Dada Kondke was the original master of double entendre

Senior Journalist JYOTHI VENKATESH who knew the actor personally remembers him on the occasion of his 90th birth anniversary today.If only he was alive, today actor Dada Kondke would have turned 90. To commemorate his birth anniversary today, we reproduce an interview with DADA KONDKE by JYOTHI VENKATESH which appeared nearly 40 years ago in Eve’s Weekly dt May 28-June 3, 1983.

His is the kind of face which would inspire even a layman to take to acting in films convincingly that if Dada Kondke can, even I can. With his rags to riches story behind him, Dada Kondke, the comedy king of Marathi Cinema is the richest producer-director in Bombay. In all he has made nine films in Marathi and every one of them has raked in gold at the box office.

Dada has even made it to the Guinness book of World Records as the only filmmaker in the world to have churned out jubilee hits one after the other in a very short span of 10 years. Not content with his brilliant innings in Marathi films, Dada has now set out to try his luck in Hindi films and has just launched his first film in Hindi- Tere Mere Beech Mein, with him in the lead and his wife- to- be Usha Chavan as the leading lady. To make the film attractive to the non-Maharashtrian audiences, Dada has roped in Amjad Khan to play a powerful parallel role in the film.

Also read: Meghna Gulzar’s SamBahadur commences shoot

To engage Dada in a conversation is in itself a delight. He unwinds once you start talking to him in Marathi and then it is difficult to stop him. He is witty and airs his views with candor and without any inhibitions whatsoever. I met him for this interview when I went recently to Kolhapur where he was shooting Tere Mere Beech Mein and a host of comedians from Bombay in a 43-day nonstop shooting schedule.

“People ask me why I have saddled myself with this image of a country bumpkin comedian. I have no regrets whatsoever. I have no inspiration to be an Amitabh Bachchan, you see. Even Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy never felt like they were bound by the image of the comedian. Even after he became a popular comedian, Charlie never deserted his typical boots and swinging stick. If I were to switch over from my half pants to suit and boots, the audience will not accept me as I will cease to be Dada Kondke.”, he says shrewdly.

Image is a must according to Dada. “An artist survives only because of his image. You have got to patent for yourself a saleable image to field yourself as a candidate in films. Raj Kumar of the Kannada screen is the only exception to the rule. He is the only artist who can play with aplomb a James Bond as well as a village based Sanadi Appanna.”

Also read: Haryana Movie Review: Heart-warmingly Honest!

How does Dada feel directing a Hindi film? “There is not much of a difference. Once you are able to create an environment without tension for the artistes, half your battle is won and your job as a director becomes easier. Thanks to the excellent cooperation I got from Amjad Bhai, I will be in a position to complete my film even before my schedule. If I had taken stars on the basis of their salability alone, without bothering to take into account their talent, I’d also have to suffer throughout the making of my film because I hate pandering to the whims of stars. Amjad Bhai is a friend first and a star later.”

According to Dada, what runs is a good film and what flops is a bad film. “What people in Nagpur like, people in Kolhapur do not like and what sells in Konkan does not sell in Ratnagiri. If your picture does not run, it simply means that your product is bad.”

Dada is well known for his battles with the Censor Board. Every time the Censors decide to either give his film an A certificate or ban a film of his on grounds of obscenity in dialogue, Dada fights with them tooth and nail and emerges a victor. His argument is simple. “Those who are below 18 will not understand the implied meaning of my dialogues and those above 18 are in any case, adults and they can have a good chuckle. As long as I do not present any sex-soaked scene or cash in on vulgarity on the screen, why should the Censors stamp my film with an A certificate and deprive me of my audience?”

Also read: Odd Couple Review: Delightful Watch!

Dada is a perfectionist. He doesn’t launch a film before the paperwork is ready in every respect, unlike many filmmakers today who write the dialogues for the next day’s shooting only the day before. “I actually like to work for nine months on a script. I am a miser when it comes to experimenting with raw stock. I hate retakes. I do not mind having any number of rehearsals on the sets but wasting precious raw stock on account of retakes is something that I just cannot stomach.”

If Tere Mere Beech Mein which is a remake of his celebrated Marathi hit Ram Ram Gangaram, is a hit then there is no stopping Dada Kondke who is planning to make Hindi versions of every one of his Marathi films with the exception of Pandu Hawaldar which has already been made in Hindi as Do Hawaldar by some other producer.

“In fact, if only the Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray had advised me not to sell the Hindi rights of Pandu Hawaldar for less than a lakh and a half to Mehmood, I’d have sold the rights to Mehmood. Ultimately, I had to sell it to some vague producer for one tenth of the price that I had quoted Mehmood” sighs Dada regretfully.

Also read: Gulzar Saab Brings his Quirky Persona into Jasmeet K Reen’s Darlings with his song ‘Pleaj’!

In Kolhapur, Dada is revered like a demi God but the man himself has no star airs. He continues to sit with his unit folks for lunch instead of ordering his lunch to be brought to his permanent make up room in the studio premises.”All the technicians here like me only because I too like them. Once popular actress Sushama Shiromani had abused a studio hand when he did not run an errand on time and the entire work here came to a standstill. People here do not listen to swear words meekly and still continue to work like they do in Bombay. I have made nine films so far and I have never had to face any problem from technicians or studio hands”.

Whether with Tere Mere Beech Mein, Dada will be able to rejuvenate the Hindi film industry with his comedy of the double entendre remains to be seen, though he has already registered two future titles with the Indian Motion Picture Producers Association. They are Andheri Raat Mein Diya Tere Haath Mein and Main Deti Hoon Tu Leta Ja.”

Footnote: Krishna “Dada” Kondke was an actor and film producer. He was one of the most renowned personalities in Marathi film industry, famous for his double entendre dialogues in movies. Kondke was born into a family owning a grocery shop and owners of chawls in Morbaug area of Mumbai which were let out. Born on 8 August 1932, Dada Kondke had died on 14 March 1998.