English (subtitled), 22 min, 2011, India

What happens when it pours in the desert? Or when mangoes grow where there were oranges before…

In villages across India, climate change is real and palpable. Over the last few decades, the weather is changing and so is a way of life. The changing climate affects not only livelihoods but cultures of entire communities. Folk songs about rain and nature take us through villages of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. And voices of people allow us to witness realities of climate change.

Note: Only available in DVD.

English, 33 min, 1990, India

A film about three of India’s leading visual artists, Bhupen Khakar, Nalini Malani and Vivan Sundaram. The film takes, as its point of departure, a glass mural on which all three artists were working, then zeros in on each of them. It links them to their physical and mental worlds through cinematic devices like associative sounds, variable light and montage. Compositionally, the visuals aim to match with the styles of each artist, as well as the larger narrative traditions of India.

Note: only available in DVD.

Awards and Screenings

Inaugural film of the Indian Panorama, International Film Festival of India, Madras, 1990.

First prize for the best documentary film at the Athens Film and Video Festival, USA, 1991.

Silver Lotus for the production of the best Arts/Cultural film in the National Awards 1991.

Silver Lotus for the direction of the best Arts/Cultural film, in the National Awards 1991

Participation in Sri Lanka Film Festival and Bombay International Festival for Documentary and Short Films, 1992.

Participation in the Biennale of films on art organised by Centre George Pompidou, Paris, 1994.

English / Hindi / Marathi (subtitled),  70 min, 2011, India

Kishori Amonkar’s divine music has entranced the audience for years. For Kishore Tai, music has a long unbroken history in the form of her Gurumata Mogubai Kurdikar, fondly known as Mai, who was the quintessence of Tai’s life. Wounded by the painful feeling that Mai never received recognition proportionate to her legendary talent, Tai donned a resolute, impenetrable mask in stark contrast to Mai’s fragility and vulnerability. Tai’s struggle to overcome the long shadows of her tumultous childhood has perhaps spread all through her life. Another aspect of Tai’s struggle for which she was frequently criticized was ‘transcending her musical oeuvre beyond the conventions and traditions of Jaipur-Atrauli Gharana’. Her experimentation with alapchari, her softened tonal accents and intense emotive content, or her liberties with traditional renditions were vilified by conservatives as intolerable deviations. The musical voyage of this tireless explorer continues unperturbed despite all such denunciation. Ultimately she found her position repeatedly vindicated by stependous audience patronage and a string of honours including the Sangeet Natak Academy awards (1985 & 2011) and the titles Ganasaraswati, the Padma Bhushan (1987) and the Padma Vibhushan (2002). The film is an accessible portrait of a pensive, creative artist whose life has been sublimated to and consumed by her art.

Note: Only available in DVD.

English (subtitled), 62 min, 1991, India

Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra is one of the greatest exponents of the classical dance form of Odissi. Like most highly evolved forms of art, Odissi dance draws from the energy of sculpture, painting, literature and its precedent dance forms. Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra was born in 1926 in Raghurajpur, a village in Orissa. He has dedicated his life to refining the dance form by chiselling out an elegant structural niche for it – in all that is sacred in art. Through a series of performances, poetry and excerpts from Guru Kelucharan Mohapatra’s life, the film travels back to a time in India where dance was looked upon as a form of prayer. During this beautiful period, dance was not considered feminine, when men were also keen patrons and teachers of dance. However, as times have changed, women have gradually taken over this art form.

Note: Only available in DVD.

English (subtitled), 10 min, 2011, India

‘The Musalman’ is about the hand written Urdu daily published from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Catering to a very small Urdu reading population, The Musalman is possibly the only hand written daily newspaper in the world. The film shows the history of the newspaper, and the passion that drives the people who run it. Established in 1927 by Chenab Syed Asmadullah Sahib, the newspaper was taken over by his son Syed Faisullah. It is presently run by Faisullah’s son, Syed Arifullah, making it a heritage that the family owns. The film also converses with the calligraphers, who have dedicated their lives to The Musalman because of their love for Urdu and calligraphy.

Note: Only available in DVD.

English (subtitled), 29 min, 1999, India

‘Nisbat…Connection’ is a stunning visual essay on the 786th Urs of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti of Ajmer held on the last five days of the October 1998. Using a pair of travellers as sutradhars, the film goes up close to the faithful at the dargah – praying, singing, seeking and simply being. Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti  initiated the Chisti sect of Sufism, and the dargah at Ajmer Sharief holds a special place in the hearts of all and is visited by people of all faiths, especially those who believe in the syncretic Sufi culture that promotes love and tolerance. The film is a very detailed look into the five days of the Urs, the celebrations, the prayers, the living in make-shift camps and hostels, the hope and the anguish, intercepted with poetry. The film ends with the renowned Pakistani singer Abida Parveen visiting and singing at the Dargah.

Note: Only available in DVD.

English (subtitled), 60 min, 2007, India

The layers of history and multiplicity of people residing in Mumbai is astounding. But what they have in common with each other is a restlessness and a single minded pursuit to make it big. ‘A Tale of Two Cities – Mumbai and Bombay’ is a discovery through languages, kinship structures, cultures of the diversity and consciousness of a Mumbai dweller. The city has the densest railway network, with more than 6 million people commuting everyday. Mumbai port is the busiest and largest in India with over 40% of the maritime trade passing from this dock alone. Mumbai offers something new every time one looks out of the window.

Note: Only available in DVD.

English (subtitled), 60 min, 2009, India

‘Beyond Tradition’ is a journey into the world of contemporary dance practices of India and the struggle of a new dance form to break through the traditional moulds. The film explores the genesis and growth of contemporary dance practices in India, the roots of its narrative structure and the struggle to etch an identity for itself in the Indian dance repertoire. The film documents the pathbreaking works of eminent dancers like Daksha Seth, Anita Ratnam, Aditi Mangaldas and Mallika Sarabhai. Though thematically different from each other, their works find a common ground in pushing the limits of physicality in dance and in trying to find a new mode of expression that is tied to the roots of cultural memory.

Note: Only available in DVD.

English (subtitled), 26 min, 2008, India

‘Cradle by the Stream’ travels into the rich cultural and mythological traditions of Varanasi- one of the oldest centres of learning and knowledge known to man. On the banks of River Ganges lies the city of Banaras or Varanasi, one of the oldest centres of learning and knowledge known to man. A city whose fame was established by the Hindu essence of moksha has over the years transformed itself as a vital cultural site in the Indian canvas. From the Banarasi saris to the rich musical tradition that resides in the city, there are multiple reasons why Banaras continues to attract people from India and abroad.

Note: Available in DVD only.

English (subtitled), 117 min, 2011, India

Malana, a remote village in the Himalayas, isolated from outside civilization for thousands of years has been fostering a divine existence in harmony with nature and a unique model of democracy of consensus. The hidden treasure of their governance has been trust and they have been selecting not electing!

They have also been producing some of the best quality hashish. In the seventies came some white men who taught them how to rub the crème and drew them into hashish trade. Malana crème became world famous.

The rule of our modern day democracy has to be established, so Malana becomes a part of Indian electorate. In name of development the curse of modern world starts destroying their traditional culture and social practices. A united community gets divided and goes to vote for the Indian general elections.

Visit the Bom-Bom Charitable Trust site to know more about the filmmaker’s philanthropic work with the people of the area.
Official Site of Bom – aka One Day Ahead of Democracy.