Tribute to Tyeb Mehta

I made Koodal – on the life
of the common man.

"Tyeb Mehta belongs to a quiet breed of artists who let the work speak for itself. He has been away from the public gaze. “I have always been a loner and a private person – each artist’s temperament is different,” he says. Mehta has an impressive resume to his credit – foreign fellowships and stints, numerous shows and participations – national and international and even a film. Very few would perhaps know that Mehta wanted to be a film-maker. And he joined J.J. School of Art to become an art director. Later he shifted his focus to painting. Nevertheless he made a film in 1970.

“The Films Division asked me and Husain to make films. I made Koodal – on the life of the common man. One must see it to get the feel of it,” he says not willing to divulge much about it. This film won the Filmfare Critics Award in 1970. One was hoping that this would be screened along with Husain’s. Unfortunately they were not. The cinematic urge made him write a script on Mahaswetha Devi’s novel Hazaar Chaurasi ki maa.

“I wanted to make a visually powerful film which was not approved by NFDC,” he says. Later on a film on this book was made by Govind Nihalani. “It is difficult to get finances for movies,” he says citing this as the main reason for not making more films.”
– The Hindu

Artists live inside their head. The only way they let you enter their world is through their work. I decided to paint today, and I struggled to give an outlet to my thoughts. Anyway, it was just a tribute to the debt of inspiration I own to Tyeb Mehta — who passed away Thursday.

Tribute to Tyeb Mehta
July 3, 09, Bombay

Man in the City, June 09