been a completely sad song in a Husain movie. For example, in Hum Kisise Se Kum Nahin, even though Kya Hua Tera Vada was a sad song, with very sad lyrics, it has a classic rock and roll beginning.

Nasir Husain with Vijay Anand

Asha Parekh: Husain's ideal heroine
Husain's heroines were always tomboyish. Asha Parekh, who he did seven movies with, had that vibe, which formed a pre-curser to the heroines of the 70s. His female leads were outdoor girls. They wouldn't do chores and would instead, drive cars. Parekh fit into that character well.

Turning Point: Teesri Manzil
Why Teesri Manzil is important is because it was the best example of collaborative cinema that resulted in an almost perfect movie. It was the actors from Husain's stable like Shammi Kapoor and Asha Parekh, being directed by Vijay Anand who was working out of his home banner Navketan Films for the first time. There was Husain's writing, Helen's dances, Majrooh's lyrics and RD Burman's songs.

Akshay Manwani

Being with it at 65
Even though Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar was essentially his son Mansoor Khan's movie, it was clear that it had a hangover of all of Husain's films. For example, the egg fight scene is much like the pie fights in Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai (1961) and Pyaar Ka Mausam (1969). Even Aamir Khan's impish character is reminiscent of Husain's characters. But the best part was that at 65, he got the vocabulary of teenagers exactly right.