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Girish Kasaravalli is the only one to have won the National Award for Best Film four times. GOWRI RAMNARAYAN talks to the director
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THE BOY'S earliest acquaintance with cinema was through the touring talkies which wandered into the village, pitched a tent, and screened mythologicals and action thrillers.
But only when his uncle (Magsaysay awardee K.V.Subbanna) gave him books on Indian cinema by Marie Seton, Barnouw and Krishnaswamy that interest flickered, fanned by the release of the landmark film "Samskara''. With a B.Pharm and a job in IDPL, Hyderabad, the boy applied casually for a course in the Film and Television Institute of India. He got in. And Indian cinema got one of its most sensitive directors, the only one to have won the National Award for Best Film — the Golden Lotus — four times.
Girish Kasaravalli, who attended the Hyundai Chennai International Film Festival, was amused to recall his ignorance of even mainstream cinema when he joined film school. Once introduced to auteurs in many parts of the world, he realised that he would be a misfit in the commercial grid which streamlined human experience into formulas and slots. "A pity that in India people think that there is only one cinematic expression in the world — Hollywood. They can't believe that Iran, Taiwan and China make fantastic films. Non-Hollywood films express the culture of the countries where they are made.'' Similarly, Kasaravalli maintains that the real spirit of India is in its regional cinema. Paradoxically it gets a raw deal. Promotion and attention by the government and the media are reserved for the Bollywood product. Even at the International Film Festival of India, New Delhi, no one talked about a "Paadam Onnu: Oru Vilapam". The spotlight was on "Pinjar" and "Maqbool". Today marketing strategies determine success, but "how can regional cinema market itself? What is worse is that the merits of mainstream superhits are purely manufactured. Publicity psyches people into applauding them."
He recalls how when his "Dweepa" bagged the Best film award it was "Lagaan" that people talked about. "Lagaan" got six awards, you say. "How do you expect me or Adoor Gopalakrishnan to get awards for best lyric, best song, best costume,'' he counters sardonically. "I am not against popular cinema, but it is dangerous if it irons out all other kinds of cinema."
Kasaravalli welcomes the growth of film festivals in many cities, because they let viewers see cinema as an artistic endeavour. He notes that a Kurosawa or a De Sica inevitably inspires young people.
Kasaravalli's films — "Bannada Vesha", "Tabarane Katha", "Mane", "Kraurya", "Dweepa" — have all been efforts to scrutinise, to understand the individual in the context of his/her socio-political-cultural ethos. He makes the unpredictable erupt at key moments. Any favourites? "Ghatashraddha" had gripping narration, immediacy..." he says. "Thai Saheba" had a very good script, I don't think you'll find another film like that in India where you see not the event — 20 years of history — but its impact on the individual. "Dweepa" had a flow, it was lucid, all the images worked towards one goal: of displacement both physical and spiritual." He breaks into a sudden smile.
"The film that dissatisfied me was "Akramana", a comedy launched by a friend which I was forced to complete. It was a box-office success."
With strong roots in Kannada literature, it is no surprise that Kasaravalli's next project should be based on Vaidehi's short story of a film crazy midwife who prefers to be at the movies than at childbirth. She even begins to offer solutions to village problems based on what she sees on the screen. "I was fascinated by how our perceptions are altered, how screen images influence our visualisations. Don't many of us see N.T Rama Rao when we think of Krishna? I want to play around with dreams and images." The midwife finally realises that somebody else is manufacturing her dreams.
Has Kasaravalli received the recognition he deserves? "Sometimes I do wonder why my films don't get that kind of attention. But if I start worrying about recognition I will waste my energies in seeking it." Watching Girish Kasaravalli's films is to know that he has spent his energies in striving for perfection.
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