Attend Shamya Dasgupta's 'Don't Disturb the Dead' book launch today

Shamya Dasgupta

Who did this kind of cinema appeal to in particular?
Their films didn't always get distributed well in urban centres, but reached the smaller centres quickly. According to the brothers, college-going crowds took to their films too. Purana Mandir and Veerana were successful across the board. The film industry and the press didn't consider these films too legitimate, but they made money because enough people were piqued to spend money on them.

The Ramsay family (standing, left to right) Arjun, Kiran, Kumar, Gangu, Keshu; (sitting, left to right) Tulsi, FU and Shyam Ramsay

Titillation was common in their films; would this cinema have seen the light of day today?
Certainly. Maybe not in terms of production standards, but the titillation, yes. The Ramsays always talked about it more than they put into the films. There was the odd kiss, a few swimsuits, a lot of suggestive stuff here and there, scenes of seduction, some songs where the women wore skimpy clothes. They turned up the heat in Purana Mandir, but nothing that was out of bounds. Raj Kapoor was making Satyam Shivam Sundaram at the time, so... They all got 'A' certificates. Pahlaj Nihalani was their friend, so it would have been okay, I guess.

Any interesting anecdotes that you discovered along the way?
Lots. The story of how Ajay Agarwal came to be such a popular monster, of the Ramsay brothers getting spooked; the love story of Keshu and Kavita Ramsay; how Keshu got money to make his films, and how the Ramsays got songs from Bappi Lahiri.

Dasgupta's book Don't Disturb the Dead (HarperCollins India) launches today,
On: Today, 7 pm
At: Whistling Woods, Filmcity, Goregaon (E).
Log on to: comicconindia.com

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