Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Friday Review | Cinema Plus | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

Photo: R. RAVINDRAN

Veteran’s view Chitra Palekar

Chitra Palekar spent her formative years on the stage, and trained in many aspects of film making. She acted in “Akriet” (Nantes Special Jury Award, four State Awards), scripted films (“Thodasa Romani Ho Jaye”, “Kairee& #8221;, “Dhyasparva”), television serials (“Kacchi Dhoop”, “Naqab”), worked as production designer, co-producer and assistant director in films directed by Amol Palekar. She debuts as director in “Maati Maayi” (Marathi), based on Mahashweta Devi’s Bengali story. “Maati Maayi” launched the first Women’s Film Festival in Chennai, organised by InKo Centre in association with National Film Development Corporation, National Film Archive, Directorate of Film Festivals and Sathyam Cinemas.

The death of all male relatives forces Chandi to take up the family job of gravekeeping. She is proud of discharging her duty – didn’t her untouchable ancestors give succour to the mythical Raja Harischandra? When, as a nursing mother, she is unable to bury children anymore, the village refuses to allow her to discontinue her grim task. Finally, she is ostracised and exiled as a ghoul feeding on dead infants.

Chitra’s film is not arresting in form. The flashbacks are hardly subtle in treatment. The shrill song in key moments is out of place. Atul Kulkarni as Narsu cannot wholly shed his urban sensibility. But Chitra gets a powerful performance from Nandita Das and a credible child in Kshitij Gavande.

The shortcomings are overcome by the director’s deep sensitivity, emotion, artistic conviction, and guts in her grim choice of subject. The film scores as an uncompromising indictment of social injustice. Slogans and manifestos are not needed for this intensely human document of suffering and empathy, recorded by an unsentimental eye.

Excerpts from an interview with the director.

How did you come upon Mahashweta Devi’s story?

Why didn’t you situate the tale in the present instead of in 1959? We still read about witch hunts, dowry death, female infanticide. My recce before shooting showed me that villages had TV antennae, but nothing had changed. Or rather, they have changed on paper, by laws that cannot be enforced. When I screen this film in other countries, I explain that casteism exists in our country like racism in theirs, in forms less direct and more subtle. I wanted audiences to feel the distance of 50 years, and therefore be less disturbed while watching. That way, introspection will start when they go home. That’d be deeper.

As I checked everything before the shoot I said, hello, the end should be different. Right through the film, the boy identifies himself as Narsu’s son as always in a patriarchal set up. At the end I thought he should say, “I am Chandi’s son.” Then I knew how to take the shots, show the gradual rifts and bonds, through compositions and reactions, not dialogue. This film is realistic because that’s the treatment needed for this story.

I didn’t act out the roles for my cast. In fact, as an actor myself, I give my cast more room; I’m sensitive to their creativity. I hadn’t worked in a full length film since 1999. Technology and audiences have changed since then! My hands-on training with editors such as Mangesh Desai helped me overcome nervousness.

Marathi cinema seems to be doing well today. Are we anywhere closer to regional cinema being seen as national cinema?

No point in regional cinema making low budget copies of high budget Hindi films. It becomes national cinema when it reflects its own ethos and culture. The media talks about the changing face of Bollywood. Great.

What about glancing at regional cinema? European films are being released with subtitles in multiplexes. Anybody to release regional films in other States?

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