Kumar Shahani바카라s first feature film 바카라Maya Darpan바카라, released in 1972, is a classic of parallel cinema. He was known for the formal experimentation in his movies.
For the people of my generation, who grew up in the 1990s, Indian new-wave cinema was a kind of esoteric art and idea. During the early 바카라90s in Darbhanga, I still remember seeing a poster of the movie 바카라Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro바카라 and wondering what kind of film it would be.
Truth is, new-wave cinema died in the 바카라80s and what we found in the 바카라90s, with the opening of the market, was that the genre of Hindi cinema shifted to diaspora and gangster movies. At the same time, with the coming of the internet and YouTube, the movies of parallel cinema, although in bad print, got available online and reached a wider audience.
Interestingly, now, even in Darbhanga, people discuss young filmmakers like Achal Mishra (바카라Gamak Ghar바카라, 바카라Dhuin바카라) and Partha Saurabh (바카라Pokhar Ke Dunu Paar바카라) and their movies. It has got a name 바카라 the Darbhanga New Wave. Certainly, the aesthetics of Darbhanga New Wave are influenced by the forefathers of the Indian New Wave cinema of the 바카라70s.
Kumar Shahani (1940-2024), who died at the age of 83 in Kolkata recently, was one of India바카라s foremost avant-garde film directors. When his classic film 바카라Maya Darpan바카라 turned 50 in November 2022, I called him for an interview. He was in Pune and asked me to send questions by email, to which he promptly replied. When the interview was published, I shared the link with him and wrote: 바카라I hope to talk to you at length, when you are back in Delhi.바카라 Alas! It would never happen, but I had the good fortune to interact with him on a few occasions in the past.
If Mani Kaul바카라s debut film 바카라Uski Roti바카라 and Mrinal Sen바카라s 바카라Bhuvan Shome바카라 started the New Cinema movement in India, Shahani바카라s first feature film 바카라Maya Darpan [Mirror of Illusions]바카라, released in 1972, is a classic of parallel cinema. He was known for the formal experimentation in his movies.
Based on famous Hindi writer Nirmal Verma바카라s eponymous short story, the film depicts the lonely world of the protagonist Taran. But the film goes beyond the story. Taran바카라s rebellion against feudalism is manifested in dance sequences. Kumar told me that Verma was not happy with it. He said: 바카라Nirmal was conditioned by the films that he had seen. We never saw eye-to-eye on any issue!바카라
I asked him how he looked back at 바카라Maya Darpan바카라 after 50 years. He replied: 바카라Because of the jubilee of 바카라Maya Darpan바카라, a great deal of interest is being shown around the world in my work, and new queries for future productions from the home of Hollywood have reached me. When 바카라Maya Darpan바카라 was made, the Euro-American response was enthusiastic. It was recognised as a breakthrough in cinematic language 바카라 with colour, movement and narrative creating a new musicality, as it were.바카라
He always struggled to raise finances for his films but never compromised with his style of filmmaking. In his 50-year-long career, besides 바카라Maya Darpan바카라, he only managed to make 바카라Tarang바카라 (1984), 바카라Khayal Gatha바카라 (1989), 바카라Kasba바카라 (1990), 바카라Char Adhyay바카라 (1997), and a few short documentaries. 바카라Char Adhyay바카라, which is based on Rabindranath Tagore바카라s novel, is about self-determination and violence in pre-independent India. He said to me: 바카라You will find Ritwik (Ghatak) da a lot in this movie.바카라 Although he had Marxist leanings, we found a kind of spiritualism in his movies. He assisted the great French filmmaker Robert Bresson (바카라Une Femme Douce바카라, 1969) when he was in Paris on a fellowship. He was influenced by the concept of Moksha/Nirvana, which we see in Bresson바카라s films. We don바카라t find a watertight compartment between ideology and aesthetics in Shahani바카라s films.
A few years ago, during a conversation about parallel cinema, he told me that we can바카라t compare popular with parallel because the main purpose of mainstream cinema is to make profits, whereas the kind of movies he and his ilk made was art. He was also critical of shopping Mall cinema culture and viewing a movie there. Like 바카라slow reading바카라, his films ask for 바카라slow viewing바카라. In fact, they ask for a new viewer who is immersed not only in cinema but Indian tradition of music, dance, and painting. His films are an amalgamation of everything that is soaked in the Indian civilisation.
Shahani always discussed his birthplace in Larkana (Pakistan), near Mohenjo-Daro. He considered himself, like Ghatak, a product of the Partition. He said that he had completed a movie based on Gita Govinda 바카라 바카라Priye Charuseele바카라, which is yet to be released. Even during his last days, he was brimming with many ideas.
In 2014, I was at the Indian International Centre (IIC), Delhi to listen to a lecture on Mani Kaul바카라s films. He was there too. I had a copy of 바카라Uncloven Space바카라, a translation of Kaul바카라s conversation with Udyan Vajpayee (바카라Abhed Aakash바카라). I had a brief conversation with him about Kaul, Ghatak (his guru at the FTII) and parallel cinema. Later, I asked him to sign the book and write something for my year-old daughter. He did. 바카라Kaithi, hope that you will grow up to be a connoisseur like your father,바카라 he wrote. He had expectations not only from my generation but from the future too!
(Arvind Das is an author and researcher. Views expressed are personal.)