First was the clap out, Then came the action bout,But the action was credited,While the clap got edited.Their clapboards have launched over 35,000 movies but late Dayanand Jogi and son Bharat Jogi's names figure in not even one of them. The unassuming clapboard may play the vital role of transforming disparate scenes to a coherent flow of events, but Clapwalla Enterprises in Dadar still remains nondescript: a tacky pigeonhole with the paint peeling off and a floor stacked with boards, saws and sawdust. But 39-year-old Bharat is unfazed. "We are here only for a matlab, our value is zero. That is the way the cookie crumbles," he says.
Their story rolls back to the '40s, when Dayanand worked as a carpenter and engraver at studios like Roop, Ranjit and Shree Sound in Dadar -- the hub of the filmi duniya. He soon found himself specialising in the clapboard for an unusual reason: Film units, which spend lakhs on a shoot, tend to overlook the obvious -- the humble clapboard. Dayanand found
himself beseiged by producers for clapboards just hours before the shoot, so much so that he was soon supplying 50 per cent of the clapboards -- and making upto six clapboards a day. He used to hastily rig up a me-too clapboard which his neighbourhood artist-friend painted over. Within an hour or so, it was ready and in time for the mahurat shot.
Bharat himself couldn't resist the lure of the clapboard and joined the business in 1988. He took over making clapboards, while his wife Kamini did the lettering and designing. Their start was inauspicious enough -- his first clapboard was for a movie called Gharwali Baharwali which never saw the light of day. Also by the time he entered the business, it had already shifted elsewhere -- nearby studios had closed and the suburbs of Bombay had gained preference. Still, the Jogis hung on to their old clientele and made around 50 clapboards a month, each costing between Rs 80 and Rs 100. The film strike in the early '90s however nearly destroyed them.
Business became non-existent and the Jogis took to painting license and name plates. Even today they have not recovered in numbers and make around 20 clapboards a month, priced between Rs 250 to Rs 350. "You can't depend solely on the industry," he says. They also make wooden guns, set decorations and supply chemicals for various applications. But the clapboard still is his forte and his main rozi-roti.
Surprisingly, even something as basic and primitive as a clapboard has undergone design changes. For instance, till the '80s, the board was usually a 15 X 12 inch monstrosity weighing one and half kg. Now it is down to 12 X 9 inches and weighs 600 gm. A close-up board (used for tight shots) is usually 9 X 7 inches. Bharat is not sure why the board shrunk. "Could be because wood became expensive or perhaps the clappers are weaker these days," he muses.
And though he concedes that even a third-rate carpenter can make a clapboard, making the right one calls for practical knowledge. For example,
previously boards were painted with enamel, which used to glare in the sunlight. Bharat solved that problem by giving it a dull, matte finish. The other modification came from a need to cut down on costs -- instead of using a saag frame, he simply rounded-off the edges.
But the most important criterion is the sound quality. "It should not `roll' or `echo'. Rather, the call should be sharp and brief," says Bharat. He introduced a fine gap at the rear end of the lower arm -- so that the contact area is only at the front. And the same scene number, shot number, take number, date and day/night saga is printed on both sides so that even a left-hander can use the board.
A board must also last the wear and tear of thousands of claps during a long shoot. To ensure this Bharat uses a six mm Kitply board. The arms of saag wood are reinforced with an additional strips and joined together with brass hinge and screws.
Though abroad, clappers are sober black and white affairs, here they have colorful
bands. Adding "fancy effects" is Kamini's job. She takes between two to six hours to paint a board. Since a clapboard takes three days to make, they keep a stock of a dozen or so ready-to-paint boards for customers in a hurry. For Bharat, his zubaan is the most important aspect of business -- work has to be delivered on time, no matter what. He claims to have failed only once -- in 1994, when his father died.
Among his favourite clapboards were those for movies like Karma, Rang, Tridev, Jalwa and Maine Pyar Kiya. Bharat and Kamini have a collection of mahurat shots showing stars like Dharmendra, Dilip Kumar and Subhash Ghai. And while they are not aware of their existence, at least Bharat and Kamini know that it takes two hands to clap.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
