The tone of what was to follow was set right at the beginning. "Don't take this seriously," warned M F Husain, brandishing his extra-long paint brush at the two dozen invitees who actually took up his invitation to The Club in ANdheri seriously and landed up at the venue for a glimpse of the 84-year-old painter's celluloid labour of love, Gaja Gamini. "Please reserve all you seriousness for the real thing. This is just to give you an idea of what to expect."

Lights dimmed and the video whirred to life. The Genesis of Gaja Gamini, said the title, with Bhupen Hazarika crooning the title song int he background. Cut to Hussain scribbling away some notes, followed by shots of him garlanding an elephant, followed by him drawing a horse on a brick wal followed by him discussing a scene with cameraman Ashok Mehta, followed by him discussing a scene with Madhuri Dixit, followed by...

For those who expected to see rushes of the real thing, this was a huge disappointment. "hey, this is like a behind-the-scenes special of the film," grumbled an impatient journo. Others nodded, but it didn't stop anybody from sitting through it all, watching more behind the scenes action---like the likes of Shekhar Kapur, Yash Chopra and Anil Kapoor dropping in on the sets of Hussain's opus, Shah Rukh Khan in leather pants prancing around with Madhuri in true Dil To Pagal Hai fashion, more shots of an elephant, a black stallion, a sleep motorbike and Hussain busy drawing some sketch or the other. Quite frankly, it all looked pretty exotic.

But for those of us who still couldn't make much sense of what was being played ont he video, Naseeruddin Shah, who supposedly plays Leonardo Da Vinci in short skirts, had an explanation. "Any work of art has to be felt, more than understood." But for those of you who may take it literally and try feeling the big screen at your nearest cinema hall, think again. Next the camera cut to the elephant for a quote and the gentle gaint just shook his head, either meaning 'no comments' or 'don't ask me, I havne't figured this out myself.'

But Ashish Vidyarthi was more forthcoming. "We actors are like points of reference in this film," he observed. Indeed. Like Madhuri Dixit is the sole point of reference for the distributors---though there were no interviews with the actress who plays a multitude of roles int he film---from Mona Lisa to Millennium Monica.

However, at the end of this 40-minute audio-visual assault, Hussain explained that his narrative style is not mainstream though his film isn't meant just for the elite class. While his idea of holding discussions in the theatres midway through the film sounds farfetched, chances are that Husssain may find some glory in the festival circuit.


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