K. Subrahmanyam gave up his profession as a lawyer and became a film director. He made nationalist films promoting the spirit of the freedom struggle during the colonial era. One such film, Thyaga Bhoomi (Tamil) was the high water mark of the involvement of Indian Cinema not only in the Freedom Struggle, but also in women’s emancipation.
A pregnant girl, driven away by her husband’s family for not bringing in adequate dowry, manages to not only struggle and survive, but also becomes independent and prosperous, and is known for her philanthropy. Years later, when the husband returns to claim his conjugal rights, she declares in the court that she is willing to give him alimony, but not accept him as a life partner. The court in 1939 (the year of the film) gives a judgment in favour of the husband. The girl reveals her involvement in the Freedom Struggle and courts arrest, declaring that she would “rather go to jail for the cause of freedom than return to live with her unwanted husband”.
The director had adopted a story by Kalki for his screenplay. Observing phenomenal response in the audience, with nationalist slogans, the film was banned by the British authorities, a few weeks after release. Subrahmanyam advocated renaissance and reforms through most of his films.
He Swam Against the Colonial Current is a one-hour documentary with extracts from his four available feature films out of 22 titles that he directed between 1934 and 1957. It also touches upon his personal life and philosophy; his contribution to the development of the film industry, as a co-founder of the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce, his role in organising the Film Institute of India in Pune and the Children’s Film Society, and several such institutions. The film portrays the catholicity of his attitude of universal brotherhood.
This film, made for the Public Service Broadcasting Trust (PSBT), New Delhi, by award-winning documentary filmmaker and Subrahmanyam’s son S. Krishnaswamy is scheduled for screening at the Chennai International Film Festival at 11 a.m. today at the Rani Seethai Hall.
