Renu Saluja

Renu Saluja
Born	July 5, 1952(1952-07-05)
Died	August 16, 2000(2000-08-16) (aged 48) Mumbai
Occupation	film editor
Years active	1980-2000
Spouse	Vidhu Vinod Chopra (divorced) Sudhir Mishra (widowed)

Renu Saluja (Punjabi:ਰੇਣੁ ਸਲੂਜਾ, Hindi: रेणु सलुजा) (5 July 1952–16 August 2000) was an Indian film editor. Renu was one of the most prolific film editors in the `80s and `90s, in Hindi cinema, she worked with directors from both art house and mainstream cinema, including Govind Nihalani, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Sudhir Mishra, Shekhar Kapoor, Mahesh Bhatt, Vijay Singh in over forty feature films, several documentaries, short films and television work.

Renu was a four-time winner of National Film Award for Best Editing for Parinda (1989), Dharavi (1991), Sardar (1993) and Godmother (1999) besides winning Filmfare Award for Best Editing again for Parinda (1989) and 1942: A Love Story (1994).

Early life and education

Renu was born into a Punjabi Family. Her family always supported her and encouraged her to pursue a career in Hindi Film Industry. When Renu applied to the Film and Television Institute of India Pune in 1974, editing was only her second choice. She had applied for direction and did not get through the direction interview. But she did pass the editing interview and was persuaded by her parents to go ahead with it. She finally passed out of Editing course in 1976, and entered the hitherto all-male bastion of film editing in India.

Career

She first edited, Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s diploma film, Murder at Monkey Hill (1976), which went on to win National Film Award for the Best Experimental Film in 1977-78. Once out of the FTII, Renu's made her debut, with batch mate Saeed Akhtar Mirza's Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Ata Hai (1980), followed by with Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Sazaye Maut (1981), then another batch-mate Kundan Shah's comedy classic, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983), where her work was first appreciated. Her early work was in parallel cinema with her FTII colleagues - Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Saeed Mirza, Kundan Shah, and Ashok Ahuja.

The first offer that Renu got from outside her protected circle of 'FTII' filmmakers was Govind Nihalani's Ardh Satya, filmed in 1983. After Ardh Satya, her career really took off. She even did a stint with Doordarshan.

Parinda made by Vidhu Vinod Chopra was perhaps the first mainstream film that Renu edited, who she also assisted. Unlike the smaller films which were made in one schedule and thus she used to get the whole film in front of her before she commenced editing, Parinda was shot over a period of three years depending on star dates, availability of locations, etc.

In the 1990s Renu struck a balance between mainstream cinema as well as parallel cinema and the new crop of 'different indie films' that had cropped up following the success of Hyderabad Blues. Some of the well-known films that Renu has edited include Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron (1983), Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa (1993), Bandit Queen (1995), Pardes (1997), Rockford (1999) and Hey Ram (2000), Nagesh Kukunoor's Bollywood Calling and finally Calcutta Mail released in 2003 was her last edited film.

She died in Mumbai, on 16 August 2000, after ailing from stomach cancer for some time.

Personal life

Her elder sister Radha Saluja was a film actress, who worked in numerous Hindi, Punjabi and other regional films, and younger sister Dr. Kumkum Khadalia is a Plastic Surgeon. Renu married director, Vidhu Vinod Chopra also an FTII alumnus when they passed out in 1976; they later worked together on Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron (1983), where Vinod was the production manager and she the editor. Even though they later separated, she continued to edit all his films, and was his assistant director. Later in life, she came close with director, Sudhir Mishra with whom she worked on many of his films, including Dharavi and Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin (1996).

Legacy

In 2006, GraFTII, the Alumnus association of FTII released a book on her titled, 'Invisible - The Art of Renu Saluja'. In a 2005 interview, noted director, Sudhir Mishra, said that the principal character, Geeta in his acclaimed film, Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (2005), "..is the amalgamation of all the spirited women I've known, my tribute to Renu Saluja.". Later in 2006, she became the first editor to have Editing Award named after her.

In June 2009, GRAFTII, an Alumni Association of the FTII and E-City ventures, held Festival of her films as a special tribute, where a documentary in which all the directors Saluja worked with shared their memories of her.

Filmography

• Murder at Monkey Hill (1976)
• Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Ata Hai (1980)
• Sazaye Maut (1981)
• Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983)
• Ardh Satya (1983)
• Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho! (1984)
• Party (1984)
• Janam (1985)
• New Delhi Times (1986)
• Mil Gayi Manzil Mujhe (1988)
• Pestonjee (1988)
• Main Zinda Hoon (1988)
• Parinda (1989)
• Dharavi (1991)
• Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa (1993)
• 1942: A Love Story (1994)
• Papa Kehte Hain (1995)
• Do Rahain (1997)
• Pardes (1997)
• Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin (1996)
• Kareeb (1998)
• Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai (1998)
• Hyderabad Blues (1998)
• Sardar (1993)
• Bandit Queen (1995)
• Jaya Ganga (1998)
• Godmother (1999)
• Senso Uniquo (1999)
• Split Wide Open (1999)
• Rockford (1999)
• Hey Ram (2000)
• Bollywood Calling (2001)
• Calcutta Mail (2003)

Awards

• National Film Award
  • 1990: Best Editing: Parinda
  • 1992: Best Editing: Dharavi
  • 1994: Best Editing: Sardar
  • 1999: Best Editing: Godmother
• Filmfare Award
  • 1989: Best Editing: Parinda
  • 1995: Best Editing: 1942: A Love Story
• Star Screen Award
  • 1996: Best Editing: Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin

Further reading

• Invisible: the art of Renu Saluja. by Chandita Mukherjee and Jethu Mundul. GraFTII, 2006.

External links

• Renu Saluja at the Internet Movie Database
• Shekhar Kapur on Renu Saluja in his blog
• The nimble tightrope walker (Excerpts from GRAFTII Book, Invisible: the art of Renu Saluja) at Screen (magazine)
• GRAFTII Book, Invisible: the art of Renu Saluja