HUNG-UP ON THE LINE

(Originally published in ‘FILM FARE’ – 14th November, 1975)



Whatever happened to Chitra Chatterjea? Only a few years ago she was one of the top stars of Bombay. But where is she now? This a question that is not there in everybody’s mind. The public has a short memory, and perhaps, Chitra Chatterjea has already been forgotten. Hers is a sad Cinderella story of high drama, pathos and banality.



Chitra was a poor flower girl who sold her flowers at the bus stand of a small town. She was beautiful in a simple rustic way, and exuded a country charm that no one took notice of. She was wasting away in this small town until one day her Pygmalion stepped out of a Bombay bus.



This was B.R.Passionbra, the new wave director (maker of “Kama”, “Son of Kama”, “The Return of Kama” and “Kama Strikes Again”) who was famous for his shoe-string budgets and g-string heroines. Passionbra ‘discovered’ Chitra, and took her to Bombay by the next bus. Within a few weeks she had completed a film for him. That was the beginning.



She next starred in a series of films for O.P.Rumham and I.S.Hoaxer. Then came a few hits, and many big producers and directors started taking an interest in her. Even Nikhilesh Nickerby was thinking of casting her in his film. Satiate Joy, the film pundit, pronounced her ‘passable’. And Canned Cooks, the foreign producer, gave her a screen test which was banned in India. Chitra was riding high.



She was now rolling in wealth, and her ‘amma’ had come from the small town to look after her interests. A coterie of ‘chamchas’ had gathered around, and they found her a posh flat, where she settled down with great aplomb. She acquired a few oil paintings, a couple of Pomeranians and a liveried chauffeur who acted also as her manager. She even bought a couple of books, which she coloured in her free time. She became friendly with the younger crowd (Shin-Shin, Boobla-Boo, Ballonita Baggy and others), and they called her ‘Chit-chat’ for short.



Amma and the chamchas guided Chitra carefully in her career. She was allowed to stay only fifteen minutes in filmland parties. No more than one drink was permitted. (“Look at Noggin Nevershall; he could have made it big but for his drink habit”). Her mother hovered over her like a brooding hen, keeping party wolves at bay. Chitra was zealously guarded from drugs and cigarettes. (“You know, Funtoosha got into trouble with the Madras producer, Janwarappa, because she smoked on the sets”). Thus Chitra was well-protected. But Nemesis waited around the corner.



The chamchas, after moving heaven and earth, had managed to install a telephone in Chitra’s flat. It was a cute little telephone in pastel pink, and Chitra fell in love with it.



Every morning she dialed a number – any number – and started prattling away. She talked about fan letters, about clothes, about who is with who, and who belongs to whom this week – about anything at all. She just talked. And when the party at the other end of the line cut her off, she dialed some other number and chattered away. When her amma remonstrated with her, she retorted, “If Mrs. Dutt can do it, why can’t I?” The telephone was Chitra’s drug.



She forgot shooting schedules make-up sessions and hair-dressing appointments. Producers became frantic. They could never contact her, since her line was invariably engaged. And even when she occasionally made it to the sets, her voice was so hoarse after all that talking, that the directors had to call off the shooting.



Three producers went bankrupt, and one of these attempted suicide. But like all his films, this attempt also was a failure. Anyway, Chitra’s downfall had begun. She was black-listed. Shin-shin, Boobla-Boo and others avoided her like the plague.



New offers ceased; contracts were cancelled; the chamchas dropped off. Even a ‘Muck’ soap commercial to be filmed on her was called off. The coach had turned into a pumpkin. The glass slipper was broken.



We hear that ‘Chit-chat’ Chatterjea is now a receptionist and PBX operator in a small company. It seems she is mighty happy.