No song and dance at Indian Film Festival
By Achmad Nurhoeri
JAKARTA (JP): Young love birds chase each other in a garden. The man is tall and buff, the woman gorgeous, sensual and vibrant. They sing and dance as they cavort until, lo and behold, a rotten cop intervenes to disrupt their rapture.
Not to worry as all turns out fine in the end. This is, after all, the stock recipe of the Indian film industry known as Bollywood (Bombay-Hollywood).
Viewers are thankfully spared this melodramatic cinematic fodder in the Indian Film Festival at the Taman Ismail Marzuki cultural center this week. No frivolous song and dance numbers here -- these are serious, artistic, contemplative yet entertaining masterpieces from the subcontinent's best line of directors.
Beginning today and running through Thursday, Jakartans will get the opportunity to detour into the other side of the Indian film horizon -- works that test mind and soul to obtain the most of the snapshots of day-to-day life in the world's second-most populated country.
"The films shown on (Indonesian) TV are popular among the youth but they exaggerate the real conditions," said J.A. Khan, director of the Jawaharlal Nehru Indian Cultural Center in Jakarta.
The five films presented by the Jawaharlal Nehru Indian Cultural Center appear to be on a special mission to show that Indian cinema is not all schlock.
"India produces about 900 films every year and among them there are always few art films," said Khan. "These are award- winning films."
Tellingly, not one was made in Bombay. All portray the human side of India's assorted social conditions and each uses a language unlike the other. For India is a land defined by multi -- ethnic groups, religions, languages, and, definitely, tensions.
"All of these films are from different film production centers all around India. As a matter of fact, the largest number of Indian films are not made in Bombay," explained Khan. "Most are not made in the Hindi language (the official language of northern India used by Bollywood films). Most are made in Tembo."
Films
The films reveal different nuances of Indian life, providing a changing kaleidoscope of both settings and languages.
Tonight's opening begins at 5 p.m. with a Tamil-language family drama depicting the life of a retarded child called Anjali, the film's title. Anjali's father, Sekhar, lied to his wife Chitra at their daughter's birth, telling her the child was healthy. She was then sent to Ashirwad, a home for the retarded.
Sekhar keeps the secret from his wife and two other children, Arjun and Anu, until one day he blurts it out. Chitra insists that Sekhar should bring her home. Arjun and Anu are flabbergasted by their new sister and refuse to accept Anjali. Sekhar and Chitra try their best to explain to the children that Anjali is a special child sent from heaven, needing love and care from all the family.
The story details perceptions of the retarded by others and states that every human being is special. All have their own unique way of entering the world and departing, especially Anjali.
Straight after Anjali, Vidheyan (the Servile) directed by award-winning director Adoor Goplakrishnan will be screened at 7 p.m. In Malayalam dialog, the film traces the fateful course of Tommi, a simple, innocent migrant worker from Kerala in neighboring South Karnataka. His life gets inextricably entangled with benefactor-depriver Bhaskara Patelar, a frivolous landlord to whom he is totally servile.
The film revolves around the Patelas (village chiefs), who inherited their ancestors' power to collect taxes and enforce law under British rule. Although the colonials left in 1947, the chiefs retained their power until the 1960s when land reform at last replaced them with regular revenue officials.
Tomorrow, the festival will hold a special one film showing at 7 p.m. Minister of Education and Culture Wardiman Djojonegoro is scheduled to attend the screening of 1995's Bangarwadi (The Village Has No Walls) which is based on a classic 1953 Marathi- language novel by Vyankatesh Madgulka.
Director Amol Palekar, chairman of India's Children Film Society, tells the story of a young teacher who journeys on a cart through jungles to reach a remote area of hamlets known as Bangarwadi. Unfortunately, school is more of a curiosity than a necessity in a shepherd's village; for shepherds there is no such thing as walls because they constantly roam. This film depicts the noble and fatiguing mission of the teacher.
Two award-winning films end the festival on Thursday. At 5 p.m, Assamese-language film Hkhagoroloi Bohu Door (It's A Long Way To Sea), which gave director Jahnu Barua the best director award at the 1995 National Film Festival, tells of Puwal, a simple boatman. He continues the profession of his forefathers, transporting the villagers of Nemuguri across the Dihinh river in Assam because there is no bridge. One day, he is told a bridge is scheduled to be built spanning the river. This spells doom for his livelihood, and he travels to the city to meet his son. He is used by the son for his own selfish designs.
Last but not least on the list is Bengali-language Charachar (Shelter of the Wings), India's 1993 Best Film of the Year which was directed by economist-turned-director Buddhadeb Das Gupta. It is about Lakhinder, an anomaly among the five generations of bird-catchers in his family. He loves birds and wants them to have freedom to fly, catching the birds only to release them at night. His odd behavior estranges his wife Sari. He tries to win back her love, but finds out that his feathered friends have stolen his affections forever.
The festival is open to the public and all the films carry English subtitles. For the Rp 3,000 (US$1.20) ticket price, Jakartans can see that Indian movies are a lot more than just a song and dance.