Cha, adda and cinema: Kolkata through the eyes of Roger Ebert

During Roger Ebert’s visit to Calcutta Film Festival, the film critic had  written, “The grounds of Nandan are filled with conversation. On the grass, students in threes and fours sit in the sun with the festival program, discussing the films they have seen. On railings and benches, older people nod in earnest debate.”

Even today, when the great critic is no more, if you have happen to stroll across Rabindra Sadan’s Exide building and reach Nandan as the evening sets in, the scene would be no different.

It is indeed rare that an outsider encapsulates the essence of a city during one short visit, but when Roger Ebert, one of the greatest film critics of our times, came to Calcutta (or Kolkata as it is now known), he discovered its soul. Whether he liked it or not is something we shall never know… but at least we know he saw it for what it was.

In 1999, Ebert visited Calcutta (or Kolkata) during the Calcutta Film Festival. Anyone who has ever lived in Kolkata would know Bengalis’ fervour for films.

The long never ending queues outside Nandan for film tickets during the fest stands testimony to the city’s affinity towards good cinema. Ebert observed, Calcutta’s film festival was one of its kind. Unlike other film festivals, no one talked about deals or the business during the event. One barely spotted a big star or a popular icon or even talked about the box office collections. On the contrary, the event was full of discussions, with everyone from college students to old gentlemen dissecting theories, talking about the epistemology of film making, the metaphysics of art, cinema and politics.

The film critic wrote “I have been here at the Calcutta Film Festival for five days without once hearing the word “Miramax.” No one has discussed a deal. There has been no speculation about a film’s box-office prospects. I have not seen a single star. I have been plunged into a world of passionate debate about film - nonstop talking about theory, politics and art. For the visiting American, dazed and sedated by the weekly mumbo-jumbo about the weekend’s top 10, this is like a wake-up plunge into cold water.”

During the same fest, Ebert was told by a guy standing in line outside the refreshment stall that in Bombay it is all business; in Delhi, it is all politics but in Calcutta, it is all philosophy. Ebert realised way too well that in Kolkata, people take their principles as seriously as people take money and recognition anywhere in the world.

During the event he once ran into Subrata Mitra, the cinematographer of Satyajit Ray’s Apu’s trilogy, with whom he had formed an acquaintance in Hawaii Film Festival where Mitra had bagged the Eastman Kodak Award.

Mitra told the critic that despite Ebert ranking Apu films among the 10 greatest films of all time, the man from Eastman Kodak only placed it among top 100 films. Mitra also said that there was no citation given along with the award (which was a clock) that he received that night neither was his name written on it. He confessed that he never unwrapped it since then.

Ebert wrote about the incident and remarked that, “In Calcutta, they take this stuff seriously. In Bombay, they would have been happy to get the clock.”

He understood the mood of Calcutta well. He knew about how the men in panel discussions go into such great depth that it barely ever leaves time for others to speak, about how the horns honk at the traffic signal and trams, yellow taxis and private cars cover up the entire street.

Describing Calcutta’s traffic, Ebert wrote, “All drivers honk their horns constantly. There is a kind of code. Some honks mean, “Pedestrian, jump out of the way quickly as I am not going to stop.” Others mean, “I am now cutting you off.” Little toots mean, “Don’t get any ideas about slowing down because I am maintaining a constant speed and am 1 1/2 inches from your rear bumper.” Long angry blasts mean, “You are heading directly toward me in my lane.” Then there is a happy little tap that simply means, “I exist.”

The chat-sessions or the adda as it is informally known in Bengali never seems to end in Kolkata, he said.  Of course there is a never ending supply of tea and cookies to accompany it. Be it the houses of celebrities or an average Bengali man, that’s how things roll in Kolkata. Even today.