'A kaleidoscope of common people, everyday lives': The cinema of Hrishikesh Mukherjee

Films, especially of Bollywood, are usually escapist from the uncompromising reality and leverage a willing suspension of disbelief by the viewer for the simulacrum of our world they create.

However, this accomplished Indian film-maker was adept in making movies that recreated the ethos and concerns of the middle class, which seemed like their own experiences, not a contrived story.

Hrishikesh Mukherjee eschewed formulaic 'masala' potboilers