Panaji, Dec 2(ANI): The 42nd International Film Festival of India (IFFI) is paying homage to the legendary filmmaker Mani Kaul by showcasing some of his works.
Mani Kaul (1944-2011) was a filmmaker, born in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, who graduated from the University of Jaipur and from the Film Institute in 1966.
He made a total of 24 films, which included the legendary 'Uski Roti' and 'Duvidha', 'Satah Se Utatha Admi' that many may consider in the end his most accomplished film and the non-fiction features 'Dhrupad', 'Mati Manas' and 'Siddheshwari' before returning to fiction again with 'Nazar', 'Idiot' and 'Naukar Ki Kameez'.
Kaul in addition was also a painter, a poet, a musician and an actor (Basu Chatterjee's Sara Akash).
Kaul emphasized the value of what is absent. His elaborate theory of contemporary aesthetic practice, 'Seen From Nowhere', was presented in the cultural historian Kapila Vatsyayan's seminar Inner Space, Outer Space. He drew from haiku poetry, the nouveau roman, mannerist painting, Bresson and Ozu.
His works being showcased in IFFI Goa are 'Dhrupad', 'Idiot,' 'Naukar Ki Kameez' and 'Uski Roti'. 'Dhrupad' is a documentary story told through images, poetry and the Dhrupad; a vocal genre in Hindustani classical music, said to be the oldest still in use in that musical tradition. This is a documentary on dagavarni, the most influential dhrupad tradition.
In 'Idiot' an epileptic man (Myshkin) returns from medical treatment abroad and finds himself in love with Nastasia. There are twists and turns and ultimately, Myshkin descends into insanity. The film is an adaption of Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Idiot.
The film 'Naukar Ki Kameez' (The Servant's Shirt) is an enigmatic drama about the strange twists and turns of the India class system and centers on a simple clerk and his wife. The film is based on a novel by Vinod Kumar Shukla.
The film 'Uski Roti' (A Day's Bread) is a bitter story of loneliness underlined by slow gestures and simple words in a traditional ritual atmosphere. (ANI)
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