ಹೆಂಗಿದಿಯ ‘ಪಾ’?

-ಸುಘೋಷ್ ಎಸ್. ನಿಗಳೆ

ಚಿತ್ರರಂಗದವರ ಬಾಯಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಬಳಕೆಯಾಗಿ ಸವೆದುಹೋಗಿರುವ ಒಂದೇ ಒಂದು ಶಬ್ದ ‘ಡಿಫರೆಂಟ್’. “ಒಂಥರಾ ಡಿಫರೆಂಟ್ ಫಿಲ್ಮ್” ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಿಕೊಂಡೇ ಸವಕಲು ಚಿತ್ರವನ್ನು ಮುಂದಿಡುವುದು ಬಾಲಿವುಡ್ಡಿಗೂ ಹೊಸದೇನಲ್ಲ. ‘ಡಿಫರೆಂಟ್’ ಮಾಡಬೇಕೆಂಬ ಹುಮ್ಮಸ್ಸಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಚಿತ್ರ-ವಿಚಿತ್ರವನ್ನು ಪರದೆಯ ಮೇಲೆ ತೋರಿಸುವ ನಿರ್ದೇಶಕರು ಒಂದೆಡೆಯಾದರೆ, ಅದ್ಭುತ ಕಾನ್ಸೆಪ್ಟ್ ಗಳನ್ನು ಅಷ್ಟೇ ಅದ್ಭುತವಾಗಿ ಕುಲಗೆಡಿಸುವವರದು ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ಪಡೆ.

ಆದರೆ, ತಂದೆ – ಮಗ – ತಾಯಿಯ ಸಂಬಂಧ ಹಾಗೂ ಪ್ರೊಜೇರಿಯಾ ಎಂಬ ಕಾಯಿಲೆಯಂತಹ ವಿಷಯ ವಸ್ತುವನ್ನು ಇಟ್ಟುಕೊಂಡು ಈ ರೀತಿಯಾದ ಪ್ರಯೋಗವನ್ನು ಯಾರೂ ಮಾಡಿರಲಿಕ್ಕಿಲ್ಲ. ತಂದೆ –ಮಗ – ಮಗ – ತಂದೆಯಾಗಿ ಮಾಡಿರುವ ಈ ಚಿತ್ರ ಹಲವು ಕಾರಣಗಳಿಗೆ ವಾಹ್ ಎನಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತದೆ. ಅಜ್ಜ(?)ನೊಬ್ಬ ವಿಚಿತ್ರ (?) ಮೇಕಪ್ಪಿನೊಂದಿಗೆ ಹದಿಮೂರು ವರ್ಷದ ಹುಡುಗನ ಪಾತ್ರವನ್ನು ಮಾಡುವುದು, ನಟನೊಬ್ಬನಿಗೆ ಸವಾಲೇ ಸರಿ. ಅಂತಹ ಸವಾಲನ್ನು ಎದುರು ಹಾಕಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಛಾತಿಯುಳ್ಳವರು ಬಹಳಷ್ಟು ಕಡಿಮೆ. ಎದುರುಹಾಕಿಕೊಂಡರೂ ನಟಿಸಿ ಸೈ ಎನ್ನಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವವರು ಮತ್ತೂ ಕಡಿಮೆ. ನಟನೊಬ್ಬ ತನ್ನ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿತ್ವಕ್ಕೆ ವ್ಯತಿರಿಕ್ತವಾಗಿ ಮಾಡಿರುವ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳು (ಚಾಚಿ 420, ದಶಾವತಾರಮ್ ಥರದವು) ಇವೆಯಾದರೂ, ‘ಪಾ’ ದಂತಹ ಚಿತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ನಟಿಸಿ ಸೈ ಎನ್ನಿಸಿಕೊಂಡಿರುವುದು ಅಮಿತಾಭ್ ಹೆಗ್ಗಳಿಕೆ.

ಚಿತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ಅಮಿತಾಭ್ ತಮ್ಮ ನಟನೆಯ ಮೂಲಕ ಇಡೀ ಚಿತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ಹೇಗೆ ಆವರಿಸಿಕೊಂಡುಬಿಟ್ಟಿದ್ದಾರೆಂದರೆ ಒಂದು ಹಂತದಲ್ಲಿ ಅಭಿಷೇಕ್, ವಿದ್ಯಾ ಬಾಲನ್ ಹಾಗೂ ಅರುಂದತಿ ನಾಗ್ ಸೆಕೆಂಡರಿ ಎನಿಸಿಬಿಡುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಓರೋ ತನ್ನ ಅಜ್ಜಿಯೊಡನೆ ಶಾಪಿಂಗ್ ಹೋದಾಗ, ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕಂಪ್ಯೂಟರ್ ಎದುರು ಕುಳಿತಾಗ, ಗೆಳೆಯನೊಂದಿಗೆ ಫೋನ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾತಾಡುವಾಗ, ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರಪತಿ ಭವನವನ್ನು ಪ್ರವೇಶಿಸುವಾಗ, ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮಲಗಿ ತನ್ನ ಅಜ್ಜನನ್ನು ಸಂಧಿಸುವಾಗ ಮೂಡಿಬಂದಿರುವ ಡೈಲಾಗ್ ಹಾಗೂ ಬಾಡಿ ಲ್ಯಾಂಗ್ವೇಜ್ ಗಳು ಇಡೀ ಚಿತ್ರವನ್ನು ಮತ್ತಷ್ಟು ಎತ್ತರಕ್ಕೆ ಕೊಂಡೊಯ್ದಿವೆ. ಹಿಚಕಿ (ಬಿಕ್ಕಳಿಸುವಿಕೆ) ಯನ್ನು ಹೇಗೆಲ್ಲ ಚಿತ್ರಿಸಬಹುದು ಎಂಬುದನ್ನು ಪಾ ನೋಡಿಯೇ ತಿಳಿಯಬೇಕು. ಬಿಳಿ ಗ್ಲೋಬ್ ನ ಪರಿಕಲ್ಪನೆ ಹಾಗೂ ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಅಭಿಷೇಕ್ ನ ವಿವರಣೆ ಮಸ್ತ್ ಮಸ್ತ್.

ಅಮಿತಾಭ್, ಹದಿಮೂರು ವರ್ಷದ ಓರೋ ಆಗಿ ಶೂಟಿಂಗ್ ಗೆ ಎಂದು ಆಡಿಟೋರಿಯಂಗೆ ಬಂದಾಗ ಅಲ್ಲಿದ್ದ ಸುಮಾರು 300 ಮಕ್ಕಳಿಗೆ, ಅಮಿತಾಭ್ ರನ್ನು ಗುರುತಿಸಲು ಸಾಧ್ಯವಾಗಲಿಲ್ಲವಂತೆ. ಅದು ಮಕ್ಕಳ ವಿಷಯವಾಯ್ತು ಬಿಡಿ. ಆದರೆ ಚಿತ್ರದ ಆರಂಭದಿಂದ ಕೊನೆವರೆಗೂ ನಿಜವಾದ ಅಮಿತಾಭ್ ನನ್ನು ಓರೋನ ಹತ್ತಿರಕ್ಕೂ ಬಿಟ್ಟಕೊಳ್ಳದೇ ಇದ್ದುದು ಅಮಿತಾಭ್ ನ ನಟನಾ ಸಾಮರ್ಥ್ಯಕ್ಕೇ ಸಾಕ್ಷಿಯಲ್ಲವೆ?

The Bicycle is not Far

The first monsoon screening of KRITI FILM CLUB

The Bicycle is not Far

(English, 2009)

a film by Subrata Chakrabarty

on 18th July, Saturday, 5.30 pm

at S-35 Tara Apartments, Alaknanda, New Delhi

Phone: 26027845/ 26033088

Email: space.kriti@gmail.com

followed by a discussion with the film maker!

about the film:

A film about fair trade practices around organic cotton farming in India. Shot over a period of eight months in different parts of India (in the state of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal) and partly also in Paris, France to depict the existence of market rationality, fairtrade certification, increasing fair trade movement, participatory guarantee system (PGS) etc.

The film’s protagonist is a woman who work in the field of cotton and the film travels with her in the journey of how fairtrade practices improves her and her families’ life. Made simply, the film aims to reach out to everyone who produces and/ or consumes some form of ‘cotton’ in their life!

Gubbachigalu in Mandya

Breaking The Silence – Truth and Lies in the War on Terror

 John Pilger dissects the truth and lies in the ‘war on terror’. Award-winning journalist John Pilger investigates the discrepancies between American and British claims for the ‘war on terror’ and the facts on the ground as he finds them in Afghanistan and Washington, DC. In 2001, as the bombs began to drop, George W. Bush promised Afghanistan “the generosity of America and its allies”. Now, the familiar old warlords are regaining power, religious fundamentalism is renewing its grip and military skirmishes continue routinely. In “liberated” Afghanistan, America has its military base and pipeline access, while the people have the warlords who are, says one woman, “in many ways worse than the Taliban”. In Washington, Pilger conducts a series of remarkable interviews with William Kristol, editor of the Weekly Standard, and leading Administration officials such as Douglas Feith, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, and John Bolton, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. These people, and the other architects of the Project for the New American Century, were dismissed as ‘the crazies’ by the first Bush Administration in the early 90s when they first presented their ideas for pre-emptive strikes and world domination.

Kids take on 26/11

A film on 26/11 attacks

An ardent fan of Shah Rukh Khan, Diksha Negi is just 13 years old. She has scripted and co-directed the highly appreciated film MH 26/11-Mumbai Under Attack, thus becoming the youngest film-maker in the country to do so.  Diksha was one of the 20 school children, who under the guidance of Grace Pinto, MD, Ryan International School, underwent a rigorous training session on the various facets of film-making. Diksha, along with the other kids scripted the story of how the Mumbai terror attacks affect the relationship between two friends. The story has an underlying message of oneness and love, irrespective of caste, creed and religion. The kids even auditioned actors for the different characters, wrote the dialogues, edited the rushes and did the complete post-production work of MH 26/11. Hema Malini was the guest of honour for the premiere of the film. The event was also attended by Esha Khoppikar, Rituparna Sengupta, Johnny Lever and many others from different walks of life. They were all praises for the efforts of the talented kids. They were also surprised that the children have done such a professional job. Infact they even volunteered to act in their next directorial venture. Courtesy: Deccan herald, sulekha

Someone is listening…

ಸಂತ್ಯಾಗ…

ಕಬೀರ ಯಾನ

Kabir Film Festival

‘ಗುಲಾಬಿ ಟಾಕೀಸ್’ ಬಂದಿದೆ

ಗಜನಿ ಎಂಬ ‘Memento’

ಗಜನಿ ಸಿನೆಮಾಕ್ಕೆ ಮೂಲ ಎನ್ನಲಾದ ಸಿನೆಮಾ ‘Memento’

‘ಸ್ಲಂಡಾಗ್ ಮಿಲಿಯನೇರ್’ ಸಂವಾದ

ಭಾರತ ಪ್ರಕಾಶಿಸುತ್ತಿದೆಯೇ?

ಭಾರತ ಚಲನಚಿತ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಾದರೂ ಪ್ರಕಾಶಿಸುತ್ತಾ ಇರಬೇಕೆ?

ಬೂಕರ್ ಹಾಗೂ ಗೋಲ್ಡನ್ ಗ್ಲೋಬ್ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿಗಳನ್ನು ತಿರಸ್ಕರಿಸಬೇಕೆ?

ಈ ಎಲ್ಲ ಅಂಶಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಚರ್ಚೆ

ಹಾಗೂ

ಒಂದು ಸಿನಿಮಾ ನೋಡುವ ಬಗೆಯ ಕಲಿಕೆ

ಮ್ಯಾಜಿಕ್ ಕಾರ್ಪೆಟ್

ಆಶ್ರಯದಲ್ಲಿ

‘ಸ್ಲಂಡಾಗ್ ಮಿಲಿಯನೇರ್’

ಚಿತ್ರ ಕುರಿತು ಚರ್ಚೆ

‘ಚಲನಚಿತ್ರ ಕ್ಷೇತ್ರದ ಕಿ ರಂ’ ಎಂದೇ ಹೆಸರಾದ

ಪರಮೇಶ್ವರ ಗುರುಸ್ವಾಮಿ

ಅವರ ನೇತೃತ್ವದಲ್ಲಿ

ಚಿತಪ್ರೇಮಿಗಳು, ಬರಹಗಾರರು, ಬ್ಲಾಗರ್ ಗಳು ಭಾಗವಹಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ.

ಚರ್ಚೆಗೆ ಕಾವು ನೀಡಲಿದ್ದಾರೆ

ಬನ್ನಿ ಭಾಗವಹಿಸಿ

ದಿನಾಂಕ: ಇದೇ ಶನಿವಾರ ( 24 ಜನವರಿ)

ಸಮಯ ಸಂಜೆ 6 ಕ್ಕೆ

ಸ್ಥಳ: ಮೇಫ್ಲವರ್ ಮೀಡಿಯಾ ಹೌಸ್

1, ಯಮುನಾಬಾಯಿ ರಸ್ತೆ, ಮಾಧವ ನಗರ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು- 1

ದಾರಿ ತಪ್ಪುವವರಿಗೆ ದೂರವಾಣಿ: 22374436

ಪ್ರಸನ್ನ ಎಂಬ ಹಾರು ಹಕ್ಕಿ

`ಹಾರು ಹಕ್ಕಿಯನೇರಿ’

ನಾಳೆ ದಿನಾಂಕ 22-01-2009 ರಂದು ಬೆಳಿಗ್ಗೆ 11:45 ಕ್ಕೆ

ವಿಷನ್ ಸಿನೆಮಾ ಆಡಿಟೋರಿಯಮ್ – 2,

ಕೆ.ಎಚ್. ರೋಡ್, ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು

Che: Ultimate icon of revolution

Chevolution

Documentary by producer/director Trisha Ziff and director Luis Lopez

The Name Che means several things to several people. The ultimate icon of revolution, the face that has been printed most times in the world, Ernesto Che Guevara and his image taken by the Photographer Alberto Korda has passed the test of time and boundaries.

Whether the people know or not about Che and his ideologies, his image is a style statement.

From the posters to T-shirts and bikinies, in greeting cards to body tattoos, from cigarette packs to wines his face graces every possible place. Che who is the most revered icon of revolution and stands for values of ultimate socialism today has turned a corporate logo. The capitalist forces exploiting the very image of the man who stood against them, today has successfully created a myth called Che. A myth that is far away from reality.

Both the people who know and revere Che and those who don’t know who Che is, today prey victim to this myth.

The documentary Chevolution, by producer/director Trisha Ziff and director Luis Lopez is an attempt to analyze this myth, who Che was and how Che and his famous portrait image captured by Cuban fashion photographer Albert Korda has transformed from a revolutionary to a brand icon.

Chevolution begins with vox pop interviews with the people from different walks of life, about what Che means to them, who is Che and why they buy him… answers of course range from don’t know to he is cool and symbol of revolution and many more. To some he is an icon of revolution, comradeship, rebellion, freedom, to some he is hope and inspiration personified, a symbol of peace, humanity and concern , to some others he is cool, a fashion statement….

The chevolution also throws light to the early life of Che. Through the memoirs of his college mates and colleagues, archives and file photographs the director throws light on how the paths of Che crossed with Fidel Castro, on the mission they lead achieved together in Cuba.

It is a portrait image of Che Guevara captured by the photographer Alberta Korda that was responsible for the creation of Che as a brand icon. The documentary through a series of interviews of Korda’s daughter, Diana Diaz, who’s protecting the legacy of her father’s most famous work, Jon Lee Anderson, a biographer of Che’s life and other friends unveil a bonding that Korda, Castro and Che shared. It depicts the circumstances in which the famous portrait was clicked during a memoir service for the victims of a terrorist attack (1960 terrorist attack on the ship Le Cubre.) in Cuba. That image was not even carried by the local newspapers for publishing initially. Korda hung the photograph in his drawing room. It was only seven years later it was shown up internationally and conquered the world in a way either Che or Korda would not have wanted.

The documentary also portrays the post Cuba revolution and about the attempts of Che to foment guerrilla struggles in Bolivia and Congo and the death of Che in Bolivia in 1968. It was after his death the Che portrait surfaced internationally.

Though the documentary clearly analyses the myth surrounding Che Guevara in all the possible angles, lacks crispiness in narration, too many voxpops and loose script with drifting focus with many irrelevant details dilutes the essence. Comparison of Che to Christ in such a detail would have been avoided. Chevolution definitely gives an understanding of the phenomena called Che for the viewers.

3 minute film competition

ADVANTAGE INDIA – The 3 minute film competition

WWW.1TAKEMEDIA. COM – India’s largest Entertainment jobs portal &

River to River (www.rivertoriver. it) – Italy’s Largest Indian film festival

are pleased to announce their short film competition ADVANTAGE INDIA – The 3 minute film competition

The participants shall produce (upto) 3 minute films based on India, focussing on the advantages / positives / achievements of India and/or its citizens.

ENTRY FREE

LAST DATE OF SUBMISSION : 31^ST OCTOBER 2008

JURY

Mr Kunal Kohli – Director of FANAA, HUM TUM …

Mr Indra Kumar – Director of DIL, ISHQ, MASTI, DHAMAAL etc

Mr R Balki – Director of CHEENI KUM & National Creative Head – Lowe Lintas

Ms Selvaggio Vela – Jury Member of MAMI & organiser of River to River

The winning films shall have the privilege of being telecast at RIVER TO RIVER, the prestigious Italian festival supported by the government of Italy & the Indian Tourism office in Milan.

FOR MORE DETAILS & FORMS LOG ONTO WWW.1TAKEMEDIA. COM & click on ADVANTAGE INDIA.

Media that matters Film Festival

Media That Matters: More than a festival.

Arts Engine’s Media That Matters is the premier showcase for short films with big messages.

Why submit?

Submit your film now for the chance to be one of the final twelve jury-selected films and become part of our outreach and distribution efforts to create social change through film.

Following a New York City Premiere, Awards Ceremony and industry networking events in June 2009, your film will take part in the Media That Matters international, multi-platform campaign with DVD distribution, broadcasts, streaming and hundreds of screenings across the globe!

We create accompanying discussion guides and screening materials to promote conversation and encourage educators, activists and organizations alike to Take Action around your film.

All finalists will be awarded $1000 to assist in future filmmaking efforts.

What are we looking for?

• Short films: the shorter the better—no longer than 12 minutes max, but 8 and under would be great! If your piece exceeds these time limits, consider submitting a shorter version or a stand-alone excerpt.
• Social issues – Any and all issues will be considered. This year we are seeking out films on Media Literacy, Human Rights, Elections & Democracy, Sustainability & the Environment, LGBTQ & Sexual Identity, Youth Activism and Racial Justice. The final films are those that encourage the audience to be engaged in the issue!
• All genres – Documentary, animation, public service announcement, narrative, music videos, drama, comedy. Creativity is encouraged – but your film must focus on a social issue.
• Open to all ages – Youth-produced projects encouraged!

What to consider before submitting:

• The film you are submitting must be available for NON EXCLUSIVE home video, educational, online, broadcast and theatrical distribution. If you have signed a contract with any other entity for this film that includes EXCLUSIVE rights to this film, please review prior to submitting to our festival. Media That Matters seeks the widest possible audiences for your film. To do this effectively, we use a non-exclusive contract, so unlike many media entities, we do not ask for exclusive rights. This flexibility helps our outreach team go further with your film, creating even more opportunity for distribution and exposure of your work.
• All footage – including music and other referenced video pieces – must have all rights cleared and secured. Please refer to the Center for Social Media’s set of Best Practices for more information on how to use licensed materials. Creative Commons is also a great resource for license-free or flexi-licensed music and media alternatives.
• Submissions must be sent to us on DVD (1 x copy) and programmed to play as a DVD Region 0 (region free) or Region 1 (US, Canada, US Territories). Please note that the following formats will not be considered this year: PAL, VHS, CD-R (QuickTime MOV or MPG files) or mini-DV. We will not accept emailed submissions or links to watch online. We must have a physical copy of the film.
• Submission limit: Individual Filmmakers: 2; Community/Youth Media Center: 5
• Submission fee: $25 for each film submission; $10 for students over 18 (with valid student ID); Free for youth 18 & under (with valid ID)

Deadline: ALL materials must be postmarked by: January 9th, 2009.

How to submit:
ONLINE:

Submit via Without A Box:

OR

OFFLINE:

Download a PDF version of the entry form here and send all accompanying materials to:

Media That Matters Film Festival
104 West 14th Street
4th Floor
New York, NY 10011

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ಬೇರುಗಳತ್ತ…

-ಅಂಚೆಮನೆ ರಘು

ನಾಗತಿಹಳ್ಳಿ ರಮೇಶ್ ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯ ಪ್ರೇಮಿ. ಬದುಕಿನ ಹುಡುಕಾಟದ ಹಂಬಲದ ಮನುಷ್ಯ. ಸಂಘ ಜೀವಿ ರಮೇಶ್ ಸಮಯ ಸಿಕ್ಕಾಗೆಲ್ಲಾ ಸ್ನೇಹಿತರೊಂದಿಗೆ ಅಲೆಮಾರಿಯಂತೆ  ಊರೂರು ಸುತ್ತುವ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ. ಹೀಗೆ ಊರೂರು ಸುತ್ತುತ್ತ ಅದೃಶ್ಯವಾಗುವ ರಮೇಶ್ ಬಳಗ, ಅಲೆದಾಟದಲ್ಲಿ ಕಣ್ಣಿಗೆ ಕಾಣುವ ವಸ್ತು ಅಥವಾ ಘಟನೆಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ವಿಶೇಷ ಕುತೂಹಲ. ಇದಕ್ಕೆಲ್ಲಾ ದೃಶ್ಯ ಸ್ವರೂಪ ನೀಡಿದರೆ ಹೇಗೆ ಎಂಬ ಅಲೋಚನೆ ಬಂದಿದ್ದೇ ತಡ ಎನ್ 2 ಲರ್ನಸ್ ಅಂಡ್ ಕ್ರಿಯೇಟರ್ಸ ಎಂಬ ಒಂದು ಟೀಂ ರೂಪಿಸಿದರು.

ಮನಸ್ಸಿನ ಭಾವನೆಗಳಿಗೆ ದೃಶ್ಯ ನೀಡಿ ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೆ ನಾಟುವಂತೆ ಕ್ರಿಯೇಟಿವ್ ಆಗಿ ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಸಲು ಪ್ರಯತ್ನ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಲೇ, ಊರೂರು ಸುತ್ತುವಾಗ ಕಣ್ಣಿಗೆ ಕಂಡಿದ್ದೆಲ್ಲಾ ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೆ ಇಷ್ಟವಾಯಿತು ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಿಕೊಂಡು,  ಕ್ಯಾಮರಾದಲ್ಲಿ ಸೆರೆ ಹಿಡಿದರು. ಎಲ್ಲರಿಗೂ ಇಷ್ಟವಾಗುವಂತೆ ಒಂದು ರೂಪ ನೀಡುವ ತುಡಿತದಲ್ಲಿ ಎಡಿಟ್ ಮಾಡಲು ನಾಗತಿಹಳ್ಳಿ ರಮೇಶ್ ಬಳಗ ಮುಂದಾಯಿತು.

ಹೀಗೆ ಎಡಿಟ್ ನಂತರ ಮನಸ್ಸಿನ ಭಾವನೆಗಳನ್ನು ಹೇಳುವ ತುಣುಕು ಚಿತ್ರಗಳಾಗಿ ಸಿದ್ಧಗೊಂಡದ್ದು- ಶಸ್ತ್ರಗಾರ, ಉಸಿರು, ಚಕ್ರ, ಭೂಮಿ -ಆಕಾಶ ಹೀಗೆ ವಿವಿಧ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳು ಹೀಗೆ ಅಂತಿಮ ರೂಪ ಪಡೆದವು. ಒಂದು ನಿಮಿಷದಿಂದ ಹಿಡಿದು 10 ನಿಮಿಷದವರೆಗಿನ ತುಣಕು ಚಿತ್ರಗಳು ಸಾಕ್ಷ್ಯಚಿತ್ರಗಳಿಗೆ ಹೂಸ ಭಾಷ್ಯ ಬರದಂತೆ ಮೈದಾಳಿದವು . ದೃಶ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ತಕ್ಕಂತೆ ಮೆದುವಾದ ಸಂಗೀತದ ಹಿಮ್ಮೇಳನ ತುಣುಕು ಚತ್ರಗಳ ಗಮ್ಯತೆಯನ್ನು ಹೆಚ್ಚಿಸಿತು.

ಈ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳನ್ನು ನೋಡಿದರೆ, ಇವು ಕೇವಲ ಭಾವನೆಗಳನ್ನಷ್ಟೇ ಹೇಳುವುದಿಲ್ಲ. ಬದಲಾಗಿ ಯಾವುದೊ  ಥೀಮ್ ಗಳ ಹುಡುಕಾಟಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಹೊರಟಂತಿದೆ . ಬಲೂನ್ ಮಾರಾಟಗಾರರ ಬಗೆಗಿನ ಉಸಿರು ಎನ್ನುವ ತುಣುಕು ಚಿತ್ರ ಇಂತಹದ್ದನ್ನೇ ಪ್ರತಿಧ್ವನಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಶಸ್ತ್ರಗಾರ ಎನ್ನುವ ತುಣುಕು ಚಿತ್ರ ಯುದ್ದದ ಪರಿಣಾಮಗಳು, ಅರಾಜಕತೆ ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೆ ನಾಟುತ್ತದೆ. ಎನ್ 2 ಲರ್ನಸ್ ಅಂಡ್ ಕ್ರಿಯೇಟರ್ಸ್ ತಂಡದಲ್ಲಿ ನಾಗತಿಹಳ್ಳಿ ರಮೇಶ್ , ಕುಮಾರ್ , ದ್ರಾವಿಡ ರವಿ ಸೇರಿದಂತೆ 8 ರಿಂದ 10 ಜನರ ತಂಡ  ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲೊಂದು ಇಂತಹ ಸಾಹಸಕ್ಕೆ ಕೈ ಹಾಕಿರುವುದು ಮೆಚ್ಚುಗೆಯ ಸಂಗತಿ.

Watch in PVR at 6.10 PM

 

 

Three Monkeys  (2008)

Genre : Drama | Original Language : Turkish | Country : France, Italy, Turkey Directed by : Nuri Bilge Ceylan Screenplay : Nuri Bilge Ceylan Ebru Ceylan Ercan Kesal Cinematographer : Gökhan Tiryaki Editor : Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Bora Göksingöl Producers/ Co- Producers : Zeynep Ozbatur, Zeynofilm Produksiyon Hizmetleri Ltd, Fabienne Vonier, Valerio de Paolis, Cemal Noyan, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, NBC Film, Pyramide Productions, Bim Distribuzione in association with Imaj

Original Title Üç Maymun Synopsis A family, dislocated when small failings blow up into extravagant lies, battles against the odds to stay together by covering up the truth…  Late one night, a politician falls asleep behind the wheel of his car on a country road. He strikes and kills a pedestrian and then coolly coerces one of his employers to take the rap for him and serve a nine-month prison sentence with the promise of a healthy pay-cheque when he gets out. This arrangement initiates a string of deceptions, including a tryst between Servet, the politician (Ercan Kesal), and Hacer (Hatice Aslan), the wife of Eyüp (Yavuz Bingol).  Their son (Ahmet Rifat Sungar) learns of the affair. When Eyüp comes home from prison, the turmoil so long buried in his family—another son drowned years earlier—rises to the surface. In order to avoid responsibilities that would otherwise be impossible to endure, the family chooses to ignore the truth: refusing to see, hear or talk about it. The film”s hi-definition video images are blanched and grainy, lending a vaguely surreal air to the film”s hot summer coastal setting. This deeply introspective film tracking the breakdown of intimate relationships was nominated for the Palme d’Or at the 2008 Festival de Cannes and won the Best Director award. Technical Details Colour

A film for George Bush and Osama

Hello everyone,

I have just released my feature length film called “Formula 69”
on Youtube.

www.youtube. com/filmformula6 9

Formula 69 is a sci-fi comedy film about 3 IITians who use their crazy
inventions to solve a murder mystery and find a cure for terrorism.

Please share it with your friends in various corners of the world.
Hopefully we’ll be able to get it to the people it was made for….
Before George Bush quits his office and Osama quits his life!!

The next step is to make a documentary on the making of this film.

(The entire film was made with students, staff and Alumni of IIT Delhi)

Enjoy,

Nitin Das

__._,_.___

ಓಸಿಯನ್ ‘ಟಾಕೀಸ್’ನಲ್ಲಿ ‘ಗುಲಾಬಿ’ಯ ಕಂಪು

ನವದೆಹಲಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಈಚೆಗೆ ನಡೆದ ‘ಓಸಿಯನ್ (ಅರಬ್ ಹಾಗೂ ಏಷ್ಯಾ) ಚಲನಚಿತ್ರೋತ್ಸವ’ದಲ್ಲಿ ಹರಡಿದ್ದು ಕನ್ನಡದ ‘ಗುಲಾಬಿ ಟಾಕೀಸ್’ ಪರಿಮಳ. ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಕಾರಣರಾದ ಕನ್ನಡದ ಹೆಮ್ಮೆಯ ಪ್ರತಿಭಾವಂತರಿಬ್ಬರ ಜೊತೆ ಮಾತನಾಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಟಿಎಸ್‌ಐನ ಕೆ. ರಾಘವ ಶರ್ಮ

 

ಅದು ನವದೆಹಲಿಯ ಸಿರಿಫೋರ್ಟ್ ಸಾಂಸ್ಕೃತಿಕ ಸಮುಚ್ಛಯ. ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಜಪಾನ್, ಕೊರಿಯಾ, ಇಸ್ರೇಲ್, ಪಾಕಿಸ್ತಾನ, ಶ್ರೀಲಂಕಾ, ಅಮೆರಿಕ, ಇಂಡೋನೇಷಿಯಾ, ಮೊರೊಕ್ಕೊ, ಈಜಿಪ್ಟ್, ಹಾಂಗ್‌ಕಾಂಗ್, ಸಿರಿಯಾ, ಫ್ರಾನ್ಸ್, ಭಾರತ ಸೇರಿದಂತೆ ಹತ್ತಾರು ದೇಶಗಳ 200ಕ್ಕಿಂತಲೂ ಅಧಿಕ ಚಲನಚಿತ್ರಗಳು ಪ್ರದರ್ಶನಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಬಂದಿದ್ದವು. ಕಲಾತ್ಮಕತೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಅವೆಲ್ಲಾ ಒಂದಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಒಂದು ಹೆಚ್ಚೇ ಎನ್ನಿ. ಜುಲೈ 10ರಿಂದ ಆರಂಭವಾಗಿದ್ದ ಸಿನಿಮಾ ಉತ್ಸವದಲ್ಲಿ ಬರೀ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳು ಮಾತ್ರವಲ್ಲ ನಾನಾ ದೇಶಗಳ, ಬಗೆಬಗೆಯ ಭಾಷೆಯ ಜನರು ನೆರೆದಿದ್ದರು. ಇಂಗ್ಲಿಷ್ ಬಾರದ ಅದೆಷ್ಟೋ ದೇಶದ ಜನರೂ ಇದ್ದುದ್ದರಿಂದ ‘ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ ಸಂವಹನ ಭಾಷೆ’ಯಾಗಲು ಇಂಗ್ಲಿಷ್‌ಗೆ ಕೂಡಾ ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಕಷ್ಟವೇ ಆಗಿತ್ತು. ‘ಓಸಿಯನ್ಸ್ ಸಿನಿಫ್ಯಾನ್ ಚಲಚಿತ್ರೋತ್ಸವ’ ಅಂದರೆ ಹಾಗೆಯೇ. ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಭಾಷೆಯ ಗಡಿ ಇಲ್ಲ; ಇದ್ದಿದ್ದರೆ ಕನ್ನಡ ಈ ಚಿತ್ರೋತ್ಸವದಲ್ಲಿ ಮೆರೆಯುವ ಸಾಧ್ಯತೆಯಿತ್ತೇ?

ಈ ಬಾರಿಯ 10ನೇ ‘ಓಸಿಯನ್ (ಅರಬ್ ಹಾಗೂ ಏಷ್ಯಾ) ಚಲನಚಿತ್ರೋತ್ಸವ’ ಕೂಡಾ ವಿಶೇಷತೆ ಮೆರೆಯದೆ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಆದರೆ ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರಾದ ನಮಗೆ ಎಲ್ಲಕ್ಕಿಂತ ವಿಶೇಷವಾಗಿ ಕಂಡದ್ದು, ಕನ್ನಡದ ಇಬ್ಬರು ಪ್ರತಿಭಾವಂತರು ಅಲ್ಲಿನ ಪ್ರತಿಷ್ಠಿತ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿಗೆ ಭಾಜನರಾದದ್ದು. ‘ಗಿರೀಶ್ ಕಾಸರವಳ್ಳಿ’ ಅವರ ‘ಗುಲಾಬಿ ಟಾಕೀಸ್’ ಭಾರತೀಯ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳ ವಿಭಾಗದಲ್ಲಿ ‘ಅತ್ಯುತ್ತಮ ಚಿತ್ರ’ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿಗೆ ಪಾತ್ರವಾಯಿತು. ಕಾಸರವಳ್ಳಿ ಚಿತ್ರ ಅಂದಮೇಲೆ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿ ಸಿಗದೆ ಇರುವುದು ಹೇಗೆ ಹೇಳಿ? ಈ ಮೊದಲೇ ಅವರ ಹಿಂದಿನ ಕೆಲವು ಚಿತ್ರಗಳಿಗೆ ಅಂತರ್ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಮಟ್ಟದ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿಗಳು ದೊರಕಿದ್ದವು. ಈಗ ‘ಗುಲಾಬಿ ಟಾಕೀಸ್’ನ ಸರದಿ. ಇದೇ ಚಿತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿನ ಅಭಿನಯಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ‘ಅತ್ಯುತ್ತಮ ನಟಿ’ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿ ಪಡೆದವರು ತಮ್ಮ ಅದ್ಭುತ ನಟನಾ ಶಕ್ತಿಯ ಮೂಲಕ ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರ ಮನೆ-ಮನಗಳನ್ನು ಗೆದ್ದಿರುವ ಹಿರಿಯ ನಟಿ ಉಮಾಶ್ರೀ.

 

ಸಿರಿಫೋರ್ಟ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ‘ಗುಲಾಬಿ ಟಾಕೀಸ್’ ಪ್ರದರ್ಶನಗೊಂಡಾಗ ಚಿತ್ರ ವೀಕ್ಷಿಸಲು ಬೆರಳೆಣಿಕೆಯಷ್ಟು ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರು (ಇತರ ಭಾಷಿಗರನ್ನು ಹೊರತುಪಡಿಸಿ) ಕೂಡಾ ಇರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಆದರೆ ಕಾಸರವಳ್ಳಿ ಅವರು ತೆರೆಯ ಮೇಲೆ ಮೂಡಿಸಿದ ದೃಶ್ಯಕಾವ್ಯ ಆಸ್ವಾದಿಸಲು ಇತರ ಭಾಷಿಕರಿಗೆ ಯಾವುದೇ ಅಡ್ಡಿಯಾಗಲಿಲ್ಲ.

 

11 ದಿನಗಳ ಕಾಲ ನವದೆಹಲಿಯ ಸಿರಿಫೋರ್ಟ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆದ ಚಿತ್ರೋತ್ಸವಕ್ಕೆ ತೆರೆ ಎಳೆಯುವ ದಿನದ ಆ ಸುಂದರ ಸಂಜೆಯಂದು ಕಿಕ್ಕಿರಿದು ತುಂಬಿದ್ದ ಸಭಾಂಗಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿ ಪಡೆದ ಚಿತ್ರದ ನಿರ್ಮಾಪಕ ಬಸಂತ್ ಕುಮಾರ್ ಪಾಟಿಲ್ ಟಿಎಸ್‌ಐ ಜೊತೆ ಸಂತಸ ಹಂಚಿಕೊಂಡರು. “ಚಿತ್ರಕ್ಕೆ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿ ದೊರಕಿದ್ದು ನಿಜವಾಗಿಯೂ ಖುಷಿ ತಂದಿದೆ. ನಮ್ಮೆಲ್ಲರ ಪರಿಶ್ರಮಕ್ಕೆ ಅಂತರ್ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಮಟ್ಟದಲ್ಲಿ ಮನ್ನಣೆ ದೊರಕಿದೆ. ಎಲ್ಲಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಮುಖ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಜನರು ಚಿತ್ರ ಮೆಚ್ಚಿದರು. ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿಗಿಂತ ಜನರ ಪ್ರಶಂಸೆಗಳು ನನಗೆ ಸಂತಸ ನೀಡಿದೆ” ಎಂದು ನುಡಿದರು.

 

ಚಿತ್ರದ ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞರಾದಿಯಾಗಿ ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ಹೇಳುವಂತೆ, ಪ್ರಧಾನ ಭೂಮಿಕೆಯಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಉಮಾಶ್ರೀ ಅವರ ನಟನೆಯಂತೂ ಅತ್ಯದ್ಭುತ. ಕರಾವಳಿಯ ಮೀನುಗಾರ ಕುಟುಂಬದ ಮುಸ್ಲಿಂ ಮಹಿಳೆ ಗುಲಾಬಿ (ಗುಲ್‌ನಾಬಿ) ಪಾತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಣಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಉಮಾಶ್ರೀ ಅವರು ಮುಗ್ಧತೆ ಮತ್ತು ಗಾಂಭೀರ್ಯ ಮೇಳೈಸಿದ ಪಾತ್ರವನ್ನು ನಿರ್ವಹಿಸುವಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣ ಯಶಸ್ಸು ಕಂಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಅವರ ಆ ಪರಿಶ್ರಮಕ್ಕೆ ತಕ್ಕ ಪ್ರತಿಫಲವೂ ದೊರಕಿದೆ. ಕಾಸರವಳ್ಳಿ ಅವರ ಹಿಂದಿನ ಹಲವು ಚಿತ್ರಗಳಲ್ಲಿದ್ದಂತೆ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕೂಡ ಮಹಿಳಾ ಪ್ರಾತಿನಿಧ್ಯವೇ ಎದ್ದು ಕಾಣುತ್ತದೆ. ಎಂತಹ ಸಂಕಷ್ಟದ ಸಂದರ್ಭವನ್ನೂ ನಿಭಾಯಿಸುವ ತಾಕತ್ತು ಮಹಿಳೆಗೆ ಕರಗತ ಎಂಬುದನ್ನು ‘ಗುಲಾಬಿ’ ಪಾತ್ರದ ಮೂಲಕ ನಿರೂಪಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣ ಸಿನಿಮಾ ‘ಕುಂದಗನ್ನಡ’ದಲ್ಲಿದ್ದರೂ, ಉಮಾಶ್ರೀ ಸೇರಿದಂತೆ ಇತರ ನಟರ ಸಂಭಾಷಣೆ ನವಿರಾಗಿ ಮೂಡಿಬಂದಿದೆ. ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿ ಸ್ವೀಕರಿಸಿದ ಸಂದರ್ಭದಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾತನಾಡಿದ ಉಮಾಶ್ರೀ, “ಇಂದು ನನಗೆ ಈ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿ ಬಂದಿದೆ ಎಂದರೆ ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ನಿರ್ದೇಶಕರೇ ಕಾರಣ. ಇಡೀ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ ಜನತೆಗೆ ಈ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ಅರ್ಪಿಸುತ್ತೇನೆ” ಎಂದಾಗ ಅವರ ಮೊಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂತೃಪ್ತಿಯ ಕಳೆ ಎದ್ದು ಕಾಣುತ್ತಿತ್ತು.

 

ಗುಲಾಬಿ ಪಾತ್ರದ ಕುರಿತು ಮಾತನಾಡಿದ ಕಾಸರವಳ್ಳಿ ಅವರು, “ಗುಲಾಬಿಯ ಒಂಟಿತನ, ಪ್ರೇಮ-ಪ್ರೀತಿಯ ಹಪಹಪಿಯನ್ನು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಬಿಂಬಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಒಂದು ಯಂತ್ರದ (ಟಿವಿ) ಮೂಲಕ ಆಕೆ ಇಡೀ ಸಮುದಾಯವನ್ನು ಆಕರ್ಷಿಸುತ್ತಾಳೆ. ಹೀಗೆ ಆಕೆ ತನ್ನ ಗಂಡನ ಪ್ರೀತಿ, ಊರಿನ ಪ್ರೀತಿ, ಸಮುದಾಯದ ಪ್ರೀತಿಗೂ ಪಾತ್ರಳಾಗುತ್ತಾಳೆ. ಆದರೆ ಅದೇ ಯಂತ್ರ ಸಮಾಜ ವಿಭಜನೆಗೂ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾರಣವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಹಾಗಾಗಿ ಇಲ್ಲಿ ನಾನು ‘ಇಮೇಜ್ ಮೇಕಿಂಗ್’ ಪ್ರಕ್ರಿಯೆಯ ರಾಜಕೀಯತೆಯನ್ನು ಜನರಿಗೆ ತೋರಿಸುವ ಯತ್ನ ಮಾಡಿದ್ದೇನೆ” ಎಂದು ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾರೆ.

 

ಕೇವಲ ಗುಲಾಬಿಯ ನೋವು-ನಲಿವುಗಳು ಮಾತ್ರವಲ್ಲ, ಹಳ್ಳಿಯ ಜನರ ಹಾಗೂ ಅವರ ಕೌಟುಂಬಿಕ ಬದುಕಿನ ಚಿತ್ರಣವನ್ನು ಕಾಸರವಳ್ಳಿ ಅವರು ನೈಜತೆಯಿಂದ ಚಿತ್ರಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಆರ್ಥಿಕ ಸಂಕಷ್ಟದಿಂದಾಗಿ ಕುಟುಂಬದ ಜವಾಬ್ದಾರಿ ಹೊತ್ತ ಪುರುಷರಿಗೆ ಕೌಟುಂಬಿಕ ಜೀವನ ನಿಭಾಯಿಸಲಾಗದೆ ಸಂಕಷ್ಟ ಎದುರಾಗುವುದು, ಪತ್ನಿ ಹಾಗೂ ಮಕ್ಕಳು ಬಡತನದ ಬೇಗೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸಿಲುಕಿ ಒದ್ದಾಡುವುದು, ಹಾಗೇ ಆ ಸಂದರ್ಭದಲ್ಲಿ ವಾಸಣ್ಣ ಅಥವಾ ಸುಲೈಮಾನ್ ಪರವಾಗಿ ದುಡಿಯುವುದೋ ಎಂಬ ತುಮುಲಗಳು ಗಂಡಂದಿರ ಮನದಲ್ಲಿ ಸೃಷ್ಟಿಯಾಗುವಂಥ ಸನ್ನಿವೇಶಗಳನ್ನು ಕಣ್ಣಿಗೆ ಕಟ್ಟುವಂತೆ ಚಿತ್ರಿಸುವಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಸರವಳ್ಳಿ ಯಶಸ್ವಿಯಾಗಿದ್ದಾರೆ.

 

ಚಿತ್ರದುದ್ದಕ್ಕೂ ಜಾಗತೀಕರಣದ ಪರಿಣಾಮಗಳು ಸೂಚ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಒಡಮೂಡಿದೆ. ಇದರ ಜೊತೆಗೆ ದುಬೈನಲ್ಲಿ ನೆಲೆಸಿದ್ದು, ಹಳ್ಳಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮೀನುಗಾರಿಕೆ ಉದ್ಯಮ ನಡೆಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಸುಲೈಮಾನ್ ಹಾಗೂ ಅದೇ ಹಳ್ಳಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮೀನುಗಾರಿಕೆ ಕಾರ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ನಿರತನಾಗಿದ್ದ ವಾಸಣ್ಣ ಇವರಿಬ್ಬರಿಂದಲೂ ಹಳ್ಳಿ ಜನರು ಶೋಷಣೆಗೊಳಗಾಗುವುದನ್ನು ವಿವಿಧ ಸನ್ನಿವೇಶಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ತೆರೆದಿಡಲಾಗಿದೆ.

 

ತಮ್ಮ ಪರಿಧಿಯೊಳಗೆ ಬದುಕನ್ನು ಕಂಡುಕೊಳ್ಳಲಾರದ ಮಾನವನ ಅನಿಶ್ಚಿತತೆಯನ್ನು ಬಿಂಬಿಸುವುದರ ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಹಳ್ಳಿಯಲ್ಲಿನ ಅತೃಪ್ತಿ ಮತೀಯ ಸಂಘರ್ಷಕ್ಕೆ ಕಾರಣವಾಗುವ ಬಗೆಯನ್ನು ಚಿತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಣಬಹುದು. “ಒಂದು ಸಂಕೀರ್ಣವಾದ ಚಿತ್ರಕಥೆ ಬರೆದು, ಸಮಾಜದ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಮುಖಗಳನ್ನು ಅನಾವರಣಗೊಳಿಸಿದ್ದೇನೆ” ಎನ್ನುವ ಕಾಸರವಳ್ಳಿ, “ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಹಿಂದೂಗಳೆಲ್ಲರೂ ಕೆಟ್ಟವರು ಅಥವಾ ಒಳ್ಳೆಯವರು ಹಾಗೂ ಮುಸ್ಲಿಮರೆಲ್ಲಾ ಕೆಟ್ಟವರು ಅಥವಾ ಒಳ್ಳೆಯವರು ಎಂದು ಚಿತ್ರಿಸಲಾಗಿಲ್ಲ. ಗುಲಾಬಿಯನ್ನು ಊರಿನಿಂದ ಹೊರ ಅಟ್ಟಿದ್ದು ಆರ್ಥಿಕ ಕಾರಣದಿಂದಾಗಿಯೇ ವಿನಾ ಆಕೆ ಮುಸ್ಲಿಂ ಎಂದಲ್ಲ. ಆಕೆಯ ಗಂಡನೂ ಹಲವು ಅನ್ಯಾಯಗಳನ್ನು ಮಾಡಿದ್ದಾನೆ. ಆಕೆಯನ್ನು ಓಡಿಸುವ ಹಿಂದೆ ಹಳ್ಳಿಯ ಆರ್ಥಿಕತೆಯ ಕಾರಣವೂ ಇದೆ. ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ವಿಚಾರ ಏನೆಂದರೆ ನೋಡುಗರು ಮುಸ್ಲಿಮರಿಂದಲೇ ಇಂದು ಜಗತ್ತಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಅನ್ಯಾಯಗಳು ನಡೆಯುತ್ತಿವೆ ಎಂದು ಯೋಚಿಸಿದರೆ ಅವರಿಗೆ ಈ ಸಿನಿಮಾವೇ ಒಂದು ದೊಡ್ಡ ಅಪರಾಧವಾಗಿ ಕಾಣಬಹುದು’ ಎಂದು ವಿವರಣೆ ನೀಡುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಒಟ್ಟಾರೆ ಕನ್ನಡ ಸಿನಿಮಾವೊಂದು ಇಂದು ಮತ್ತೊಮ್ಮೆ ಅಂತರ್ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಮಟ್ಟದಲ್ಲಿ ಗುರುತಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವುದರೊಂದಿಗೆ ಕನ್ನಡ ಚಿತ್ರರಂಗಕ್ಕೆ ಹೊಸ ಹುರುಪು ನೀಡಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಗಿರೀಶ್ ಕಾಸರವಳ್ಳಿ. ಕಾಸರವಳ್ಳಿ ಅವರ ಚಿತ್ರಕ್ಕೆ ಅಂತರ್ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿ ಲಭಿಸುತ್ತಿರುವುದು ಇದು ಮೊದಲನೇ ಬಾರಿ ಅಲ್ಲದಿದ್ದರೂ, ಉಮಾಶ್ರೀ ಅವರ ಪರಿಶ್ರಮಕ್ಕೆ ತಕ್ಕ ಫಲವೆಂಬಂತೆ ಅಂತರ್ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಮಟ್ಟದಲ್ಲಿ ಗೌರವ ದೊರೆತಿದ್ದು ನಿಜಕ್ಕೂ ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರಿಗೆ ಹೆಮ್ಮೆಯ ವಿಷಯ. ಅಂದಹಾಗೆ ‘ಓಸಿಯನ್ಸ್ ಸಿನಿಫ್ಯಾನ್’ ಚಲಚಿತ್ರೋತ್ಸವದಲ್ಲಿ ಪಾಲ್ಗೊಂಡಿದ್ದ ತೀರ್ಪುಗಾರರು ಹಾಗೂ ಸಿನಿಮಾ ಪ್ರಿಯರ ಮನಮೆಚ್ಚಿದ ‘ಗುಲಾಬಿ ಟಾಕೀಸ್’ ಕಲಾತ್ಮಕ ವಿಭಾಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ಪರ್ಧಿಸಿ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿ ಬಾಚಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದರೂ ಚಿತ್ರ ವೀಕ್ಷಿಸುವಾಗ ಇದು ಯಾವುದೇ ಕಮರ್ಷಿಯಲ್ ಚಿತ್ರಕ್ಕೆ ಕಡಿಮೆಯಿಲ್ಲದಂತೆ ತೋರುವುದು ಮಾತ್ರ ನಿಜ.

ಕೃಪೆ: ದ ಸಂಡೇ ಇಂಡಿಯನ್ 

Love in the time of foeticide

Photo: Reena Mohan

 

K.S. DAKSHINA MURTHY 

 

Nupur Basu on her latest documentary that exposes the conspiracy of silence and consensus around female foeticide.

 

 

“I thought of attacking the very symbol of love and show how

loveless India has become.” NUPUR BASU

 

 

 
The Taj Mahal, the symbol of eternal love. And Agra, the most sought after tourist spot in the country. Flip them around and the assiduously built myths crack. “Love” culminates within the boundaries of the Taj, while another reality, stark and sombre, takes over outside. Capturing this reality is filmmaker-journalist Nupur Basu in her latest documentary “No Country for Young Girls?”The film is part of the “Life On the Edge” series, the third produced by Television Trust for Environment (TVE) for BBC World. The news channel premiered it on August 19. This is Nupur’s fifth documentary. Former Senior Editor with New Delhi Television (NDTV) for over a decade, Nupur Basu brought stories of the marginalised onto mainstream television with her reportage on farmers’ suicides from Anantapur to Wyanad, caste conflicts from Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu to Mysore in Karnataka, the plight of children working in surface mines in Bellary and AIDS orphans in Rakai in Uganda, the aftermath of natural disasters in Gujarat, and from Geneva on why the target of “Health for All by 2000” failed to materialise.

“I chose the theme of foeticide because I found that a huge silence around it. The next census is going to reveal some shocking statistics on this, about how distorted the sex ratio has become. Yet we are living in denial,” said Nupur.

Behind the facade

 

Behind the façade of elitist liberalism and middle-class respectability is the conspiratorial silence and societal consensus that enable female foetuses to be aborted and mothers of girls to be relegated to a second class status — beaten, shunned and isolated. “Talk to anyone from the woman who is working in your house to anyone outside. Sex selection is so rampant. Women, from the upper to the poorest classes feel pressure to bear sons. It has nothing to do with any one socio-economic group,” said Nupur.

To project this injustice, Nupur took the route less trodden. “I wanted to do it in a different way. So we decided to journey with a woman who was a victim of this social crime. I cast my net across India, across cities to find a character who would suit the film’s requirements.”

The film-maker zeroed in on 27 year-old Vaijanti, a quintessential Indian woman forced to leave her husband’s home as punishment for giving birth to three daughters. “Vaijanti lives just one km from the Taj Mahal. The film begins with what Vaijanti thought love was during the time of marriage and what love became eventually,” said Nupur.

Why Agra? “To millions, the Taj is a symbol of love. It has become a meaningless word. See what is happening to women today: killed for dowry, going through abortion after abortion or being abused for bearing girls. Where is love in all this? I thought of attacking the very symbol of love and show how loveless India has become. Vaijanti, sitting alone on the lovers’ bench in front of the Taj, reminded me of the powerful image of Princess Diana.”

“In documentaries we can examine issues more intuitively. When you see such films, you wonder why people clamour for fictional films when reality is more compelling. Vaijanti is real, her emotions are real. We are not giving her a script, she is writing the script as she goes along.”

In the film, Nupur journeys with Vaijanti across India, exposing her to other women and their circumstances. “From the poorest of poor women working in the streets of Delhi to the richest CEOs in India, she met them all. She wanted to see what the future held for her daughters. She wanted to know what her choices were,” pointed out Nupur.

“No Country for Young Girls?” is also about despair and hope. “There is this amazing woman in Rajasthan, Jasbir Kaur, who defied her in-laws and husband and gave birth to her triplets, all girls! Vaijanti was most inspired by her,” said Nupur.

Dilemma

 

So what is Vaijanti’s dilemma? “Her dilemma is: should she compromise and go back to her husband (she still has some love left for him) or fight for her divorce and bring up the girls on her own. She has passed her seventh standard and is from a poor family. The odds are stacked against her,” said Nupur.

Vaijanti travels from Agra to Delhi, to Ganganagar in Rajasthan, to the country’s IT capital Bangalore and then finally to Mahatma Gandhi’s Sabarmati ashram in Gujarat. How did the journey impact Vaijanti? “She had hardly ever stepped out of Agra. The only other place she had been was to her grandmother’s place in Kota, Rajasthan. From upper class women in bars and discotheques to the women on the streets, everyone was so empathetic. There was tremendous solidarity shown by other women , it was so beautiful. We have to see how it is going to affect her, influence her,” Nupur said. The filmmaker intends keeping track of Vaijanti’s life. “We want to revisit her. We have plans…” she said.

Having cut a 21-minute film out of 28-hour footage, Nupur is now earmarking a longer version. “I want to release that on Violence Against Women Day in November,” she said.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Manufacturing Dissent

ನಾನು ಈ ಮೈಕಲ್ ಮೋರನ ತೊಂಬತ್ತರ ದಶಕದ ಟಿವಿ ಸೀರಿಯಲ್ ನೋಡಿ ಖುಷಿಸಿದ್ದು ನೆನಪಾಯಿತು. “ಮೈಕಲ್ ಮೋರ್‍ ಶೋ” ಎಂದೇ ಅದರ ಹೆಸರು. ವಾರ ವಾರವೂ ಸಾಮಾಜಿಕ ಅನ್ಯಾಯಗಳ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ದೊಡ್ಡ ಕಂಪನಿಗಳ ಎದುರು ನಿಲ್ಲುತ್ತಿದ್ದ. ಹಲವಾರು ನಾಟಕೀಯ ಪ್ರಸಂಗಗಳ ಮೂಲಕ ಆ ಕಂಪನಿಗೆ ತನ್ನ ತಪ್ಪನ್ನು ಎದುರುಗೊಳ್ಳುವಂತೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದ.

“ಬೌಲಿಂಗ್ ಫಾರ್‍ ಕಾಲಂಬೈನ್” ನನಗೆ ಅಷ್ಟೇನೂ ಇಷ್ಟವಾಗದ ಚಿತ್ರ. ಉದ್ರಿಕ್ತ ರಾಜಕೀಯ ಚರ್ಚೆಯ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ನನಗೆ ಯಾವಾಗಲೂ ಅನುಮಾನ. ಒಂದು ಕಾರಣ ಅದಾದರೆ, ಮತ್ತೊಂದು ಕಾರಣ ಚಾಮ್‌ಸ್ಕಿ ಮತ್ತು ಇನ್ನಿತರರನ್ನು ಓದಿದ್ದ ನನಗೆ ಅವನು ಹೊಸದೇನೂ ಹೇಳಿದಂತೆ ಅನಿಸಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. “ಡಾಕ್ಯುಮೆಂಟರಿಗಳನ್ನು ಜನಪ್ರಿಯಗೊಳಿಸಿದ, ಅದೂ ಅಮೇರಿಕಾದಲ್ಲಿ” ಎಂದು ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ಹೇಳುತ್ತಿದ್ದರು. ಆದರೆ ಅದನ್ನು ಹೀಗೆ ಮಾಡಬೇಕೆ ಎಂದು ಆಗ ಚಿಂತಿಸಿದ್ದೆ. ಅದೇ ಕಾರಣಕ್ಕೆ ಅವನ ಉಳಿದ ಯಾವುದೇ ಡಾಕ್ಯುಮೆಂಟರಿ ನೋಡಬೇಕು ಅನಿಸಿರಲಿಲ್ಲ. ಕ್ಯಾನ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ಪಾಮ್‌ ಡಿ’ಓರ್‍ ಪ್ರಶಸ್ತಿ ಪಡೆದ ‘ಫಾರನ್‌ಹೈಟ್ 9/11′ ಕೂಡ ನೋಡಬೇಕನಿಸಿಲ್ಲ.ಇರಲಿ.

ಮೊನ್ನೆ “ಮ್ಯಾನುಫಾಕ್ಚರಿಂಗ್ ಡಿಸ್ಸೆಂಟ್” ಎಂಬ ಸಾಕ್ಷ್ಯಚಿತ್ರ ನೋಡಿದೆ. (ಚಾಮ್‌ಸ್ಕಿಯ “ಮ್ಯಾನುಫಾಕ್ಚರಿಂಗ್ ಕನ್ಸೆಂಟ್” ನಿಮಗೆ ನೆನಪಾಗಬಹುದು) ಒಂದು ರೀತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಸಾಕ್ಷ್ಯ ಚಿತ್ರ ನನ್ನನ್ನು ಚಿಂತೆಗೆ ಹಚ್ಚಿತು . ರಾಜಕೀಯ ಚರ್ಚೆ, ನಿರೂಪಣೆ, ವಿವರಣೆ (ಒಟ್ಟಾರೆ ಎಲ್ಲ ಡಿಸ್ಕೋರ್ಸ್) ಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಮತ್ತೊಮ್ಮೆ ಚಿಂತಿಸುವಂತೆ ಮಾಡಿತು. ಇನ್ನೊಂದು ನೆಲೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ರಾಜಕೀಯದ ಬಗೆಗಿನ ನನ್ನ ಮೂಲ ನಿಲುವಿಗೆ ಬಲ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿದ ಸಮಾಧಾನವೂ ಆಯಿತು.

“ಮ್ಯಾನುಫಾಕ್ಚರಿಂಗ್ ಡಿಸ್ಸೆಂಟ್”ನ್ನು ಮಾಡಿದ ಮಹಿಳೆ ಕ್ಯಾನಡಾದ ಡೆಬ್ಬಿ ಮೆಲ್ನಿಕ್‌ ಮತ್ತು ಆಕೆಯ ಸಂಗಾತಿ ರಿಕ್ ಕೇನ್. ಚಿತ್ರದ ಒಟ್ಟಾರೆ ತಿರುಳು ಇಷ್ಟು. ಮೈಕಲ್ ಮೋರನನ್ನು, ಅವನ ಕೆಲಸದ ಕ್ರಮವನ್ನು ವಿವರಿಸುವುದು ಮತ್ತು ತೆರೆದಿಡುವುದು. ಅವನು ಹುಟ್ಟಿದ ಮಿಷಿಗನ್‌ನ ಫ್ಲಿಂಟ್ ಎಂಬ ಊರಿಗೆ ಹೋಗಿ ಅವನ ಗೆಳೆಯರನ್ನು ಮಾತಾಡಿಸಿವುದರಿಂದ ಇವರ ಚಿತ್ರ ಶುರುವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಮೈಕಲ್ ಮೋರ್‍ ಮಾಡಿದ “ರಾಜರ್‍ ಅಂಡ್ ಮಿ” ಎಂಬ ಸಾಕ್ಷ್ಯ ಚಿತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ಹೇಳಿರುವ ಸುಳ್ಳುಗಳನ್ನು, ಹೇಳದೇ ಬಿಟ್ಟ ಮುಖ್ಯ ಅಂಶಗಳನ್ನು, ತಿರುಚಿಟ್ಟ ವಾಸ್ತವಗಳನ್ನು ಒಂದಾದ ಮೇಲೆ ಒಂದಾಗಿ ತೆರೆದಿಟ್ಟಿದ್ದಾಳೆ. ಅವನಿಗಿಂತ ಮುಂಚೆಯೇ ಅಲ್ಲಿಯ ಜನರಲ್ ಮೋಟರ್‍ಸ್‌ನ ವಿರುದ್ಧ ಚಳುವಳಿ ನಡೆಸಿದವರನ್ನು ಆ ಚಿತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ತಂದೇ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಎಲ್ಲ ತನ್ನಿಂದಾಯಿತು ಎಂಬಂತೆ ಚಿತ್ರಿಸಿದ್ದಾನಂತೆ – ಹೀಗೆ ಮುಂದುವರಿಯುತ್ತದೆ.

ವಾಕ್‌ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ಯ್ರದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ತುಂಬಾ ಮಾತಾಡುವ ಮೈಕಲ್ ಮೋರ್‍ ತನ್ನ ಸಭೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಈ ಸಾಕ್ಷ್ಯಚಿತ್ರದ ತಂಡವನ್ನು ಬರದಂತೆ ನೋಡಿಕೊಂಡಿದ್ದ. ಕಡೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಅವರನ್ನು ತನ್ನ ಒಂದು ಸಭೆಯಿಂದ ಹೊರತಳ್ಳಿಸಿದ್ದು ಅವನ ಪ್ರಾಮಣಿಕತೆ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗಳನ್ನು ಎತ್ತುತ್ತವೆ. ಮುಂದೆಯೂ ಈ ಸಾಕ್ಷ್ಯ ಚಿತ್ರ ಅವನ ಚಿತ್ರದ ಹತ್ತಾರು ನಿದರ್ಶನಗಳೊಂದಿಗೆ ಅವನ ಪ್ರಾಮಾಣಿಕತೆಯನ್ನು ಪ್ರಶ್ನಿಸುತ್ತಾ ಹೋಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಮೈಕಲ್ ಮೋರ್‍ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡ ನೂರಾರು ಮಿಲಿಯನ್‌ ಡಾಲರ್‍ಗಳನ್ನು ಒಂದು ಫೌಂಡೇಶನ್ ಮೂಲಕ ಶೇರ್‍ಗಳಲ್ಲಿ – ಅದರಲ್ಲೂ ಅವನು ಸದಾ ಹೀಗಳೆದ, ಇರಾಕ್ ಸಮರದ ಮೂಲಕ ದುಡ್ಡು ಮಾಡಿದ ಹಾಲಿಬರ್ಟನ್ ಸಂಸ್ಥೆಯಲ್ಲೂ ಇಟ್ಟಿದ್ದಾನಂತೆ. ಇದು ಕಡೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಗೊತ್ತಾದಾಗ ಅದು ಹುಬ್ಬೇರಿಸುವಂತ ವಿಷಯವಾಗುವುದೇ ಇಲ್ಲ!

ಹೊಸ ತಲೆಮಾರಿನ ಎಡ ಪಂಥೀಯರಿಗೆ ಇವನು ಆರಾಧ್ಯನಾಗಿಬಿಟ್ಟಿದ್ದ. ಹಾಗಾಗಿ ಅಮೇರಿಕಕ್ಕೆ ತಾನು ತುಂಬಾ ಮುಖ್ಯ ಅಂದುಕೊಂಡು ಬಿಟ್ಟ. ತನ್ನ “ಫ್ಯಾರನ್‌ಹೈಟ್ 9/11″ ಚಿತ್ರದ ಮೂಲಕ ಬುಷನ್ನು ಸೋಲಿಸಬಲ್ಲೆ ಎಂದು ಇವನು ನಿಜವಾಗಿಯೂ ನಂಬಿದ್ದನಂತೆ. ಆದರೆ ಇವನಿಂದ ಬುಷ್‌ಗೆ ಸಹಾಯವಾಗಿರಬಹುದು ಎಂಬ ಮಾತೂ ಇದೆ. ಅದಿರಲಿ, ಬುಷ್‌ನ ಸುಳ್ಳುಗಳನ್ನು ನಂಬಿದ ಅಮೇರಿಕಾದ ಜನತೆ ಮೈಕಲ್ ಮೋರ್‌ನನ್ನೂ ಸಂಭ್ರಮಿಸಿದ್ದು ಏನನ್ನು ಹೇಳುತ್ತದೆ? ಎಷ್ಟೇ ಪ್ರಭಾವಿಯಾದರೂ ರಾಜಕೀಯ ಬದಲಾವಣೆ ಒಬ್ಬನಿಂದ ಆದೀತೆ? ಬುಷ್ ಕೂಡ ಅಮೇರಿಕೆಯ ಚರಿತ್ರೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ವಿಶಿಷ್ಟನಾಗಿಲ್ಲದೇ ಇರಬಹುದು ಅಲ್ಲವೆ? ಈ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಯೋಚಿಸಿದಾಗ, ಯಾವುದೇ ರಾಜಕೀಯ ಆಚರಣೆಯೂ ಬದಲಾವಣೆಯೂ, ಸಮುದಾಯದ ಬೇರುಗಳಲ್ಲೇ ಸಾಕಾರಗೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕು. ಅದಿಲ್ಲದೆ ಹೊರಗಿಂದ, ಮೇಲಿಂದ, ತರಲು ಆಗದು ಎಂಬ ನನ್ನ ಮೂಲ ನಿಲುವು ಒಂದು ರೀತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಗಟ್ಟಿಯಾಯಿತು.

ಇದು ಅಮೇರಿಕಾದಲ್ಲಾಗಬಹುದು, ಭಾರತದಲ್ಲಾಗಬಹುದು ಅಥವಾ ಇನ್ನಾವುದೇ ದೇಶದಲ್ಲಾಗಬಹುದು.

Gender under the lens

Dear Friends,

JAGORI presents Chromosome: gender under the lens, a film festival to
bring out the nuances of what gender means to us in our daily lives.
Gender may be understood as the watertight “boxes” that women, men and
those who fall between these categories, are forced into as a result
of their biology, in order to fulfill societal notions of
“femininity” and “masculinity” .

The focus of the festival will be the theme of “self and identity”
under the overarching theme of gender. The two-day Film Festival on
20th and 21st of September 2008 at Siri Fort Auditorium in Delhi,
hopes to showcase films that raise uncomfortable questions about
gender roles and behaviours, and demand answers about what is “normal”
and “expected”. We would invite the audience to engage with these
issues and — possibly — challenge their own myths and prejudices.

To see the listing of films that are being considered for the
festival, click here <http://chromosome. org.in/movie/>
.
To recommend films, please write in to resource@jagori. org
<mailto:resource@jagori. org>
with subject as Chromosome 2008.

We’ll mail you the schedule for the festival as soon as it is
finalised. Please keep yourself free and help spread the word.

Cheers,
Supreet
JAGORI

—
~preet~
http://jpgmag. com/people/ djinn

ಇದು ‘ಆಮಿರ್’ ಚಲನಚಿತ್ರದ ಕತೆ

ನನ್ನ ಭವಿಷ್ಯ ನಾನೇ ಬರೆಯುತ್ತೇನಾ ?

-ಹರೀಶ್ ಕೇರ 

 

ಡಾ.ಆಮಿರ್ ಆಲಿ, ವಿದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ವೈದ್ಯಕೀಯ ಅಧ್ಯಯನ ಮುಗಿಸಿ ತಾಯ್ನಾಡಿಗೆ ಹಿಂತಿರುಗುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾನೆ. ಮುಂಬಯಿ ವಿಮಾನ ನಿಲ್ದಾಣದ ಕಸ್ಟಮ್ಸ್ ಅಕಾರಿಗಳಿಗೆ ಯಾಕೋ ಈತನನ್ನು ತಪಾಸಣೆ ಮಾಡಿದಷ್ಟೂ ಮುಗಿಯದು. “ಡಾಕ್ಟರ್, ಇಂಜಿನಿಯರ್‌ಗಳೇ ನಮ್ಮ ದೇಶದ ಮರ್‍ಯಾದೆ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿಸಿರೋದು” ಎಂಬುದು ಆತನ ವ್ಯಂಗ್ಯ. “ನನ್ನ ಹೆಸರು ಅಮರ್ ಎಂದಿದ್ದರೆ ನೀವು ಹೀಗೆಲ್ಲ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದಿರಾ” ಎಂಬುದು ರೋಸಿದ ಆಮಿರ್ ಆಲಿಯ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ.

ಏರ್‌ಪೋರ್ಟ್‌ನಿಂದ ಹೊರಗೆ ಬಂದರೆ ಆತನನ್ನು ರಿಸೀವ್ ಮಾಡಬೇಕಾದ ಮನೆಯವರಿಲ್ಲ. ಫೋನ್ ಮಾಡಿದರೆ ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲೂ ಯಾರೂ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಅಪರಿಚಿತನೊಬ್ಬ ಆತನೆಡೆಗೊಂದು ಮೊಬೈಲ್ ಎಸೆಯುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ಬಂದ ಕರೆ, ತಾನು ಹೇಳಿದ್ದನ್ನು ಮಾಡುವಂತೆ ಆಮಿರ್‌ಗೆ ಆದೇಶಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಆಮಿರ್‌ನ ಎಲ್ಲ ವಿವರಗಳೂ ಆ ದನಿಗೆ ಗೊತ್ತು. ಆಮಿರ್ ಮನೆಯವರು ಆ ಧ್ವನಿಯ ಒಡೆಯನ ಹಿಡಿತದಲ್ಲಿದ್ದಾರೆ.

ಅಲ್ಲಿಂದ ಬಳಿಕ ಫೋನ್ ಕರೆಯ ನಿರ್ದೇಶನದಂತೆ ಆಮಿರ್ ನಡೆಯಬೇಕಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಆತನನ್ನು ಮುಂಬಯಿಯ ಬಡ ಮುಸ್ಲಿಂ ಜನತೆ ವಾಸಿಸುವ ಪ್ರದೇಶಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಸುತ್ತಾಡಿಸುತ್ತದೆ ಆ ದನಿ. “ನೋಡಿದೆಯಾ ನಿನ್ನ ಸಮುದಾಯದವರು ಎಂಥ ಹೀನ ಬಾಳು ಬದುಕುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಎಂಬುದನ್ನು ?” ಎಂದು ಆ ಧ್ವನಿ ಇರಿಯುತ್ತದೆ. “ನಾನೂ ಬಡ ಕುಟುಂಬದವನೇ. ಆದರೆ ಸಾಧನೆಯ ಮೂಲಕ ಮೇಲೆ ಬಂದೆ. ಇವರೆಲ್ಲ ಹೀಗೇ ಉಳಿಯಬೇಕೆಂದು ಯಾರು ನಿರ್ಬಂಸಿದ್ದರು ?” ಎಂದು ಆಮಿರ್ ಮರು ಪ್ರಶ್ನಿಸುತ್ತಾನಾದರೂ ಅವನಿಗೆ ಉತ್ತರ ದೊರೆಯುವುದಿಲ್ಲ.

ಕೊನೆಗೆ ಆತನಿಗೊಂದು ಸೂಟ್‌ಕೇಸ್ ನೀಡಿ ಬಸ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ಅದನ್ನು ಕೊಂಡೊಯ್ಯುವಂತೆ ಹೇಳಲಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಅದರಲ್ಲಿ ಬಾಂಬ್ ಇದೆ. ಅದನ್ನು ಜನ ತುಂಬಿದ ಬಸ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ಇಟ್ಟು ಆತ ಇಳಿಯಬೇಕು. ಅದು ಸೋಟಿಸಲು ಎರಡೇ ನಿಮಿಷಗಳಿವೆ. ಈ ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡದಿದ್ದರೆ ಆಮಿರ್‌ನ ಮನೆಯವರು ಉಳಿಯುವುದು ಅನುಮಾನ.

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ನಿಮಗೀಗಾಗಲೇ ಗೊತ್ತಾಗಿರಬಹುದು. ಇದು ಹಿಂದಿಯ ‘ಆಮಿರ್’ ಚಲನಚಿತ್ರದ ಕತೆ. ಕತೆಯ ಅಂತಸ್ಸತ್ವ ಇರುವುದೇ ಕೊನೆಯ ಎರಡು ನಿಮಿಷಗಳಲ್ಲಿ. ಅಲ್ಲಿಯವರೆಗೂ ಈ ಚಿತ್ರ ನಿಮ್ಮನ್ನು ಕುರ್ಚಿಯ ತುದಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕೂರಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಆಮಿರ್ ಹಾಗೂ ಭೂಗತ ನಾಯಕ ಎರಡೇ ಇದರ ಪ್ರಮುಖ ಪಾತ್ರಗಳು. ಉಳಿದವೆಲ್ಲಾ ಕ್ಷಣಮಾತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ಹಾದು ಹೋಗುವ ಪಾತ್ರಗಳಾದುದರಿಂದ ಚಿತ್ರಕ್ಕೊಂದು ಶೀಘ್ರಗತಿ ಸಿಕ್ಕಿದೆ. ಸೂಕ್ಷ್ಮ ಸಂವೇದಿ ಕತೆ, ಬಿಗಿಯಾದ ನಿರೂಪಣೆ, ಅಭಿನಯ- ಇವೆಲ್ಲವುಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಹೇಳಬೇಕಾಗಿಯೇ ಇಲ್ಲ.

ನಾನು ಈ ಫಿಲಂ ನೋಡಿದ್ದು ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಸರಣಿ ಬಾಂಬ್ ಸೋಟ ನಡೆದ ಆಸುಪಾಸಿನಲ್ಲಿ. ಆಮೇಲೆ ಅಹಮದಾಬಾದ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ಸೋಟ, ಸಾವುನೋವು, ಸೂರತ್‌ನಲ್ಲಿ ಆತಂಕದ ಗುಮ್ಮ. ಇವೆಲ್ಲ ‘ಕೆಂಪಾಗಿ’ರುವಾಗಲೇ ನಾನು ಇದನ್ನು ನೋಡಿದ್ದು. ಈ ಫಿಲಂ ಹಾಗೂ ಅದರ ಸಂದರ್ಭಗಳು ಒಂದು ವಿಲಕ್ಷಣವಾದ ತಲ್ಲಣ ಉಂಟುಮಾಡಿದವು. ಚಿತ್ರದ ಶೀರ್ಷಿಕೆಯಡಿ ಇರುವ “ಮನುಷ್ಯ ತನ್ನ ಭವಿಷ್ಯ ತಾನೇ ಬರೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಾನೆ ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಿದವರ್‍ಯಾರು ?” ಎಂಬ ಉಪಶೀರ್ಷಿಕೆಯ ಅನೇಕ ಅರ್ಥಗಳು ಹೊಳೆಯತೊಡಗಿದವು.

ಈ ಚಲನಚಿತ್ರದ ಆಮಿರ್‌ನಂತೆ ನಾವೂ ಅಸಂಗತ ಪರಿಸ್ಥಿತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಇದ್ದೇವೆ. ಇದ್ದಕ್ಕಿದ್ದಂತೆ ಎಲ್ಲಿಂದಲೋ ಬಾಂಬುಗಳು ಬಂದು ನಮ್ಮ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಮನೆಯ ಪಕ್ಕದಲ್ಲೇ ಸೋಟಿಸುತ್ತವೆ. ಅದರಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾಯುವ ಅಥವಾ ಗಾಯಗೊಳ್ಳುವವರ ಪಟ್ಟಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಾನೂ ನೀವೂ ಸೇರಿಸಿದಂತೆ ಯಾರೂ ಇರಬಹುದು. ಕೊಲ್ಲವವರಿಗೆ ತಾವು ಯಾರನ್ನು ಯಾಕೆ ಕೊಲ್ಲುತ್ತಿದ್ದೇವೆ ಎಂಬುದು ಗೊತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ. ಸಾಯುವವರಿಗೂ ತಾವು ಯಾರಿಂದ ಯಾಕೆ ಸಾಯಿಸಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದೇವೆ ಎಂಬುದು ಗೊತ್ತಿಲ್ಲ. ಇದಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಅಸಂಗತ ವಿವರ ಇನ್ನೊಂದಿರಲು ಸಾಧ್ಯವೆ ?

ಇಂಥ ಅಸಂಗತ ಪರಿಸ್ಥಿಯ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಸೊಗಸಾಗಿ ಬರೆದವರು ಪೂರ್ಣಚಂದ್ರ ತೇಜಸ್ವಿ. ಅವರ ‘ಜುಗಾರಿ ಕ್ರಾಸ್’ ನೋಡಿ. ಒಂದಕ್ಕೊಂದು ಸಂಬಂಧವಿಲ್ಲದ ಘಟನಾವಳಿಗಳು ಹಾಗೂ ಪಾತ್ರಗಳು ಕಾದಂಬರಿಯ ಹಂದರವನ್ನು ಕಟ್ಟುತ್ತವೆ. ‘ಚಿದಂಬರ ರಹಸ್ಯ’ದಲ್ಲೂ ಇದೇ ಆಗುವುದು. ಕಾದಂಬರಿಯ ಕೊನೆಗೆ ಬೆಟ್ಟ ಹತ್ತಿ ಪಾರಾಗಿ ಏದುಸಿರು ಬಿಡುವ ರಫೀಕ್ ಮತ್ತು ಜಯಂತಿಯರಿಗೆ ತಮ್ಮ ಪ್ರೇಮಕ್ಕೂ ತಮ್ಮೂರಿನ ಬೆಂಕಿಗೂ ಹಿಂದೆ ಘಟನಾ ಪರಂಪರೆಯೊಂದು ಇದೆ ಎಂಬುದು ಗೊತ್ತೇ ಇಲ್ಲ. ‘ನಿಗೂಢ ಮನುಷ್ಯರು’ ಕತೆಯ ಜಗನ್ನಾಥ, ರಂಗಣ್ಣ, ಗೋಪಾಲಯ್ಯ ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ಇಂಥ ನಿಗೂಢ ಅಸಂಗತ ಪ್ರವಾಹವೊಂದರ ಸುಳಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸಿಲುಕಿದವರೇ.

ಇದನ್ನು ‘ಅಸಂಗತ’ ಎನ್ನುವುದಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಬೇರೊಂದು ಬಗೆಯಲ್ಲೂ ವ್ಯಾಖ್ಯಾನಿಸಬಹುದು. ಯಾವುದೋ ರೀತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದಕ್ಕೊಂದು ಹೆಣೆದುಕೊಂಡ, ಆದರೆ ಅರ್ಥೈಸಲು ಜಟಿಲವಾದ ಘಟನಾವಿನ್ಯಾಸದಲ್ಲಿ ಆಧುನಿಕ ಮನುಷ್ಯನ ಬದುಕು ಹೆಣೆದುಕೊಂಡಿದೆ. ಇದನ್ನು ಕನ್ನಡದಲ್ಲಿ ಎಲ್ಲರಿಗಿಂತ ಮೊದಲು ಗುರುತಿಸಿ, ಬರೆದವರು ತೇಜಸ್ವಿ.

ವಾಸ್ತವ ಬದುಕಿನ ಭಯಾನಕತೆಯನ್ನು ಸ್ಪಷ್ಟಪಡಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ನಾವು ಸಿನೆಮಾ, ಸಾಹಿತ್ಯದ ಮೊರೆ ಹೋಗಲೇಬೇಕು !

Film on Pablo Neruda

Courtesy: http://c.hileno.com/

Now listen, I’ll be the first to join the chorus of those saying that the attention given to Pablo Neruda is disproportionate. He is but one of an army of Chilean poets, dead and alive, who have contributed to a grand corpus in this incredibly lyrical country. Pablo Neruda won the Nobel Prize in 1971, following in the footsteps of Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral, who won the nobel prize in 1945. It was she who discovered him and encouraged his writing, despite the prohibitions of his father, who thought that poetry was totally gay. True enough, but is there anything wrong with that?

Many who complain about Neruda’s overshadowing of the rest of Chilean poets still acknowledge that his poetry is incredible. And apart from poetry, he was a pretty important political figure, a Communist who spent many years in exile. Even despite being criminalized during a dictatorship prior to Pinochet’s, communists in Chile have historically been a lot more mainstream than socialists. Today, it’s reversed, but in Neruda’s time (and, i think, this is echoed today among Chilean university movements) communists were the ones who made alliances and compromised more, for better or for worse, while socialists were the bottle breakers. Pablo Neruda was no bottle breaker, he was a diplomat who befriended a number artistic greats, and often appeared alongside Salvadore Allende during Chile’s belle epoque (osea, would-be “belle” if it weren’t for CIA-sponsored strikes designed to make it look like Allende couldn’t take care of his country).

Anyway, Chilean communism comes from worker movements in the pampa, mining flats in the harsh Atacama Desert in the north of Chile, and pre-date the Bolshevik revolution in Russia. When researching for the film Deserted Memory, we found that Pablo Neruda wrote a book/essay about his journeys through the when running for senator of the Tarapacá region. He witnessed first hand the horrendous conditions of the workers, and wrote about it.

Mark Eisner, director of the upcoming Pablo Neruda documentary, was an incredible help rounding up the troops for funding the Chacabuco Project, our production effort for Deserted Memory, a DVD soon to be released, which deals in part with the history of workers movements in the north.

The first cut of Eisner’s upcoming Pablo Neruda film was lauded as a “fine documentary” by the San Francisco Chronicle, and was screened to a packed house in SF three years ago. Now it’s rounding up funds for a full scale film, and you can help by donating at all sort of levels, a few bucks or more if you like. Donate Now!

Mark is a scholar who spends much of his time translating Neruda’s poetry, and seems to be one of the more qualified people to create a film about Neruda. Regardless of whether or not Neruda overshadows other Chilean poets, he’s more than Chile – he’s an important poet for the world. And without his poetry, what reference point would superb Chilean antipoetry a la Nicanor Parra have?

So do your part by helping out a good work about an important cultural icon, someone who’s inspired and influenced a generation of poets and who has made a lasting impression on the world’s artistic and political discourse.

Donate now.

RICE FILM AWARD

Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific (PAN AP),

TVE Asia Pacific (TVEAP)

and

Public Media Agency (PMA)

proudly announce the launch of the

ASIA PACIFIC RICE FILM AWARD 2008

The first ever Award in the region to acknowledge excellence in film on rice-related issues!

Rice is Life to the people of Asia and our most revered treasure. It is central to the Asian way of life; its cultural heritage and diversity, spirituality, and traditions.

We invite innovative film-makers from the Asia Pacific region to submit short creative television, video or cinematic films on Rice!

v AWARD CATEGORY & ELIGIBILITY: One general category: open to everyone in the eligible countries in the Asia Pacific region with no age limit. The films must be produced by a person who is a permanent resident or citizen of an eligible (Asia Pacific) country. (Please see eligibility criteria at www.panap.net.)

v DURATION OF COMPETITION: Entries will be accepted from 1 August 2008 to 31 January 2009.

v THEMATIC SCOPE: Asia‘s rice heritage (based on the Five Pillars of Rice Wisdom described at www.panap.net) and the threats it faces in this era of globalization.

v FILMS: Films may be fictional or factual, as long as they have rice in Asia as the key theme. The films may have been produced using professional video, home video, mobile phones or cinematic equipment. 2D or 3D animation; songs; short drama; satire; adaptations of folk culture; documentaries will be accepted. Entries must contain moving images for at least 90% of the total film duration – animated still photos or slides shows are not eligible. Entries should have been produced after January 2008 and should be no longer than 10 minutes long.

v GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE: The entry’s content must be filmed in the Asia Pacific region.

v COPYRIGHTS: All who enter films need to declare that they either own or share the copyright of the film. They also agree to allow the competition organisers to use the film online, on DVD/VCD/VHS, or in any other form, for advocacy, educational, or promotional purposes with no time limit for such use.

v Judges: The organisers have jointly designated a regional panel of 7 judges below comprising experienced film-makers, journalists, activists or other professionals in relevant fields.

o Teena Amrit Gill is a journalist and film maker based in New Delhi, India.

o Lihong Shi is an independent filmmaker and freelance media consultant based in Beijing, China.

o Nalaka Gunawardene is the Director and CEO of Television for Education – Asia Pacific (www.tveap.org).

o Amir Muhammad is a writer and independent filmmaker based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

o Hyaekyoung Lee is the Chairwoman of the International Women’s Film Festival (IWFFIS) and Consultative Chairwoman of the Green Film Festival, both in Seoul.

o Rafael Mariano is a farmer-leader and a national chairperson of the Peasant Movement of the Philippines (Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas – KMP).

o Augustine Loorthusamy is the president of Signis, the International Catholic Association for Communication.

v JUDGING CRITERIA

o Originality of the story idea

o Innovative presentation in an engaging, non-technical style

o Potential for effective communication of rice issues in the Asia Pacific region.

o Clever use of available technological facilities

The decision of the judges will be final, binding, and not open to challenge. The judges and organisers reserve the right not to present an award if entries do not meet minimum quality standards. Results are expected to be announced by April 2009.

v PRIZE: The winner will receive the following:

· US Dollars Two Thousand (US$ 2,000) in cash / cheque

· An Asia-Pacific Rice Film Award plaque

· An Asia-Pacific Rice Film Award certificate

These will be presented at an event in 2009 to be organised by PAN AP or a PAN AP partner organisation at a venue determined at PAN AP’s discretion.

v ENTRY SUBMISSION: There is no entry fee. Entries may be submitted online or offline according to specifications given at www.panap.net/aprfa. Each entry should be accompanied by a completed and signed Entry Form.

v Not eligible to participate in this competition are: The management and staff of PANAP, PMA, and TVEAP; the judges and their organisations; and the immediate family members of all such persons/organisations.

______________________________________________________________

For full details on this competition, please go to www.panap.net/aprfa

For enquiries, contact: PAN Asia and the Pacific,

P.O. Box 1170, 10850 Penang, Malaysia.
E-mail: panap@panap.net

The Save Our Rice Campaign
PAN Asia and the Pacific
P.O. Box 1170, 10850 Penang,
Malaysia
Tel: 604-6570271 or 604-6560381
Fax: 604-6583960
E-mail: panap@panap.net
Home Page: www.panap.net

Pesticide Action Network (PAN) is a global network working to eliminate the human and environmental harm caused by pesticides and to promote biodiversity based ecological agriculture. PAN Asia and the Pacific is committed to the empowerment of people especially women, agricultural workers, and peasant and indigenous farmers. We are dedicated to protect the safety and health of people, and the environment from pesticide use and genetic engineering. We believe in a a people-centered, pro-women development through food sovereignty, ecological agriculture and sustainable lifestyles

Shaurya- an eye opener

Shaurya

It takes courage to make right_right

-Kinnari

This movie revolves around the Indian army and a sensitive, high profile court martial. Siddhant chaudary (rahul bose) is a son of a brigadier who died on the battlefield. He himself is an army lawyer. His close friend akash kapoor (jaaved jaaferi) and he are always together, they are like family. AK aka akash kapoor is posted as the prosecution lawyer for the court martial of javed khan a soldier of the army is accused of murdering his fellow officer rathod. Javed is keeping mum he doesn’t want to speak about the incident. Sid wants to go with AK to shrinagar where he is posted finally, he gets to go with AK but as defence lawyer to javed. He is surprised to be employed as javed’s defence lawyer. He doesn’t want to do it but AK tells him that the case is a open and shut case and that he just has to come to the court and announce javed as ‘guilty’ that is what Sid had planned to do. When they finally reached Jammu he meets an aspiring journalist kavya shastri (minissha lamba) who knocks some sense into him which makes him think about the case and deal it in a fair manner. She accompanies him and helps him in fighting the case. During this a strong bond is formed they become very good friends. Sid does everything a lawyer has to do for his client (javed) and gets to know the involvement of a higher authority who is brigadier Pratap who is most respectable in his profession. He you can comprehend is a man whose lines shouldn’t be crossed. Rathod the victim was his ‘blue eyed boy’. This is great as to pratap (kay kay menon) wants javed to be hanged. Occupied in helping Sid, kavya gets herself to trouble that she is put behind bars. Sid does not know what to do as all witness’s are against him and javed  has chosen to keep mum about the incident. Nobody is of help to him so he chooses to ask brigadier to step into the witness box and answer his questions. Brigadier is a difficult man and accepts it this makes big news that the brigadier is stepping inside witness box. Sid grabs this opportunity and makes the brigadier speak and confess his crimes. The dawn appears to say that the brigadier is a mass murderer as to take revenge against what had once happened to his family. He is taken into custody and through this journey of making right_ right Sid discovers himself. Now he knows what the true meaning of ‘Shaurya’ is.

The movie is very realistic made on real facts and this movie shares light to what had happened in each one’s life. This movie showcases that sometimes even right has to be justified as being right and carrying out this deed fairly and fighting for one’s respect is what that is actually called ‘shaurya’

This movie speaks volumes as to what can happen in one’s life and how we can discover oneself, truth and loyalty through a tough journey. Hope this movie makes people open their eyes and accept the truth around them and not be blind about it.

What a piece of work by all actors a serious movie and very good eye opener for common man.

The Story of Urdu

‘Urdu Hai Jiska Naam ‘ (The Story of Urdu) a documentary

 

The story of Urdu begins many centuries before the arrival of the language itself. It starts with the break away from Sanskrit with Gautam Buddh and Mahavir Jain using Pali and the Prakrits -the languages of the people leading to the birth of  Gujrati, Sindhi, Punjabi, Braj, Avadhi, Maghdi, Maithli, Bangla and Khari Boli in the 11^th century

The arrival of the Sufis, Central Asian Armies and large number of traders in the next 100 years brought in new technologies, new crafts, new languages and scripts and all these began to combine with their South Asian Counterparts to create new vocabularies of Music, Attire, Architecture and Creative Expression. All this took place at the Shrines of the Sufis, in Army Camps, in the Bazars and the Sarais

The shifting of the Capital from Delhi to Devgiri led to the spread of Hindavi or Dehlvi or Zaban-E-Delhi to the Deccan where it gradually developed into Dakini under the patronage of the Qutub Shahi and Adil Shahi Rulers and reached back to Delhi as Rekhta around 1705. From the beginning of the 18^th Century, Rekhta grew into Urdu, that became the language of the Royal Fermaans of Bahadur Shah, the Ishtihaars of the rebels of 1857. Through the great Urdu poets (Meer and Sauda and later through Ghalib  Zauq, Anees, Dabeer , Nazeer and Insha) it came to be established as the literary language of the North.

In the next 100 years Urdu led the progressive movement in India through Jafari, Majrooh, Kaifi, Firaq, Faiz, Josh, Bedi, Krishan Chandar, Ram Lal and others. It was again the same language born of the coming together of diverse cultures that rose up in protest against the senselessness of war and of the division of India.

This 4 part documentary which includes the Ghazals of Quli Qutub Shah, Meer Taqi Meer, Mirza Ghalib  and Faiz Ahmed Faiz will be shown – Part 1 & 2 6 to 7 pm, tea 7 to 7.15, Parts 3 & 4 7.15 to 8.15pm.

Sohail Hashmi is a former Director of Leap Years – a Creative Activity Centre for Children, a founding trustee of SAHMAT and a producer of documentary films.  He has also been involved in scripting and producing a 9 part series on Pioneers of Women’s Education in India and a 5 part series Shehernama on the history of Shahjahanabad. He has recently scripted 6 half hour documentaries on the real life stories of 6 rural women and their struggles to become literate and self reliant. Sohail writes a regular column on the lesser known monuments of Delhi and its history in ‘Landscape’ and blogs irregularly, on issues of culture and communalism. He organizes heritage walks and loves to cook and talk about food.

Researched and Scripted by Sohail Hashmi
Directed by Subhash Kapoor
Ghazals composed by Shubha Mudgal & Dr. Aneesh Pradhan and sung by Shubha Mudgal
Produced by Meka Films and Kaamna Prasad
For Public Diplomacy Division Ministry of External Affairs Govt. of India

Buddha Weeps in Jadugoda

Buddha Weeps in Jadugoda (55 minutes) India Director: Shri Prakash Producer: Kritika UNAFF screening schedule

Description: In Jadugoda the activities of mining, milling and tailing-dam by the Uranium Corporation of India Limited, have deposited radioactive waste into the rice fields owned by the Adivasi people of the Singhbhum district of Jharkhand. The Adivasi have unknowingly utilized the water and land in these areas. This film documents the painful experience of the people of Jadugoda as the impact of thirty years of radiation dumping begins to manifest itself in the form of disabilities, congenital defects in new born, cancer and other diseases. Biography: Indian filmmaker, Shriprakash has produced many prominent documentary films depicting the social ramifications of development. Among them are Kiski Raksha, 1994 (In Whose Defense) about the struggles of tribals against the Netarhat Field Firing range and Addo Miyad Ulgulan 1995 (Another Revolt) about the ongoing struggle against the Koel Karo dam. His films have been screened at national and international film festivals. Contact Information: Kritika, Producer 30 Randhir Prasad Street Uppar Bazar, Ranchi, Jharkhand 834 001 India Phone: 91 0 651-317461 Fax: 91 0 651-223397 E-mail: kritikashri@yahoo.com

ರಾಶೊಮಾನ್-ಯುದ್ಧದ ಅಲೆಗಳೊಳಗೆ ಎದ್ದ ವಿಷ

_ಫೀನಿಕ್ಸ್

ಇಡೀ ಜಗತ್ತಿನ ಅತೀ ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಟ ಚಿತ್ರ ನಿದರ್ೆಶಕರ ಪಟ್ಟಿ ಮಾಡಿದರೆ, ಅದರಲ್ಲಿ ಬಹುಶ್ರೇಷ್ಟರ ಸಾಲಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಅಕಿರ ಕುರಸಾವ ನಿಲ್ಲುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಇಡೀ ಜಗತ್ತಿಗೆ ಏಷ್ಯಾದ ಕಲೆ, ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿ, ರಾಜಕೀಯ, ಆಧ್ಯಾತ್ಮದ ರಾಯಭಾರಿಯಂತೆಯೂ ಕುರಸಾವ ಕಾಣಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಅಷ್ಟು ಆಳವಾದ ತತ್ವಜ್ಞಾನಿಯಂತೆ ಕಾಣಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಕುರಸಾವ, ಇಡೀ ಏಷ್ಯಾದ ಮೂಲಪ್ರವರ್ತಕರ ನೀರು ಕುಡಿದು ಬೆಳೆದವರು.
ನಾನು ರಾಶೋಮಾನ್ ಚಿತ್ರದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಬರೆಯುತ್ತಿರುವಾಗ ಕುರಸಾವನ ಬೇರೆ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಮಾತು ಅಪ್ರಸ್ತುತವೆನಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಚಿತ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ಕಾಡೊಂದರೊಳಗೆ ಸೈನಿಕನೊಬ್ಬ ಕುದುರೆಯ ಮೇಲೆ ತನ್ನ ಮಡದಿಯನ್ನು ಕೂರಿಸಿಕೊಂಡು ಹೋಗುತ್ತಿರುವ ಚಿತ್ರ ಹಾಗೂ ಅದೇ ಕಾಡಲ್ಲಿ ಮಲಗಿದ್ದ ಡಕಾಯಿತನೊಬ್ಬ ಸೈನಿಕನನ್ನು ಮಣಿಸಿ, ಆತನ ಮಡದಿಯನ್ನು ಅತ್ಯಾಚಾರವೆಸಗಿರುತ್ತಾನೆ. ನಂತರ ಸೈನಿಕನ ಕೊಲೆ ಸಂಭವಿಸಿರುತ್ತದೆ.

ಆತನನ್ನು ಕೊಂದವರಾರು ಎಂದು ಆತನ ಸಾವಿನ ಸುತ್ತ ಹುಟ್ಟಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಘಟನೆಗಳ ಮೂಲಕ ವಿಶ್ಲೇಷಿಸುತ್ತ ಹೋಗುವುದಾದರೆ, ಆ ಸೈನಿಕನ ರೂಪಸಿ ಹೆಂಡತಿ ನ್ಯಾಯಾಲಯದಲ್ಲಿ ತಾನು ಕೊಂದದ್ದು ಎಂದು ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾಳೆ. ಆಕೆ ಕೊಡುವ ಕಾರಣ ಒಬ್ಬ ಡಕಾಯಿತನೊಬ್ಬನಿಂದ ಅವನ ಕಣ್ಣೆದುರೇ ಅತ್ಯಾಚಾರ ನಡೆದದ್ದನ್ನು ಕಂಡು ನನ್ನನ್ನು ಕೀಳಾಗಿ ತಿರಸ್ಕರಿಸಿದ. ಹಾಗಾಗಿ ನನ್ನ ಬಾಕುವಿನಿಂದ ಅವನನ್ನು ಕೊಂದು ಹಾಕಿದೆ ಎನ್ನುತ್ತಾಳೆ. ಡಕಾಯಿತನನ್ನು ವಿಚಾರಣೆಗೊಳಪಡಿಸಲಾಗಿ, ನನ್ನ ಮತ್ತು ಅವನ ಹೋರಾಟದ ನಡುವೆ ಅವನು ಸತ್ತ ಎಂದು ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಇದರ ನಡುವೆ ನ್ಯಾಯಾಲಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾಕ್ಷಿ ಹೇಳಲು ಸತ್ತ ಸೈನಿಕನ ದೆವ್ವವೇ ಬರುತ್ತದೆ. ಅದು ಹೇಳುವುದೇನೆಂದರೆ, ಡಕಾಯಿತನಿಂದ ಅತ್ಯಾಚಾರಕ್ಕೊಳಗಾದ ನನ್ನ ಹೆಂಡತಿ ನನ್ನ ಜೊತೆ ಬರಲು ನಿರಾಕರಿಸಿ, ಡಕಾಯಿತನ ಹಿಂದೆ ಹೊರಟು, ಕೊನೆಗೆ ಅವಳು ನನ್ನನ್ನು ಕೊಲ್ಲಲು ಡಕಾಯಿತನಿಗೆ ಹೇಳಿದಳು. ಹಾಗಾಗಿ ಅವನಿಂದ ಕೊಲೆಯಾಗಲು ನನಗಿಷ್ಟವಿಲ್ಲದ ಕಾರಣ ನಾನು ಆತ್ಮಹತ್ಯೆ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಂಡೆ ಎನ್ನುತ್ತಾನೆ.

ಇದಲ್ಲದೆ ಹಾಳುಗುಡಿಯೊಂದರೊಳಗೆ ಇದೆಲ್ಲವನ್ನೂ ಕಂಡೆನೆಂದು ಹೇಳುವ ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯ ಜನರಲ್ಲಿ ಒಬ್ಬನಾದ ಮರ ಕಡಿಯುವವನೊಬ್ಬ ಹೇಳುವ ಮಾತು ಹೀಗಿದೆ: ಡಕಾಯಿತ ಹೋರಾಟದಲ್ಲಿ ಆ ಸೈನಿಕನನ್ನು ಕೊಂದನೆಂದು ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಇದೇ ಸತ್ಯವೆಂದು ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಆ ಮಾತಿಗೆ, ಹಾಗಾದರೆ ಅಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ಇದ್ದ ವಜ್ರಖಚಿತ ಖಡ್ಗ ಏನಾಯಿತು ಎಂಬ ದಾರಿಹೋಕನೊಬ್ಬನ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗೆ ಮರ ಕಡಿಯುವವ ಬೆಚ್ಚಿ ಬೀಳುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಆ ವಿಷಯ ನನಗೆ ಗೊತ್ತಿಲ್ಲವೆಂದು ಹೇಳುತ್ತಾನೆ.
ಇವಿಷ್ಟು ಘಟನೆ ಒಂದು ಕಾಡೊಳಗೆ ನಡೆಯುತ್ತದೆ ಎನ್ನುವುದಂತೂ ಸತ್ಯವಾದರೂ ಸೈನಿಕನನ್ನು ಕೊಂದವರಾರು ಎಂಬ ಸತ್ಯ ಅಸ್ಪಷ್ಟವಾಗಿಯೇ ಉಳಿಯುತ್ತದೆ. ಒಂದು ಅತ್ಯಾಚಾರದ ಸುತ್ತ ಬೆಳೆಯಬಹುದಾದ ಈ ಕತೆ ಅದರ ಬದಲು ಸೈನಿಕನ ಸಾವಿನ ಸುತ್ತ ಸುತ್ತುತ್ತದೆ. ಇದು ಒಂದು ಮಾನವೀಯ ನೆಲೆಯ ಆತ್ಯಂತಿಕತೆ ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಿದರೂ ತಪ್ಪಾಗಲಾರದು. ವಜ್ರಖಚಿತ ಖಡ್ಗಕ್ಕಾಗಿ ಈ ಕೊಲೆ ನಡೆದಿರಬಹುದು ಎಂಬ ಅನುಮಾನ ಸುಳಿಯದಂತೆ ಸಾಕ್ಷೀದಾರರು ನಾವೇ ಕೊಂದಿದ್ದೆಂದು ಬೇರೆಬೇರೆ ಕತೆಗಳನ್ನು ಕಟ್ಟಿ ನಂಬಿಸಿಬಿಡಬಹುದಾದರೆ, ರಾಶೋಮಾನ್ ಚಿತ್ರ ಒಂದು ಇಂಡಿಯಾದ ಹಳ್ಳಿಯೊಂದರ ಸಾಮಾಜಿಕ ತೆಳು ಕತೆಯೊಂದರ ಛಾಯೆಯಂತೆ ಬದಲಾಗಿ ಪೇಲವವಾಗಿ ಕಾಣುವ ಸಾಧ್ಯತೆಯಿದೆ. ಅಕಿರ ಕುರಸಾವನ ಈ ಅಂತ್ಯವಿರದ ಶೋಧನೆಗೆ ಉತ್ತರ ಹುಡುಕಬೇಕಾದಲ್ಲಿ, ಅಂದಿನ ಇತಿಹಾಸಕ್ಕೆ ನಾವು ಮತ್ತೆ ಹಿಂತಿರುಗಿ ಅಂದಿನ ಪರಿಸ್ಥಿತಿಗಳನ್ನು ಅರ್ಥ ಮಾಡಿಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕಾಗಿದೆ.
ಜಪಾನ್ ಒಂದು ಬೌದ್ಧ ಧರ್ಮ ಅಳವಡಿಸಿಕೊಂಡ ದೇಶ. ಆ ಕಾರಣಕ್ಕೆ ಈ ಚಿತ್ರದಲ್ಲೂ ಝéೆನ್ಗೆ ಹತ್ತಿರವಾದ ಪರಿಕಲ್ಪನೆ ಚಿತ್ರವನ್ನು ಕಟ್ಟುವಂಥ ಮತ್ತು ಗುಟ್ಟು ಉಳಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಅಂತದಲ್ಲೂ ಕಂಡುಬರುತ್ತದೆ. ಆದರೆ ಆ ತಂತ್ರದ ಮೂಲಕ ಇಡೀ ಚಿತ್ರ ಹೇಳಲು ಹೊರಟಿರುವ ಆ ಚಿತ್ರದಾಚೆ ಇರುವ ಸತ್ಯ ಇಡೀ ಜಪಾನ್ನ ಅಂದಿನ ಇತಿಹಾಸದ ಭೀಕರತೆಯನ್ನು ಬಿಚ್ಚಿಡಲು ಪ್ರಯತ್ನಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಈ ಚಿತ್ರ ಬಂದಾಗ ಆಗಿನ್ನೂ ಎರಡನೇ ಮಹಾಯುದ್ಧ ಮುಗಿದಿತ್ತು. ಆ ಯುದ್ಧದಲ್ಲಿ ಹೀನಾಯವಾಗಿ ಸೋತ ಜಪಾನ್ನ ಇಡಿಯಾಗಿ ರಾಶೋಮಾನ್ ಕನ್ನಡಿಯಂತೆ ಹಿಡಿದಿದೆ. ಸೌಂದರ್ಯದ ಮೂರ್ಖತನ, ಅತೀ ಆಸೆಬುರುಕುತನ ಮತ್ತು ಬಲ ಹಾಗೂ ಎಲ್ಲ ಗೊತ್ತಿದೆ ಎನ್ನುವ ಪೆದ್ದುತನ ಜಪಾನ್ನ್ನು ಆಳ ಪ್ರಪಾತಕ್ಕೆ ತುಳಿದು ಹಾಕಿತ್ತು. ಒಬ್ಬ ಸವರ್ಾಧಿಕಾರಿಗೂ ಈ ಮೇಲಿನ ನಾಲ್ಕು ಗುಣಗಳೇ ಅವನನ್ನು ರೂಪಿಸಿರುತ್ತದೆ.
ಇತಿಹಾಸದ ಸತ್ಯವನ್ನು ಒಗಟಿನಂತೆ ಕಟ್ಟಿಕೊಡುವ ಅಕಿರ ಕುರಸಾವ ತನ್ನ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನದಲ್ಲಿ ಯಶಸ್ವಿಯಾಗಿದ್ದಾನೆ.

Films on land struggles

pedestrian pictures

invites you to

An evening of films on land struggles

including the premiere screening of

 ‘Dying for the Land’

(A pedestrian pictures and third eye films production)

2008/36 mins/eng sub.

And

‘Unnayaner Name’

(A Na Hanyate production – 2007/30 mins/eng sub.)

Date: 26 July 2008, Saturday

Time: 5.30 – 7 pm

Venue: IAT, Queens Road, Bangalore

Synopses:

‘Dying for the land’: This is a 36 minute film that captures the adivasi land struggle in Chengara, Kerala. Located in Patnamthitta district, Chengara is witness to 20000 adivasis’ occupation of over 2000 acres of land belonging to Harrison Malayalam Company Ltd. For the adivasis who took over this commercial tea plantation land, the occupation is a defiant way to highlight their situation – over the years, plantation companies with the active support of the government have ensured that the adivasis are now alienated from land that they once called their homes.

Credits: A pedestrian pictures production in association with Third Eye Films.
Directed by C. Saratchandran (Third Eye Films)
Scripted and edited by Deepu, pedestrian pictures

Unnayaner Name (For the sake of development): This documentary captures the struggle in Nandigram – a place that has become synonymous with resistance of the people in the face of neo-liberal aggression supported by the Left government of West Bengal.  The people in Nandigram were protesting against the forcible acquisition of land for a chemical hub to be built by an Indonesian conglomerate. Through use of extensive live footage and interviews, the film captures the horror that unfolded when the CPM cadres supported by the local police tried to “recapture” their lost base under the pretext of restoring rule of law. Finally the cadres were able to capture Nandigram killing hundreds and injuring many more in the process. But the government of Buddhadeb Bhattacharya was forced to scrap the chemical hub project. The resistance in Nandigram has brought into sharp focus the meaning of development, the role of the state in an age of neo-liberal aggression on peoples’ livelihoods and methods of resistance.

Credits: A Na Hanyate production

Amudhan-Who?

Children of a lesser god

PRASHANTH G.N.

Courtesy: THe Hindu

A section of the Dalit community continues to do jobs that are sub-human. Madurai filmmaker R.P. Amudhan captures its experiences with all the repugnant details

  
INSPIRED Amudhan got into documentary making after watching films by Anand Patwardhan, K.P. Sasi, Challam Bennurkar, Deepa Dhanraj and others PHOTO: V. SREENIVASA MURTHY

 Films can bring about mobilisations on a range of social and political issues and the mobilisations can give effect to policy changes that could help create better living conditions. In certain other cases, films could help in getting civil society or the State to recognise that certain livelihoods are sub-human and need to be abolished in which case film would have made a contribution to a dignified public life. R.P. Amudhan’s films head in this direction. They are so graphic in the way they address issues that there is not much left to ask after viewing. Amudhan, a documentary filmmaker from Madurai, screened three films here at a programme organised by Pedestrian Pictures last week.

The films screened were Shit, Vande Mataram — a Shit Version and Notes From The Crematorium. The titles themselves are graphic and so are the films. The first two are about manual scavenging, most of us would not know is still an official job in 21st century India, and the third is about running a manual crematorium. Shit captures manual scavenging through the experience of Madurai Municipal Corporation worker Mariammal. The camera literally follows her on her work early morning. Mariammal has to clean a whole road of shit. She puts powder on it for it to dry, scrapes it using boards, fills it in a bucket and carries it on her head to deposit it in a van. Mariammal cleans shit barefoot because it is difficult to wash her slippers later. She gets Rs. 3,000 per month as salary for this work. “I do this work with a lot of frustration. It is only because I don’t get as much money with other work,” Mariammal states. Even a “job” like this is coveted and she, like many others will not easily budge until there’s another dignified job.

The film resulted in three things: the commissioner of Madurai Municipal Corporation did not get a promotion; the film has been taken up in political campaigns against manual scavenging by the political party Adi Tamila Pervai all over Tamil Nadu; municipal authorities helped Mariammal not by offering alternative employment but by employing two more people to clear the waste!

The second film Vande Mataram — A Shit Version is a five-minute rendering of A.R. Rahman’s well-known number Vande Mataram. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s song is a salutation to the motherland. Amudhan presents the very same song with visuals not of breathtaking landscape, but of a public urinal having to be cleaned by women in Madurai town. The contrast could not have been starker. How can we be cleaning public urinals in the land of “Vande Mataram”?

Living and dead

 

 

 

The third film Notes From the Crematorium captures the experience of people having to make a living out of the dead and how there is reconciliation, although in death, between the rich and poor, high and low caste, intellectual and idiot. The film shows people undertaking to cremate or bury the dead are abused by people bringing the body. And much like manual scavenging, the film shows how even crematoriums are not provided basic facilities. The three films in all capture the experience of a section of the Dalit community that continues to do jobs that are sub-human.

Amudhan’s earlier films too carry the veneer of seriousness. He has made films on a Dalit hamlet in Kodaikanal, students’ protest in Tamil Nadu against privatisation of education and drought deaths in Tanjore. Films, he believes, should be meaningful and honest and serve a purpose and is the motive behind his film-making.

Amudhan got into documentary film-making after watching films by Anand Patwardhan, K.P. Sasi, Challam Bennurkar, Deepa Dhanraj, Amar Kanwar and a few others. “I initially wanted to be in the mainstream media, but I was inspired by the documentaries I saw. I was hooked onto making them.” After completing his post-graduation in communication, Amudhan went to CENDIT in Delhi to learn video skills the voluntary organisation was imparting free of cost. He learnt sound editing, script writing and camera work in two years time. This was around 1995 when he commenced film-making.

In the early stages of his film-making, Amudhan had to record on VHS cameras and edit on VCR’s. “We would use two VCR’s. The cassette would play in one and we would edit on the other using the pause button. We did this for quite some time and learnt the art of making and editing a film with VCR equipment. It would all work out to around Rs. 3,000. Using such equipment is itself a special skill. But now film has gone digital. Filmmaking is now democratised and has become inexpensive. We can now make films with a budget of Rs. 5,000, Rs. 15,000 or Rs. 20,000.”

Amudhan and his friends have an informal group, Marupakkam, to promote videos and documentaries on social issues. And they do this for reasons of conviction as well livelihood. How comfortable is he making a living with films? “It is just about comfortable. We get projects and we work for other filmmakers too. But it also depends on the individual. How he or she would like to live.”

CHE at Cannes 2008

CHE the Golden Palm nominee at Cannes 2008

that won Del Toro the Best Actor Award

UTV Network’s World Movies, India’s only international movie channel, has announced the acquisition of ‘CHE’ – a Cannes nominee for Golden Palm 2008 directed by Steven Soderbergh. This four-hour-plus epic about Latin American revolutionary Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara stars Benicio Del Toro in the title role, for which he won the Best Actor prize at the recently concluded Cannes Film Festival in May this year.

‘CHE’ is the first full cinematic rendition of the life of Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara, an Argentine Marxist revolutionary, politician, author, physician, military theorist, and guerrilla leader who has been and continues to be an inspiration for millions of people around the world. His stylized image is an ubiquitous counter cultural symbol.

The movie is divided into two parts:

The Argentine – In 1956, Che (Benicio Del Toro) and a band of Castro-led Cuban exiles mobilize an army to topple the regime of dictator Fulgencio Batista.The film tracks Che’s rise in the Cuban revolution, from doctor to commander to revolutionary hero.

Guerrilla – This is the story of Che’s Bolivian camp post the Cuban revolution and includes his journey to New York City in 1964 to address the United Nations.

CHE’s Oscar and Cannes winning director Steven Soderbergh boasts of 22 awards and 40 nominations for highly popular movies like Traffic; Erin Brockovich; Sex, Lies, and Videotape; Ocean’s 11, Ocean’s 12 and Ocean’s 13. Soderbergh also directed Del Toro to a best supporting actor Oscar for 2000’s “Traffic”. Del Toro has another 28 wins & 15 nominations for various performances.

Dilshad Master, COO, UTV Entertainment Television Limited, says, “It is the 80th anniversary of Che Guevara’s birth and also the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution. It is the perfect movie to bring to our viewers and deliver on our promise of showcasing the latest blockbusters from around the world. CHE by Steven Soderbergh is a breakthrough movie which has made it big at Cannes this year and clearly belongs on the World Movies platform. We will soon bring CHE to our viewers in India both theatrically and on World Movies.”

Thanks Vasanth Kadekar for sending the link-MC

JANG AUR AMAN

WAR & PEACE / JANG AUR AMAN
(2002, Colour, 130 mins)

Filmed over three tumultuous years in India, Pakistan, Japan and the USA following nuclear tests in the Indian sub-continent War and Peace is a documentary journey of peace activism in the face of global militarism and war. The film is framed by the murder of Mahatma Gandhi in 1948, an act whose portent and poignancy remains undiminished half a century later. For the filmmaker, whose family was immersed in the non-violent Gandhian movement, the sub-continent’s trajectory towards unabashed militarism is explored with sorrow, though the film captures stories of resistance along the way. Amongst these is a visit to the “enemy country” of Pakistan, where contrary to expectations, Indian delegates are showered by affection not only by their counterparts in the peace movement but by uninitiated common folk. The film moves on to examine the costs being extracted from citizens in the name of national security. From the plight of residents living near the nuclear test site to the horrendous effects of uranium mining on local indigenous populations, it becomes abundantly clear that, contrary to a myth first created by the U.S.A, there is no such thing as the “peaceful Atom”.  WAR & PEACE / JANG AUR AMAN slips seamlessly from a description of home made jingoism to focus on how an aggressive United States has become a role model, its doctrine of “Might is Right” only too well-absorbed by aspiring elites of the developing world. As we enter the 21st century, war has become perennial, enemies are re-invented and economies are inextricably tied to the production and sale of weapons. In the moral wastelands of the world memories of Gandhi seem like a mirage that never was, created by our thirst for peace and our very distance from it. AWARDS: * Grand Prize, Earth Vision International Film Festival, Tokyo, 2002 * International Critics’ Award (FIPRESCI), Sydney Film Festival, 2002 * Best Film/Video, Mumbai International Film Festival, 2002 * International Jury Prize, Mumbai International Film Festival, 2002 * Gold Award, Indian Documentary Producers’ Association, 2002 * Best Documentary, International Video Festival, Kerala, 2003 * Best Documentary, Karachi International Film Festival, 2003 * Silver Dhow, Zanzibar International Film Festival, 2003 * Best Non-Fiction, National Film Awards, India, 2004 REVIEWS: “The film itself is a tour de force, beautifully shot and often darkly funny and much more riveting than the dry subject matter might suggest.” Duncan Campbell – The Guardian, UK “War and Peace has a riveting intelligence all its own and earns its epic title.” Elvis Mitchell – The New York Times “Fantastic, it’s accessible, it’s actually been released on the multiplex circuit. Irrepressible in his one-man crusade, Anand Patwardhan has assembled his finest work with War & Peace, sniping away courageously at the unchecked forces of militarism and nuclear proliferation.” Rashid Irani – The Times of India “Anand Patwardhan’s rousing, engrossing and unexpectedly funny broadside against India’s hot chase of the bomb opens with an old newsreel on Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s assassination by Hindu nationalist Nathuram Godse.” Nandini Ramnath – Time Out, Mumbai “We should listen to our voices of dissent for our own sake and for the sake of our children and their children. War and Peace is that voice’s most eloquent expression. Which is why it should be seen by everyone, everywhere. In schools, in colleges, in factories, on television.” Anil Dharker – The Times of India ” A frightening examination of the continuing confrontation between nuclear neighbours India and Pakistan. Narrated in quiet yet passionate terms… of immense interest and importance.” David Stratton – Variety “Riveting, fast-paced and laced with dark humour, War and Peace…compels you to stop, think and realign certain perspectives” Sunanda Mehta – The Indian Express “The explosions and the resultant jingoistic euphoria are a function of the frustration and fevered anger of a failed elite, the film argues, backing its argument with vivid images of nationalistic and religious fervor that verge on the surreal.” Ashfaque Swapan – India-West “Perhaps the most important film in this year’s Berlin Film Festival” Reuters “This film by India’s leading documentary filmmaker is so important that one could justify its requirement as part of the education of all high school students and undergraduates in America… The power of the film derives from its brilliant cinematography and narration, its juxtaposition of points of view and its total honesty. Patwardhan never preaches, he simply shows things the way they are and lets his audience react.” Blair B. Kling – University of Illinois “Patwardhan is as unsparing in his criticism of the aggressiveness of the American military and nuclear machine as he is of the nuclear pretensions of India and Pakistan…and in his understanding of the sexual politics of resurgent Hindu communalism, Patwardhan remains India’s most astute and daring documentary filmmaker and one of the country’s most sensitive commentators.” Vinay Lal – Manas “The atom bomb has come to India with another American tradition – the curbing of works that seek to expose its dangers. ”War and Peace” has won praise and prizes at film festivals around the world, including Bombay’s, but it is effectively banned in its home country. The censor board continues to demand cuts on a variety of trumped-up charges.” A.S. Hamrah – The Boston Globe “Patwardhan has been making documentaries that challenge India’s establishment for 30 years, becoming one of the country’s most respected documentarians. For almost as long, he has been battling the state in one form or another for the right to show his films uncensored.” Amy Waldman – The New York Times A Link to Gandhi Information Centre, Germany ” Bombs for peace. The ultimate oxymoron. What could be more twisted and warped than that? The nuclear test is successful. ‘The Buddha is smiling’. But Patwardhan reminds us that this time the joke is on us.“ Mandakini Menon – Cut Here, NID Credits Camera, Editing – Anand Patwardhan Sound – Simantini Dhuru, Monica Wahi, Vipin Bhati Production, Editing Assistance – Monica Wahi, Sanjiv Shah courtesy: www.patwardhan.com/films/warpeace.htm

Anand Patwardhan in Bangalore

The Law and Society Commmittee of National Law School of India University
is hosting renowned documentary film-maker and activist Anand Patwardhan
for a screening of his film ‘Jang Aur Aman’and discussion thereafter on
Saturday, 12 July, 2008. The screening will commence on the NLS campus at
2.30 pm.

All are cordially invited to attend the same.

For further details please contact, Aishwarya +91 98869 47147.

Law and Society Commmittee
National Law School of India.

Documentary on Bhagat Singh

Title : INQUILAB

Director : Gauhar Raza

Duration : 40 minutes

Language : Hindi

 

Synopsis

This film is a tribute to the memory and sacrifice of Bhagat Singh, one of the most venerated nationalist figures in contemporary India. The documentary traces the evolution of this revolutionary icon as a political thinker and a visionary. It begins by tracking the early influences, beginning with Bhagat Singh’s family, locating him in the national and international political context and finally tracing the roots of his future ideological formations. The film spends little time in glorifying Bhagat Singh and his comrade’s revolutionary actions; however, most of them have been effectively used to illustrate his political persona. Through diverse textual material available at various repositories, it delineates their dream of independent, socialist and multi-cultural India. The film, we believe, is an attempt to craft an intellectual biography of Bhagat Singh in an audio-visual format.

Golden Deer award for APNA ALOO…

I am happy to share with all of you the news that APNA ALOO BAZAAR BECHA has won the Golden Deer award (Best Short Film) at the ECOFILMS festival held in Rodos, Greece last week. This award is a tribute to the struggles of farming communities all over the world that are confronted with uncharted dilemmas in the face of expanding& capitalism, and in particular to the three persons who bared their souls in front of the camera: Bachni Devi, Rajbir Singh & Khem Singh.
Pankaj H Gupta

APNA ALOO BAZAAR BECHA
from subsistence ecology to the market

A documentary by Pankaj H Gupta

30”, DVD.

Few mountain communities, however remote, remain untouched by globalisation and development. Jardhar gaon, a typical village of middle Himalaya in Garhwal, led an isolated existence until just 30 years ago, in an egalitarian, subsistence ecology. Today, it is in the middle of rapid social and environmental transformation.

This short documentary, based entirely on local perspectives, reflects on this process of change – what triggers the shift to modernisation and what impacts it has on the personal, social and environmental relationships. In particular, the film focuses on the primary subsistence activity of farming: whether it can survive in the face of steady outmigration, and if the attempts by Beej Bachao Andolan (Save the Seeds Movement) to resist modernisation can be successful.

Give screen, we have film

Mitr-Sanketa is a registerd orgainsation and presently working on creating awareness on the issues of trafficking.  We request you to make arrangements for us to come and screen a film on trafficking of women and children and have a discussion with the group.

The program is called MAT-Movement Against Trafficking.  The program is for 2 hours, which includes discussions on the topic/issue, followed by a 26  minutes’ film.  This is followed with facilitating the group to understand the  various perspectives, angels related to the emotional, social, economic,cultural, political aspects related to trfaficking and the victims.  Our discussions also highlight on our own attitudes towards this dangerous so called social evil and urge people to understand how to keep themsleves safe, while breaking the silence wrapped around this form of slavery.   These discussion could also help each of us as individuals to do our bit in speaking about trafficking, the victims, and how our chidlren, youth must protect themselves and further
safeguardwomen & children at risk and those who have been forced
into this slavery.

We invite you to partner with us.  We request you to organise/arrange groups at
your instituions/ slums/schools/ colleges/ clubs/anywhere else and our team
will facilitate the discussions and the sceerning of the film-this is just for 2 hours and this is where we must begin the action of prevention of women & chidlren being trafficked and forced into prostitution. 

We do not charge any fees for the prorgam.
Kindly let us know if you would make arrangements for LCD/Screen.

If you might require any clarification, please feel free to call
Brinda-9845518138

with kind regards

brinda adige

Filmmaking is no longer rocket science!

Hello Folks,

 

Filmmaking is no longer rocket science!

 

Come find out at our 1:1 Filmmaking Workshop happening – Sunday 29th June – in Cubbon Park, Bangalore

WWW.FILMCAMP.TV presents this unique and popular workshop in association with Alliance Francaise, Bangalore.

 

We are having a screening / discussion on the subject The Director-Cinematographer Nexus followed by the screening of 1:1 workshop films at Alliance Francaise this Saturday, 28th June at 7:00 p.m. check it out!

 

To register:

– The workshop fee is Rs. 1500/- to be paid by cheque

– Visit Alliance Francaise, Bangalore with your cheque book.

        – Pick up a brochure,

        – Fill out the form

        – Put the form and cheque in the envelope provided and hand it to the receptionist.

– Call Sanjay: 97415 96739

– email direct@filmcamp.tv

See you there!
FilmCamp.TV

TINGYA

pedestrian pictures

in association with Lankesh Prashashti

invites you to the screening of

 

TINGYA

dir. Mangesh Hadawale

(2007/122 mins/Marathi with English subtitles)

 

Date: June 28, 2008, Saturday

 

Venue: IAT, Queen’s Road, Bangalore (Directions to the venue)

Time: 5 pm-7.30 pm

 

The screening will be followed by a discussion on the current agricultural crisis faced by farmers in the State.

————————————————————————————————————

Awards: Tingya has a long list of awards to its name including 9 awards at the 2008 Maharashtra State Government Awards; Fipresci International Critics Award for Director and the Best Film Award at MAMI International Film Festival 2008 (Mumbai); Best Debutant Director award, Lankesh Prashashti National Awards 2008 (Bangalore); five nominations at the 2007 Indian Panorama – to name only a few.

 

 

Synopsis: Tingya is the son of Karbhari, a farmer who cultivates potatoes in Maharashtrian village. The film provides an intimate description of the conditions that plague Karbhari’s debt ridden existence while placing this against a sensitive portrayal of the relationship between Tingya and Chitangya (an oxen born two months after Tingya). Tingya cannot understand why the family must decide on selling the oxen to a slaughterhouse while it is keen on protecting and nurturing an aged grandmother who doesn’t contribute to the family’s income.

 

Context: The film is being screened in Bangalore at a time when Karnataka is in the middle of a worsening agricultural crisis. The first 20 days of June has seen 18 farmers commit suicide in the State, not including the police firing in Haveri killing one farmer on June 10. Beyond the rhetoric of blaming the Central UPA Government, our newly formed BJP government has little to show in terms of an action taken report. We are not crediting as actions taken the compensation money doled out nor the sanction of a statue honouring the farmer who was shot down in Haveri. The discussions obviously need to go deeper if we are to even understand the crises faced by the debt-ridden farmer in today’s economy. We hope a sensitive film such as Tingya will set the pace for this discussion.

About pedestrian pictures: We are a media activist organization, based in Bangalore and working across Karnataka since 2001. We work with media to create an understanding of socio- political realities existing in our society. This screening is part of our monthly public screening activities.