Kundan Shah: An everyday genius

A picture of Kundan Shah, the director whose small-budget productions told stories with a big heart

Never in the history of the Mahabharata’s retelling has dusht Duryodhana ever fought to prevent Draupadi’s cheer-haran (disrobing), except for in Kundan Shah’s Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro. But then, before Shah’s debut film, neither had audiences seen a dead man rolling about onscreen on skates, ‘hitching’ a car ride, or standing on a stage disguised as Draupadi.

Nine films and four television shows later, Shah, who died last week, will be best remembered for managing to pull off Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, a film neither the makers nor its actors had much faith in. Though the film’s initial reception in