Not just the life, but the works of Jnanpith awardee Gurdial Singh form the spine of a docu-dramaHis life is not separate from his writing and art. Precisely why, the docu-drama ‘Gurdial Singh Ji’, is not solely a biographical sketch of the Jnanpith awardee, but gives a deep insight into the works of the renowned and contemporary Punjabi writer. Commissioned by the Sahitya Akademi, Delhi, the docu-drama, according to GS Chani, its producer and director is the latest in the series of docu-dramas on the lives of prominent Indian writers, which will form part of a library and will be sold individually as well. The script has been written with inputs from the writer himself, who didn’t want it to be just a commentary on his life’s events, how he grew up et al, but focus on the integral part of his being, his literary work. Born into a family of artisans in Malwa, as a boy, Gurdial moulded iron sheets for long hours and encouraged by his school teacher, resumed his studies and went on to be a professor at Punjabi University. His first major work, ‘Marhi Da Deeva’ was translated into English as ‘The Last Flicker’ and is considered a modern classic. ‘Anhoe’, ‘Anhe Ghore Da Daan’, ‘Parsa’.and then notable collection of short stories and also plays followed. Gurdial has won the Punjab Sahitya Akademi Award, the Soviet Land Nehru Award, the Bhai Veer Singh Fiction Award and of course, the Jnanpith. “We’ve taken up five major novels and enacted scenes from them as part of the movie. The main characters of the novels talk about Gurdialji, the structure of the novels and themselves. We chose not use commentary, but included interviews of Gurdialji’s contemporaries for a terrific flow,’’ adds Chani. ‘Gurdial Singh Ji’ will be screened at Punjab Kala Bhavan on September 20 at 5:30 pm.
