DVD on GNB
Lalgudi Jayaraman with Rupa Gopal
Carnatic vocalist G. N. Balasubramaniam ( or GNB as he was popularly known) continues to fascinate people long after he passed away.
Perhaps this is because he was a awesome personality.
And yet, what has been documented / written / recorded on him is sparse.
Which is a shame.
One recalls a slim book published ages ago by a Mylapore company. Slim it may have been but it made fascinating reading.
Whenever Chennai-based writer-historian Randor Guy presents a talk on Carnatic music and cinema, he never fails to play a clip of the famed 'Premaiyile Yavum' song sequence starring GNB and MS.
Some rasikas melt when they see it.
Now, freelance writer Rupa Gopal has released a docu-film on GNB and a booklet to go with it. It is titled - GNB - Legend Immortal'.
For Rupa, more than a labour of love it is her contribution to the documentation of our greats.
Rupa had seen a short video on GNB at a Mylapore sabha some years ago and by the time she had got home, she had decided that this man deserved a proper documentary.
But making it wasn't easy.
GNB lived in time when cinema was in its early days; so today, getting hold of 16mm film is not easy.
The state-run Sangeet Natak Akademi boasts of huge quantities of materials but Rupa says anyone who is passionate about the arts will be heart broken if you happen to come face to face with the unprofessional management of India's archives.
Rupa hoped she would get a video/audio clip of a song but was given about 15 seconds of tape.
Interviews, clips, pictures . . . they are there in the new film. Some footage is rare.
At the launch function held at the Film Chamber, Gemini Circle, on Sunday morning, the screening was a moving experience for senior rasikas.
Violin maestro Lalgudi Jayaraman was there though not in the best of health. So was T. N. Krishnan.
And members of the GNB family some of whom felt more should have been done in GNB's time.
The DVD and the booklet is certainly a rasika's collector item. The booklet lists about 200 anecdotes which Rupa collected from artistes, family members and rasikas. They are really colourful ones. One wishes they were in bigger typeface and the booklet better designed.
<<< Copies of the GNB DVD are available on sale at the KutcheriBuzz office (Ph: 2499 4599), Dec.26 onwards. The DVD costs Rs.400. The booklet costs Rs.100. Only limited copies on sale. >>>
Top 
