Remembering GaDiMa

The book reveals stories about Madgulkar,containing a series of articles written about his father for the Tarun Bharat newspaper in Belgaum. Narrating one such story,Shridhar says,“Not many people might know this but Gurudutt’s iconic film Pyaasa was based on a story written by my father. So was the story that would eventually become Black. He never did get his due for Pyaasa,but Sanjay Leela Bhansali acknowledged my father’s short story at a music award ceremony.”

Along with the book,Shridhar will also be launching the second edition of his socio-political novel Aathi Aathi Chosasht. GaDiMa,who was referred to as the Modern Valmiki,was instrumental in the creation of the Geet Ramayan,a collection of 56 poems that were aired on All India Radio. “The popularity of the series could be compared to that of the TV serials of today. People would get up every Saturday and Sunday and wait with baited breath for the radio show. In fact,when my father got a 5000 sq ft plot on Tilak Road,he gifted that to the music composer of the show,Sudhir Phadke,” he says.

Shridhar mentions that he and his other siblings always knew of their father’s charismatic personality,but they were also wary of his temper. He says,“Not only us,everyone who knew him,including his on-screen colleagues,writers,musicians and even his politician friends,they were all scared of him. He had a very soft nature but was very hot-headed and would go all guns out to ensure that certain things were done in a precise manner.”

The idea of the book came when people started writing to Shridhar,asking him to compile his entire series of 73 articles for better reading. “A lot of people just wanted to know about the person behind GaDiMa – the actor,writer,lyricist and story-teller. There have been times when people have come from far away places,even abroad,just to take a look at Panchavati (GaDiMa’s bungalow) and fold hands in front of it,” he says.

Shridhar also says that his father couldn’t bear it if anyone pointed a finger at his character. Illustrating the same,he says,“In Mumbai,my father was allotted a flat in Worli under the government flat allocation scheme,but he chose to give it up when a famous newspaper editor wrote a column,questioning his ethics. For him it was always about leading a pure and untarnished life.”