[ad_1]
Fact and fiction, myth and imagination, ancient India and the India of today, all overlap in Rahat Mahajan’s debut feature, Meghdoot (The Cloud Messenger), the only Indian film in competition for the Tiger Award, at this year’s International Film Festival of Rotterdam (IFFR).
It is loosely based on the epic of the same name by the Sanskrit poet Kalidasa (c 5th century CE). In the poem, a yaksha (celestial attendant) and his wife are separated and yearning for one another. In Mahajan’s film, these protagonists are teenagers named Jaivardhana and Tarini, who meet after centuries of longing, in the present-day, at a boarding school in the Himalayas.
The narrative unfolds amid dramatic parallel re-enactments of myths and legends in classical storytelling forms such as Kutiyattam, Theyyam and Kathakali.
Mahajan, 35, originally from Himachal Pradesh, assisted Vishal Bhardwaj on Kaminey (2009). A stint with fellow Pahari filmmaker Amit Dutta helped him refine his aesthetic further, he says. Mahajan incorporates bits of his own life in his first feature: It’s shot on location, with real students, at the boarding school he attended as a child.
How did he come up with this story of a boy who must travel to the land of death to break the spell that keeps him and his love apart? Excerpts from an interview.
What was it like shooting with real students at a boarding school, in your debut feature?
The scenes in which the whole school is present, almost 500 students, were definitely difficult. It can feel impossible to handle such a crowd. Certain scenes required absolute discipline, and if even one student was looking towards the camera, we had to reshoot it all. Since we were working in an active school, we sometimes got the kids for only half an hour.
But the cast was exceptional, especially Ritvik Tyagi and Ahalya Shetty, who play the protagonists. Being untrained actors, they got directly into the rasa and emotion of each scene. Ritvik (aged 25) is now studying cinematography in London. Ahalya (aged 23), with her introverted personality, slipped seamlessly into the role of Tarini.
What inspired you to weave the classical south Indian storytelling forms of Kutiyattam, Kathakali and Theyyam into the narrative?
Kutiyattam (with roots in the dramatised dance worship of ancient India) is considered one of the oldest forms of theatre in the world. In 2010, when I began to draft the script for this film, I dreamt one night of a Kutiyattam performer being the film’s narrator. Though the form was alien to me, and though everyone I shared the idea with doubted it would blend into a story set in a boarding school in the Himalayas, I kept it in every draft.
Then, in 2015, I chanced upon Film Form, a collection of essays by Sergei Eisenstein (a legendary Soviet filmmaker of the early 1900s, credited with pioneering the montage). One of the essays drew parallels between the Japanese theatre form of Kabuki and the montage. This convinced me of the marriage I could form in my film.
A search led me to Kutiyattam exponent Kapila Venu. She agreed to play the Kutiyattam performer in the film, and also acted as director of traditional performances. It was Kapila who introduced the other forms of Kathakali and Theyyam, where she felt they were appropriate.
A photography teacher named Mr Sapru is a guiding light for students in the film. Who was the character modelled on?
Mr Sapru was a real-life teacher I met the year I joined the boarding school where the film is set. I was just eight. He was a kind spirit in an otherwise authoritarian school system and was truly influential in those formative years. He left school in a few years, but his memory stayed close to my heart.
Eventually, when I started writing Meghdoot, he inspired a central character of the same name. I imagined him garnering much wisdom in his travels and returning to the boarding school where he once taught, to conduct a photography workshop, leading to a sensory and emotional awakening in the students. Out of curiosity, I reached out to the real Mr Sapru in 2016. It turned out that the fictional backstory I had constructed turned out to be quite in line with reality. Overwhelmed by the coincidence, he agreed to play the character. For nearly two years, he grew his beard in preparation. Unfortunately, in 2018, Mr Sapru passed away, before we had shot the film. Rajendranath Zutshi, who plays the character, stayed true to Mr Sapru’s spirit and grew his beard too, for almost a year.
In the film, you blend myth and ritual with fiction, thereby creating new myths…
For me, the film’s form and making have been a ritual. My attempts at interpretation are absolutely sincere, but I wanted to lend my own vision. For example, in contrast to the regular interpretation of Hanuman, I have imagined him to be gentle, almost like a wise shaman from the forest. And in his gentleness, there is the vastness of the entire cosmos. Dashananan (Ravana) too is not just an evil king in the film, but a helpless demigod trapped in an eternal cycle of unrequited love.
What’s next for you, and for Meghdoot?
We are yet to have a world premiere for Meghdoot, since IFFR was online this year. We are in touch with several international film festivals, and are determining its journey before making it available to the world at large. Meanwhile, my next film, Adbhut (Wonder) is based on the scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose, who saw science not as a mechanistic analysis of facts but rather as a broader interpretation, a wider perception, of the universe.
Enjoy unlimited digital access with HT Premium
Subscribe Now to continue reading
[ad_2]
Source link
Normal Electrocardiographic Changes Associated With Pregnancy cialis buy online
priligy dapoxetine 60mg Cultural habits and practices can also play a significant role in the onset, severity, and distribution of acne lesions
These photos provide a good visual for getting a sense of keeping the length of backswing and length of follow through relatively the same buy cialis 20mg
common prescription allergy pills allergy over the counter drugs kirkland allergy pills toronto
cost deltasone prednisone 10mg price
mayo clinic stomach acid purchase epivir generic
best contraceptive pills for acne order generic prednisone 10mg best acne pills prescription
prescription allergy medicine list generic ketotifen 1 mg allergy pills non drowsy
wha tmedicine should i take for heartburn buy bactrim online cheap
isotretinoin 10mg without prescription buy absorica without prescription purchase accutane online
oral azithromycin 250mg azithromycin 500mg over the counter azithromycin cheap
buy neurontin generic buy neurontin 800mg without prescription
purchase azipro online buy azithromycin 250mg generic buy azipro 500mg sale
buy generic lasix over the counter lasix 100mg canada
order generic prednisolone 20mg prednisolone 5mg pill order prednisolone 5mg generic
oral prednisone order prednisone 40mg generic
buy amoxil 500mg generic buy amoxicillin 250mg generic amoxicillin 250mg price
vibra-tabs uk buy vibra-tabs
buy asthma pills buy albuterol inhaler buy ventolin inhalator online
synthroid pills levoxyl brand purchase levoxyl generic
order clomiphene 100mg without prescription order generic clomiphene order clomid pill
rybelsus brand purchase rybelsus generic rybelsus cheap
zanaflex uk tizanidine pills tizanidine generic
semaglutide 14 mg cost cost rybelsus semaglutide 14 mg drug
buy prednisone 40mg generic order deltasone 5mg pill prednisone sale
accutane 20mg drug isotretinoin 20mg us order accutane 40mg for sale
amoxicillin 250mg over the counter amoxil pill amoxicillin 250mg without prescription
augmentin online buy augmentin 625mg tablet cost augmentin 375mg
order zithromax for sale zithromax 250mg generic azithromycin sale
prednisolone brand order generic prednisolone 10mg how to get omnacortil without a prescription
clomid 50mg ca serophene for sale online clomiphene 50mg brand
cheap neurontin tablets gabapentin sale order neurontin 600mg pills
sildenafil for women order viagra online cheap viagra 50mg
purchase acticlate online cheap doxycycline uk oral acticlate
rybelsus online buy purchase semaglutide pills buy semaglutide 14 mg
real online gambling play slots free welcome spins no deposit
buy vardenafil for sale generic vardenafil 10mg cost levitra
order plaquenil generic hydroxychloroquine 400mg cost order plaquenil 200mg sale
cialis next day cialis 40mg drug buy tadalafil 40mg for sale
cenforce 100mg tablet cenforce online cenforce 50mg cost
aralen 250mg generic buy aralen pill aralen 250mg generic
metformin oral glucophage pill glucophage pills
xenical 120mg uk buy diltiazem cheap buy diltiazem generic
brand norvasc 10mg norvasc 10mg cheap amlodipine 5mg sale
buy cheap zovirax zyloprim pills buy zyloprim generic
buy zestril 2.5mg online buy zestril 2.5mg generic how to buy zestril
crestor 20mg price buy zetia medication where to buy zetia without a prescription
omeprazole order treat reflux omeprazole 20mg over the counter
domperidone online buy buy cheap domperidone buy sumycin 500mg generic
lopressor generic order metoprolol pill order lopressor 50mg
generic flexeril 15mg ozobax sale how to buy ozobax
buy generic toradol over the counter colchicine pills gloperba sale
buy atenolol 100mg generic buy generic tenormin over the counter buy generic tenormin 50mg
buy medrol 16mg online brand depo-medrol buy depo-medrol paypal
order inderal 10mg pill buy clopidogrel for sale order plavix 75mg without prescription
writing dissertation service help writing papers for college essay writing
methotrexate 10mg over the counter order medex coumadin 2mg generic
order mobic 7.5mg online buy celebrex pills for sale celebrex over the counter
how to get flomax without a prescription tamsulosin 0.4mg ca buy celecoxib 200mg pills
buy nexium 20mg online cheap buy generic topiramate topamax 200mg oral
order zofran generic zofran 8mg us aldactone 25mg us
cost sumatriptan 50mg cheap sumatriptan levaquin 250mg pill
purchase simvastatin online simvastatin 10mg usa purchase valtrex pills
ampicillin order online amoxicillin for sale online amoxil oral
baycip over the counter – amoxiclav pill buy augmentin generic
where can i buy cipro – cipro 1000mg sale augmentin online order
purchase metronidazole pills – buy azithromycin 500mg online cheap azithromycin pill
valtrex usa – acyclovir 400mg canada order zovirax without prescription
stromectol 2mg online – cefixime 200mg canada sumycin price
purchase ampicillin for sale amoxil drug amoxicillin ca
buy lasix 40mg sale – candesartan generic order captopril 25mg online
metformin 500mg uk – cefadroxil 500mg generic order lincomycin 500 mg online cheap
buy pill generic retrovir – lamivudine 100mg generic order allopurinol
brand clozapine 100mg – buy perindopril online buy famotidine online cheap