By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 30 Apr: The evergreen, effervescent and vivacious icon of literature, art and showbiz, Kamna Chandra, broke many glass barriers in the decade when Hindi cinema was blooming under male hegemony. She interacted with students at an interactive session held under the banner of Elysian Literary Society, Department of English, Doon University, as part of the ‘Meet the Author’ series. VC Prof Surekha Dangwal, in her message, congratulated the author for her achievements. She recalled that Kamna Chandra wrote stories on women-centric issues like widow remarriage in the 1982 romantic musical, Prem Rog, directed by Raj Kapoor.
Kamna Chandra enlivened the session with her answers to every question by the moderators, Khushi Yadav and Sanyam Bisht, as well as the audience. She empahsised on how the might of her pen became her armour to quietly propagate the women-centric narratives in the decade when action heroes ruled the roost. Recalling how she was brought up by a single mother, Chandra, credited her success to her mother, who unapologetically auctioned her house and her land to finance her daughter’s studies in pre-independent India. MKP Inter College in the Doon Valley became her alma mater from where she ascended to Allahabad University for her Bachelor’s degree. She became a writer and is predominantly known for her screenplays. Her recently published Prem Rog aur Anya Kathaye by Vani Prakasham, New Delhi in 2022, takes the reader on an amazing roller coaster ride with an array of emotions and nostalgia. She married Naveen Chandra, a chemical engineer by profession in 1952. The nonagenarian couple have stood with each other over the last 70 years. Her husband fondly speaks about her passion for writing and determination to transfer the real life-life narratives to celluloid. Her three internationally acclaimed children are novelist Vikram Chandra, filmmaker Tanuja Chandra, and writer and film critic Anupama Chopra.
On a visit to Doon University in 2022, Kamna Chandra had shared the personal journey of her initiation into Indian cinema. Realising the dearth of good stories in Indian cinema, young and determined Kamna decided to provide a free-spirited and bold approach to cinema.
The competitive male hegemonic world of Indian cinema witnessed the breath of fresh air enthralling the audience with strong women characters like Manorama in Prem Rog (1982), Bhairavi (1996), Chandni (1989), Kareeb (1998), Gaja Gamini (2000), Kashish (1992) [TV series], Trishna (1985) [TV series] based on the plotline of the novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and romcom Qarib Qarib Single (2017). Kamna Chandra signed the copies of her book, Prem Rog, for the students. Dr Chetana Pokhriyal, Dean, School of Languages, hailed the writer for her impeccable scripts, women- centric plots and entertaining stories.
The interactive session was also attended by Dr Swagata Basu, Dr Richa Pandey, Dr Rashi Mishra, Dr Gazala Khan, Dr Aditi Bisht, Mehul Rawat, Aporwa Siwali and Ayush Kurien.
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Dehradun Strong plot, realistic characters key to effective cinematic storytelling: Kamna Chandra