It is not the first time that a Girish Kasaravalli retrospective is being organised in the city. In the last year alone, there were two such retrospectives that were organised, one at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and another as part of the Bangalore International Film Festival. And yet, connoisseurs of cinema are naturally and understandably enthused at the idea of another film festival dedicated to the acclaimed auteur. The National Gallery of Modern Art has organised a three-day film festival starting today at its premises, showcasing six films made by Kasaravalli. O.P.Srivastava’s Life in Metaphors: A portrait of Girish Kasaravalli , the National Award-winning documentary, will open the festival today at 5.30 p.m.
The NGMA festival is not a retrospective in the strict sense because it will show only a selection six films of Kasaravalli. However, the curator’s choice of films is indeed thoughtful for they capture the essence of the oeuvre of the filmmaker. Starting with Tayi Saheba, Ghatashraddha and Dweepa on May 21, the festival will close with Kurmavatara, Kanasembo Kudureyaneri and Gulabi Talkies , followed by a dialogue between Kasaravalli and Prakash Belawadi.
“The audience in Bangalore is familiar with my films,” says Kasaravalli over the phone. “Some of them may have watched Ghatashraddha in 1977 or Dweepa in 2002 but what a film festival of this kind can give us is a chance to revisit, discern and discuss the preoccupations and politics of a filmmaker. His or her vision of life specifically. In the previous festivals organised, I’ve had many people come up and talk about the films and what they felt worked and didn’t work etc.”
Whose retrospective will Kasaravalli like to organise in the city? “ I’d really like a retrospective of Yasujiro Ozu’s films. Audiences here are not too familiar with his work. Then, of course Satyajit Ray, for his sheer artistry. Another filmmaker who deserves to be revisited is Mrinal Sen. I feel he didn’t quite get his due. He was a filmmaker who was ahead of his time.”However, if given a chance, it is a special film festival dedicated to recent Indian films that he would definitely like to organise, he says. “Especially when I look at what the Kannada film industry needs, I feel that their awareness about world and Indian cinema is practically zero. Just look at the kind of experiments that are taking place in Marathi and Malayalam cinema! The Kannada industry seems exposed to only films from Tamil and Telugu and they mostly end up imitating them. A separate film festival purely for experimental Indian films will bridge this gap. I don’t need multiplexes to organise this festival. Say, we take Chamundeshwari Studio and Sulochana Auditorium, that is enough for me,” he says.
The festival opens at 5.30 p.m. today. Entry is free. For details, call 080-22342338
