Republic Day gets a dash of technicolour
Artistes to be a part of the cinematic tableau
Cinema is a common thread that binds the entire nation, believes the Information and Broadcasting ministry. And celebrating 100 years of Indian cinema, the ministry is all prepared to showcase their tableau — Mayur Pankhi in the Republic Day parade tomorrow. A silver colour Mayur Pankhi, a flying bird boat, is symbolic of the flight of a nation’s imagination feels the creative team behind it.
What is distinctive about this particular tableau is the concept on which it is based. “All states show their costumes or tradition, I&B ministry is celebrating cinema. They are showcasing a small glimpse of what best has happened in the last 100 years. You have every era connected with this tableau. You would see everyone from the king of Mughal-e-Azam to Raj Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Hunterwalli, Aamir Khan from Lagaan walking alongside Mayur Pankhi. The idea is to encompass entire 100 years into a small space and represent some famous and iconic characters that masses connect with,” says Hamid Hussain, APRO, Ministry of Defence, which is in charge of the Republic Day parade.
Chaitanya Prasad, spokesperson Ministry of Information and Broadcasting says, “The idea is to celebrate the glory of Indian cinema which we have tried to do in an artistic and simple way. It’s a matter of pride.”
Talking about the intricate design of Mayur Pankhi, Saumya Sen, creative director of the tableau from National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC), says it is high on symbolic value. “We chose to go ahead with a mythical boat in the shape of a peacock as it stands for fantasy, romance and aspiration, all a part of Indian cinema and a common man’s life. Besides this, we have created a mini hub in which we have merged all the things, be it mainstream cinema, parallel cinema, Hindi cinema or the regional flavour. The opening image is a scene from Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, a mainstream film by Yash Chopra. On the other hand, there is a rural India depicted through a scene from Pather Panchali and Mother India,” says Saumya.
He stresses that Mayur Pankhi is also connected with common man. “100 years of cinema chronicles the history and life of common man, as our movies are based on the life of a commoner. Getting the artists dressed in different costumes walk besides the boat is suggestive of this context. They are just not the movie characters; they are the ordinary people who became iconic when a star played them. If you see a cooli walk there, you would also think of a real cooli besides thinking of Amitabh Bachchan who made him iconic,” ends Saumya.
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