<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;">Mrinal Sen is a luminary in the Indian film world. His unparalleled legacy calls for a commemoration on the occasion of his birth centenary this year. His aspiration was to imbue uniqueness and inventiveness into each cinematic rendition. This three part series is an attempt to reread three of his celebrated films, each approaching the art of filmmaking in distinct and remarkable ways. The films are Bhuvan Shome (1969), Akaler Sandhane (1980) and, Ek Din Achanak (1989). He was a director who constantly experimented and took up every film as a challenge.<figure class="image"><img alt="images-50.jpeg" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_50_aa80e90b8a.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_50_aa80e90b8a.jpeg 245w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_50_aa80e90b8a.jpeg 500w" sizes="100vw" width="500"></figure><figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);display:block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;height:auto;letter-spacing:normal;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;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;vertical-align:middle;white-space:normal;widows:2;width:739px;word-spacing:0px;" id="attachment_25596" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-25596"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-25596">Mrinal Sen</figcaption></figure><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;">Mrinalda, a proponent of artistic autonomy, navigated diverse routes within parallel cinema. His films unapologetically spoke many tongues. Inspired by Marxism and its artistic perspectives, he ceaselessly sought innovation throughout his cinematic journey.<figure class="image"><img alt="IMG-20231227-WA0001-768x432.jpg" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20231227_WA_0001_768x432_7aa0dbc1f7.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_IMG_20231227_WA_0001_768x432_7aa0dbc1f7.jpg 245w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_IMG_20231227_WA_0001_768x432_7aa0dbc1f7.jpg 500w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_IMG_20231227_WA_0001_768x432_7aa0dbc1f7.jpg 750w" sizes="100vw" width="750"></figure><h2 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:25px;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;">Bhuvan Shome</h2><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;">Bhuvan Shome, was the film that marked his entry, as a film maker who held great promise. It presented a fresh and captivating experience for the audience, heralding the onset of a new cinematic wave in India. The storyline primarily focused on the encounter between Bhuvan Shome, a stern railway official, and a village girl. It swiftly garnered interpretation as a narrative of a village girl exerting influence on a bureaucrat. Satyajit Ray wrote that it was a case of a bureaucrat refined by a village beauty. Mrinal Sen contested this perspective. In line with his political ideology, he opposed the notion of reforming or compromising with the bureaucracy. According to Mrinalda, the very idea of attempting to reform was reactionary. He mentioned that in his film, the proximity with Gauri allowed Bhuvan Shome, to recognize the tragedy unfolding within his own being.<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:48.22%;"><img alt="images-52-300x225.jpeg" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_52_300x225_7df7f5cb41.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_52_300x225_7df7f5cb41.jpeg 208w" sizes="100vw" width="208"></figure><figure class="wp-caption alignnone" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);display:block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;height:auto;letter-spacing:normal;margin:15px auto 10px;max-width:100%;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;vertical-align:middle;white-space:normal;widows:2;width:300px;word-spacing:0px;" id="attachment_25599" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-25599"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-25599">A still from the movie Bhuvan Shome</figcaption></figure><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;">The film begins by presenting Bengal, showcasing images of renowned Bengalis such as Vivekananda, Satyajit Ray, Tagore symbolizing Suvarna Bengal appear on screen and then scenes portraying street demonstrations, protests, and riots emphasizing Bengal’s distinctiveness. Mrinal Sen then introduces Bhuvan Shome, a quintessential Bengali characterized by honesty, punctuality, discipline, and an unblemished ethical stance. Bhuvan Shome’s commitment to his work is unwavering, and he maintains a principled and uncorrupted demeanour. Despite being a diligent and upright figure, Bhuvan Shome grapples with loneliness, without a family but amidst his subordinates, who do not really respect him and are wary of his sternness. Bhuvan is portrayed not as an evil lord driven by political connections, rather as a strict and honest official. Notably, Bhuvan Shome is primarily driven by an inherent anti-corruption ethos, reflecting a deep moral sense of absolute goodness. Mrinalsen’s portrayal of Bhuvan Shome defies categorization within the political genre of a bureaucrat.<figure class="image"><img alt="images-49.jpeg" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_49_cf9ed85efe.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_49_cf9ed85efe.jpeg 117w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_49_cf9ed85efe.jpeg 374w" sizes="100vw" width="374"></figure>&nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);display:block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;height:auto;letter-spacing:normal;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;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;vertical-align:middle;white-space:normal;widows:2;width:479px;word-spacing:0px;" id="attachment_25594" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-25594"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-25594">Cover for the music disc of Bhuvan Shome</figcaption></figure><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;">The pivotal moment occurs when Bhuvan Shome goes on a trip to the countryside hunting ducks to take his mind away from the tedious routine of official duties. This experience reveals the limitations of his structured and compulsive demeanour. After years of systematic service, the outside world unsettles him, evident in his fear of a speeding bullock cart coupled with discomfort in the leisurely transport. Subsequently, Gauri’s buffalo startles him, prompting a frantic escape, highlighting the adverse reactions his body language and speech elicit in others. These experiences during the bird hunting trip prove an opportunity for profound self-discovery and transformation.<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;">Despite his punctuality and discipline in official matters, Bhuvan Shome realizes his ignorance in various other aspects of life. The initially fear-evoking buffalo transforms into a friendly presence in the company of Gauri. Gauri’s remarkable qualities-competence, expressive freedom, determination, resourcefulness, and courage—astound Bhuvan Shome. The village girl introduces him to a new world, characterized by spontaneity, love, cooperation, and beauty. Despite the unease in the audience regarding Gauri’s sympathy towards Bhuvan Shome’s interest in bird hunting, the film takes a surprising turn, Gauri doesn’t reinforce or support Bhuvan Shome’s inclination to hunt birds. Instead, she becomes a catalyst for a profound change in him. She guides him towards valuing and protecting the birds with love, diverting him from his earlier fascination for hunting. As Bhuvan Shome leaves Gauri, her positive influence continues to resonate within him.<figure class="image"><img alt="ms-1-0079.jpg" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/ms_1_0079_0cdf075e25.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_ms_1_0079_0cdf075e25.jpg 209w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_ms_1_0079_0cdf075e25.jpg 500w" sizes="100vw" width="500"></figure><figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);display:block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;height:auto;letter-spacing:normal;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;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;vertical-align:middle;white-space:normal;widows:2;width:635px;word-spacing:0px;" id="attachment_25595" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-25595"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-25595">Utpal Dutt and Suhashini Mulay in Bhuvan Shome</figcaption></figure><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;">The shift in interest becomes evident as he entrusts her with the captured bird, urging her to safeguard it alongside the black sparrow. Bhuvan Shome experiences distress upon discovering that Jadhav Patel, the corrupt ticket inspector he was adamant about punishing, is Gauri’s husband. This revelation challenges his earlier resolve, pointing to his evolving character. Gauri emerges as a beacon of light in Bhuvan Shome’s monotonous and messy life,teaching him about Nature and its value. At the end of the film, Bhuvan Shome’s interaction with Jadhav Patel in his office room emphasises the profound transformation that he undergoes, symbolizing a significant shift in his outlook and approach to life.<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;">Bhuvan Shome’s gaze within the film represented a call for a futuristic rejuvenation of cinematic techniques. Drawing inspiration from Marxist filmmakers like Godard, the film incorporated extended documentary-style shots, with a more unconventional and contemporary cinematic approach. Notably, the scenes in Bhuvan Shome, involving a bullock cart bore resemblance to a documentary film, emphasizing its authentic depiction.Furthermore, the initial scenes portraying Shom’s office work at the start of the film offered a novel experience to the Indian audience. Mrinalsen’s films indeed pioneered innovative trends in Indian cinematography. His unique directorial approach introduced fresh elements to Indian film art, characterized by unusual scene transitions, use of animation, unexpected close-up shots, and covert actions, all of which added a distinctive flavor to his storytelling. This departure from conventional filmmaking showcased Mrinalsen’s progressive thinking and willingness to experiment with storytelling methods. It is worth mentioning that Mrinalda’s later films did not feature the satirist or cartoonist characters present in Bhuvan Shome; underscoring the evolution and diversification of his filmmaking style over time.<hr><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;">Part Two of this Series focusing on ‘Akaler Sandhane’ released in 1980 to follow. Stay Tuned.

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Mrinal Sen is a luminary in the Indian film world. His unparalleled legacy calls for a commemoration on the occasion of his birth centenary this year.

Mrinalda’s Camera: Three Distinct Gazes (Part 01)

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Prasanth Vijay’s movie Daayam (“Inheritance”), being screened at the ongoing 23rd International Film Festival of Kerala, is about a teenaged girl learning to cope with the loss of her mother.

Daayam’s Mirror to the Gender Paradox in Kerala

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This is the third and final article in the three part series by academic and film aficionado V Vijayakumar on three masterpieces of Mrinal Sen, a towering  luminary in the Indian film world.

Mrinal Da’s Camera: Three Distinct Gazes (Part 03)

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This is the second article in the three part series by academic and film aficionado V Vijayakumar on three masterpieces of Mrinal Sen, a towering  luminary in the Indian film world.

Mrinal Da’s Camera: Three Distinct Gazes (Part 02)

<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;">Mrinal Sen is a luminary in the Indian film world. His unparalleled legacy calls for a commemoration on the occasion of his birth centenary this year. His aspiration was to imbue uniqueness and inventiveness into each cinematic rendition. This three part series is an attempt to reread three of his celebrated films, each approaching the art of filmmaking in distinct and remarkable ways. The films are Bhuvan Shome (1969), Akaler Sandhane (1980) and, Ek Din Achanak (1989). He was a director who constantly experimented and took up every film as a challenge.<figure class="image"><img alt="images-50 (3).jpeg" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_50_3_87c8a3692e.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_50_3_87c8a3692e.jpeg 245w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_50_3_87c8a3692e.jpeg 500w" sizes="100vw" width="500"></figure><figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);display:block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;height:auto;letter-spacing:normal;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;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;vertical-align:middle;white-space:normal;widows:2;width:379px;word-spacing:0px;" id="attachment_25596" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-25596"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-25596">Mrinal Sen</figcaption></figure><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;">Mrinal Da, a proponent of artistic autonomy, navigated diverse routes within parallel cinema. His films unapologetically spoke many tongues. Inspired by Marxism and its artistic perspectives, he ceaselessly sought innovation throughout his cinematic journey.<hr><h2 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:25px;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;">Bhuvan Shome</h2><img class="image_resized" style="width:35.16%;" alt="image_2023-12-29_160321250-297x300 (1).png" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/image_2023_12_29_160321250_297x300_1_e4baa21ffd.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_image_2023_12_29_160321250_297x300_1_e4baa21ffd.png 154w" sizes="100vw" width="154"> &nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);display:block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;height:auto;letter-spacing:normal;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;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;vertical-align:middle;white-space:normal;widows:2;width:297px;word-spacing:0px;" id="attachment_25681" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-25681"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-25681">Promotional poster for Mrinal Sen’s ‘Bhuvan Shome’</figcaption></figure><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;">Bhuvan Shome, was the film that marked his entry, as a film maker who held great promise. It presented a fresh and captivating experience for the audience, heralding the onset of a new cinematic wave in India. The storyline primarily focused on the encounter between Bhuvan Shome, a stern railway official, and a village girl. It swiftly garnered interpretation as a narrative of a village girl exerting influence on a bureaucrat. Satyajit Ray wrote that it was a case of a bureaucrat refined by a village beauty. Mrinal Sen contested this perspective. In line with his political ideology, he opposed the notion of reforming or compromising with the bureaucracy. According to Mrinal Da, the very idea of attempting to reform was reactionary. He mentioned that in his film, the proximity with Gauri allowed Bhuvan Shome, to recognize the tragedy unfolding within his own being.<figure class="image image_resized" style="width:42.01%;"><img alt="images-52-300x225 (1).jpeg" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_52_300x225_1_4169ece096.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_52_300x225_1_4169ece096.jpeg 208w" sizes="100vw" width="208"></figure><figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);display:block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;height:auto;letter-spacing:normal;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;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;vertical-align:middle;white-space:normal;widows:2;width:300px;word-spacing:0px;" id="attachment_25599" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-25599"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-25599">A still from the movie Bhuvan Shome</figcaption></figure><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;">The film begins by presenting Bengal, showcasing images of renowned Bengalis such as Vivekananda, Satyajit Ray, Tagore symbolizing Suvarna Bengal appear on screen and then scenes portraying street demonstrations, protests, and riots emphasizing Bengal’s distinctiveness. Mrinal Sen then introduces Bhuvan Shome, a quintessential Bengali characterized by honesty, punctuality, discipline, and an unblemished ethical stance. Bhuvan Shome’s commitment to his work is unwavering, and he maintains a principled and uncorrupted demeanour. Despite being a diligent and upright figure, Bhuvan Shome grapples with loneliness, without a family but amidst his subordinates, who do not really respect him and are wary of his sternness. Bhuvan is portrayed not as an evil lord driven by political connections, rather as a strict and honest official. Notably, Bhuvan Shome is primarily driven by an inherent anti-corruption ethos, reflecting a deep moral sense of absolute goodness. Mrinal Sen’s portrayal of Bhuvan Shome defies categorization within the political genre of a bureaucrat.<figure class="image"><img alt="images-49 (2).jpeg" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_49_2_b112cb8a1f.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_49_2_b112cb8a1f.jpeg 117w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_49_2_b112cb8a1f.jpeg 374w" sizes="100vw" width="374"></figure><figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);display:block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;height:auto;letter-spacing:normal;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;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;vertical-align:middle;white-space:normal;widows:2;width:479px;word-spacing:0px;" id="attachment_25594" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-25594"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-25594">Cover for the music disc of Bhuvan Shome</figcaption></figure><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;">The pivotal moment occurs when Bhuvan Shome goes on a trip to the countryside hunting ducks to take his mind away from the tedious routine of official duties. This experience reveals the limitations of his structured and compulsive demeanour. After years of systematic service, the outside world unsettles him, evident in his fear of a speeding bullock cart coupled with discomfort in the leisurely transport. Subsequently, Gauri’s buffalo startles him, prompting a frantic escape, highlighting the adverse reactions his body language and speech elicit in others. These experiences during the bird hunting trip prove an opportunity for profound self-discovery and transformation.<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;">Despite his punctuality and discipline in official matters, Bhuvan Shome realizes his ignorance in various other aspects of life. The initially fear-evoking buffalo transforms into a friendly presence in the company of Gauri. Gauri’s remarkable qualities-competence, expressive freedom, determination, resourcefulness, and courage—astound Bhuvan Shome. The village girl introduces him to a new world, characterized by spontaneity, love, cooperation, and beauty. Despite the unease in the audience regarding Gauri’s sympathy towards Bhuvan Shome’s interest in bird hunting, the film takes a surprising turn, Gauri doesn’t reinforce or support Bhuvan Shome’s inclination to hunt birds. Instead, she becomes a catalyst for a profound change in him. She guides him towards valuing and protecting the birds with love, diverting him from his earlier fascination for hunting. As Bhuvan Shome leaves Gauri, her positive influence continues to resonate within him. <img alt="ms-1-0079 (2).jpg" src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/ms_1_0079_2_4c17dfb21a.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_ms_1_0079_2_4c17dfb21a.jpg 209w, https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_ms_1_0079_2_4c17dfb21a.jpg 500w" sizes="100vw" width="500"><figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);display:block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;height:auto;letter-spacing:normal;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;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;vertical-align:middle;white-space:normal;widows:2;width:635px;word-spacing:0px;" id="attachment_25595" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-25595"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-25595">Utpal Dutt and Suhashini Mulay in Bhuvan Shome</figcaption></figure><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;">The shift in interest becomes evident as he entrusts her with the captured bird, urging her to safeguard it alongside the black sparrow. Bhuvan Shome experiences distress upon discovering that Jadhav Patel, the corrupt ticket inspector he was adamant about punishing, is Gauri’s husband. This revelation challenges his earlier resolve, pointing to his evolving character. Gauri emerges as a beacon of light in Bhuvan Shome’s monotonous and messy life,teaching him about Nature and its value. At the end of the film, Bhuvan Shome’s interaction with Jadhav Patel in his office room emphasises the profound transformation that he undergoes, symbolizing a significant shift in his outlook and approach to life.<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;">Bhuvan Shome’s gaze within the film represented a call for a futuristic rejuvenation of cinematic techniques. Drawing inspiration from Marxist filmmakers like Godard, the film incorporated extended documentary-style shots, with a more unconventional and contemporary cinematic approach. Notably, the scenes in Bhuvan Shome, involving a bullock cart bore resemblance to a documentary film, emphasizing its authentic depiction. Furthermore, the initial scenes portraying Shom’s office work at the start of the film offered a novel experience to the Indian audience. Mrinal Sen’s films indeed pioneered innovative trends in Indian cinematography. His unique directorial approach introduced fresh elements to Indian film art, characterized by unusual scene transitions, use of animation, unexpected close-up shots, and covert actions, all of which added a distinctive flavor to his storytelling. This departure from conventional filmmaking showcased Mrinal Sen’s progressive thinking and willingness to experiment with storytelling methods. It is worth mentioning that Mrinal Da’s later films did not feature the satirist or cartoonist characters present in Bhuvan Shome; underscoring the evolution and diversification of his filmmaking style over time.<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;">Part Two of this Series focusing on ‘Akaler Sandhane’ released in 1980 follows. 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/mrinaldas-camera-three-distinct-gazes-part-two/">Here</a>.<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;">&nbsp;

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Mrinal Sen is a luminary in the Indian film world. His unparalleled legacy calls for a commemoration on the occasion of his birth centenary this year. 

Mrinal Da’s Camera: Three Distinct Gazes (Part 01)

<div 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:17px;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;" dir="auto"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/25th_Feb_24_a_copy_770x470_aa2b396ee8.jpg" alt="25th-Feb-24-a-copy-770x470.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_25th_Feb_24_a_copy_770x470_aa2b396ee8.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_25th_Feb_24_a_copy_770x470_aa2b396ee8.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_25th_Feb_24_a_copy_770x470_aa2b396ee8.jpg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined">Receiving a query, as he so often was from all of us, he always chose to build his answer like a sand castle at the edge of a sea, shaping it smidgen by smidgen. Those words and gestures reflected a quintessential Kumar Shahani, as known to movie devotees across the world. Kumar did this without striving to compress any part of his thought into an incontrovertible finish, seeking, instead, the various forces around – whether they be an unexpected gust of wind, an unruly wave or our usually delayed perception of the perspectives he was proposing – to come to his aid.</div><figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);display:block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;height:auto;letter-spacing:normal;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;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;vertical-align:middle;white-space:normal;widows:2;width:396px;word-spacing:0px;" id="attachment_26709" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-26709"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/unnamed_a6b4a34d3c.png" alt="unnamed.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_unnamed_a6b4a34d3c.png 233w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-26709">Kumar Shahani with actor Dhritiman Chatterjee.</figcaption></figure><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;">He made us put our hands in the sand with him and add to his lines and contours, reassemble what might have collapsed, or what always brought the dimpled smile to his face. All this would lead to the start of a process constructing another fabulation to accompany his improvisation.<hr><blockquote style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(244, 244, 244);border-left-color:!important;border-left-width:0px;border-radius:10px;border-right-color:!important;border-right-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;margin:23px !important 0px;orphans:2;overflow:hidden;padding:50px 50px 45px !important;position:relative;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;z-index:1;">Kumar Shahani (7 December 1940 – 25 February 2024) was an Indian film director and screenwriter, best known for his offbeat films such as&nbsp;Maya Darpan&nbsp;(1972),&nbsp;Tarang (1984),&nbsp;Khayal Gatha&nbsp;(1989) and&nbsp;Kasba (1990).Kumar Shahaji’s first feature—Maya Darpan&nbsp;-earned reputation as one of&nbsp;Indian cinema’s first formalist films. His dedication to formalism evoked comparisons from critics and film enthusiasts with filmmakers such as&nbsp;Pier Paolo Pasolini,&nbsp;Andrei Tarkovsky&nbsp;and&nbsp;Jacques Rivette. He was also known as a teacher and theorist of cinema, whose essays The Shock of Desire and Other Essays, comprising 51 essays, was published by Tulika Books in 2015.</blockquote><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;">It always seemed to me, whether we were in the class at FTII or on a shoot in Himachal or on one of our walks in Geneva when I invited him to come spend a couple of weeks with my students, that his attempt was to make his conjurations change as the light changes during the day. That is, inclined at dawn to resuscitate, at dusk it might bring languor, and the light descending hard atop at noon to propose a short lull.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);display:block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;height:auto;letter-spacing:normal;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;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;vertical-align:middle;white-space:normal;widows:2;width:340px;word-spacing:0px;" id="attachment_26715" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-26715"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/movies_e1708844636903_52149e94ff.png" alt="movies-e1708844636903.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_movies_e1708844636903_52149e94ff.png 215w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-26715">Kumar Shahani Films</figcaption></figure><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;">The changing light and its colors changes what we believe we saw a moment ago, changes our reveries, our desires. His conjuring of a past might have had its source in a river fecund with a possible nation and, before our eyes, steadily transformed into the ardour of a tarana. The present might emerge as a nude in blue suspended above or is it within the color red, the colors as much to redeem as to denounce us. And the future, perhaps a woman at a panel of windows that overlook distant mountains.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);display:block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;height:auto;letter-spacing:normal;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;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;vertical-align:middle;white-space:normal;widows:2;width:338px;word-spacing:0px;" id="attachment_26708" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-26708"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/movies_e1708844585877_aa6808b244.png" alt="movies-e1708844585877.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_movies_e1708844585877_aa6808b244.png 213w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-26708">Kumar Shahani Films</figcaption></figure><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;">Kumar had a way of pausing the gesture of one of his hands in mid-air, the gesture neither a sign nor a signal, but a track, like that of an animal in mud, evoking a weight as well as a rhythm, a suggestion of a pattern, a life, a journey, a direction – all unsettled again as the gesture continued its dance. When one left him, one took along an experience of uncertainty that, somehow, was never debilitating. Instead, like a moment of caesura in a bandish, it offered innumerable directions. That, to me, was the finest gift he left to us. And so tenderly.

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Kumar Shahani- The Tender Gesture

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Ullozhukku’s Undercurrents: Grappling with Pain Amidst Unruly Waters

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Nostalgia Movies and the Blockbuster Phase of Malayalam Cinema

<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/IMG_20240829_WA_0020_770x470_e38ecd1167.jpg" alt="IMG-20240829-WA0020-770x470.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_IMG_20240829_WA_0020_770x470_e38ecd1167.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_IMG_20240829_WA_0020_770x470_e38ecd1167.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_IMG_20240829_WA_0020_770x470_e38ecd1167.jpg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><div class="post-body clearfix single-blog-header single-blog-inner blog-single-block blog-details-content" 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:17px;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;"><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;counter-reset:footnotes 0;margin:0px;padding:0px;">“There is a kind of sadness that comes from knowing too much, from seeing the world as it truly is. It is the sadness of understanding that life is not a grand adventure, but a series of small, insignificant moments, that love is not a fairy tale, but a fragile, fleeting emotion, that happiness is not a permanent state, but a rare, fleeting glimpse of something we can never hold onto. And in that understanding, there is a profound loneliness, a sense of being cut off from the world, from other people, from oneself.” – Virginia Woolf.&nbsp;&nbsp;A friend passed on the news of the demise of the Malayalam film director Mohan. It’s a time of turmoil for the Malayalam cinema industry. The celebrations of successes at the box office seem trite. It feels like the passing away of an era of the extravagant, loud and mercenary art: the erasure of the unreal glitter that was turning into a synonym of the celluloid world. Perhaps it’s timely that someone who didn’t seem a part of this celebratory, glamourous crowd should say farewell now.&nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:1080px;" id="attachment_29491" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-29491"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/New_Project_2024_08_28_T080935_528_fd4745727b.webp" alt="New-Project-2024-08-28T080935.528.webp" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_New_Project_2024_08_28_T080935_528_fd4745727b.webp 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_New_Project_2024_08_28_T080935_528_fd4745727b.webp 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_New_Project_2024_08_28_T080935_528_fd4745727b.webp 750w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_New_Project_2024_08_28_T080935_528_fd4745727b.webp 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-29491">Director Mohan (L) during a song recording session for the movie Isabella</figcaption></figure>His films, of which I have only watched a few, but watched again when I needed the reassurance that the world saves isles of refuge for those who are lost, gain importance in this hour.&nbsp;The young idealists, the romantics, the readers, that we were, found solace in the silent, unexpressed, vibrant love, so subtly conveyed in a gaze, a smile or accidental brushing of garments. Those were the days of listlessness and quiet languorous afternoons when the celluloid seemed to reflect life, young, foolish, desperate and mysterious: No sleaze, violent sex or misplaced orgasmic bodies.<div class="raw-html-embed"><iframe width="640" height="480" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JsW4K2ABQDs" title="Shalini Ente Koottukari - 1980 Full Malayalam Movie | Shobha | Jalaja | Sukumaran | Online Movie" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div><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;">When I first watched ‘Shalini ente Kootukaari’, it was therapeutic. The friends meeting many years after the violent flooding of their lives; their stories and their spent smiles, made life possible. ‘Vida Parayum Munpe’&nbsp; should have been a plain and straightforward tear jerker but what the movie ultimately does is that it turns the viewer, reflective and roused.&nbsp;<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;">‘Pakshe’ is a slice of life that turns sour and bitter, but love that remains pure and untarnished, reminding us of the complexity of our emotions and the point of no return our decisions drag us to – ordinary people,extraordinary moments. ‘Oru Katha Nunakatha’ had a lightness about it though the protagonist was on a rollercoaster of emotions that he had no control over. The vulnerability of the ‘hero’ tugs at our heartstrings so our laughter at his predicament is one without malice. ‘Angine Oru Avadhi Kaalathu’ has a rather contrived plot but as in all Mohan films the purity of his characters wins the day.&nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);display:block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;height:auto;letter-spacing:normal;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;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;vertical-align:middle;white-space:normal;widows:2;width:640px;word-spacing:0px;" id="attachment_29539" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-29539"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/20240829_140611_COLLAGE_768x768_20c669ea86.jpg" alt="20240829_140611-COLLAGE-768x768.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_20240829_140611_COLLAGE_768x768_20c669ea86.jpg 156w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_20240829_140611_COLLAGE_768x768_20c669ea86.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_20240829_140611_COLLAGE_768x768_20c669ea86.jpg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-29539">Film posters of movies by Mohan (1)</figcaption></figure><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;">&nbsp;<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;">The actors and actresses who played his characters were not of the glamour driven industry. They were beautiful, ordinary people whose lives were real and not concocted for the cinema. As characters in Mohan films, Nedumudi Venu, Jalaja, Shobha and even those who were usually flamboyant stars often shed their star persona and lived their roles.&nbsp;<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;">These films, unlike the ones that thrived on the melodramatic, the extremely violent and the overtly sexual depiction of human lives, took us on a journey through the dark alleyways of our own lives guiding us with the glimmer of torch lights when we stumbled. The households or establishments where muscle flexing patriarchs reigned and oppressed and persecuted their seemingly weak, poetic, sensitive counterparts seem the motif that runs through most of these films.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;color:rgb(85, 85, 85);display:block;font-family:Manjari;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;height:auto;letter-spacing:normal;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;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;vertical-align:middle;white-space:normal;widows:2;width:640px;word-spacing:0px;" id="attachment_29540" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-29540"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/20240829_140719_COLLAGE_768x768_f6a25b610c.jpg" alt="20240829_140719-COLLAGE-768x768.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_20240829_140719_COLLAGE_768x768_f6a25b610c.jpg 156w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_20240829_140719_COLLAGE_768x768_f6a25b610c.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_20240829_140719_COLLAGE_768x768_f6a25b610c.jpg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-29540">Film posters of movies by Mohan (2)</figcaption></figure><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;">&nbsp;<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;">Mohan, in all his widely watched films keeps the audience riveted without the dumbing down of the content or form. His method of storytelling moves, river-like, flowing pleasantly to grow turbulent and finding its quiet grace as it meets the sea.</div></div>

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Mohan’s Cinema And Seeing the World As it is, In Profound Loneliness 

Malayalam (ml)

Tamil (ta)

English (en)

Hindi (hi)

Telugu (te)

Kannada (kn)

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Dancing To Her Tune

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An Unwritten National Autobiography

<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/images_1_6258d15665.jpeg" alt="images-1.jpeg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_images_1_6258d15665.jpeg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_images_1_6258d15665.jpeg 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><div class="post-body clearfix single-blog-header single-blog-inner blog-single-block blog-details-content" 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:17px;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;"><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;counter-reset:footnotes 0;margin:0px;padding:0px;">People who read literature in India knew him, MT Vasudevan Nair. Language was no hurdle for his works to reach out beyond the state borders of Kerala. While Malayali diaspora took a handful of nostalgia along to the places they went, a little bit of MT was also in that.Today, the big business of literature finds translators to translate anything that moves. All tetrapods of literature are given awards that stink of corporate imperialistic nexus. But MT belonged to a different era when blood recognised blood, genius recognised genius. He got translated not once but several times.Basheer, Takazhi and MT were the triumvirate that could transcend the borders and stand tall among the Indian modernist literature. Yes, MT’s literature also had a fair amount of auto-fiction but he hoodwinked it with the magic of text. He was a persuasive minimalist both in writing and in person.An unsmiling MT could generate generations of readers who could smile through tears. MT wrote about a collapsing social structure that divested the old feudal class with their ill-gotten properties. But their social capital remained intact and could exert a lot of influence among the readers by becoming the surrogate emotional ethos of a transition time of Kerala’s socio-political history.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:1196px;" id="attachment_31084" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-31084"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/mt_1024x575_251dd09907.jpg" alt="mt-1024x575.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_mt_1024x575_251dd09907.jpg 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_mt_1024x575_251dd09907.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_mt_1024x575_251dd09907.jpg 750w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_mt_1024x575_251dd09907.jpg 1000w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-31084">MT during his Interview with Sabha TV (Watch <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:0.4s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NttnjeaVqn0">Here</a>)</figcaption></figure>When society evolved into a different being altogether, MT turned to the treasure trove of myths and itihasas to eke out allegories that explained the pain of loss, of class, roots and love. His literature spat on the face of bigotry, whether it was religious or familial. He was so stoically poised in his literature that none could have challenged him and expelled him from the world of literature.MT’s literature spoke of love and separation as vehemently as he wrote about the changing social complexions. But he was not sentimental. There was something in his writing that touched some chord in every reader. Before initiating themselves into Ambedkarite politics, the Dalit ideologues also, in their torturous nights of youth, pined for MT’s characters.Those who call the modernists, Dad Vibes, have really lost the sight of the forest while focusing on shrubs and thicket. MT was a forest that moved, as in the great tragedies. He remained a serious writer while the post modernists fell in the trap of publishers and wrote lightning stories and became laughing stokes.MT remains, so is the MT critique. That’s the beauty of a great writer’s life and of course, death.</div></div>

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MT: A Forest that Moved

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An ‘Overture’ Stringing The Pope, Yesudas and the ‘Songster Chaplain’

<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/1_cc9df0fe47.png" alt="വലതുപക്ഷവുമായുള്ള-സംവാദത്തിൻ്റെ-വ്യർത്ഥത-1.png" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_1_cc9df0fe47.png 245w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_1_cc9df0fe47.png 500w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><div class="post-body clearfix single-blog-header single-blog-inner blog-single-block blog-details-content" 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:17px;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;"><div class="entry-content clearfix" style="box-sizing:border-box;counter-reset:footnotes 0;margin:0px;padding:0px;">When old age shall this generation waste,Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woeThan ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say’st,“Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is allYe know on earth, and all ye need to know.” (John Keats, Ode on a Grecian Urn)<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/6_904b2e9f2a.jpg" alt="6.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_6_904b2e9f2a.jpg 147w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_6_904b2e9f2a.jpg 470w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined">Siddharth Tagore, Founder Director of Delhi’s <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:0.4s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.facebook.com/artkonsultindia/photos">Art Konsult</a> Gallery is no more. He cannot be contained in such a cold statement, so matter of fact like death itself. Besides the gallery, he founded magazines such as Art and Deal, Travel and Deal and many other publications. Even when he knew that he wouldn’t make any profit out of the publications, he invested money in them because he knew art wouldn’t survive without the literature surrounding it.&nbsp;Yet another venture of Tagore’s was an auction house, namely Art Bull. The name was perfect for a bullish art market of the 2000s. But the glitch was this: Siddharth Tagore was not bullish. Nor was he bearish. He was cherubic, complete with a benign smile on his face and a burning cigarette between his fingers. Whenever I came out after having a meeting with him, I would ask myself, was he cut for this business?&nbsp;Tagore could have been a poet and dreamer like his internationally renowned namesake of yesteryears.. After the pandemic period I met Tagore after a gap of four years at the Visual Art Gallery, India Habitat Centre where Art Konsult had organized a group exhibition. After the inaugural function, I shook hands with him and I realized that his hands had lost the firm grip though the warmth remained. “I have not been keeping well,” he told me.&nbsp;<div class="gallery galleryid-31051 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-full" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:30px -8.96875px 0px;padding:0px;" id="gallery-1"><figure class="gallery-item" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;display:inline-block;height:auto;margin:0px 0px 1rem;max-width:33.33%;padding:0px 8.96875px 17.9531px;text-align:center;vertical-align:top;width:262.609px;"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/c_768x993_a7cec9742c.jpg" alt="c-768x993.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_c_768x993_a7cec9742c.jpg 121w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_c_768x993_a7cec9742c.jpg 387w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_c_768x993_a7cec9742c.jpg 580w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></figure><figure class="gallery-item" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;display:inline-block;height:auto;margin:0px 0px 1rem;max-width:33.33%;padding:0px 8.96875px 17.9531px;text-align:center;vertical-align:top;width:262.609px;"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/b_768x985_3f8fb449e6.jpg" alt="b-768x985.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_b_768x985_3f8fb449e6.jpg 122w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_b_768x985_3f8fb449e6.jpg 390w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_b_768x985_3f8fb449e6.jpg 585w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></figure><figure class="gallery-item" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;display:inline-block;height:auto;margin:0px 0px 1rem;max-width:33.33%;padding:0px 8.96875px 17.9531px;text-align:center;vertical-align:top;width:262.609px;"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/a_7888f94e4b.jpg" alt="a.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_a_7888f94e4b.jpg 121w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_a_7888f94e4b.jpg 385w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_a_7888f94e4b.jpg 577w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"></figure></div>Then on another occasion, at the same gallery, I met him again, this time without the crowd. He preferred to wear a pair of fading blue jeans and white shirt, a reminder of those romantic 1970s when every youth in West Bengal dreamt of poetry, love and revolution. Jeans and Shirt were the uniform of love and revolution. I think, when Tagore came to Delhi as a young man, he carried those qualities along, plus his sense of dressing. Lovers in those days smoked rather constantly and drank Old Monk Rum.&nbsp;On that day when I met him, Tagore told me that he had quit smoking, which was news to me. I couldn’t have imagined the man without a cigarette between his fingers or at least a packet of cigarettes to fuss with. I understood the gravity of the situation.&nbsp;Then again, we met when Praveen Upadhyay of the Progressive Gallery at Laddo Sarai organized a talk session with art professionals that included Tagore, Prayag Shukla, Vinod Bharadwaj and myself. Tagore was supposed to talk about the art market. When the mike was handed over to him, he fussed with it for a while and said that he always wanted to make it big by promoting young artists, but somehow, he never made huge business.<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:689px;" id="attachment_31054" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-31054"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/7_768x511_149563fe01.jpg" alt="7-768x511.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_7_768x511_149563fe01.jpg 235w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_7_768x511_149563fe01.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_7_768x511_149563fe01.jpg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-31054">Siddharth speaking to the media at Art Konsult</figcaption></figure>Then I remembered Tagore telling the same during the market boom years that lasted in India for around ten years starting from 2005 to 2015. In 2008, the world market had collapsed, but the Indian art market using its cunning and reserve withstood the pressures and dragged the impending failure for a few more years only to revive itself by the beginning of the third decade of the new millennium.&nbsp;Had Tagore acquired a penchant for failure despite his resilience in running a gallery, publications and an auction house for over three and a half decades ? Did he enjoy calling himself a failure in the art market? Was he romantically involved with the idea of failure even when he kept others who were with him in the business, floating? I don’t know for sure. But Tagore remained grounded and rooted; he tried his best to keep himself away from the nefarious market practices.&nbsp;There were a few people who stood with Tagore in his highs and lows (lows that lasted for not some months but for years together), never deserting him, following his orders. Prashant Seal and Rajula Bisht are two people I remember. These two people have been so close to his heart and even after his twin daughters joining him in the business, both Seal and Bisht never lost their position as the confidantes of Tagore. He loved them like family.&nbsp;I met Siddharth Tagore in 1995. He had started Art Konsult in Hauz Khas Village. Meena Tagore (now Meena Varma) was with him then. Late Vijayan Kannanpally was the editor of Art and Deal. With the growth of art scene, Tagore’s gallery also grew in stature. Art Konsult was one of the few A listed galleries in the city. Tagore took it to South Delhi’s art district, Laddo Sarai during the boom years and later relocated it to Hauz Khas again.&nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:562px;" id="attachment_31055" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-31055"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/0_768x512_88eabd3bbc.jpg" alt="0-768x512.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_0_768x512_88eabd3bbc.jpg 234w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_0_768x512_88eabd3bbc.jpg 500w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_0_768x512_88eabd3bbc.jpg 750w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-31055">Siddharth Tagore with art critic and curator Jyoti A Kathpalia at the Art Konsult, New Delhi</figcaption></figure>It was in his Laddo Sarai phase that I joined him as the Editor of Art and Deal. It was the same when he decided to start Art Bull and Travel and Deal. I brought out around ten issues of Art and Deal between 2010 and 2013, with a gap in 2012 when I joined the United Art Logistics to establish the United Art Fair. Tagore literally lent me to the other organization with a promise that I could walk into the editor’s office at any time that I wanted. And I did go back.&nbsp;As a part of Tagore’s team, he gave me full freedom to edit the magazine and curate exhibitions. I curated a few shows and introduced a few new artists of which some are very reckonable names in today’s art scene. The exhibition ‘Merging/Submerging’ was a showcasing of contemporary photography art and ‘R.A.P.E’ (Rare Acts of Political Engagement), an all-woman show responding to the brutal murder of Nirbhaya in Delhi. This exhibition was a super hit and was discussed in all the print and television media. Art Bull did do a couple of exhibitions and auctions. I did not take much interest in it though Tagore hoped that his auction house could change the scenario and also break certain monopolies. Tagore also initiated an Art History Lecture series which I conducted on his behalf.&nbsp;Siddharth Tagore remained true to his calling. With a kind of detachment, he sponsored exhibitions that he knew well, would not bring any business. He was an avid collector of folk and tribal art and together with Meena Varma, he initiated an organization called ‘Art of the Earth’ for promoting the folk and tribal art of India, much before the ‘folkploitation’ of today’s art market became rampant. Tagore helped whoever came to him with a request for an exhibition or an immediate financial relief. &nbsp;<figure class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="border-width:0px;box-sizing:border-box;clear:both;display:block;height:auto;margin:15px auto;max-width:100%;padding:0px;vertical-align:middle;width:640px;" id="attachment_31053" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-31053"><img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/3_e1734762508660_669x1024_7c977a7959.jpg" alt="3-e1734762508660-669x1024.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_3_e1734762508660_669x1024_7c977a7959.jpg 102w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_3_e1734762508660_669x1024_7c977a7959.jpg 327w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_3_e1734762508660_669x1024_7c977a7959.jpg 490w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_3_e1734762508660_669x1024_7c977a7959.jpg 653w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined"><figcaption class="wp-caption-text" style="box-sizing:border-box;display:block;font-size:15px;line-height:20px;margin:0px;padding:12px 0px 0px;text-align:center;" id="caption-attachment-31053">Siddharth Tagore signing the <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 53, 36);display:inline-block;margin:0px;padding:0px;transition:0.4s;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://amzn.in/d/4TijcgO">book</a> “Ganika- In the visual culture of the 19th-20th Century India” at the Art Konsult</figcaption></figure>&nbsp;<img src="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/4_560x1024_090314e000.jpg" alt="4-560x1024.jpg" srcset="https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/thumbnail_4_560x1024_090314e000.jpg 85w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/small_4_560x1024_090314e000.jpg 273w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/medium_4_560x1024_090314e000.jpg 410w,https://strapi.bangalore2.com/uploads/large_4_560x1024_090314e000.jpg 547w," sizes="100vw" width="undefined" height="undefined">When artists in Calcutta packed their wares and set out for Delhi, they knew Siddharth Tagore was there if nothing else worked (perhaps he was their primary destination), along with cigarettes and Old Monk Rum. He never discouraged the people who came to him with a clear intention to exploit. He was not cautious about relationships that brought him a fair amount of heartburn. As I said elsewhere, Tagore was a poet in his heart, with a heart ready to bleed for love and art.</div></div>

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