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

The AIDEM ExclusiveWhen falsity walks the streets, even art and literature cannot be free of it. Stories do not just happen; they are often concocted. When the trailer of the movie The Kerala Story was released last November, it was pointed out that the movie belongs to the genre of concoction. The trailer of the movie that conjures up false and spurious allegations about Kerala society was not officially censored at the point of its release. This fact was revealed by none other than the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) itself. The revelation appeared in the official reply to a Right to Information (RTI) query that the Chennai-based television anchor B.R. Aravindakshan filed with the CBFC. On February 23, 2023, he filed his RTI application asking the Censor Board if the trailer had been duly scrutinized and certified. The reply from the Censor Board on March 16, 2023 unequivocally makes it clear that the trailer did not undergo its due diligence. It also suggested that the complainant could approach the Appellate Authority of the CBFC in case he wanted to take any further step on the matter.Now the movie’s posters have appeared carrying May 5 as the date of release. Sudipto Sen is the director of the movie made under the banner of Sunshine Pictures. Yet another trailer of The Kerala Story is also out now depicting Kerala as a haven for Muslim terrorists.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Fui_Vvwfac_A_Axvd_A_768x1024_1_c0c1f5073b.jpg" alt="FuiVvwfacAAxvdA-768x1024 (1).jpg"> Promotional Poster for the filmThe movie, claiming to be a depiction of real events, allegedly propagates misinformation about Kerala and its society_ a fact that was pointed out even as the film was being shot. Its story revolves around the lives of four women protagonists. One of them is Shalini Unnikrishnan, a nurse who has chosen the path of service to the public. She gets trapped in the vicious network of the ISIS, a Muslim terrorist organisation, and is forcibly converted to Islam. Her name is changed to Fathima Baa and she is imprisoned in an Afghan jail after joining the ISIS terrorist group. The actress, Ada Sharma is cast as Shalini. Yogitha Bihani, Sonia Balani, and Siddhi Idani portray the other three girls.The film depicts Kerala as a place where people are regularly recruited by terrorist organisations and raises a grave allegation that 32,000 women of Kerala were recruited by ISIS terrorists into their fold. The director, Sudipto Sen reportedly arrived at this conclusion by seriously misrepresenting a few statements made by two political leaders and ex-Chief Ministers of Kerala, Ommen Chandy (INC) and V.S. Achuthanandan (CPIM). In an interview with City Media in 2021, Sudipto Sen reportedly said that he got the figure of 32,000 from a statement made by Ommen Chandi in 2010 in the Kerala Legislative Assembly. <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/rti_1_b8ad44e90b.jpg" alt="rti (1).jpg">Response received for RTI ApplicationThe truth is not anywhere close to the above. On June 25, 2021, Ommen Chandi informed the Kerala Legislative Assembly that between 2006 and 2021, 2667 individuals had converted to Islam in Kerala. Nowhere in this reply was a mention of ISIS. The teaser of the film manipulatively uses in it a statement by V.S. Achuthanandan about Popular Front, a recently banned Muslim outfit. Also, in the teaser where the words of V.S. Achuthanandan are heard, the subtitles read an entirely different translation, with no connection to the original words. Alt News, a fact-checking website at that time, asked Sudipto Sen to correct this mistake but he did not bother to follow it up.A documentary titled, ‘In the Name of Love’ directed by Sudipto Sen came out in 2018 and dealt with the same theme as the new feature film. This documentary had as its key narrative, stories of Hindu and Christian women getting converted to Islam by foul means and sent to countries having a terrorist presence. The documentary when screened at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) caused quite a commotion, eventually squeezing out an apologetic explanation from the director that the film was not about ‘Love Jihad’.On February 4,2020 Benny Behanan, Lok Sabha member from Kerala had raised a pointed question in parliament regarding the allegations that ‘Love Jihad’ is widespread in his South Indian State. Responding to his question, G.Kishan Reddy, Minister of State for Home Affairs in the Narendra Modi led Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP) government stated categorically that “no such case of ‘Love Jihad‘ has been reported by central agencies. He went on to add that the term ‘Love Jihad‘ is not defined under extant laws.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/sudipto_300x300_1_224bfea875.jpeg" alt="sudipto-300x300 (1).jpeg"> Sudipto Sen, DirectorMore recently, in November 2022 a three part RTI query seeking to know the facts on this issue was filed to the union Home ministry.The questions were the following –<ul><li>How many cases have been recorded so far of young Hindu girls from India being converted to Islam and sold to ISIS terror organisation? Please provide State wise details</li><li>How many Hindu community girls have converted to Islam and joined ISIS terror organisation? Please provide data from 2014 to 2022.</li><li>Does the Home Ministry keep track of how many Hindu girls from India are living as slaves in the ISIS terror organisation? If yes, then provide complete details about it.</li></ul>The Home Ministry gave a consolidated answer to these three queries stating that the required information is not available with the offices of the union Home Ministry. It went on to add that “Police” and “Public order” are State subjects as per the seventh schedule of the Constitution of India. It also said that the State police is the first responder in case of any criminal terrorist activity, including investigation, registration and prosecution of crimes and protection of life and property.Sudipto Sen has been quite vocal about his hatred of Communism. At the closing ceremony of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2022, when Nadav Lapid, the Israel Film Maker and Jury Chairman, criticised the controversial movie Kashmir Files, Sudipto Sen was the only Jury member who opposed him.The JNU incident was seen by many as a manifestation of Sudipto Sen’s malice towards Kerala which stands as an island of secular grit even after the RSS-backed BJP won two consecutive elections at the national level. It was alleged that Sudipto was consciously trying to belittle and deprecate even Kerala’s well-documented achievements and present the sState as a society that appeases Muslim communalism.The Kerala Story has to be seen as a continuation of Sudipto’s false propaganda. The message that the teaser puts across blatantly is majority communalism backed by nothing but falsehoods and distortions. The movie’s posters say that it has versions in four languages which would be released simultaneously – Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam. Though it is mandatory to display the type of Censor Board certification of the movie (A, U, AU etc.) in all publicity materials, the posters do not have any such information displayed on them. This omission raises the serious doubt whether the film was properly scrutinized and certified by the CBFC. A more relevant question would be about the criteria by which this film was allowed to go to the public domain despite its gravely defamatory portrayal of the Kerala society which has the potential to provoke communal tensions.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/kerala_768x469_1_da12cc8197.jpg" alt="kerala-768x469 (1).jpg"> Promotional PosterThe Censor Board constituted a Film Publicity Screening Committee in 1990 April to preview and all the publicity materials of all feature films to check whether they contain indecency, overt violence, anti-women propaganda and so on. The committee has its headquarters in Mumbai and regional offices in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Thiruvananthapuram. The reply given to Aravindakshan for his RTI query suggests that this committee did not preview or approve the trailer of The Kerala Story which was released in November last year.Soon after the first trailer was made public, Aravindakshan filed complaints against it with the CBFC as well as Kerala’s Chief Minister. A police case was reportedly filed on the basis of his complaint. With the date of the movie release being already announced, Aravindakshan is demanding further action on his complaint from the authorities concerned.<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;">This article was originally published in Malayalam. Read<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://theaidem.com/kerala-story-film-releasing-without-censor-certificate/">here</a><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;">.

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When falsity walks the streets, even art and literature cannot be free of it. Stories do not just happen; they are often concocted. When the trailer of the movie The Kerala Story was released last November, it was pointed out that the movie belongs to the genre of concoction. 

The Kerala Story: A Movie, A Political Agenda, and a Conniving Censor Board

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The film Ntikkakkakkoru Premandaarnnu (My brother had an affair) expresses manifold ideas in explicit and implicit modes of storytelling. On the face of it, it has all the predictable elements of a feel-good film. 

Ntikkakkakkoru Premandaarnnu: The Return of Bhavana, and the Political Imagination

For a retired 60-plus film addict like me, over-the-top (OTT) releases are a blessing. Even before the pandemic had made theatre screenings impossible, getting to watch regional releases in Bangalore City where I stay, was problematic for me because of the odd timings of the shows even in the nearby theatres.Now, one can watch the latest releases sitting in front of the desktop, while having lunch or dinner or skipping the afternoon siesta. It is just great.And what a feast of really watchable movies that the Malayalam film industry is churning out without any of the “star” elements to attract you. A reason for watching them is: one is past the Mohanlal-Mammootty megastar attraction. The larger-than-life heroes have had their days of glory, I guess. But the bar has been raised. Whether the new trend has come about because of a fresh crop of scriptwriters and directors or because of the growing expectations of the more discerning viewers, the outcome is definitely good for Malayalam cinema.Frankly, when I sat down to watch Saudi Vellakka (2022), written and directed by Tharun Moorthy, the title gave me no clue as to what the film was about. Later, when one of the various Magistrates before whom the case was presented also appeared equally clueless, one was amused.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/Saudi_Vellakka_Malayalam_2022_20221215214205_500x500_1_d4d07aa8d3.jpg" alt="Saudi-Vellakka-Malayalam-2022-20221215214205-500x500-1.jpg">The story in a nutshell is literally just about that…a small fruit of the coconut, called ‘vellakka’ in those parts of Kerala, with which a group of lads were playing cricket using a part of the palm from as a bat, hits the forehead of an elderly woman, Ayesha Rawther, in the locality called Saudi. The kids were playing on the terrace of her neighbour Radhakrishnan with whom she has an ongoing feud. Incensed, she climbs up to the terrace and gives the kids a mouthful and a nice whack to the boy Abhilash, who is pointed out to her as the culprit. The kid’s front tooth, which had started to come loose before that whack, falls out, with a little bit of blood.Instigated by the neighbour, the kid’s father files an FIR in the police station, citing the the palm as the weapon with which the child was “assaulted”. Thus begins the case numbered CC 225/2009 and a 10-year-long court battle follows.The peg for the film is the fact that 47 million cases are pending unsolved in the Indian courts.Whoever was responsible for choosing Devi Varma to play the role of Ayesha Rawther deserves applause. Seemingly irritating in the initial scenes, she grows on you with each scene that unfolds. Even when the character she plays finds herself isolated from her family and left to fend for herself, she does not come across as a self-pitying, vulnerable, whiny old woman. Devi Varma plays the role with a perfection that leaves the viewer mightily impressed. Her slow gait, her body language and stoic expressions hiding her quiet determination, the slow smile that lights up her face when she gets a chance to make snacks for another group of children playing outside her new dwelling – all of these make her presence so hauntingly felt throughout the film. Her silence through most of the film adds to the power of her acting.All along, one finds the little nuances that constitute the warp and weft of a society – the wiliness of Radhakrishnan and his urge to offend and put the neighbour in her place; the unpleasantness that the old woman’s daughter-in-law exudes because of the sheer oppressiveness of her circumstances; the helplessness of the good-natured son Sathaar; the glory Britto’s good heart; the mixture of self-interest and compassion in the old woman’s lawyer; and the urge of Abhishek aka Kunjimon, whose fallen milk-tooth had set in motion the prolonged courtroom battle, to redeem himself when he is unwittingly made to bear the brunt of the pettiness of the elders.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/bg_saudi_vellaka_b8b955fb6f.jpg" alt="bg_saudi_vellaka.jpg">No frame seemed to be wasted. Their slickness and sequence makes the viewer feel part of the “everyday” ordinariness of life in the closely packed houses and narrow lanes of Saudi, the police station, the streets or the courtroom ambience. Each one of the actors, however small their character in the scheme of things, has played his/her role with remarkable conviction.Does the way the film ends appear improbable? But why should we harbour mistrust in the goodness of our fellow-beings? For me personally, that is what I took away from this film….the element of goodness in our fellow human beings is what has sustained us and will continue to sustain us.At one point, feeling desperately frustrated at the way things were moving against the old woman, Abhishek asks Britto, “This is all that human beings can be summed up as, isn’t it?The film ends with Britto’s clincher, “This is also what human beings amount to.”Ah! “Hope is that thing with feathers” as Emily Dickinson expressed it.<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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For a retired 60-plus film addict like me, over-the-top (OTT) releases are a blessing. Even before the pandemic had made theatre screenings impossible, getting to watch regional releases in Bangalore City where I stay, was problematic for me because of the odd timings of the shows even in the nearby theatres. 

Saudi Vellakka: The Best of times & the worst of times

The long-awaited collaboration between Malayalam cinema’s icons Lijo Jose Pellissery and Mammooty is finally here and it is everything film lovers could have asked for. Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam (A mid-day stupor) is an utterly unique, quirky and whimsical experience. Making films that are unique is nothing new to Lijo Jose Pellissery. But to see him weave his signature wizardry with a legend like Mammootty in front of the camera takes this dreamy and magical film to new heights. 
Beginning with a series of shots of everyday men and women on the streets, marketplaces and places of worship, Nanpakal finds and accentuates the beauty of the mundane side of life. There is a certain simplicity in the tone of the film that comes across as very endearing and sincere. A simple story with ‘ordinary’ human beings as characters, it becomes all the more beautiful, special and unbelievable due to its minimalist presentation and natural performances. This blending of the mundane with the mystical qualifies Nanpakal as a story in the genre of magical realism. The story follows a bus full of people who are forced to take an unexpected detour on their trip back from a pilgrimage when the protagonist James suddenly turns into a completely different person. “What is he doing? Where is he going? Has he gone mad?”, the audience wonders with amused anticipation along with the rest of the fellow travellers of the protagonist. This absurd turn of events progresses beautifully and seamlessly while slowly building suspense. 
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Accompanying this anticipation is wonderful situational humour that comes in waves. Seeing megastar Mammooty play such an honest simple commonman is truly refreshing and perhaps nothing adds gravity to the film’s humour and minimalism as Mammooty’s screen presence does. The juxtaposition of the two characters _ John and Sundaram _ he plays is stuff of cinematic brilliance. Mammootty’s performances Sundaram, a Tamil, and James will go down as one of the most memorable by the veteran in recent years. With the switch in characters, the film also explores the relationship between Tamils and Malayalees _ neighbours, fellow Dravidians, countrymen, sometimes friends, sometimes foes. This multilayered relationship is explored with a certain emphasis given to the Malayalee prejudice against Tamils for many reasons. It’s quite fascinating that the film starts off by displaying the textbook definitions of the words Kerala and Tamil Nadu on the screen.
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Lijo Jose Pellisery
The entire film is presented in static shots. There is perhaps one shot at a critical point in the story that has minimal movement, outside of which, every other shot by the cinematographer Theni Eswar consists of static frames. Considering that Lijo himself grew up around the culture of theatre and the fact that the bus used by the group returning from the pilgrimage is that of a theatre group, one can make a calculated guess that the film is a homage to the art form of theatre and the culture of stage plays. This element of paying homage to traditional stage plays is sprinkled throughout the film in the form of frames, dialogues and certain quirky moments in the performances of the characters, and so on. The film has an overall retro feeling to it. The yellow tinge in the visuals adds to this mood perfectly. And the film’s soundtrack heightens the retro feel more than anything else. Interestingly, it has no original soundtrack. Throughout the film we are greeted by dialogues and songs from old Tamil films. The words we hear add a new layer of philosophical commentary to the events that are happening on the screen. This really enriches the overall experience and elevates Nanpakal’s uniqueness. One can’t help but lap up the beauty of those old songs and enjoy the retro aesthetics Lijo has served up. 
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Although it is Lijo’s story, the screenplay is by his familiar collaborator S. Hareesh. The duo had previously created the masterpiece that was Jallikettu as well as the mindboggling vision of Churuli. No other aspect of this film borders on genius like the structure of its screenplay. How does one manage to take a simple story that does not in theory have a climax and transform it into a masterfully balanced, slow cooked entertaining film that leaves us satisfied by giving us the impact of a climax? Hareesh’s exhibits an extraordinary craftsmanship. The way he uses the frustration of the people in the bus desperately looking to find a solution to their predicament and keeps building that up to a point of no return and then surprisies the audience with a simple solution is magical storytelling. 
Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam is a film that will be remembered and savoured for many years to come and the filmmakers and artists who created this wonderful film have done us all a favour by boldly attempting something fresh and heartwarming. Lijo Jose Pellissery has done the impossible again, making genuine meritorious art that is also doing well at the cinemas.

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The long-awaited collaboration between Malayalam cinema’s icons Lijo Jose Pellissery and Mammooty is finally here and it is everything film lovers could have asked for. Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam (A mid-day stupor) is an utterly unique, quirky and whimsical experience. 

Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam: Lijo Jose Pellissery’s Sweet and Satisfying Fairytale 

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

It has come a long way from glorification of caste to portrayal of its harsh realities.
Kerala is often projected as a progressive State in terms of human development and social welfare. Its culture marked by communal harmony and the effective functioning of the state machinery are repeatedly cited as reasons for its emergence as a shining example for the other States. But this assessment of Kerala is very much a relative phenomenon which might prevent its people from taking an honest look at the other side of the story. A social evil that the collective consciousness of the State has consistently failed to acknowledge fully is casteism. The land redistribution initiated by the first E.M.S. Namboodiripad government in 1957 and the social renaissance at the turn of the previous century are indeed revolutionary moves that changed the course of history but they have also led to a smugness and misconception among the privileged that caste is simply a thing of the past in the State. This reluctance or refusal to acknowledge that caste has been problematically alive and thriving in the collective consciousness of the people of Kerala finds reflection in the way caste is represented or not represented in Malayalam films.
The old normal
In the past, the cinematic representation of caste had mostly been in the form of heroic declarations of upper caste pride. Looking back at how consistent and strong this trend was in the most mainstream of films is quite repulsive. The biggest and most respected film stars in Kerala glorified upper caste identity countless times in the roles they essayed. This tendency calls for a deep and honest soul-searching. What is the need for such prideful portrayal of caste in a ‘progressive’ State? Mainstream commercial hits like Dhruvam, Aryan, Mahatma, and Adiverukal starring the big guns Mammootty, Mohanlal and Suresh Gopi glorify upper caste identity while bemoaning reservation as a tragedy that has befallen the upper castes. Mahatma, a film written by T. Damodaran and directed by Shaji Kailas, is toxic in its prejudice against the ‘lower’ castes and religious minorities. This toxicity is present in varying intensities in many films penned by Damodaran. Looking back, the blatant, heroic display of such pride and prejudice is shocking. A logical question that follows is: why didn’t the audience and society at large find it problematic and raise their voices against it. As a young individual who was born and brought up in Kerala, I have never experienced any kind of discrimination based on caste in my immediate surroundings. My caste and class privilege has always shielded me from such harsh realities. So the idea that Kerala is a progressive haven was a matter of pride for me. From this angle it is completely understandable why some would say caste is a thing of the past or righteously declare that they don’t see caste as a social reality in Kerala. They don’t see it because they don’t belong to a ‘lower caste’ and probably haven’t been exposed to the humiliations and marginalisation experienced by these sections of people.
Checks and balances of social media
Perhaps one reason for Kerala society not finding such cinematic glorification of the ‘upper castes’ in the 1980s and 1990s problematic was the lack of social media. For a majority of the people, there was no access to traditional media to express any resentment instantly. However, in recent years social media has come in handy (literally!) for people to express their opinion and re-evaluate the views of hardcore fans of film stars. Netizens have been relentless in their criticism, sometimes in the form of serious discussions but mostly in the form of memes and trolls, the modern-day tools of satire. Perhaps no other filmmaker has faced their wrath more than Priyadarshan. Malayalam cyber-space is filled with reevaluations of films that my generation grew up watching on television. It’s now well documented that the protagonists in Priyadarshan films consistently belong to the Nair caste. Critics have highlighted many dialogues from his films glorifying Nairs. One highly problematic dialogue is from Chandralekha, where the lead character played by Mohanlal boasts that he is a Nair belonging to a good family, and the character played by Innocent, seemingly impressed, tells himself that the protagonist does not indeed belong to a ‘venomous’ caste. One is left wondering what exactly that reference is to.
Decentralised and diversified
This push-back some of the old films have received on social media might be a product of the times we are living in. Along with this, cinema itself has now become decentralised and diversified. The growth of digital technology and the general fatigue of the audience watching the same old formula of superstar flicks have now opened the doors for fresh perspectives. Cinema is now more accessible to the common man than ever before. The caucuses of upper caste, upper class men who ‘ruled’ Malayalam cinema, so to speak, have now crumbled under the ‘new generation cinema’ that has taken the industry by storm in the last decade and a half. These phenomena have collectively led to the issue of caste returning to the silver screen with a perspective that is sensitive to the contemporary and largely neglected reality of the lives of those in the lower rungs of the social ladder. Although they are not directly about caste, films like Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum, Ee. Ma. Yau., Kumbalangi Nights, Pada and Kammatipadam tell stories of people from the lower castes and classes, effectively breaking the longstanding monopoly of storytelling by the upper castes. Of late, there have been films that face the issue of caste upfront. Exploring their themes, success and potential cultural impact will give us an understanding of the evolution of Malayalam cinema’s relationship with caste. 
Puzhu
Puzhu, directed by the debutant Ratheena P.T, is a bold depiction of casteism and bigotry in a contemporary setting. The most impactful aspect of this film is that it casts superstar Mammooty in the role of a villainous, mentally unstable bigot. Mainstream cinema has never before embraced the cause of caste liberation as this film has done. The cultural impact of a great actor and a fan favourite superstar like Mammooty unapologetically portraying such a negative character gives a certain mainstream acceptance and credibility to the problems lower caste people face in urban settings in Kerala. It also hopefully generates awareness and promotes introspection among those privileged classes whose caste and family pride rudely interferes in a family member’s personal choice of a life partner. Mammooty essays the role of Kuttan, a violent authoritarian upper caste police officer who deeply distrusts his sister’s lower caste husband. The most defining element of this film is the paranoia of Kuttan that his sister’s husband would try to kill him. This is symbolic of how the privileged generally feel threatened when someone who has been historically subjected to their will is free from their hold for the first time. Freedom and equality are misperceived as a victory against them. Kerala is still a place where people rarely marry outside their caste and a twisted sense of family/caste pride and ‘us vs them’ mindset is still very much prevalent. The film shines light on these issues while using the star power of Mammootty and Parvathy Thiruvoth to deliver its powerful message. 
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Mammooty in the film “Puzhu”
Attention Please
Jithin Issac Thomas has made his debut with the explosive Attention Please. The film, thanks to its unique screenplay, made waves at IFFK 2021 and later became the talk of the town when it was released on Netflix a few months ago. It tells the story of Hari, a dark-skinned lower caste man aspiring to be a screenwriter who lives with a group of upper caste flatmates with unrealised cinema dreams. The film is a brilliant portrayal of how a life full of small, seemingly insignificant wounds leads up to a breaking point. We start off feeling sympathy for Hari’s struggles as his friends are derisive and dismissive towards him and his art especially because his stories are often good and he emotionally moves us with his heartfelt narrations. He comes across as a passive, submissive man who feels overlooked and insulted by his friends and the society at large. He reaches a point where he cannot take it any more and to the surprise and sheer shock of the audience, plunges into violent insanity.
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A still from the film “Attention please”
From this point on, the film shows us its true direction and subject matter. It was not about a struggling writer but about the countless struggles and sorrows inflicted upon a lower caste man in our society. His reality is dark, lonely and painful. Which is something alien and not relatable to the vast majority of people. If one could step into Hari’s shoes, there would be no surprise about why all of Hari’s stories are violent and disturbing. By the end of the film, it becomes clear that the real antagonist of the film is the reflection we see in the mirror the filmmaker holds against our face. Jithin Issac Thomas cleverly uses the film to shine light on the psychological trauma and desperation of someone who has never been accepted or appreciated in his whole life.
‘Pra.thu.mu’
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A still from the film “Pra. Thu. Mu”
The short film Pra.Thu.Mu was the second outing by Jithin Issac Thomas. It was part of the anthology film series aptly named “Freedom Fight” and it tells the story of a group of manual scavengers who have been called to clean the septic tank of a prominent politician. The film tackles the issues of both class and caste. Caste, although sometimes dormant, has a long history that keeps people away from a good livelihood and wellbeing in the present day. The film is notably shot in black and white. According to the director, white represents the politicians and their preferred outfits, while the black on the screen represents the dark dirty realities of the daily lives of the lower castes. Manual scavenging is an issue India as a country still hasn’t solved. The nature of this problem fully reveals itself when we consider how these occupations are “reserved” for a few communities that were kept at the lower end of the caste ladder for thousands of years.
Mainstream Malayalam cinema’s new-found interest in confronting class and caste is a welcome change. And it offers genuine hope to an informed audience about the industry’s future. As more and more grassroot perspectives reach the silver screen, there will certainly be a new wind of cinema that intimately portrays the lives, struggles and dreams of the downtrodden, a cinema created by people from the same section of the society who have long been kept on the fringes of the industry and society at large.

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Kerala is often projected as a progressive State in terms of human development and social welfare. Its culture marked by communal harmony and the effective functioning of the state machinery are repeatedly cited as reasons for its emergence as a shining example for the other States. 

Malayalam Cinema’s Tryst with Caste

<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: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;<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;display:inline !important;float:none;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;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;">The theme of ‘man vs nature’ is at the heart of Kantara. And there could not be a more relevant time in human history for a film to discuss it. The Tulu tribes, who’s history, culture, traditions and livelihood comes under the threat of extinction, garner the complete sympathy of the audience.Let me begin by saying this outright, Kantara is an absolutely primal and electrifying experience that must be enjoyed in a theatre and not on your phones or laptops. Rishab Shetty, who is the writer, director and the lead actor, has crafted a vision that is truly special. Connecting back to his roots in Udupi district of Karnataka and its prominent Tulu culture, he brings alive its magnificent and hypnotic folklore. Along with depicting the beauty and mystery of the long standing ritual “Bhoota Kola”, he also uses the film to make a definitive statement on the bureaucratic disregard of tribal communities and the destruction of their way of life at the hands of the authorities.The film begins with the tale of a 19th century king, who has everything a man can wish for and yet cannot feel peace of mind. His desperate search for peace leads him to a tribal forest land where he comes across a stone worshipped by the tribe. The sense of peace he feels standing before the stone, compels him to ask them to hand it over in return for anything they ask. The stone represents the deity “Panjurli Daiva”, who possesses one of the villagers and agrees to the king’s demand on the condition that he gives this forest land to the tribals for perpetuity. However, Panjurli warns the king that if the king or his successors go back on their word, he will take his destructive form, “Guliga Daiva” and bring down vengeance upon the king’s family. This agreement made by Panjurli and the king sets the stage for all the events that follow. The film drives home the seriousness of this agreement by showing the mysterious death of a successor who tries to take back the tribal land. This event also depicts the magical powers of the one who performs the Bhoota Kola ritual, as he becomes a vessel possessed by the Panjurli Daiva. This magical event in the opening scene of the film, with the protagonist’s father at the centre of it, becomes an important motif in the main plot of the film.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/kantara_kola_768x512_0b066bfb05.jpg" alt="kantara-kola-768x512.jpg"> A still from the movie KantaraShiva, our protagonist, roars onto the screen while taking part in ‘Kambala’, the annual buffalo race. He comes across as powerful and authentic in his personality and somehow more intimidating and physically imposing than the beasts at his disposal. This raw wildness of Shiva fills the audience with excitement every bit of the way as the story progresses . The characteristics that Shiva often displays throughout the film are parallel to the mythical story of Guliga Daiva, the spirit worshipped by the Tuluvas. He is rough around the edges, unruly, dismissive of authority figures and has an insatiable hunger for hunting and eating wild animals , very similar to Guliga, the spirit that attacked Lord Shiva’s bull and is known for its eternal hunger. Rishab Shetty deserves all the praise in the world for taking on the challenging task of simultaneously being the director and the lead actor of Kantara, and passing the test with flying colours. It’s strikingly clear that this is a subject matter close to his heart and his upbringing, and the success of the film proves his statement that “local is the new global”. Kantara definitely benefits from this unique, unabashed rural pride; which allows audiences in even the biggest metro cities to reconnect with something primordial in them they’ve lost touch with.The theme of ‘man vs nature’ is at the heart of Kantara. And there could not be a more relevant time in human history for a film to discuss it. The Tulu tribes, who’s history, culture, traditions and livelihood comes under the threat of extinction, garner the complete sympathy of the audience. We find their simplicity and coexistence with mother nature as the side of goodness and the encroaching, disruptive police state as the side of greed and evil. It is worth noting that if we are to be wiped out by a global climate catastrophe, the skyscrapers and glass palaces will not remain standing, but somewhere a hunter gatherer tribe will likely persevere and ensure the continuity of the human species. Kantara treats the plight of the tribal communities with the gravity and empathy they deserve. Actor Kishor Kumar, who portrayed the role of the stoic, fascistic forest officer Murali, needs to be pointed out. His performance as the lethal Murali is effective in making us as an audience align with the tribals for majority of the runtime. Another key character who stands out is Devendra Suttoru, played by Achyuth Kumar. Achyuth kumar’s performance is as nuanced and tricky as the character himself.Part of the reason why Kantara is getting the response it has received is due to its screenplay. Rishab Shetty has crafted a well written script, with a near perfect dramatic structure. How the film efficiently establishes the story of the myth in the opening minutes and how it all ties back to where we began in an epic, goosebumps-inducing climax is a thing of beauty. It is clear that the screenplay and its structure is very well planned as there are many clever references, call backs and motifs sprinkled throughout. The strong sense of closure and wholeness the audience feels by the end of the film is also a testament to this. Kantara manages to do justice to its themes while at the same time being an out and out mass entertainer that delivers comedy, action, heroics, and wishful serving of punishment on the unjust. One flaw in the screenplay worth explicitly mentioning is how quickly the heroine, Leela, played by Sapthami Gowda, falls in love with Shiva. This particular point sticks out unbaked in an otherwise delicious treat. Especially considering how disrespectful Shiva is towards Leela in their first meeting. Helping her secure a job is simply not enough motivation to instantly break into a romantic song. Shiva is an animalistic, toxic man in the context of how this relationship begins, which is something we see in commercial Indian films all the time. But one must remember that even today, things are not any different in rural India and this film is set in a rural tribal village in the 1990s. I am fully aware that the filmmaker’s responsibility is towards making the most authentic film and staying true to his vision; and not towards my utopian vision for humanity. However, the scenes where Shiva disregards the consent and privacy of Leela, would , in all probability, trigger reminders of their own trauma in many female members of the audience . Leela’s character from this point on is well written as she stands by her truths repeatedly in disagreement with Shiva. Sapthami Gowda has done an excellent job as Leela, showing her potential as an actor to look forward to.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/kantara5_768x432_be4f1c0e59.webp" alt="kantara5-768x432.webp"> A still from the movie KantaraThe filmmaker’s decision to shoot in real locations was the right one, as it allowed Arvind Kashyap to showcase the majesty and allure of the forest and ritual grounds with his perfectly elegant framing and lighting. Kantara is without doubt a visually rich film. This seems to be Arvind Kashyap’s year, as he was also behind the camera of the critical and commercial success “777 Charlie”. There is something so emotionally poignant about his shot selection that really brings the director’s vision alive. The muddy, raw and dynamic kambala scenes, the mysterious and spiritual yellow mist of the Bhoota Kola rituals, the blood red fiery shots in the final conflict all need to be pointed out for how much richness they add to the film. C.P Ramesh, the colourist of the film, also deserves credit for bringing Arvind’s vision to life. Kantara starts off with a bang and never slows down. The film is a brilliantly paced freight train that culminates in the atomic blast that is its climax. The editors of the film, K.M Prakash and Pratheek Shetty, have not allowed the audience’s attention to drift away even for a second . Even in the middle of such a power packed, energetic film, the slow somber moments are still given the right amount of time to simmer. Perhaps nothing adds to the authenticity of the world of Kantara like its production design and costume design. Dharani Gangeputhra’s choice of sets, props, along with the costumes designed by Pragathi Rishab Shetty are all clearly a result of extensive research and brilliant colour sense. When I left the theatre, nothing stayed in my head more prominently than the primal scream let out by Guliga Kola throughout the film. That central element of sound which remains throughout the film has been used to perfection. Even in Shiva’s entry in the kambala scene, that scream is there as a reminder that we are not looking at any ordinary human being. Raju Albert, Sandeep Kumar, Arun S. Mani and Narayanan Sp who did the sound design for Kantara have done an exquisite job. Along with that powerful scream, the other most important sound element of the film are the songs by B. Ajaneesh Loknath. They elevate the film to new heights, especially ‘Varaha Roopam’, which is the very soul of that masterful climax. It is very rarely that a song becomes this central to the final act of a film. ‘Varaha Roopam’ deserves special mention even though it has now been mired in controversy over seemingly legitimate accusations of plagiarism by the group ‘Thaikkudam Bridge’ of their song “Navarasam”.<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;">Kantara is a special film in terms of what it achieves. It is authentic, heartfelt, mystical and powerful. It champions the underdog by bringing the attention of the masses to their harsh realities. It is also an invitation to reconnect with the primordial spirit of rural south India and our tribal ancestors.<hr><h4 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;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.2;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(247, 168, 16);display:block;margin:0px;padding:0px;text-decoration:none;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(0, 0, 0);display:block;margin:0px;padding:0px;text-decoration:none;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://chat.whatsapp.com/ELqD1D1bImgAP6MrG8jskq">WhatsApp</a></h4><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-19246" 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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Let me begin by saying this outright, Kantara is an absolutely primal and electrifying experience that must be enjoyed in a theatre and not on your phones or laptops. 

Kantara: A Masterful, Mystical tale of Divine Justice

The breathtaking journey of cinematographer Ravivarman from Moore Market to the high pedestal of the film world in a Mercedes-Benz.A 12-year-old orphan boy from the Poyyundarkudikadu village in Thanjavur discontinued his studies at 7th standard and reached Chennai only to be blamed for robbery and thrown into a juvenile home.A place where a person is accused of crime even if there is scant evidence for it, he got beaten up continuously for 15 days. But he wouldn’t tell the truth that he is innocent. Much later, a relative came to pick him up from the home. But the ‘thief’ tag didn’t go away in his village.He couldn’t take that. He returned to Chennai with one resolution fixed to his mind – that one day he would return to the village either in a Mercedez-Benz car one day or in a coffin!He had a dream but it was almost impossible to realise it. And the only other companion was his poverty. Twice, he tried to die by suicide by jumping in front of a speeding train. But death wish was also not easy to fulfil. Then followed nights spent on on the pavements of different streets in Chennai. Finally, help came from an unexpected acquaintance, who arranged a cleaning job for him at the house of a lawyer friend of his father. After being there for a few days he left the place when he grew tired of cleaning the toilet. Later, he slept under the Anna flyover in the city. It was a world with no windows or doors open to him.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/ravi_varman_300x272_efc1352fe2.jpg" alt="ravi-varman-300x272.jpg"> S RavivarmanHaunting hunger forced him to take up another job _ this time as a waiter at Hotel Amaravati, for a monthly salary of one hundred and fifty rupees. When he got his first salary, the boy went to the imported goods-filled Moore Market to buy a colourful Singaporean kilt and a T-shirt, but what attracted him more was a row of Russian-made cameras in a shop. There was a reason for that. When he left the village, all he had with him was a lungi and a shirt and an out-of-focus photograph of his mother on her wedding day. An attempt to recapture his memories of his mother by enlarging the picture made him realise what an irresponsible camera click would do to life and its memories. He had to live with the out-of-focus image of his mother for the rest of his life. These are moments when you realise that a photo is worth a life. His interest in photography grew every time he looked at the photograph. That interest led him to a Zenit 6 camera at the now-extinct Moore Market.He acquired the camera for 150 rupees after haggling with the shopkeeper who quoted 1000 rupees initially. Then he waited for the next month’s salary to buy a film roll. His love for camera which started then grew into a passion. That boy is now India’s most sought after cameraman in the film industry. His name is S. Ravivarman. Without any practical experience or any theoretical knowledge gained from a film school, he took photographs, read books and, after a tortuous and tiring trek, reached the top. The life that started as an office boy in the cinema world has culminated in the prestigious role of being the cinematographer of Ponniyin Selvan, the big budget film of Indian cinema’s celebrated craftsman Mani Ratnam. Now, even big Bollywood stars are willing to adjust their call sheets to have Ravivarman as their cinematographer. Bollywood superstar Sharukh Khan, instead of sending his son Aaryan to a film school, sent him to Ravi for a few days as his assistant to learn film-making. The scars of desolate nights of terror find a reflection in the camera eyes of a self-made man who has become a who is who of the Indian film industry. Miracles do happen when you follow your passion single-mindedly. That is the lesson from Ravivarman’s life.Ravivarman started off his career with filmmaker T.K. Rajeevkumar’s Malayalam film Jalamarmarangal in 1999. Later he became a constant presence in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi film industries. Shaantham, Anniyan, Vettayadu Vilayadu, Dasavatharam, Barfi are some of the films that glow with the Midas touch of Ravivarman. <img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/TK_Rajiv_kumar_225x300_beebfee38a.jpg" alt="TK_Rajiv_kumar-225x300.jpg">TK Rajeev KumarDragonflies and deathDirectors choose Ravivarman as their cinematographer for no other reason than the amazing visuals he captures, enriching the story narration. The climax shot of the National Award-winning film Shaantham by director Jayaraj, released in 2001, is one of the testimonies to the quality of Ravivarman’s craft. Ravi himself has said this about the scene: “There are two characters in the story. A murderer and a man looking for him. They are at two different sides of a river. They meet at the river in the last scene. When we went to the location to shoot the scene we saw lots of dragonflies flying around there. There is a belief in our place that after we die, our soul will turn into a dragonfly. It was there in my mind. I was confident that once the shooting starts, one of the dragonflies will come and sit on the frame, maybe not in the hands of one person. I waited patiently, focusing the frame on a sword that was visible in the frame and started rolling the camera. Finally, a dragonfly flew and sat on the sword’s tip. The director was surprised to see that. That’s how it became the film’s final shot.”That was a camera movement that even the director didn’t think of. Later, on seeing these magical visuals of Shaantham at a film festival, Mani Ratnam reached out to Ravivarman. It was a dream-cum-true moment that threw him back to his days in Chennai when he would wake up looking at the cinema posters bearing Mani Ratnam’s name on the wall along the pavements that he slept on.Mani Ratnam momentEven though he has worked with ace directors like Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Anurag Basu and Gautham Menon who have constantly pushed him out of his limits and brought out his best, it was Mani Ratnam who proved what rich and enticing visuals can do to a celluloid narrative _ a reason for Ravi considering him his favourite director.In Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan too, Ravivarman has created many iconic scenes which Indian cinema has never seen. His camera does not ogle at Aishwarya Rai, Trisha and Aishwarya Lakshmi. This film is also a world he paints with colours. When Ravivarman is asked about these rich visual wonders in films, he always mentions his mother, who died at a young age. “ I have never seen my mother smile. So whenever I close my eyes to look through the view-finder of the camera, I see her tired face. I can see her looking worried about me from that side. I always want bright light and colourful visuals in my frame because of that.”<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/raviva_768x422_1ebe7865cc.jpg" alt="raviva-768x422.jpg"> S Ravivarman on the set with Mani RatnamIf we see his films from that perspective, all the gorgeous and mind-blowing visuals he has shot till date have been the result of his effort to recreate his mother whose life was not one of colour and grandeur. So the dragonfly sitting on the sword’s tip might have been his mother in Ravi’s eyes. A mother who is visible only to him. Though this imaginative recreation and representation of his mother gives us joy, it is a painful experience for Ravivarman, which he never lets. The night of her death is still a memory frozen inside him. This is how the son narrates it:“I cannot forget that night. I went to bed early. In the middle of the night, since it was very cold, my mother took my blanket from me. I started crying and took the blanket back. Next morning, when I was taking a shower my brother told me that mother froze to death in her sleep. I stopped believing in God since then. I still live with that guilt. If I had not cried over that blanket that night, my mother would have been with me now.”So, one could see waves of pain and sadness behind Ravivarman’s frames of aesthetic beauty. He often goes to his past during many celebrity events of cinema. This happened at the preview night of Vettayadu Vilayadu, a Tamil film helmed by Gautham Vasudev Menon. When many famous film personalities enquired about Ravi after watching the preview show, he was sleeping shirtless under Chennai’s Anna flyover, a place where he had spent his many sleepless nights as a child in poverty. Maybe he was trying to punish himself by taking in all the cold of the night, thereby apologising to his mother for the unintended cruelty he had inflicted her.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/ravi_ash_d7fc00a869.jpg" alt="ravi-ash.jpg"> S Ravivarman on the set with Aishwarya RaiA modern-day VarmanThe name Ravivarman was not chosen by his mother though. He chose it because he was inspired by the Chola dynasty rulers like Arulmozhi Varman and Kulothunga Varman. Their names and the great deeds they have done led Ravi to add Varman to his name. Many a time people have teasingly told him that he took the name after Raja Ravi Varma. But they have not seen Ravi sitting meditatively in front of the works of world famous artists like Rembrandt and Picasso.This meditation might be the reason for Ravi portraying different characters of Ponniyin Selvan in different colour tones. The lighting pattern for Adithya Karikalan who is wild in nature differs from the one for a peaceful and jovial Arulmozhi Varman. He designs the light according to the emotions of the characters.Ponniyin Selvan is full of scenes in which his camera delves deep into the depth of the words in the dialogue and bring them out as visuals of unmatched beauty. “Look, there is a heap of treasure on the way. Don’t be daunted by that,” says Nandhini. Vanthiathevan replies in similar words as she opens the door outside the palace. “Am I not watching a cluster of diamonds!’. And she askes, “Are you mesmerised by it?” Such catchy lines are easy to write in a script but often lose their meaning in the visuals. Only when they evolve visually do the director and the audience realise the magic of the cameraman. When the phrase ‘cluster of diamonds’ is uttered, we see the glorious image of Aishwarya Rai in a close-up shot. A beautiful verse enriched by a even more beautiful visual! We notice the note of confidence in Aishwarya Rai’s words (“Are you mesmerised by it?”) only because of the way Ravivarman captures it visually.Of course, Ravivarman’s camera eyes validate that question. Otherwise, there may not have been another scene in the movie that is as loud as that question. Our viewing life is in the new age of cinema, where this question mixed with the arrogance of a 49-year-old woman has been transformed into trolls and circulated through the new media. Ravivarman the cinematographer is strong enough to beat that era.<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/ponniyin_selvan_940_768x432_10787cdf19.jpg" alt="ponniyin-selvan-940-768x432.jpg">Ponniyin Selvan is rich with such scenes. It is said that all the directors who sign Ravivarman in as their cinematographer hand over the script to him months in advance. This may be because the imagination of the writer and the director is magnified tenfold through his visuals. For example, Poonkuzhali, played by Aishwarya Lakshmi, is called Samudrakumari (daughter of the sea) in Ponniyin Selvan. In this film, the cameraman along with director must have imagined a scene where the beauty of both the sea and the woman were brought together by the name Samudrakumari. Perhaps one of the best scenes in Ponniyin Selvan is that of Poonkuzhali climbing from the sea pole to the pack ship on a cloudy rainy moonlit night. A true maiden of the ocean. A visual cue for the printed word! Ponniyin Selvan comes at a time when strength is considered the norm . In all the recent big budget films, cameramen used close-up shots to show the chest, muscles and male strength . But Ravivarman does not portray the heroes and villains in Ponniyin Selvanin such visual terms. When we look at it like this, we realise that Ponniyin Selvan is not just a Mani Ratnam film. That is why we assume that the cameraman must have been constantly present in the post-production of the film.Did the shopkeeper in Moore Market who gave the camera worth one thousand rupees to a hotel worker for one hundred and fifty rupees know that the worker in shabby clothes would become a cameraman worth gold in Indian cinema today?Ravivarman would never have thought that he would have the task of reimagining Thanjavur’s national history ever since he once ran away from that street. Thus Ravivarman is a great chapter in the human history of comebacks.S Ravivarman is also something like this.Today, when we see Ponniyin Selvan, we see remember Ravivarman also. If it is Kalki Krishnamurthy’s imagination that turned Ponniyin Selvan into a historical figure after Arulmozhivarman was thrown into the Cauvery river thinking that he would drown and a woman named Ponni rescued him, then this film becomes another magical version of realism when another person who once lost his father and mother and was thrown into orphanhood emerged and visualised Ponniyin Selvan. So for me, the real Ponniyin Selvan is the cinematographer itself.<hr>This article was originally published in Malayalam on The AIDEM and can be read <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://theaidem.com/cinematographer-s-ravivarman-the-maestro-behind-maniratnam-new-film-ponniyin-selvan-frames/">here</a>.Translated by Rithwik Baiju and Gopika Gopan R<hr><h4 style="box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(39, 39, 39);font-family:Manjari;font-size:18px;line-height:1.2;margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:0px;text-align:left;">Subscribe to our channels on<a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(247, 168, 16);display:block;margin:0px;padding:0px;text-decoration:none;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(247, 168, 16);display:block;margin:0px;padding:0px;text-decoration:none;transition:all 0.4s ease 0s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://chat.whatsapp.com/ELqD1D1bImgAP6MrG8jskq">WhatsApp</a></h4><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-18948" 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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A 12-year-old orphan boy from the Poyyundarkudikadu village in Thanjavur discontinued his studies at 7th standard and reached Chennai only to be blamed for robbery and thrown into a juvenile home.