Enduring magic of Maya Bazaar

Past events and occurrences gain an aura of nostalgia in the present. This has happened in a material sense to Maya Bazaar which first hit the silver screen on March 27, 1957. Its Telugu version acquired alluring hues and a contemporary sound in 2010, thanks to film colourisation and digital re-mastering undertaken by C Jagan Mohan. Today, in the diamond jubilee year of the film, we can appreciate the great masters of old who made Maya Bazaar such a great experience, as well as the epic figures in the film who seem so life-like and real even today. 

It’s is no use complaining that the love story between Arjuna’s son Abhimanyu and Balarama’s daughter Vatsala aka Sasirekha never happened, based on the argument that the Mahabharata does not speak either of Balarama having a daughter or her romance with Abhimanyu. The Mahabharata’s famous claim that it encompasses everything was not achieved by one author sitting down to write an all-encompassing work. 

We have only to see the new Maya Bazaar shimmering like a lotus petal in the morning dew to realise that it is a celluloid window opening into a gallery of epic characters from Sri Krishna (NT Rama Rao) to Rukmini (Sandhya), Abhimanyu (Akkineni Nageswara Rao; his role was played Gemini Ganesan in the Tamil version) and his half-rakshasa cousin, Ghatothkacha (the one and only SV Ranga Rao). 

NTR as Krisha

Maya Bazaar is a magical film in more ways than one. The most literal aspect, the highlight of the film is, of course, the seamless special effects it brings into play as the miraculous doings of Ghatothkacha. We have fire gushing like flowing water, carpets curling up, and any number of objects appearing and disappearing at will, to the utter consternation of villainous characters. Ace cinematographer Marcus Bartley, an Anglo- Indian with years of experience in shooting films achieved these effects more with creative inventiveness than with any special equipment, with the help of his special effects man Harbans Singh. The FX (sound or visual effects) may not be much considering the unbelievable flexibility digital technology has given technicians these day, to manipulate images. However, the Maya Bazaar strategy was not just to stun with special effects but to harness them effectively for the ends of the plot, which was about harassing Kaurava malcontents with creepy happenings. 

But more powerful and preternatural was the extraordinary control director KV Reddy, the maker of such Telugu classics like Bhakta Pothana and Yogi Vemana , and of the folklore hit Paathala Bhairavi (Telugu, Tamil), exercised over the script and his actors in his first mythological. Some scenes, like the first one which shows the celebration of the ‘coming of age’ of the young Vatsala, played adorably by Sachu both in the Telugu and Tamil versions, have such a likeness to real life. One is transported to Dwaraka where Krishna, Rukmini, Subhadra and others are blessing the girl. In the narration of the romance of the lead pair (ANR-Savitri in Telugu, Gemini Ganesh-Savitri in Tamil), and its resolution through entertaining magical intervention, the loss of kingdom by the Pandavas is reduced to a shadow of a suggestion. In this way, the narrative cleverly sidesteps the dark and looming spectre of a fratricidal war, to focus on an entertaining romance that outmanoeuvres its opposition. 

The introduction of ‘gadgets’ in the film makes for great interest. There is the mirror box that shows the image of the object of one’s deepest desires – something like the real-life technology of Skype with webcam! And the Satya Peetham , apparently gifted by Sage Viswamitra to Harischandra for his incomparable truthfulness, which brings out the truth from people, is akin to the present-day truth serum. These scenes not only add to the film’s interest, but also play a very important role in the script. While in the Mahabharata, the climax has to come after the Kurukshetra carnage, Maya Bazaar ’s purpose is served by having Shakuni expose himself by confessing before the ‘Seat of Truth’, about his diabolical deed of usurping the kingdom of the Pandavas and exiling them to the forest. This exposes him in front of Balarama, who had all the while been supporting the Kauravas because of his fondness for Duryodhana. The defeat of the Kauravas is thus effected by a series of discomfitures created by a Maya Bazaar of hair-raising happenings as well as an involuntary confession! 

Another enchanting aspect of the film is its music and song (Ghantasala/S Rajeswara Rao). The moonlight boat song, for example, lingers in the mind decades past the first viewing of the film. But if the song and the nightsetting work a magic of their own, the way the three pairs are interwoven into its picturisation is indicative of the delicate handling of the story aspects. Even as Vatsala and Abhimanyu enjoy themselves in the boat, a guard informs Balarama and Revati about it. They rush to accost the young pair. But as Krishna immediately catches a whiff of the danger to the young lovers, he sends them packing and takes their place along with Rukmini! Balarama and Revati find them in the boat and assume that the guard made an error of judgement. After Krishna and Rukmini alight from the boat, Balarama and Revati decide to go for a boat ride themselves, though Revati had just then made a caustic comment against Krishna and Rukmini. Laced with humour and satire, the song situation packs a lot of excitement and interest  in it. 

Made in the Vauhini studios of Vijaya Productions (citadel of the redoubtable Nagi Reddi-Chakrapani duo), Maya Bazaar had attention lavished on every detail of film production. Sachu, one of the very few today who can speak first-hand of the production values of Maya Bazaar, marvels at the importance director Reddy and his team gave her, though she was but a child artiste then. In the time lapse scene that shows the child Vatsala growing up into a beautiful damsel (Savitri), close attention was paid to her costumes, hair styling and jewellery, to match them with those of Savitri. Sachu cherishes the memento she got for the 100- days run of Maya Bazaar, the souvenir made of silver with the stamp of Vijaya’s inspiring logo. It was her first in a time-defying career. 

Renowned writer Pingali Nagendra Rao penned the lines and songs of Maya Bazaar. They were rendered appropriately in Tamil by Vijaya’s resident Tamil writer, Thanjai Ramiah Das, who generally did a great job. Laahiri Laahiri Laahirilo was transposed so beautifully into Aaha Inba Nilaavinile , befitting the situation. Nambiar (Shakuni) and Thangavelu (Lakshmana Kumaran) played their roles brilliantly in the Tamil version. 

Maya Bazaar came on the scene a few years after Parasakthi abrasively lambasted mythology and religion. Maya Bazaar was produced by Telugus, but its magic helped revive the mythological genre in Tamil films too. However, while the Maya Bazaar print has been restored and coloured in the Telugu version, Tamilians have to make do with the old, time-worn black and white copy. It’s time it was restored and revived in Tamil too. It would be a fitting tribute to the heady old days when Telugus and Tamilians worked hand in hand to make southern cinema proud. If Vivaha Bhojanambu was a hit in Telugu, Kalyaaana Samaiyal Saadham didn’t lag behind. Tamilianss would surely look forward to a large screen, DTS sound Maya Bazaar with seminal artistes like Savitri, NTR and Ranga Rao striding the screen. So here’s looking forward to the restored Maya Bazaar in Tamil.