International - India & World   

Films on India’s struggle for freedom

London: Three days before India celebrates the 60th anniversary of its Independence, the first ever cinema festival mirroring the country’s struggle and the trauma it faced during the Partition is being held here.

The ‘Cinema of Independence’ lasting till August 15 at Watermans features among others Shatranj Ke Khilari by Satyajit Ray, Bose - The Forgotten Hero by Shyam Benegal, Sardar (The Ir on Man of India) by Ketan Mehta, Toba Te Singh directed by Afia Serena Nanthaniel and Beyond Partition by Lalit Mohan Joshi.

Joshi, director of South Asian Cinema Foundation, the organiser of the festival, said that the films being screened were Indian cinema’s tribute to the struggle for Independence and for ending the British Raj.

“Made between 1947 and 2007 by masters like Satyajit Ray and Shyam Benegal, these films are Indian cinema’s tribute to the struggle for Independence and for ending the British Raj,” said Joshi, director of South Asian Cinema Foundation, the organiser of the festival.

“Sixty years on, it leaves many questions unanswered and these films address them directly or obliquely.”

In Shatranj Ke Khilari, based on a short story by Premchand, the doyen Ray creates a solid ground for the oncoming 1857 Revolt against the Raj, whereas Benegal’s Junoon, an adaptation of Ruskin Bond’s heartrending novel ‘Flight of the Pigeons,’ recreates the rebellion.

Ketan Mehta’s Sardar reverberates with the conflicts that paved the way to for Partition.— PTI

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Benazir admits to deal
11 die in Sri Lanka violence
Scotland to unveil blueprint for independence
Denmark joins polar race
Facelift for Shaolin
Films on India’s struggle for freedom
Chennai to host Malaysian trade fair
Cook book beats Potter record

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu