Padma Shri awardee Mohammad Ali Baig speaks exclusively about his film Chaand Tara, his fascination with the forgotten stories of the Deccan, the historical figure of Taramati, and the film’s reception at Cannes. In this conversation, Baig reflects on art, dignity, devotion, legacy and the responsibility of portraying historical figures on screen.
Here are excerpts from the interview
What first inspired you to bring the forgotten story of Taramati to the big screen through Chaand Tara?
Mohammad Ali Baig: The first play I directed on stage, incidentally, was on Taramati, atop the 300-year-old monument, complete with five songs and dance sequences, live horses and camels, fire-eaters and dancers on stage. While I took cinema to the stage in the play, I have brought theatre on screen with Chaand Tara.
When I first visited the monument, what struck me was the fact that here was a monument, like a poem immortally carved in stone for a singer and dancer, standing testimony to her stature and dignity for three centuries. Someone who was neither a queen, nor a mistress, nor a tawaif. The bond she would have shared with the Sultan would have been beyond just romantic and cosmetic, but purely artistic and intrinsic.
Taramati is a significant yet lesser-known figure in Hyderabad’s history. What drew you to her story, and why do you think it deserves to be told now?
Mohammad Ali Baig: My work has mostly been about bringing the heroes from the Deccan’s history to audiences. Quli Qutb Shah, the founder of the city of Hyderabad, was a remarkable visionary and architect, a poet and administrator who created a memorable city. Turrebaz Khan was one of the first freedom fighters from Hyderabad during the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. Queen Hayat Bakhshi Begum thwarted the Mughal invasion of the Golconda Kingdom more than five times without raising a sword. H.E.H. Osman Ali Khan, ruler of the Deccan and then considered the richest man on the planet, was another great visionary-secular, inclusive and ahead of his times.
They are not just characters from history, but people who shaped our history. We are indebted to them, whether we realise it or not, acknowledge it or don’t.
Taramati was no Rudrama Devi or Rani of Jhansi, nor Mumtaz Mahal or Umrao Jaan. Yet, a monument stands as a tribute that has withstood the test of three centuries, echoing her art, her pure devotion and her strong resolve not to be a court singer. She believed that the Darbar’s diktats would enslave her, and that her art was her devotion. That’s what drew the reigning Qutb Shahi ruler, Sultan Abdullah, to her, with mutual respect.
How did you balance historical authenticity with cinematic storytelling while making Chaand Tara?
Mohammad Ali Baig: Dignity in the arts, particularly in theatre, is what I have always pursued right from my first theatre spectacle. Yes, I consciously made it elite and high-brow. “Designer”, as some people may label it. That’s how I would like theatre to be-celebrated.
So also, meaningful cinema. That’s pure cinema in all its fineries and aesthetics, embellished with all its departments crafted in place, be it writing, cinematography, lyrics, music or post-production. Not over-the-top, not in your face, but poetic, lyrical and soulful. Like a quaint raga on the ripples of a flowing stream. That’s what I have tried to bring on screen in Chaand Tara.
Cinematic liberties are essential while writing situations, at the same time being authentic to the real characters and story. Ethically, I believe that when people are not around to answer, you shouldn’t taint them or cross the fine line of filmmaking with your own perceptions or agenda. In such a case, it is better that one picks a completely fictional subject.
The film explores themes of art, devotion, sacrifice and legacy. Which of these resonated most with you personally during the filmmaking process?
Mohammad Ali Baig: Legacy, obviously. With three generations of high achievers in the family, I always feel the pressure today to live up to it. Grand Dad, Baba and Bhai set the bar very high for me to constantly be on the test.
It’s a blessing to be born in such a familial environment, but a constant challenge as well. Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah in Chaand Tara suffers from a similar predicament. His grandfather was the founder of the city and the first ‘Sahib-e-Diwan’ Urdu poet of South India.
Having lost his father, the reigning King, at the age of 12, he spent an isolated, lonely childhood, albeit in privilege, and drifted towards poetry, his love for horses and hunting, which led him to be called a spoilt prince, a mama’s boy. How his meeting with Taramati changes him is the rest of the story and Deccan’s history.
With Chaand Tara being showcased at the Bharat Pavilion at Cannes, what kind of response did you receive from international audiences?
Mohammad Ali Baig: The response at Cannes was totally unexpected and overwhelming, to say the least. That’s where the world’s finest cinema is showcased.
At the screening, audiences and filmmakers-French, Italian, Canadian, American, Asian-as well as distributors and critics from all over the world loved it. The common response was, “It took us back to 17th Century India.”
From performances to art, music and camerawork, they adored it. An Indian filmmaker hugged me with moist eyes, saying, “I am proud that in these times and trends you made a film like this.”
To take Indian culture and ethos to this global stage was a sheer blessing. I could feel the pulse of the world’s audience as they were riveted to their seats while Hindustani dialogues were spoken on screen and pure Urdu and Dakhni poetry were sung.
That was really fulfilling as an actor, writer and director making his debut on screen.
What do you hope younger viewers will take away from Chaand Tara after watching it?
Mohammad Ali Baig: Chaand Tara is about art and dignity, self-respect and responsibility. It is about how privileges come with loneliness, entitlements with shackles, and how destiny has an upper hand over everyone’s life, be it an artiste or a mighty ruler.
Sultan and Taramati couldn’t be together in life, but they are immortalised in history together forever.
As Taramati says in the film, “True love is not just being together, but showing the world the path to love.”
