PROFILE
Matchbox journeys
SARASWATHY NAGARAJAN
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Gitanjali Rao's "Printed Rainbow" yielded a pot of gold at Cannes this year.
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PHOTO: S. GOPAKUMAR
Award winner: Gitanjali Rao.
GUESS what kindled Gitanjali Rao's journey to Cannes? Matchboxes. The journey saw her become the only Indian to win three awards at the Cannes Critics' Week Section this year. The International Critics' Week is for first and second films selected by the French Syndicate of Film Critics.
"Printed Rainbow", a 15-minute animated film that narrates the story of an old widow and her cat escaping the drudgery of their life with the help of a collection of printed matchbox labels, won her the Kodak discovery for best short film, OFAJ Young Critic's award for best short film, and Rail D' Or for the best short film. Only seven films from all over the world are selected in the competition section for short films. "Printed Rainbow" had earlier won the Golden Conch for best animation film in the Mumbai International Film Festival, 2006.
Complex but contemporary
The charm of the film is that it is able to portray the lonely and isolated lives of senior citizens and the anonymity of big cities without being didactic. Perhaps, Gitanjali's work as an animator for advertisements helped her overcome that hurdle, as she highlights her theme with generous doses of gentle humour and fine attention to detail. There are no dialogues but her articulate drawings and apt music narrate the story effortlessly.
"The film was based on my fascination for match box pictures and my determination to tell a complex, contemporary story in a simple way. Although many matchboxes in the metros now have boring pictures, if you travel, you come across many interesting ones that reveal the culture of its region and people. So, I decided to make a film that hinged on match boxes," says Gitanjali.
"Printed Rainbow" reminds one of a fairy tale with its simple story, straight narrative and colourful illustrations. While reality is shown in heavy strokes and shades of grey, fantasy is multihued.
In a tiny flat in a big city, a woman and her cat watch the sights from their window. The drawings pan the scenes smoothly like a camera. In the afternoon she rummages through her collection of matchbox labels and is transported to many worlds. Colour fills the screen. She rides trucks, crosses streams in dense forests and listens to music in a moonlit garden filled with peacocks ... She breaks the shackles of reality and soars free in the world of the printed labels. A mix of traditional Indian art and kitsch graphics of the Sivakasi kind takes us to a strangely familiar world.
One rainy day she and her cat leave the real world for the existence she enjoys with the help of her matchbox labels. She carefully picks up a matchbox called "Rainbow" depicting a farm and a rainbow. Soon she and her cat are transported to this magical world — sunshine and greenery forever.
Although the shaded work resembles charcoal work on hand-made paper, the director tells you jubilantly that it was all done on the computer. Each frame of the film was painted and then animated on a computer. "The woman and her cat were modelled on my mother, Anjali Rao, and her cat, Chhotu. I spent some time to research the kind of music that a woman of her age might have listened to and the matchbox pictures that she would have collected. Although, I stay in Mumbai, there is a homogeneity to big cities that makes each one resemble another. So, it could be the tale of any senior citizen in a big city. In fact, the critics did highlight the universality of the theme and the happy ending of the film, as many of the film in the competition were rather sad. As an illustrator and collector of children's books, I wanted my drawings to resemble those of a children's book."
Appreciation
Her drawings certainly impressed the 32 children between the ages of 14 and 18 who chose her film for the Young Critics' Award. It also impressed the 200 former Railway Men who awarded it the Rail D'Or for best short film. They appreciated the theme and found the film poetic and touching, recalls Gitanajli.
However, she points out that the attitude towards short filmmakers in India is not very encouraging. "In Cannes, I had to finance all the publicity material and there were no sponsors or agency who were willing to lend a helping hand. Even in Mumbai, which hosts the Mumbai International Film Festival, not too many people have time for short films. Bollywood's dominance is almost complete and so filmmakers like us are swamped," she says.
But the gold medallist from Sir J.J. Institute Of Applied Art, Mumbai, is not one to give up so easily. "I would not like someone to tell me what to make or draw and so I prefer to finance my films myself. My work for advertisement helps to finance my films."
Her earlier film "Orange" won the Indian Documentary Film Producers' Association award and the India and South East Asian Animation festival-TOONZ awards in 2003, and the British Council Digital Film Fest award in 2004. For Gitanjali, her rainbow did yield a pot of gold and she tells you with a grin that she is now a collector of matchbox pictures.
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