<p>"I feel suddenly in life there is a wasteland in front of me, but the wasteland is rich, inspiring a hunger in me to devour the wasteland. I am ready, actually I am doing that," Owais Husain, who is making a documentary on his father, told IANS here.<br /><br />Recalling one of his father's bouts of despair after his self-imposed exile from India, Owais, the youngest son of artist M.F. Husain, said, "There was a time he wanted to destroy all his paintings. What was the use, he said."<br /><br />Owais, an artist and filmmaker, was here with brothers Shafqat, Shamshad and Mustaq to pay tribute to their father at a commemorative celebration by the Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust.<br /><br />M.F. Husain passed away June 9 in London after a cardiac failure at 95. He had left India in 2006 after being threatened by Hindu radicals over his paintings.<br /><br />Owais' movie, "Letters to My Son about My Father", is a generational father-to-son narrative about the family's illustrious brush with art and fame - from the obscure areas of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh to the bright lights of Mumbai and the world - riding on the patriarch, M.F. Husain.<br /><br />"It will be a document of his life - capturing his journey as an artist and a man. I want to tell the story to my son - from a father to the son and address the posterity through him.<br /><br /> I still have a few more interviews to do before I put it all together. I am also using family footage. But I am yet to find a close (end) to the movie - don't yet know how I will end it," Owais said.<br /><br />The documentary will use "classical music, photographs and several genres of art that Husain loved", his son said.<br /><br />M.F. Husain, who experimented with filmmaking between his vocation and commissions - public art, historical series and installations - made three major films - "Through the Eyes of a Painter", " Gajagamini," "Meenaxi: Tale of Three Cities" - that combined art, narratives, characters and music. <br /><br />One of the movies, "Through the Eyes of a Painter", which had won a Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 1967, was screened in the capital Saturday.<br /><br />A 16-minute documentary, it was shot by the painter during his journey through Rajasthan. "The documentary, 'Through the Eyes…' is inspiring," said Owais, who is in his mid thirties. <br /><br />The younger Husain said his "father had completed two mega series of paintings - 'History of Arab Civilisation', 'History of Indian Civilisation' before his demise". "He kept painting till his death," he said.<br /><br />Owais' roster is crammed. "I have three films on the floor - that I am making. There is a solo exhibition of my art works at Gallery Espace in the capital in October. It will be a bit of a 'dhamaka' - I have tried new formats and language," he said.</p>
<p>"I feel suddenly in life there is a wasteland in front of me, but the wasteland is rich, inspiring a hunger in me to devour the wasteland. I am ready, actually I am doing that," Owais Husain, who is making a documentary on his father, told IANS here.<br /><br />Recalling one of his father's bouts of despair after his self-imposed exile from India, Owais, the youngest son of artist M.F. Husain, said, "There was a time he wanted to destroy all his paintings. What was the use, he said."<br /><br />Owais, an artist and filmmaker, was here with brothers Shafqat, Shamshad and Mustaq to pay tribute to their father at a commemorative celebration by the Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust.<br /><br />M.F. Husain passed away June 9 in London after a cardiac failure at 95. He had left India in 2006 after being threatened by Hindu radicals over his paintings.<br /><br />Owais' movie, "Letters to My Son about My Father", is a generational father-to-son narrative about the family's illustrious brush with art and fame - from the obscure areas of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh to the bright lights of Mumbai and the world - riding on the patriarch, M.F. Husain.<br /><br />"It will be a document of his life - capturing his journey as an artist and a man. I want to tell the story to my son - from a father to the son and address the posterity through him.<br /><br /> I still have a few more interviews to do before I put it all together. I am also using family footage. But I am yet to find a close (end) to the movie - don't yet know how I will end it," Owais said.<br /><br />The documentary will use "classical music, photographs and several genres of art that Husain loved", his son said.<br /><br />M.F. Husain, who experimented with filmmaking between his vocation and commissions - public art, historical series and installations - made three major films - "Through the Eyes of a Painter", " Gajagamini," "Meenaxi: Tale of Three Cities" - that combined art, narratives, characters and music. <br /><br />One of the movies, "Through the Eyes of a Painter", which had won a Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 1967, was screened in the capital Saturday.<br /><br />A 16-minute documentary, it was shot by the painter during his journey through Rajasthan. "The documentary, 'Through the Eyes…' is inspiring," said Owais, who is in his mid thirties. <br /><br />The younger Husain said his "father had completed two mega series of paintings - 'History of Arab Civilisation', 'History of Indian Civilisation' before his demise". "He kept painting till his death," he said.<br /><br />Owais' roster is crammed. "I have three films on the floor - that I am making. There is a solo exhibition of my art works at Gallery Espace in the capital in October. It will be a bit of a 'dhamaka' - I have tried new formats and language," he said.</p>