The Lotus and the Swan, is a documentary film shot in the Digital format by Nirmal Chander, the acclaimed  film-maker.  It is on Sardar Gurcharan Singh who, after having started in pottery, simply to earn a living, discovered quite early in life, that it could become a medium of serious artistic expression like painting, sculpture and various branches of graphics. Nirmal Chander, also did sixty to seventy per cent of the camerawork- two others, namely the highly talented veteran Ranjan Palit  and K Nanda Kumar also did stints  behind the camera, a digital  Sony F S 5.  The beautiful visually consistent look that lent an emotional unity to the documentary, was achieved through subtle, painstaking colour correction. This 71-minute work on the life of an artist, who rose from becoming an artisan of ever- increasing competence to expressing his personality in clay with as much integrity as others working in other ‘officially’ recognised areas of visual expression gives the viewer an opportunity to enter his deceptively simple world.
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Sardar Gurcharan Singh
The director, who started his project in 2019, was hampered by the wholly unforeseeable appearance of the Covid Pandemic, and the absence of the artist; he had passed on at the age of 99 in 1995. Through sheer grit and intrinsic artistic intelligence, Chander managed to create a wholly satisfying portrait   of Sardar Gurcharan Singh, who, single-handed, raised pottery to a form of artistic expression, and that of a warm hearted, giving person who lived in the everyday world with simplicity and grace, giving freely of himself and his work to hundreds of students, over three generations and also people who came to him for material help.
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Pottery art by Sardar Gurcharan Singh
The making of the documentary involved enormous amounts of work during the research, the preparation period, identifying Gurcharan Singh’s work that was to be found all over India and also abroad, photographing them to satisfaction ,identifying and interviewing people connected with his work as well as his family,  going to Japan, where Gurcharan Singh studied  pottery  at the Higher  Technical School in Tokyo from !919 to 1922,  collecting archival material, mainly photos of the subject, alone and with others, apart from photographs of Delhi and Andretta, Tokyo. Nirmal Chander and Reena Mohan, his wife and co-editor of the film, through sheer persistence and faith in the work and backed by the consistent, generous support of Delhi Blue Pottery Trust, also the Producers of the venture got to make The Lotus and the Swan in an aesthetically satisfying way.
Gurcharan Singh’s life was a curious mixture of the ordinary and the extraordinary. He began by studying Geology, which,according to his son, Mansimran Singh, aka ‘Mini’, also a well- regarded potter/ceramist,’’led to his qualitative understanding of ores and minerals.’’ ( Prarthana Asija, conversation with Mansimran Singh) when studying in Tokyo he met fellow ceramists  Bernard Leach,Kenkichi Tomimoto, Shoji Hamada, Kanjiro Kawai, all of whom destined to make a name for themselves in their chosen metier. Gurcharan, also held his first exhibition, when in Tokyo. It was then, he began to be aware of the conflict between pottery being a source of livelihood and a form of self-expression.  He overcame these hurdles with humility, confidence and hard work, as if they were a given in this art called living.  The Lotus and the Swan expresses these aspects of his life effortlessly.
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He joined Ram Singh Kabuli, his father’s friend, in Delhi Potteries in 1919, learning to make bricks. It was there that pottery captured his imagination. Watching Pathan potters at work, particularly Abdullah, whom he respected and who remained an associate till late in life, well after Gurcharan Singh had started his own set up, Delhi Blue Pottery in 1952. It was this sense of loyalty and fair play towards the people who may have helped at crucial times in his life that earned him the love and respect of all those who worked with him or were his students. These aspects of his life as well as his generosity in sharing his hard-earned knowledge of pottery/ceramics with others for the larger cause of the art itself gave him an exceptional stature; Chander,  and co-editor of the work Reena Mohan, captured them with absolute ease.
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With most of the shooting done, it dawned upon the director and his co-producer that the film would acquire muscle and blood only after shooting some crucial sequences in Japan, covering his apprenticeship at the Higher Technical School in Tokyo and his auspicious beginning as an artisan-artist. Two important interviews with Prof. Yuko, an expert on the Mingai Movement, that gave  precedence to hand-made objects of everyday use, primarily in ceramics, created by ordinary amateurs (of talent) over those by  professionals having access to factories, and, another with Prof. Hashimoto, a professor of Letters,  give credence to Gurcharan Singh’s decision  to choose studio pottery over mass produced works, as the right one.
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On his return to India and work at Delhi Potteries, he was unhappy. It was difficult to just  earn his living, knowing that he could make beautiful objects as a studio potter. In Ambala, after  the Partition in 1947, he worked as  Superintendent of the Pottery Training Centre, thus ensuring a regular income. He retired in 1952, came back to Delhi after years with his mentor Abdullah to start Delhi Blue Pottery.  ‘’He used stoneware clay body and high temperature glazes, fired at 1300 degree centigrade in coal kilns. He supported himself by making glazed tiles and ceramic lattices which were bought by architects in Delhi.’’ (Indian Ceramic Art Foundation). A word about the blue colour that made him famous. Its origins were in Persian Blue, which came in three shades, the most sensual being the one that most resembled the colour of Lapiz- lazuli, a semi-precious stone used in jewellery. The Blue tone, he formulated to use in ceramic creations, became his visual signature, though, he also used other colours with flair in his very many creations. The lotus, an often seen motif in his work, came probably from his appreciation of its curving lines, Its arabesques. The curves of a swan in motion inspired him to add it as a motif to some of his creations.
The Japan shots of Tokyo Technical University, College of Liberal Arts, Osaka, Kanazawa,Nara Temple, and various street scenes are lovely to look at and add a nimbus to the story of Gurcharan Singh’s becoming the realised artist, modest, despite considerable achievement. The images of present- day Japan intercut with archival photographs, and some documents give a clear idea of how he evolved as a ceramic artist, how his sensibility was gradually shaped into understanding that a utilitarian calling like pottery could become an art form to be taken as seriously as painting, sculpture and drawing.
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The are very many people who talk on camera about Gurcharan Singh affectionately called ‘Daddyji’ since his association with Delhi Blue Pottery which began in 1952. This was probably because of his protective, fatherly personality. All his life, since his return to India in 1922, he had shown a distinct ability to bring like-minded people together to serve a common cause, that of Studio Pottery.   Those of whom felt at ease in his protective, nurturing presence, called him ‘Daddyji’ spontaneously.  There is a lot of talk about ‘Daddyji’ and his kindness and generosity as a teacher and many students like the well- regarded ceramic artist Deepali Daroze speak about the necessity he felt of passing hard-earned knowledge of the craft of pottery to aspiring potters.  He talked her into teaching more students at the studio -school than was possible due to a lack of manpower. Nobody could say ‘no’ to him because he led by personal example.
Chander manages quite a feat by marshalling a plethora of facts about Gurcharan Singh’s life, achievements; the honours he received including a Padma Shri from the Government of India, the appreciation of artists here and abroad; his struggles-the government suddenly in 1986, decided to take away a sizeable portion of the land allotted to him for his kiln and studio, on Ring Road, Delhi thus cramping his working space – into a compelling narrative. However, the spoken word does not dominate the film, because there are plenty of examples of the artists’ work judiciously juxtaposed and sensitively photographed to bring out their beauty. What remains in the memory, as a result, is this touching visual experience of a pioneering artist’s work and his life of struggle and fulfilment.
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The Lotus and the Swan, is a documentary film shot in the Digital format by Nirmal Chander, the acclaimed  film-maker. 

The Lotus and the Swan - A Television Documentary on Gurcharan Singh by Nirmal Chander

In a sense, a return to skill of the past, after an age of conceptual based art, as it happened with art in the Occident and subsequently in the Orient, was inevitable.Back in 1979, Italian art critic and curator Achille Bonito Oliva wrote an introduction for an exhibition he organized in the town of Genazzano, (a town and commune in the Metropolitan City of Rome). Titled Le Stanze (The Rooms), the show gathered a small group of young painters whose practices seemed to have revived the Expressionist painting at a time when Conceptual art ruled art tendencies to its full potential. In order to describe their work, Oliva coined the term Transavanguardia, or trans-avant-garde, announcing the beginning of an international phenomenon which took place in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, and became one of the most influential movements of Post-war Italian art along with Arte Povera.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_011_3d442ba8c6.jpg" alt="image-011.jpg"> Francesco-Clemente at the Rubin Museum, Gallery View“In many ways Transavanguardia became a way of dissolving the linear demarcations of the art movement and resorting to a move freer way of moving back and forth, refereeing to history as well as addressing the hysteria of the ‘new’ –the here and now,” says Oliva who is visiting India and curating the exhibition, The Grand Italian Vision, from the Farnesina Collection. The exhibition that is currently on display at the Bikaner House in New Delhi, features a handpicked selection of 70 pieces of painting, sculpture and photographs and even a few small sized ‘installations’ of handmade objects.“In my belief, art is a massage for the atrophied muscles of collective sensibility,” says Oliva. Put very eruditely by Oliva it is best described as the ‘freedom to move forward but also move back in time and reference the past. It is thematic rather than linear’. This ties in with the Indian approach which looks at time as cyclical rather than linear and hence things recur but in a different way each time. We see this in art, and more so in India and Asia where the reference to the past is a constant where many of the Modern artists talk of the aesthetics of the Rajastjani, Persian and Mughal miniatures, the Warli painting, the Madhubani and the Kalighat Pats in the same breath as they embrace the Modern and what is now called the Contemporary.However before we address the commonality between Indian and Italian art we need to better acquaint ourselves with the Transavanguardia movement. To revisit the movement and its impact on art history, we have to go back to the 1980s. At the Venice Biennale, of that time, five prominent artists were showing under the Transavanguardia movement, that Oliva curated, and they stood out—their artworks drew attention for their diverse styles and common vision. They relied on strong narratives, painters Francesco Clemente, Enzo Cucchi, Sandro Chia, Mimmo Paladino and Nicola De Maria—the artists re-created a strongly expressive language which oozed in vibrant colour, the depth of space, the passage of time and the freedom of technique.“The conceptual art movement was dominated by artists from the United States and the Transavanguardia movement brought the focus back to art that celebrated the act of creating with one’s hands of painting, and sculpture,” says Oliva.That 1980s exhibition at the Venice Biennale, gave these individuals an opportunity to compete for a place on the international art market, dominated by significant figures and tendencies from. The paintings they produced offered a variety of personal interpretations of these notions: from Sandro Chia and his influence by Futurism and even Mannerism, the many materials of Enzo Cucchi, such as ceramics, wood, neon and steel, the almost childish quality of works by Nicola De Maria, Mimmo Paladino’s ‘totemic canvases’ and, of course, Francesco Clemente’s ‘haunting portraits’. <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_000_150x150_01a7ee3c28.jpg" alt="image-000-150x150.jpg">Disco Solare, 1989-90, Bronze Sculpture, Arnaldo Pomodoro<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_002_150x150_98b8540d09.jpg" alt="image-002-150x150.jpg"> Photograph of Achille Bonito Oliva at The Grand Italian Vision, Bikaner House, New Delhi<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_003_150x150_b257393b9e.jpg" alt="image-003-150x150.jpg">Opera Obliqua, 1997, Photography and Silkscreen printed on Panel, Gino De Dominics<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_007_150x150_dbfc005d58.jpg" alt="image-007-150x150.jpg">Gallery View of the exhibition ‘The Grand Italian Vision’: showcasing the Italian Transavanguardia movement<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_008_150x150_9dfeeb655d.jpg" alt="image-008-150x150.jpg">Gallery View of the exhibition ‘The Grand Italian Vision’: showcasing the Italian Transavanguardia movement<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_009_150x150_1bd5521c5d.jpg" alt="image-009-150x150.jpg">Gallery View of the exhibition ‘The Grand Italian Vision’: showcasing the Italian Transavanguardia movement<i style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:300;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:center;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Image Courtesy: Georgina Maddox&nbsp;Interestingly Clemente, an Italian contemporary artist lived at various times in Italy, India and New York City. Some of his work is influenced by the traditional art and culture of India. He has worked in various artistic media including drawing, fresco, graphics, mosaic, oils and sculpture.Born and raised in the farm lands of Morro d’Alba, province of Ancona, the artist Enzo Cucchi was an autodidactic (self-taught) painter. He was lauded in his early years even though he was more interested in poetry. He frequently visited poet Mino De Angelis, who was in charge of the magazine Tau.The impact of Achille Bonito Oliva and his Transavanguardia Movement went beyond the borders of Italy, touching upon the borders of the US, Germany and even India. The Transavanguardia’s ‘quest to revive the potential of painting’ by drawing inspiration from the history of art itself, as well as classical mythology, popular culture and national symbolism, it went beyond Italy’s border along with Francesco Clemente. His works became a seminal part of Neo-Expressionism, further influencing the production of fellow creatives like Jean-Michel Basquiat and Jonathan Borofsky, David Salle and Julian Schnabel.’Interestingly the exhibit entitled Francesco Clemente: Inspired by India, at the Ruben Museum in New York, displayed in 2014, was well received and showcased Clemente’s massive drawings with elements of installing the work to emulate a ‘Hindu temple’. The exhibition constituted a public space (like the main courtyard of a temple) marked by deep purple — occupied by the five huge drawings. There were four smaller meditative “niche” (grihas) spaces — filled here by sculptures. And finally, the “inner sanctum,” (the grabagriha) held 16 exquisite watercolor pieces and a portfolio of profoundly erotic watercolors, based on the erotic sculptures in Orissa (Odisha), India. Even more remarkable is the fact that the drawings, were made in collaboration with local artisans in Madras (Chennai) in the 1980’s. They include gouache on sheets of handmade paper, bound together by cotton strips to form billboard-sized drawings. The treatment to the paint is flat and the perspective is not of a western nature rather it emulates local pop and filmic poster art of the times.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_013_9313776342.jpg" alt="image-013.jpg"> Michelangelo Pistoletto, Venus of the Rags, Installation, 1967<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_014_150x150_9d9ed27143.jpg" alt="image-014-150x150.jpg">Michelangelo Pistoletto, Man with Yellow Pants, Paperwork, 1964<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_015_150x150_d699816de7.jpg" alt="image-015-150x150.jpg"> Michelangelo Pistoletto, with Disegnando il Terzo Paradiso, 2011<em style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:center;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Image Courtesy: Google Arts and CultureWhile each of these works by Clemente is interesting one cannot help but observe the dark humor of one of the image of the paintings. Here two nude male figures—one slightly lighter skin toned (clearly from the Occident) to the other (clearly Asian) examine each other by pointing at their orifices and body parts. It contains both a sense of innocence and a wicked bit of humor in it. We are told that Clemente was occupied with human orifice as receptacles of stimuli. He was also fascinated by aspects of Indians that he deemed as ‘mysterious, erotic, and spiritual’.The themes and titles — Sun, Moon, Hunger, Two Painters, and Four Corners — reflect Clemente’s identification with many aspects of ‘traditional Indian painting’ combined with his own contemporary ‘Western angst’.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_001_e1686816469444_ce5f842fcf.jpg" alt="image-001-e1686816469444.jpg">Mediterraneo, 1990-95, four black and white photographs, Mimmo Jodice Image: Georgina Maddox&nbsp;Returning to Oliva’s current exhibition, at Bikaner House in New Delhi, one sees that works belonging to the earlier period are more in tune with reviving the sensibilities of Neo-Expressionism, paying ‘tribute almost’ to doyens like Heri Matisse, Picasso and even quoting from the classical art of the Italian Renaissance. One however notices that works belonging to a later period, (from the late 1990s to the early 2000s), there is a greater conscious sense of the global and of Asian nature; from the colours to the shape and forms. To summarize what Oliva is getting at through his curated exhibition, Transavanguardia addresses the fact that it is no longer possible to slot art into capsules of time and geography but it acknowledges that art is a product of the past, present and the future and hence it includes a mix of all these elements.“Transavanguardia, invites society to share and to live together. All these movements represent a mosaic and this collection reflects that many things exist together and they are all equally important. It’s an invitation to peace.” says Oliva. Given the times that we live in, this value of art acquires political value. “It is no longer just art and it is a moment in world geo-politics,” he concludes.Bibliographic Reference: &nbsp;<ol style="list-style-type:decimal;"><li>&nbsp;&nbsp;<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/transavanguardia-italian-movement"> &nbsp; &nbsp;Transavanguardia – The Progressive Movement of the Italian Modern Scene | Widewalls</a></li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;font-weight:500;line-height:1.8;margin-bottom:10px;margin-right:0px;margin-top:0px;padding:0px;"><a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://hyperallergic.com/151612/francesco-clemente-in-india/">Francesco Clemente in India (hyperallergic.com)</a></li></ol>&nbsp;

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Looking at the impact of ‘Transavanguardia’, an art Movement in Italy a nomenclature as demarcated by curator-historian Achille Bonito Oliva.

In a sense, a return to skill of the past, after an age of conceptual based art, as it happened with art in the Occident and subsequently in the Orient, was inevitable.

Transvanguardia: Moving Beyond Time And Geographies Through Art

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How many times have you been fixed, I mean put back together again, by a song, a film, a piece of art? As my team and I lurched from crisis to illness to crisis, I took my work-oppressed, battle-weary soul to the Kochi Muziris Biennale in Kerala. 

Au Revoir Biennale – To Be Resurrected By Art

It’s funny how I <a style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDjeGHmb3hc">interviewed</a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">&nbsp; Vivan Sundaram only once, but I’ve been having conversations with him in my head ever since. It was the year 2011 and Vivan’s latest recycling of trash was on display at the Lalit Kala Academy in Delhi. The previous avatar, titled ‘Trash’, was in 2005 – a continuing theme, of taking used objects and turning them into something spectacular. This time around, it was re-christened ‘Gagawaka – Making Strange’ and on display were blow-up dolls and mannequins wearing recycled film from hospitals, red bras, paper cups and tampons. <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/pasted_image_0_1_1_1024x576_371cfc06a4.png" alt="pasted-image-0-1-1-1024x576.png">Installation using tampons (left) I was stupid enough to gaze long and hard at the tampons, blink hard and ask, on camera, “And what is that?”Vivan laughed but said, ever so gently with no hint of condescension whatsoever, “Come on, you’re a woman, figure it out.”“Oh tampons,” I said, feeling like I should allow myself to be eaten by the nearest available mannequin.Ever since, I have been mesmerised by what I saw that day.The recycling, a deeply political act, was about many things as Vivan patiently explained.Garbage is what we put out each day, while looking past those who collect it. And we imagine that we stand on merit and that our being, where we are and those who take out our trash being where they are, has nothing to do with happenstance and the accident of birth and thousands of years of discrimination against garbage collectors or people assigned to one profession and forced to stay there. The recycling was to my mind, as I played back the stunning images and experience that Vivan created, about inverting our gaze about caste, about making discrimination trash and hoping to shock us gallery-goers out of our bigoted stupors.If you can take toxicity and make something beautiful out of it, you invert identity politics as well. You say a loud and proud `up yours’ to a world turned into a giant homogenous hate-filled hole.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/pasted_image_0_2_1_1024x576_bd974b27a4.png" alt="pasted-image-0-2-1-1024x576.png"> Installations in ‘Making Strange: Gagawaka + Postmortem’ All around us is the putrid smell of hate. Now it’s Umar Khalid as target, now Rahul Gandhi. Everyone falls down as our world collapses, to be swallowed whole by one large bigoted monster, the Great Dictator, the Holier than Holy, Epithet eating Hindutva establishment aka our government. Eating into our collective sanity, one day and person and politician at a time. I reacted with body and mind by relocating, away from Delhi, the place where I grew up and the only place I knew – Shamli in Uttar Pradesh, to set up an NGO and work on transformation in my own way.One of the communities we work with – the Dehwas, are a people formerly labelled criminals and then people who work largely in the garbage recycling business. I looked in fascination over the last few years as the Dehwas took apart watch parts and the rubber soles of chappals, scraps of cloth, metal, plastic and, in my mind, saw them magically transform into Vivan’s latest exhibits. A new Gagawaka, only in Shamli. The artistic transformation would cause a real transformation in the image of the Dehwas and become a talking point for the city of Shamli. `Vivan, please allow a few young artists inspired by your ideas and your politics to come and transform us, our minds, our world,’ I kept saying to myself in my loopy hallucinatory way, while not reaching out to him in real life at all. It was my private ongoing fantasy lived out through Vivan.The day I spent with him at the Sahitya Academy, where he had to educate me about tampons as well as jockeys was one where a part of me still lives. And will continue to, as I use it to create a different kind of transformation – that’s the power of one day, spent looking inside the universe of Vivan.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_2023_03_30_143430722_768x432_5217dd96c8.png" alt="image_2023-03-30_143430722-768x432.png"> Reavti Laul with Vivan Sundaram<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">As I watched the <a style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDjeGHmb3hc">video</a><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"> we made while I was a journalist at Tehelka, the `we’ includes the now famous and absolutely stunning filmmaker Shaunak Sen, who was filming the Vivan exhibition – it may even have been his idea in the first place. <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;display:inline !important;float:none;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Shaunak went on to make Cities of Sleep,’ one way of looking at trash and transformation. And then the film everyone knows about is `All That Breathes,’ and if you have not seen it you absolutely must. A film where three young men living in the middle of piles of garbage, rescue kites that feed off the innards of the city of Delhi and together – people and kites, like Vivan Sundaram’s art, change our perspective of what is garbage and where beauty lies. I haven’t asked Shaunak this but I wonder now, whether a bit of Gagawaka lives on in him as it does in me.We need to `Make Strange,’ as Vivan puts it, when the normal is obscenely abnormal and when our rights, our voice, our dissent, our air is unbreathable. Vivan, thank you for your shit. I can’t think of a better way of saying it than that.<strong style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(33, 37, 41);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Subscribe to our channels on <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/c/THEAIDEM"><strong style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(33, 37, 41);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">YouTube</a><strong style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(33, 37, 41);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"> &amp; <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://chat.whatsapp.com/ELqD1D1bImgAP6MrG8jskq"><strong style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(33, 37, 41);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">WhatsApp</a>

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It’s funny how I interviewed Vivan Sundaram only once, but I’ve been having conversations with him in my head ever since. It was the year 2011 and Vivan’s latest recycling of trash was on display at the Lalit Kala Academy in Delhi.

To Vivan And To Better Politics When We Need It Most

As the 27th IFFK kicks off, film lovers are in for a grand treat of 184 films from 70 countries. There is true global representation as films from literally every corner of the world are part of this year’s festival. Of these, 14 films are in the competition section, including 4 from India. For anyone attending a festival of such a big a scale there is bound to be confusion of which films one must watch. This is especially because many of them are yet to be screened outside the festival circuit and, therefore, very little information on them is available to the general public. There’s also the limitation of time as one can only watch so many films within a span of 8 days. To assist festival goers and cinephiles, here is a list of films that are the most awaited for various reasons and must not be missed. Some of these films have made big waves at major international film festivals and won coveted awards. Some of them are much awaited international and national premiers of films from regional and international filmmaking icons. Here, the list:1. Triangle of SadnessFrom Swedish filmmaker Ruben Östlund, Triangle of Sadness tells the story of a luxury cruise for the super rich sinking and its obscenely rich passengers trying to survive on an island. The film’s deep insights into the theme of class and wealth inequality along with its clever use of humour as a means to put forth criticism won it the prestigious Palm d’Or for best film at the Cannes Film festival 2022. The chances of one watching his film in an Indian theatre are rare. <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Triangle_of_Sadness_ee06fa4d1c.jpeg" alt="Triangle-of-Sadness.jpeg"> Triangle of Sadness2. Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam/ A mid-day dreamDirected by the maverick Lijo Jose Pellissery, Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam has its international premier at this year’s IFFK. Starring the legendary actor and superstar Mammooty, the film has been highly anticipated by fans across India since its announcement due to it being the first collaboration between the two icons. This is also Mammooty’s return to IFFK in a very long time. Significantly, Mammooty is the producer of this film which has been nominated for the international competition section. The story is about a man who lives a double life. <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Nanpakal_Nerathu_Mayakkam_f975dd68b6.jpeg" alt="Nanpakal-Nerathu-Mayakkam.jpeg"> Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam3. Decision to LeaveThe new film by the acclaimed Korean filmmaker Park Chan-Wook is a sensual love story. The plot follows a detective who goes to the mountains to investigate the death of a man and, in the process, falls in love with his mysterious wife. The film made waves at the 2022 Cannes Film festival and Park Chan-Wook received the award for the best director. From reports it is clear that Park is at the peak of his talent in this film and he has displayed many of his signature storytelling tools in it. <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Decision_to_Leave_4ad9b94307.jpeg" alt="Decision-to-Leave.jpeg"> Decision to Leave4. AriyippuAriyippu is having its Indian premier at IFFK 2022. It is the latest film from Mahesh Narayanan, the acclaimed editor and director. Ariyippu had received rave reviews and responses from multiple international film festivals. It was nominated for the Golden Leopard award at Locarno Film festival. The film stars Kunchacko Boban and Divyaprabha. Since Ariyippu is going to be released on Netflix later this year, IFFK is a golden chance to catch it in a theatre. The film tells the story of how the life of a Malayali couple working in Delhi during the Covid pandemic is turned upside down by the release of a sensitive and manipulated video in the factory they work. <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Ariyippu_3d42365a82.jpg" alt="Ariyippu.jpg"> Ariyippu5. Tori and LokitaTori and Lokita is the official opening film of IFFK 2022. It is directed by the Dardenne brothers. The film tells the story of two African immigrants in Belgium through Lokita and her younger brother Tori. It explores their emotional relationship and showcases the struggles and harsh realities of the life of immigrants in Europe. It was nominated for several awards, including the prestigious Palm d’Or and also took home the Cannes Film Festival’s special 75th anniversary award. <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Tori_and_Lokita_716x1024_37551be7b6.jpg" alt="Tori-and-Lokita-716x1024.jpg"> Tori and Lokita6. AutobiographyPerhaps this is the most influential film to come out of Indonesia. Directed by the debutant Makbul Mubarak, Autobiography was premiered at the Venice Film festival. It also managed to win the prestigious FIPRESCI award. The film explores the theme of how power corrupts an individual. It tells the story of the relationship between a retired military general and a young boy who is his housekeeper. Their toxic relationship is symbolic of what has happened to the people of Indonesia under military dictatorship. The film is a drama and a thriller. <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_12_2686f498ce.jpeg" alt="images-12.jpeg"> autobiography7. Boy from HeavenBoy from Heaven is written and directed by Tarik Saleh. It tells the story of Adam, the son of a fisherman, who accepts an offer to study at the prestigious Al-Azhar University in Cairo, the capital of Egypt. Shortly after his arrival in Cairo, the Grand Imam of al-Azhar suddenly dies and a power struggle ensues. The film was nominated to compete for the prestigious Palm d’Or and also won the best screenplay award and the Francois Chalaise award at Cannes Film festival. It is also Sweden’s official entry to the Oscars. <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Boy_from_Heaven_7296e316ed.jpeg" alt="Boy-from-Heaven.jpeg"> Boy from Heaven8. AlcarrasThis Catalan language film by the Spanish director Carla Simon has been shot with non-professional actors. It won the Golden Bear Award for Best Film at the 2022 Berlin Film Festival. The film is also Spain’s official entry for this year’s Oscars in the Best International Film category. It has been screened in film festivals like San Sebastian and Sydney. The movie has been shot in Alcarez, Catalonia.It tells the story of the disappearance of an agricultural activist in a peach plantation. A powerful film, it deals with themes such as nature, politics and family. <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Alcarras_691x1024_96b363bf9f.jpg" alt="Alcarras-691x1024.jpg"> Alcarras9. Both Sides of the BladeBoth Sides of the Blade (formerly known in English as Fire) is a 2022 French romantic drama film directed by Claire Denis, who wrote the screenplay with Christine Angot. The film is based on Angot’s 2018 novel Un tournant de la vie. It had its world premiere at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival, where it competed for the Golden Bear and Claire Denis received the Silver Bear for Best Director. It tells the story of a married woman who gets involved in a love triangle. It explores themes such as love, emotional intimacy, and loyalty. <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Both_Sides_of_the_Blade_706x1024_cafc921fdb.jpg" alt="Both-Sides-of-the-Blade-706x1024.jpg"> Both Sides of the Blade 10. VictimDirected by Michal Blasko, Victim is a Slovakian film. The events depicted in the film show how a single lie, arising out of a teenager’s embarrassment about the truth of the injuries he had sustained, can have unforeseen ramifications in the hands of xenophobic groups. This lie is woven into their constant hate propaganda against an outsider group. Victim is Slovakia’s official entry into the Oscars and explores themes that are globally relevant in the context of bigotry. <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/MV_5_BM_2_Qz_YT_Zm_ZD_At_NG_Rh_ZC_00_ND_Fk_L_Thl_YT_Yt_N_Tgz_OG_Zk_Mj_Fk_M2_Y0_Xk_Ey_Xk_Fqc_Gde_QX_Vy_Mz_Iz_NDU_1_NTY_V1_725x1024_b5db300826.jpg" alt="MV5BM2QzYTZmZDAtNGRhZC00NDFkLThlYTYtNTgzOGZkMjFkM2Y0XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMzIzNDU1NTY@._V1_-725x1024.jpg"><div class="gs" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;"><div class="" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;"><div class="ii gt" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;" id=":nn"><div class="a3s aiL " style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;" id=":v6"><div style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;" dir="auto"><div style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0px;padding:0px;" dir="auto">Subscribe to our channels on <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/c/THEAIDEM">YouTube</a> &amp; <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://chat.whatsapp.com/ELqD1D1bImgAP6MrG8jskq">WhatsApp</a></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="mdp-liker-box after-content two-buttons style-border-fill row-right" style="--mdp-liker-bg-color-active:rgba(255, 33, 40, 1);--mdp-liker-bg-color-hover:rgba(255, 33, 40, 1);--mdp-liker-bg-color:rgba(255, 33, 40, 1);--mdp-liker-border:1px;--mdp-liker-radius:50px;--mdp-liker-text-color-active:rgba(255, 255, 255, 1);--mdp-liker-text-color-hover:rgba(255, 255, 255, 1);--mdp-liker-text-color:rgba(255, 33, 40, 1);box-sizing:border-box;font-size:initial;font-weight:initial;margin:0px;padding:0px;" id="mdp-liker-19959" data-memory="on"><div style="align-items:center;box-sizing:border-box;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;margin:0px;padding:0px;"><div class="mdp-liker-description" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);font-family:Manjari;font-size:medium;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;max-width:60%;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">&nbsp;</div></div></div> &nbsp;

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As the 27th IFFK kicks off, film lovers are in for a grand treat of 184 films from 70  countries. There is true global representation as films from literally every corner of the world are part of this year’s festival. Of these, 14 films are in the competition section, including  4 from India. 

IFFK 2022: Top 10 Films You Should Not Miss

<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;display:inline !important;float:none;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">In this freewheeling conversation with journalist Divya Trivedi renowned artist Seema Kohli underscored the importance of the feminine form and related perspectives in her artistic world. Kohli is of the view that there is a universal bonding in art and life, all originating from the power of the feminine and the innumerable expressions of love that emanate from it.

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In this freewheeling conversation with journalist Divya Trivedi renowned artist Seema Kohli underscored the importance of the feminine form and related perspectives in her artistic world.

We all have the same blood: Seema Kohli

<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;display:inline !important;float:none;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">The<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:0px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">PAMA Institute for the Advancement of Transdisciplinary Archaeological Sciences, a transdisciplinary research collective based in Pattanam, is continuing the Pattanam excavations in Ernakulam and Thrissur districts. Renowned artist Vivan Sundaram had visited the excavation site to start his work, ‘Black Gold’, which is based on the archaeological findings in Muziris, an ancient port city. PAMA pays tribute to the artist in this video.

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ThePAMA Institute for the Advancement of Transdisciplinary Archaeological Sciences, a transdisciplinary research collective based in Pattanam, is continuing the Pattanam excavations in Ernakulam and Thrissur districts.

Vivan Sundaram: The ‘Black Gold’ Days 

<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Social Activist and Writer Teesta Setalvad remembers her long association with legendary artist Vivan Sundaram.<hr><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Subscribe to our channels on&nbsp;<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/c/THEAIDEM">YouTube</a>&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://chat.whatsapp.com/ELqD1D1bImgAP6MrG8jskq">WhatsApp</a>

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Social Activist and Writer Teesta Setalvad remembers her long association with legendary artist Vivan Sundaram.

Teesta Remembers Vivan

<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Renowned writer and activist Arundhati Roy talks about a variety of issues ranging from freedom of expression, as reflected in the prohibition of the BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the growth of Hindutva fascist hegemony in diverse domains of society as also her literature and the way she writes in this conversation with Venkitesh Ramakrishnan, Managing Editor of The AIDEM. She also reads excerpts from her books in this interaction hosted by Sacred Hearts College, Kochi, Kerala.<hr><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.7;margin:0px 0px 15px;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Subscribe to our channels on <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/c/THEAIDEM">YouTube</a> &amp; <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://chat.whatsapp.com/ELqD1D1bImgAP6MrG8jskq">WhatsApp</a>

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Renowned writer and activist Arundhati Roy talks about a variety of issues ranging from freedom of expression, as reflected in the prohibition of the BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the growth of Hindutva fascist hegemony in diverse domains of society as also her literature and the way she writes in this conversation with Venkitesh Ramakrishnan, Managing Editor of The AIDEM.

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