V. Gangadhar

It's unusual to find Bollywood exploring sensitive topics... will two upcoming movies based on `Lolita' change all that?

Ram Gopal Varma has already begun shooting in Kerala for his version of `Lolita' with Amitabh Bachchan in the lead.

Way back in the 1960s, my friend who owned a bookshop in Ahmedabad, carefully wrapped a hardcover edition in thick paper, warning me not to open it in public. I was to finish reading it in 24 hours, return the book and pay Rs 25. "Don't ever show this book to anyone," he pleaded, "I will be in trouble."

The book was Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel Lolita, which dealt with the passion of a middle-aged man, Humbert Humbert for a 12-year-old girl. There were rumours that the book would be banned in India. As moral policing was not so vigorous then, a final decision was left to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru (in those days people did not file public interest litigations in the Supreme Court on such issues) who took time off from his busy schedule to read the book and pronounced that it need not be banned. I did finish the book in less than 24 hours, found it wonderfully well written, strangely funny and pathetic in turn, with not a single four-letter word.

The porn seekers would have thrown the book away after reading just the first chapter. There was nothing to titillate them. Yes, the theme was definitely sexual, the hero making no bones about his sexual longing for his Lolita who he called a `nymphet'.

The first paragraph read, "Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Le-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta."

The Lolita syndrome could be spotted in real life too. Actor Frank Sinatra, in his early 60s, married Mia Farrow who was just 18 and Woody Allen did not hide his passion for a teenaged stepdaughter. Haven't we heard of Arabs in their 60s and 70s landing up in Hyderabad in search of nubile brides? But when the theme was discussed in a 300-page book, that too after Humbert had married Lolita's mother so that he could be always near her, it was adding incest to illicit love.

Hollywood made two movie versions of Lolita. The first featured British actor James Mason and a new face, Sue Lyon, who was selected after an extensive international media campaign. The film, released in the 1960s, was banned in India. I watched the movie video and found it quite appalling, the brilliance of the book just did not come through. The seduction scenes were bland and the message was clear. Certain books could not be transformed into films and among them was Lolita.

More recently, a second version was released and critics commented on its erotic element. This was also banned in India. In both cases, movie critics were unanimous that the sparkle and originality of the book were sadly lacking.

One would have thought that Lolita was too hot a theme to be handled in India. But Bollywood is coming out with not one, but two versions of it. Filmmaker Shashilal Nair, who had made movies with erotic themes in the past, had the title registered and began shooting for the film in 2004 with Jackie Shroff and Dimple Kapadia playing important roles though it is not known who will play Lolita.

Shashilal Nair feels Indian audiences are ready to accept the movie's controversial theme.

Nair recently told the media he was certain Indian audiences would accept the movie's controversial theme. TV serials today showed all kinds of bizarre family relationships and foreign serials like The Bold and the Beautiful, where every male has a sexual relationship with every female in the cast, were watched avidly.

Nair said Lolita was all about "a teenager falling in love with a 45-year-old man". But that was not what Nabokov wrote about; his book brings out the sexual obsession of a middle-aged man for a nymphet, who later became his stepdaughter. Nair says he has obtained the rights for making the film from the writer and is certain his film would turn out to be a classic.

Nair is not a front-ranker as a filmmaker, and that is why the second attempt to film Lolita is more interesting. Ram Gopal Varma has already begun shooting in Kerala for his version of Lolita with Amitabh Bachchan in the lead. Titled Nishabd, the film is Ramu's version of Lolita and we do not know if it will be a faithful adaptation. Nair explained that while his film was true to the original, Ramu's was a film based on the same theme! South Indian actor Revathy is in the film along with an 18-year-old newcomer, Jiah. Perhaps the producers had played it safe by choosing actresses in a higher age group because Nabokov's Lolita was only 12.

Reading the book, it was clear she was fully aware of her sexuality and there are scenes where she seduces Humbert. We have to wait and watch to see how such scenes will be adapted in both the Lolitas. Nabokov, one of the greatest stylists of modern prose, had no regrets about the Lolita theme and argued that middle-aged men were in fact attracted to nymphets. It is unusual for Bollywood to make films on such a sensitive topic. Ramu and Nair cannot skirt around the sexual impact of the film. If they did so, we shall see a different kind of Lolita.