The Hindu : The ostrich act

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Mar 26, 2004

Other States

Other States - Orissa

The ostrich act

By Prafulla Das

— Photo By Special Arrangement

A scene from `Breathing Without Air.'

BHUBANESWAR, MARCH 25. How would you react if you see a boy burying his head under earth in order to provide you entertainment? Come watch Breathing Without Air, a 23-minute short docu-fiction film made by Kapilas Bhuyan and Prasantanu Mohapatra.

As the film starts rolling, the main actor digs a pit and buries his head. Then follows the boy's dreamscape during the ostrich act that keeps the audience on edge.

What happens in the darkness that engulfs him? How does he survive? Does he dream or fantasise? Breathing Without Air tries to answer these questions; it also presents a metaphor for the soul-killing deprivation of India's working children.

The film recently won the Best Short Film award at the Festival Du Cinema de Paris for short films, in Paris. It got the Jury's special mention at the New York Short Film Festival 2004. It has been selected to enter the Commonwealth Film Festival, to be held between April 30 and May 5. It took about three months for the film-maker duo to conceive the idea and record on film the vanishing art form of `Mundapota Kela,' the nomadic community of southern Orissa.

Apart from holding roadshows, the Munadapotas collect honey and capture snakes, porcupines, monitor lizards and rats.

The film, shot in the rural setting of Odagaon in Orissa's Nayagarh district, depicts the tale of a father-son duo. It has no dialogue. The 11-year-old buries his head, while the father provides accompaniment on his drum. They perform at least twice a day. The film is produced by Vidhi Infotainment, Bhubaneshwar. The background music score is by Aditya Mohapatra.

Interestingly, it was rejected at the Mumbai International Film Festival early this year. However, it fared well at the Bring Your Own Film Festival in Puri last month.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Other States

News Update

Stories in this Section

The ostrich act