The Curse of "Jai Santoshi Maa"?

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Nearly 30 years ago, a small, low-budget devotional film praising a

little-known form of Devi -- Santoshi Maa (Mother of Contentment) --

became a surprise smash hit. So hugely popular was the film, that

devotees laid offerings at the foot of advertisaing billboards

promoting the film, and Santoshi Maa rose to become one of the most

popular forms of Devi at the grassroots level.

 

In a column published in today's issue of "Screen" (an India Express-

owned film magazine), writer Bhawana Somaaya ponders the

strange "jinx" surrounding "Jai Santoshi Maa" and its successor

projects. She speculates that perhaps "the recurring misfortunes are

a curse of the Goddess, who wants to punish those who exploit her

for vested interests. Some say it is because these filmmakers

promise to build a temple for the Goddess and then forget about

their commitment when the film is completed." Judge for yourself:

 

BREAKING THE JINX

 

Tuesday, August 12, 2003)

 

One doesn't know if it's just a cruel coincidence, but whenever

filmmakers have chosen Jai Santoshi Maa as their subject, the

process has proved near fatal to their families.

 

In 1974, when Satram Rohra launched Jai Santoshi Maa he was facing a

financial crisis and thought that perhaps a small-budget,

mythological film could recover him from his economical mess. He

approached the renowned Kavi Pradeep to write the lyrics, even

though the poet's remuneration was well beyond his budget. Pradeep

agreed for his faith in the Goddess, but more for the sake of his

old colleague, music director C Arjun.

 

Jai Santoshi Maa was released in 1975, the same day as Sholay, and

created history at the box-office. Overnight Satram Rohra turned

into a millionaire and in the coming months, his ambitions expanded.

He announced four projects but none of them progressed beyond a few

reels. The long delay resulted in heavy losses and Rohra was forced

to sell his property to settle debts. Whatever he earned from the

mega blockbuster, was as if by a twist of destiny, lost just as

suddenly.

 

The misfortunes haven't faded in all these years. The tragedy has

turned Rohra into a recluse and it is alleged that he earns his

living today by singing at community marriage functions. From time

to time, he is spotted at the Bombay High Court attending the

hearing of a pending case filed by the music company HMV.

 

The film's director Vijay Sharma, according to grapevine, could not

cope with his success and turned into an alcoholic. In just a year's

time, his health deteriorated rapidly, and one day he was discovered

dead on a buzzing street of Mumbai, unattended and unrecognised.

 

There's more. The hero of the film Ashish Kumar, despite his

sensational debut, got hardly any offers. He tried turning a

producer using the same subject, Solah Shukrawar, and later,

Santoshi Maa Ki Mahima for television, but the experience turned him

insolvent, and he was forced to leave, bag-and-baggage for his home

town in Kolkata.

 

His wife Bela Bose, one of the characters in the film, stayed back

in Mumbai with her son, also struggling for a break in films. But

neither have made any progress. Nor did Kanan Kaushal, the leading

lady of the film. After playing the protagonist fighting all evils,

one expected Kaushal to be wooed with mother and bhabhi roles by the

commercial cinema, but that was not to be.

 

The film's Kolkata distributor, Kedarnath Agarwal, despite the super

success of the film, suffered severe losses, and had to move from a

sprawling bungalow to a crowded chawl. Sandeep Sethi, another

distributor from the interiors, also had a similar experience, but

had the wisdom to settle down to a steady job as secretary to the

then leading star Vinod Khanna.

 

Some months ago, Zee TV combined with Creative Eye, launched a

teleserial on Jai Santoshi Maa, but had to warp up the serial half-

way without so much as a warning.

 

Last month, almost 28 years later, yet another filmmaker, Kamal

Agarwal, has attempted a film on the miracles of the Goddess. Call

it a stroke of destiny but once again, the filmmakers suffered

unusual hardships during the making. It is said that director Jatin

Kumar almost walked out of the project, while Agarwal, unable to

cope with the pressure, had to be hospitalised.

 

Are these mere stories or is there an underlying message to it all?

Unit members reveal that the recurring misfortunes are a curse of

the Goddess who wants to punish those who exploit her for vested

interests. Some say it is because these filmmakers promise to build

a temple for the Goddess and then forget about their commitment when

the film is completed.

 

Film industry is full of similar stories. It is believed that

whenever a producer attempted to shoot Ek Chadaar Maili Si, the

experience ended in some tragedy. Geeta Bali contacted small-pox

during its shooting in Punjab and died shortly after that. It was

almost 25 years later, when Sukhwant Dadda succeeded in breaking the

jinx with Rishi Kapoor and Hema Malini-starrer, that the

superstition ended. The same with Devdas.

 

Old guards believe that whenever the subject has been attempted,

those involved in the film have been struck by tragedies. K.L.

Saigal turned to alcohol, Dilip Kumar went into severe depression

during the film, and Shah Rukh Khan faced the worst crisis of his

life during the two-year shooting. Call it the courage of producer

Bharat Shah or the passion of Sanjay Leela Bhansali but the film was

completed.

 

Someday, someone will break the jinx for Jai Santoshi Mata as well.

It's not logical for the Goddess to remain angry or hold grudges.

 

Source: http://www.screenindia.com/fullstory.php?content_id=5432