According to well-known journalist, author and filmmaker Ratnotamma Sengupta, who has curated the tribute on Bimal Roy, in its several layers for the 24th KIFF, “the spread is remarkably laid out under three different umbrellas”.
“The Bengali Cinema Centenary Tribute includes his debut film Udayer Pathey (1943) and Mukti for which he was behind the camera. The Great Masters’ section features Pehla Aadmi (1949), perhaps the first Indian film to depict war on the big screen. Maa (1952) is what took Bimal Roy to Bombay, along with his dedicated team comprising Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Nabendu Ghosh, Nazir Hussain, Paul Mahendra.”
Roy’s Do Bigha Zamin (1953) remains a milepost on our screen for ushering new realism. “Yahudi (1957) remains etched in my mind for the lovable pairing of Dilip Kumar and Meena Kumari and also for Sohrab Modi’s performance in the Parsee theatre mould. And Sujata (1959) with its charming juxtaposition of casteist prejudices versus scientific realities, continues to bring us back to Gandhian ideals.”
Sengupta should know because as the daughter of story and screenplay writer Nabendu Ghosh, she has become an authority on Bimal Roy.
The Shorts and Documentaries Section features Gotama The Buddha, a long documentary made by Bimal Roy which very few of us have seen, Remembering Bimal Roy made by his son Joy Roy and And They Made Classics by Shivraj Singh Dungarpur of the Film Heritage Foundation.
A seminar on him at the KIFF included speakers such as Aditya Roy Bhattacharya, the grandson of Bimal Roy, Anik Dutta, noted filmmaker known for his film Bhooter Bhabishyat and some others.
Roy’s “cinema” embraces much more than the images we see flashed on the screen shot and projected on 35 mm which might have become a fossilised symbol of the past unless the Film Heritage Foundation was formed to restore his films. But there are films like Baap Beti and Anjangarh which can never be restored as they are lost completely in time.
Roy’s space and time in cinema overlaps the colonial cultural and political ambience and the ambience in Independent India where his choice of source also transcends the colonial era to step into independent India. During his tenure as director, Roy directed 15 feature films and four documentaries. He also produced some films under his Bimal Roy Productions banner which he did not direct himself.
Roy’s cinema and his style, treatment, approach and presentation were unique in defining this filmmaker without bringing in any comparative analysis of his cinema and the that came after Ray made his historic debut in Indian cinema. (IBNS-TWF)
Message of peace from Majidi
By Ranjita Biswas
Well-known Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi’s Muhammad: The Messenger of God carries the message of love and peace. Majidi uses a much wider canvas for this film, and puts it up more opulently, say compared to his evergreen Children of Heaven, to tell the story of Prophet Muhammad’s emergence from the internecine tribal warfare in the sandy deserts. The much-anticipated film featured in the 24th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF).
Majidi was briefly in the city to present the film and talked about his work and vision in a free-flowing discussion with the media.
Why a film on the Prophet while he is more known for taking up social issues? “More than ever it’s important to know about his message today. Muhammad talked about peace and humanity. His religion did not carry the message of hatred and violence. Unfortunately, some extremist factions interpret the tenet of Islam this way creating a wrong impression. People should look at his life and deeds,” Majidi said.
Another message that comes through in the film is that the patriarchs of the other two religions of the region, Christianity and Judaism, were not in conflict with Islam at that time. At the end of the film, many hands — black, white, brown, hennaed, splurge gently in flowing water, as if in a river of unity. “Co-existence is possible, as it was once, but resources are used by leaders to fight among themselves,” the director observed. It took Majidi more than seven years to research the subject. Paying due respect to the religious sentiment of the followers, the director portrays Muhammad only as a figure, shrouded in white, and photographed from behind and never with a face.
One question that inevitably arises is about censorship. Especially while making films on sensitive subjects. “Censorship is not good but rules and regulations are there. An artist has to find a way to bypass them. Sometimes it also depends on who is in power, whose views are more conservative.”
Majidi also believes that if the story touches the heart, in which language the film is made does not matter much. Those who have seen Children of Heaven where the brother-sister duo of a poor family tries to find make amends for a lost pair of shoes, could instantly relate to the truth. Even after so many years, the Oscar nominated film was made 1997, the story still tugs at the heart. Recently the film was made in Singapore but the essence remains the same, the director revealed. Majidi is not new to cineastes in India. His films regularly feature in festivals in the country. He has even made a collaborative film Beyond the Clouds in 2017 on the brother-sister bonding story set in Mumbai’s bad streets. ”Many countries have similarities between them but I feel the affinity between India and Iran is special and that’s why I made this film here.”
Asked about the film scenario in Iran and Bollywood Majidi said the average Bollywood is more box office oriented. It’s an industry, that’s not to underplay its role, but it’s different. “However, of late, many talented young people are coming out. I am very optimistic that a new generation of filmmakers making meaningful film will emerge soon.”
Beyond the Clouds may not be the last film made by Majidi in the country either. “I am working on some projects to be located the country. You will come to know when it happens,” the director promised. (TWF)