This week in It’s my Desi Life, we explore the story of Peter Dietze, a creative director with Turner & Dietze Creative in Melbourne – who in his 30s discovered that he had an Indian connection… that too with the famed Indian filmmaker Himashu Rai. Thus he and his family embarked on a journey to explore their Indian heritage (through their maternal grandfather – Himanshu Rai) and to bring to the world the pioneering work that Rai did as a filmmaker in India, especially with the foundation of Bombay Talkies – one of the three big film studios of India in the 1930s.
Life in Australia
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Peter Dietze states, “I was born in 1954. Some say I was born in an Orange! Well, it was in Orange NSW, that is near Bathurst central west of NSW. In my early childhood The family moved on to Palm Beach Sydney for a wonderful six years of sun surf and adventure and then on to Ivanhoe suburb in Melbourne.”
Peter reckons that he has been positively blessed with beautiful surroundings and great friends. He ended up meeting his wife Lori when he was 17. Thereon, their journey together found them in London in their 20''s.
Peter says, “We enrolled in the London university of life! and embarked on a retail career in fashion. We married in Hornchurch, Essex and after cutting our teeth in the world of high fashion we returned to Australia to work for some of Australia's top fashion houses, firstly the House of Merivale and John in Collins St. In 1974 this was the best fashion store in Melbourne. Then after a brief stint at Sportsgirl, Lori headed up the retail division for Rob and Adele Palmer at Jag while I became the General manager of Cuggi / Rarity men's stores. We then opened our own retail venture Domino Men's stores. Located in Bourke St city CBD, Toorak and Carlton. Considered cutting edge at the time, presenting the best of Australian men's fashion in an open uncluttered environment.”
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At present, Peter works for his own company – Turner Dietze Creative (TDC) located in Richmond, that he formed along with his wife Lori. They take pride in developing visual concepts for some of Australia's foremost companies providing creative solutions and installations for a specialised retail sector that requires a unique approach to the delivery of stores, showrooms and exhibitions and the like.
Peter asserts, “I enjoy the cosmopolitan lifestyle that Melbourne evokes. The vibrant creativity that is imminent in the arts, and the architecture. From the hustle and bustle of the CBD to exploring the Bellarine and Mornington peninsula's and of course to the mountains, Through our famous Yarra Valley and the Great Dividing Range and beyond. The drive through the divide alone is intoxicatingly memorable, a rainforest with massive mountain ash trees majestic ferns and a double dose of oxygen. Most weekends work and family permitting of course, I would want to take this drive and head up to Eildon lake to get my nature fix. I enjoy swimming and water-skiing there in the summer.”
Discovering the Indian Connection – Himanshu Rai & Bombay Talkies
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It was in the year 1992 that the Dietze brothers (Peter, Paul and Walter, the sons of Nilima – the daughter of Himashu Rai) discovered their ancestry and the richness of their grandfather’s life and loves.
There onwards, Dietze family has spent a considerable time and energy in exploring and connecting with their Indian roots, and especially finding out more about their grandfather – Himanshu Rai.
Since the time Peter got to know from her mother Nilima, that his grandfather was an Indian, and that too a very successful and pioneering filmmaker, he wanted to know more about him.
Over the years Peter and his brothers have managed to connect with the family roots in a very firm manner, and have gathered some interesting documents, posters, films and artefacts about Bombay Talkies and Himanshu Rai.
In 2001, Peter Dietze while on a trip to the United States as part of his research into his ancestry was given several large cardboard boxes, these boxes contained hundreds of letters, script notes, publicity and personal photographs.
These materials provided them with a huge opportunity to re-tell the story of the famous Bombay Talkies, Himanshu Rai and his wife Devika Rani in a grand manner.
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This resulted in bringing the Bombay Talkies exhibition, a first of its kind to the Australian Centre for Moving Images (ACMI) in Melbourne in February 2017.
Bombay Talkies was formed in the year 1934 by Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani. They collaborated with the famous German director Franz Osten and cameraman Josef Wirsching and setup the most modern film studio facility in India, with all the latest in film technology.
Bombay Talkies was the first film company in Indian to deliberately set out to address then-controversial issues such as the caste system and the treatment of women.
Bombay Talkies launched the careers of some of the greatest actors of the early Indian cinema, among them are: Ashok Kumar, Dev Anand, Leela Chitnis, Raj Kapoor, Madhubala, Dilip Kumar, Mehboob and Seeta Devi.
By 2006, a revival of interest in early Indian cinema was witnessed through many film festivals, books and discussions, this also resulted in an interesting re-release of Himanshu rai’s 1929 film “A Throw of Dice” with a specially composed soundtrack by British Asian Nitin Sawney, which has been seen and applauded by audience all over the world.
The Dietze family has a lot of plans to showcase their heritage to the world, Peter is keen to take the exhibition to other parts of the world, especially to India, where he would like to put all the Bombay Talkies materials in a permanent exhibition, if possible.
Being a Desi (Indian)
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I love to show-off my Melbourne to my friends and overseas guests who visit. As I get older I seem to appreciate my “Desi” life more and more.
The richness of my cultural ancestry directly through my grandfather Himansu Rai, founder of the Bombay Talkies has certainly impacted my life to the point that I see it as my duty and destiny to promote the contribution he made to Indian and world cinema and to carefully maintain his legacy for my family and the whole Indian Diaspora to enjoy.
