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Gurvinder Singh
Film director
My teacher, the master explorer of cinematic form, Mani Kaul, left us 10 years ago on July 6, 2011. He was 66. In his body of work, from Uski Roti (1969) to Naukar ki Kameez (1999), he created an idea of temporality, profoundly marked and informed by his understanding of Indian music, aesthetics and philosophy. In doing so, he not only created a highly personalised idiom of expression, but challenged the existing notions of meaning and cinematic forms that proved challenging for many an audience, used as they are to a certain acceptable system of the socio-industrial form of filmmaking, which treats facts and meaning as pivots around which a film’s narrative is received and understood.
The genius of Mani Kaul and 50 years of his seminal work, Ashad Ka Ek Din thehindu.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thehindu.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
CHAITANYA TAMHANE’S WORK is gaining momentum. His directorial debut, Court (2015), a meditation on the banal evil of India’s judicial system, was praised for challenging the ideological conventions of the legal drama through static shots and long takes. No fast cut, close-up-heavy procedural is staged inside the courtroom; no dramatic monologues are delivered; justice is not served. Tamhane’s second feature, The Disciple (2020), while more kinetic in its camerawork (by Michal Sobociniski), proceeds at a similarly measured pace. Its narrative about the existential journey of Sharad (Aditya Modak),
This year marks the 50th anniversary of Mani Kaul’s
Ashad Ka Ek Din, undoubtedly
one of the most radical films from the Indian New Wave movement. Mani’s second feature still retains its austere power, and along with his
Uski Roti, Duvidha, Dhrupad and
Mati Manas, is a perfect showcase of his economic style and painterly sophistication.
The historical romance, based on Mohan Rakesh’s acclaimed play, unspools in three acts. Mallika (Rekha Sabnis) is in love with the poet-playwright Kalidas (Arun Khopkar). Kalidas has been conferred a state honour, but refuses the king’s offer to travel to the capital Ujjayini. Mallika pushes Kalidas to leave for Ujjayini, but deep inside feels a tinge of sadness at the thought of her lover’s imminent departure.