The Cover Footsteps on the sands of time ‌ representing the sixty years that the Films Division completed in April 2008. The cover pays homage to the innumerable stalwarts who left their imprint on the sands of the documentary film movement. While new footsteps wipe out traces of the older ones we ponder for a moment on our anniversary to remember the men and women who shaped an organization and through it the destiny of a nation.
4 Rewind to 1948 Sanjit Narwekar recalls the history of an organization which was set up to inform and educate the people of India and the men who guided its destiny.
16 Fast-forward to the Future Chief Producer Kuldeep Sinha takes a quick peek into the future to see what potential the Films Division still has.
21 Life Behind The Camera Combat cameraman, newsreel officer, documentary filmmaker and administrator N.S.Thapa talks about the multifaceted fare the Films Division films have to offer.
25 Creating A Scientific Temperament Former Chief Producer K.L.Khandpur’s report on how best to produce and use science films is still valid today. A blueprint which can still be put into practice.
31 In Search of Newer Forms Pramod Pati focuses on the experimental films that Films Division made in the 1960s
34 The Making of Abid Painter and man of many talents Abid Surti talks about what it was like to make a film with Pramod Pati.
37 The Rush Print Brought The Aid Prem Vaidya recalls the time when a Films Division rush print influenced the sanctioning of aid to India.
43 Exploring The Frozen Continent Deepak Haldankar describes what it was like to capture the dangerous beauty of the Antarctica.
50 Years of Living Dangerously Shankar Patnaik talks of the thrill and adventure of being a newsreel cameraman.
54 Composing Music for Documentaries Maestro and flautist Vijay Raghav Rao tells what it is like scoring for documentaries and how he scored some of his classic documentaries.
Plus * Continuing our series on the documentary cinema of our neighbouring countries. This time it is the Documentary Cinema of Nepal. * Configuring Your System in the Video Primer.
From The Editor’s Desk
Although with greater wisdom, while individuals do not appreciate the ageing process in general and particularly when they are sixty but it is always a glorious moment for an institution when it is 60 years old and its Diamond Jubilee is celebrated with great pomp and show. The Films Division rightly deserves to be called a Diamond in its Diamond Jubilee year because of its many golden landmarks in its entire existence since 1948.
Editor Kuldeep Sinha Executive Editor Sanjit Narwekar Production Co-ordinator Anil Kumar Photographer S. S. Chavan Printed at Work Center Offset Printers (I) Pvt Ltd. A2/32, Shah & Nahar Industrial Estate, S. J. Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai 400013 Tel.: 24943227 / 24929261 Published by Films Division, 24, Dr.Gopalrao Deshmukh Marg, Mumbai 400026 Tel.: 23510461 / 23521421
The Films Division, a pioneer in the documentary film movement has recorded, conserved and preserved the history of independent India. It has inspired many documentary filmmakers and also has bagged the highest number of National and International Awards, a rare distinction for any public organization. Apart from the production of documentaries and newsreels, the Films Division has also pioneered experimental and animation films in India. While the Mumbai International Film Festival (M.I.F.F.) has created a milestone for the Films Division internationally, the quarterly magazine, Documentary Today, has become a landmark initiative for the organisation. Indeed, with this issue, Documentary Today completes one year – a rare feat for a magazine on the documentary genre. In this Diamond Jubilee year of Films Division, I humbly pay my tribute to all those who have contributed their might to build this premier institution. I always feel that it is not an individual who could be credited for such a celebration but it is an array of people who associate themselves time to time for the growth of an organization. Films Division is just not an institution but a heritage. All Indians should be proud of it. On the eve of the Diamond Jubilee I make a fervent plea that this organization which has nurtured short films in India should go on to celebrate its Platinum Jubilee and indeed its Centenary.
Kuldeep Sinha DOCUMENTARY TODAY
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PAST TENSE Rewind to 1948 By Sanjit Narwekar
Gulshan Mahal … the first home of Films Division.
The foundations of the Films Division were laid in the two organisation which were established during the War years in order to help the “War Effort”: the Film Advisory Board and the Information Films of India. The idea of creating an official media organization was born in the mind of a career bureaucrat Desmond Young in the then Department of Information in Delhi. The idea was not an altruistic one. The British Empire (which included India) had gone to war against Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy and with its distinctive tradition in the documentary movement and its vast experience in the use of the short film as a medium of propaganda, it was decided to develop a similar machinery for India to boost the War Effort. He relayed the idea to his principals in London who approved of it and gave permission for the formation of the Film Advisory Board under the chairmanship of J. B. H. Wadia with P. J. Griffith, Rowland-Jones, film distributor M. B. Billimoria and P. N. Thapar (then Secretary in the Department of Information and Broadcasting) as the other members. The Chief Producers who guided the destiny of this short-lived organization were: Sir Alexander Shaw, 6
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V.Shantaram and Ezra Mir – the last two would soon be associated with the Films Division. Soon after the War, the Government realised that the FAB alone was not enough to look after the needs of production and distribution. The FAB was, therefore, wound up and in its place, on February 1, 1943, was born the Information Films of India and with it the Indian News Parade. The Indian News Parade was placed in the charge of an enterprising cinematographer-director William J. Moylan while Ezra Mir continued as the head of the Information Films of India then located at the Central Film Studios at Tardeo Road in Bombay. Yet another parallel film producing organisation that was sanctioned during this period was the Army Film Centre or the Combined Kinematographic Services Film production and Training Group which was headed by Major (later Colonel) Naval Ghandy (a recruit from the feature film industry), and had Captain Ratan Bachcha and Captain Tom Stobart in senior positions. To ensure that the films got shown as extensively as possible, the then Government of India resorted to the Defence of India Rules, Rule 44 A of which compelled exhibitors “to
include in each and every show a maximum of 2000 feet of film approved by the Government”. This was obviously a follow-up on the fact that the FAB films were not very popular with either the exhibitors or the audiences. Between 1940 and 1946 the combined output of the FAB and IFI was more than 170 short films, apart from the newsreels put out by the INP. In spite of P.V.Pathy’s observation that “the IFI is bound to claim a chapter in any history of our cinema that may be written”, none remembered the organisation with any fondness. On the contrary, both the IFI and INP were recalled as film organisations which had “tried to dragoon an unwilling nation into the war”. It was inevitable, therefore, that the rage of the nationalist elements be spent on the two organisations. In the 1946 Budget Session the grant to the IFI was reduced to a token Rupee One, which was as good as closing down the organisation. The realization of the monumental blunder that had been made came only later during the Independence Day celebrations of August 14/15, 1947. There were other film units from London, New York and Paris but none representing the Government of India since the IFI had already been disbanded. It was only in December 1947 that the Standing Finance Committee formally approved the proposal to form a film producing and distributing unit under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The unit was to follow the pattern set by the IFI and INP. Even the rule of compulsory exhibition of Government approved shorts was brought in disguised in a different garb (under the Cinematograph Act of 1918, later revised), which was to be expected considering that no exhibitor would show short films without such “coaxing”. The newly-formed Congress government justified it “in the interests of the emerging nation”. Jawaharlal Nehru sincerely believed that the short film could be used just as effectively in peace time to further the interests of a developing nation just as it was used in wartime for propaganda purposes. He had the
onerous task of binding together a multi-lingual, multi-ethnic country into one single nation. The new organisation was at first called the Film Unit of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting but was officially renamed Films Division in April 1948. The one positive effect of the War had been that the documentary and its techniques filtered into the country, gaining considerable impetus due to the presence of such stalwarts as Jack and Winifred Holmes, Tom Stobart, Alexander Shaw and later Sinclair Road. A number of filmmakers like Paul Zils, Dr. P. V. Pathy, A. Bhaskar Rao and Krishna Gopal were discovered and many others like V. M. Vijaykar, Clement Baptista, Homi Sethna were trained by these War-time organisations. All these filmmakers would have a considerable influence on the evolution of the documentary movement in India in the years to come. Ironically, therefore, the departing British had given shape and direction to the Indian short film movement. Many of those who had worked for the IFI and INP were recruited for the Films Division, which was to make both documentaries and newsreels, the latter under the title of Indian News Review. The noted feature filmmaker Mohan Bhavnani, who had also dabbled in documentary films and had earlier made an experimental cartoon film Lafanga Langoor (1935), was appointed as Chief Producer (Documentaries) while another noted name in feature films Sarvottam L. Badami, who had made such socially-relevant films as Grihalakshimi (1934) and Dr. Madhurika, was appointed as Chief Producer (Newsreels). A. Bhaskar Rao and Krishna Gopal, both from the IFI, joined as Senior Directors. Others who joined them were Mohan Wadhwani (later to become Chief Producer), Kumarsen Sammarth (who was later to head the film unit of the Government of Maharashtra) and N. K. Paralkar. Five other bright students of cinema who had just returned from a Governmentsponsored cinema course with the University of Southern California and Los Angeles were also recruited as Deputy
Most films made by the Information Films of India were geared to the War effort. Scenes from two IFI films: School for Soldiers and Whispering Legions.
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The five Indian graduates of the University of Southern California who joined Films Division in 1949 (from left) K.L.Khandpur, Rajbans Bahadur, Mushir Ahmed, Jagat Murari and Ravi Prakash. K.L.Khandpur and Mushir Ahmed went on to become Chief Producers of Films Division. (Photo courtesy: K.L.Khandpur)
Directors. They were: Jagat Murari, K. L. Khandpur, V. Ramakantha Sarma, Ravi Prakash and Mushir Ahmad. Whatever his other attributes, Mohan Bhavnani was no John Grierson. Having been groomed in “the dream factories of Bombay”, it is doubtful whether he even had a documentary vision. But at this fledgling stage of Films Division’s history it was not a filmmaker who was required at the helm of affairs but someone who could give the new organisation stability and sustenance. The organisation had to be literally plucked from Nehru’s dreams and given a concrete shape and direction. As noted film historian and documentary filmmaker B. D. Garga noted: “Bhavnani’s one undoubted contribution, however, was his vast organisational resourcefulness. He brought order and efficiency in the setup. He saw to it that newsreels were released in time to retain their ‘newsiness’. He secured the most uptodate equipment for his technicians. In short, he was a capable manager.” And that was not all! Mohan Bhavani had contacts. It was he who located the ideal headquarters for the new organisation: the Gulshan Mansion which was the residence of the Jairazbhoy family and which had, for some time, housed the Jai Hind College. The sprawling residential premises were quickly converted into the headquarters for the organisation and the staff shifted into it in 1952. Before that the staff had been working from rented premises at the Famous Cine Laboratories at Mahalaxmi and later from the White House at Walkeshwar (which now houses the Central Board for Film Certification). There were strong rumours (which still persist) that the Gulshan Mansion was haunted but these were not enough to deter either Bhavnani or his band of dedicated men. To this day, the Films, Division continues to be housed in these premises and though a number of new high-rise structures have come up in the last decade, one can still see the original mansion standing in all its architectural splendour. 8
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Those were heady days. As the then Deputy Director Jagat Murari summed it up later: “There was never a dull moment at the Films Division. Every day awaited a new experience, a new discovery. Every three months, there was a new subject, a new world of discovery with its thrills and excitements. The topics covered all subjects under the sun. We were constantly on the move, searching and filming the soul of India.” And the “soul of India” was not only revealed in the art and architecture, customs and traditions of the ancient land but also in the new industrial projects that were being erected under Nehru’s guidance. The Films Division films – then released under the banner of Documentary Films of India – reflected the co-existence of the ancient and the modern. On the one hand were films like Mohan Wadhwani’s Jaipur and Memories Of Mewar, Mohan Bhavnani’s Kumaon Hills, K. L. Khandpur’s Holy Himalayas and Darjeeling, Jagat Murari’s Mahabalipuram while on the other, there were films like V. R. Sarma’s Story Of Sindri and Power For Tomorrow, Jagat Murari’s Story Of Steel and Krishna Gopal’s The Vital Link. The excitement K. L. Khandpur’s Darjeeling.
was infectious and each one tried to outdo the other in friendly competition. The culmination came when the first President’s Gold Medal for a documentary in 1954 went to a Films Division film, Jagat Murari’s Mahabalipuram. Of course, FD films had been winning recognitions at various international film festivals since 1951, the first one being Mohan Wadhwani’s Jaipur which was awarded the First Prize at the Festival of Scientific and Documentary Films, Venice. By the time Mohan Bhavani retired from the Films Division on May 15, 1954 he had put the organisation on a firm footing, both infrastructurally as also in the quality of films being made. Sarvottam Badami had left the organization much earlier on Jaune 30, 1951. For a brief period the noted filmmaker V.Shantaram was requested to “look after” the organization but clearly he was much too busy with his own films. Finally, Ezra Mir, who had earlier been Chief Producer with the IFI, was invited to take over as Chief Producer on September 27, 1956. K. L. Khandpur and Mushir Ahmad were promoted to the level of Assistant Chief Producers. The others who had joined by then were Ramesh Gupta, Neil Gokhale, K. K. Kapil, P. R. S. Pillay with Gopal Mahresh as “the invincible Production Manager”. Ezra Mir was basically a feature filmmaker who had learned filmmaking at the Universal Pictures and United Artists in Hollywood. Born Edwin Myers he had adopted the more Indian sounding name Ezra Mir and had studied at the University of Calcutta. His first brush with films came when he worked with the Madan Theatres on two silent films. He had gone to Hollywood in 1924, returning to India in 1929 to work with Imperial, Sagar and finally Madan once again. He once again left for Europe returning to direct a film for Ranjit Movietone. He became the only filmmaker to head all three Indian short film organizations: the Film Advisory Board (1942-1943), the Information Films of India (194346) as well as Films Division.(1956-1961). The story of how he shifted to documentary films is interesting enough to be narrated here in full: “My shift to documentary filmmaking came during the War years, when I was greatly inspired by the documentary serial March Of Time, produced by TIME-LIFE in the USA. Convinced that it would be wonderful to make such films on India and its varied problems, I approached the Universal Studios and the Twentieth Century-Fox Movietone to send me stock shots from their collection. Using these stocks shots, I produced Road To Victory which was one of the first documentary films made during the War Years in India. I invited Sir Roger Lumley, the then Governor of Bombay, to inaugurate the film which was well received.” Recalling his years at the FD much later Ezra Mir said: “During the five years that I held this assignment, the Films Division produced over 400 documentaries. I used to spend three-fourths of my time in the editing room, personally editing every film produced at the Films Division. It is my
Vishram Bedekar’s Lokmanya Tilak.
firm belief that editing is the very heart and soul of filmmaking and that unless the editing of a film is of the highest order, no documentary can be a success.” A couple of years before Ezra Mir took over the reins from Mohan Bhavnani, Jehangir (or Jean, to use his anglicized name) Bhownagary was seduced away from his UNESCO job to work with the Films Division as Deputy Chief Producer. Though he stayed with the FD for only three years (till 1957), his presence made a significant difference of perspective. There was a brief period between Bhavnani’s departure and Mir’s arrival during which Bhownagary, as Deputy Chief Producer, found himself in charge. As he recalled later: “I plunged into the task of trying to improve the quality of our productions by encouraging existing and new talents to probe deeper into their subjects, to make structured films instead of enumerations of our treasures and achievements as so often required by nonfilmmakers in the Ministries. I wanted each director to find and create his individual style and stamp the film with his own personality.” Bhownagary, in his own style, tried to follow Nehru’s brief and make “films that would help build the nation, build a sense of citizenship and community”. And his way of doing this was to inform the people about their own country. FD’s in-house talented team of Mushir Ahmad, K. L. Khandpur, Jagat Murari, Krishna Gopal, Bhaskar Rao, V. R. Sarma, Ravi Prakash, N. S. Thapa and many others all rose to the occasion with films like Madurai, Jhelum, DOCUMENTARY TODAY
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Besides, the quality or novelty of the films was not always the criteria. Speed and quantity were also important criteria since a network of all-India theatres had to be fed with new films 52 times a year. Towards the end of the 1950s it was decided that classroom films in consultation with the Union Ministry of Education be made. Accordingly Dr. Gopal Datt, a specialist in audiovisual education, was inducted into the FD as Educational Advisor and the programme began under his guidance. When Dr. Datt became a director, Sankar P. Gangooli was brought in his place. Under this unique programme, audio visual study aids were devised. Most of the films were on the physical and geographical features of India: Indo-Gangetic Plains, Deccan Tableland, Climate Of India, Cycle Of Seasons and Evolution And Races Of Man.
Films Division pioneered the making of educational shorts … a scene from The Black Gold.
Banaras, Negarjunakonda, Kerala, Mandu – The City Of Joy and many others. There were many award-winners like Rights of Man, Vigil On Wheels, Report From The Heartlands, Fight The Floods, Spring Comes To Kashmir. Art films were a special favourite of Bhownagary’s and naturally enough there was a special focus on them. Wadhwani had made Khajuraho and the film had bagged the prestigious Silver Carabo at the Manila Festival. Bhownagary’s own effort Radha And Krishna was also a recepient of a heap of awards: the President’s Gold Medal, the Silver Bear at the Berlin festival, the Silver Plaque in Santiago de Chile and many more. In the initial days of the documentary, most filmmakers attempted to compress thousands of years of art history in one or two-reelers. Bhownagary, with his special love for art, changed that. Each film dealt with only one aspect, thus giving the filmmaker ample scope to develop his theme. There were other experiments: Neil Gokhale made an effective use of poems and sound effects to re-create the charm of Mandu – The City Of Joy. With Ezra Mir coming into FD as Chief Producer, the two of them began to work in tandem. Films of every conceivable genre were made: biographicals like Vishram Bedekar’s film on Lokmanya Tilak, Neil Gokhale’s The Story Of Dr. Karve; art films like Khajuraho and Radha And Krishna; education, instructional and informational films like Naya Paisa and Metric System; films on social education like Pause And Think, The Case Of Mr X and The Case Of Mr Critic: export and tourist promotion films like Hill Stations Of South India and Taj Mahal: and the inevitable “visit films”. When one thinks of the number of films that the FD had had to churn out over the years, in different genres and often at short notice one cannot but excuse the varying qualities of the documentaries made. 10
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Towards the end of the 1950s the Films Division also set up Its Cartoon Film Unit with assistance from the IndoAmerican Technical Co-operation Programme with Clair H. Weeks, former Key Animator with the Walt Disney Studios, serving as Consultant. In its initial period the unit supplied “animation inserts” to the regular documentary films being made by FD. In 1957, however, it embarked on the production of an eight-minute Eastmancolor cartoon The Banyan Deer, directed by Ahmed Lateef (who had earlier made Fantasy) from a Jakata tale. Shanti S. Verma was the animation cameraman with G. K. Gokhale, B. R. Dohling and P. Srinivasan as senior members of the unit. The Cartoon Film Unit set up at the Films Division, however, was the first concentrated effort to make cartoon films on a regular basis. The unit was to distinguish itself in the years to come and some of India’s top animators like Bhim Sain and Ram Mohan would work for it. Many others like V. K. Wankhede, Shaila Paralkar, B. R. Shendge, V. G. Samant, R. R. Swamy, A. R. Sen and Arun Gongade would go on to win honours for themselves and the unit.
V. K. Wankhede’s The Ungrateful Man was one of the many films produced by the Cartoon Film Unit.
I am Twenty and Face to Face were among the new breed of films made at the Films Division in the 1960s.
By the late 1950s and early 1960s most Films Division films had begun to look like one another. True, there were still films which were winning awards in India and abroad for the novelty of theme or the freshness of approach. True, there were still a number of in-house directors who could, if they chose, leave their impress on the films they had made. And in a few cases they did! And yet, most of Films Division’’ work had settled in a groove. While sticking to the letter of Nehru’s earlier brief (of introducing the people to their own country), many of the directors had lost the spirit and had ended up with travelogues. As historian B.D.Garga put it, “The result is a sort of Tourist office pamphlet and not any serious, profound and realistic study of people or situations.” But that was not the only problem. There was also a loss of credibility with the Films Division – a loss which has still not been completely regained even today in spite of the many good films made since the 1960s. In the 1960s, however, this loss of credibility was not the result of bad filmmaking but because of poor political planning. N. V. K. Murthy, who was Producer (Newsreels) in the 1960s but who left to chart out his own career, explained the crisis thus: “The entire resources of the country in the field of publicity were geared to the task of spreading Nehru’s message of planning. Many worthwhile films were made on this subject. But, some of the films went overboard with their good intentions and painted, perhaps, a too rosy picture of our planned economy. The people were led to believe that once the plans were completed the country would flow with milk and honey. When this did not happen, the films lost their credibility and thereby their audiences.”
were realised and the adjustments to a new type of film made there was no real problem. By then Ezra Mir had retired from Films Division on December 23, 1961 and had been followed by a series of administrators – N.J.Kamath, S.Y.Ranade and S..N.Limaye – who had little to do with films but managed the affairs of the organization with ability. K.L.Khandpur who, along with four others, had joined Films Division as Deputy Director at its inception fresh out of the University of Southern California and Los Angeles, was now made the youngest Chief Producer that the organization had seen. The year was 1962 and Khandpur was just 39 years old! He would be promoted to the post of Controller in 1968 and would remain with Films Division till 1976. And then an exciting thing happened! Jean Bhownagary returned to India as Chief Advisor (Films) in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting specifically at Mrs. Indira Gandhi’s request. The year was 1965 and Mrs. Gandhi was then Minister of Information and Broadcasting. By a happy circumstance, Mr. Asok Mitra was Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. With Mrs. Gandhi and India 67 created a furore at the National Awards and redefined the parameters of documentary.
Of course, all this did not become evident immediately at the beginning of the decade. But as time went by the communicators realised that they had failed to grasp the essentials of development in a democratic society. They realised it was not a mere question of inputs but also a matter of taking into consideration the social problems that beset our society. They further realised that both sides of the case had to be presented with a certain amount of persuasion thrown in while making the case. Once these basic truths DOCUMENTARY TODAY 11
Mr. Mitra backing him, Bhownagary set about blowing the cobwebs from the corridors of Films Division. As Bhownagary recalled later: “New ideas, new approaches had to be found, encouraged and put to work. Fortunately, our country is so rich in talent that soon a whole new ferment was boiling over. We now concentrated not only on achievements but also pin-pointed problems and showed what the people most concerned felt about them and took into account the solutions they suggested.” Films were no longer shot according to rigid scripts written at the desk. The film was based on what the people on the streets spoke and the film was made on the editing table. Bhownagary was told not to ask for a larger budget but he was given what a creative man values the most: a free hand. A whole new set of filmmakers came to the fore: K. S. Chari, S. N. S. Shastry, S. Sukhdev, Pramod Pati, K. K. Kapil, N. V. K. Murthy and Prem Vaidya (both with Newsreels) along with G. K. Gokhale, Ram Mohan, Bhim Sain in the Animation Film Unit. More than that, the newsreels themselves underwent a qualitative change. Here it was the genius of N. V. K. Murthy at work. Murthy had a postgraduate degree in Journalism from the Indiana University in the United States and had headed the Department of Journalism at Osmania University. He had come to FD as Senior Commentary writer and had risen to become Producer (Newsreels). Murthy started by diversifying the contents of the newsreels and by making them more sprightly. He began to interview people in the streets for their reaction of important events like Devaluation and General Elections rather than the so-called experts. In true journalistic fashion he began to catch the news rather than the newsmakers. One filmmaker who quickly grasped the mood of the moment was K. S. Chari, who was, in the mid 1960s, the Senior Commentary Writer in English. He came up with a script which eventually resulted in Face To Face directed by him in collaboration with T. A. Abraham. For the first time in the history of Films Division the camera and the microphone had been brought down to the street level with the man on the street doing the talking. The film captured the spirit of Two Films Division animators who became stalwarts … Ram Mohan and Bhim Sain.
Radha and Krishna, directed by Shanti Varma and Jehangir Bhownagary
Indian democracy and set the pattern for future films. Chari’s next film Transition made and released on the occasion of India’s twentieth independence was an attempt to capture the mood of the people on that historic occasion. Another exciting film made during this period was I Am Twenty, directed by S.N.Sastry. The film talks to youngsters born in 1947 on the verge of adulthood about their dreams and desires Among the controversial films of that time were Report On Drought, I Am Twenty, Transition, Face To Face and Actual Experiences in two parts (a controversial series on family planning). Bhownagary’s love for the art film found expression in Akbar on miniature paintings. But more important than all this was that Bhownagary began to encourage experimentation on film. From its inception, FD’s brief had been to produce informational, educational and propaganda films. It was this brief which was the primary consideration in the choice of FD subjects. Not any longer! Filmmakers were encouraged to express themselves through films without any restraint and what followed was a veritable explosion of forms. In these efforts, artists from other fields – painters, musicians, cartoonists, authors – provided a lot of cross fertilization. Soon after the first few films in this genre were released there was a hue and cry that Films Division was wasting public money on fake experimentation. The controversy died down because in 1967 Bhownagary’s term came to an end and he returned to UNESCO in 1967. Before he left, Bhownagary saw to it that the independent filmmakers were given a better deal. The quota of films they could produce for the Government was increased and so were the rates. The system of accepting the lowest tender was done away with and in some cases individual producers were even given a choice of subjects. All this was unheard of but the policy was deliberate. As Bhownagary claimed later, Films Division needed the ideas. “We were working out some sort of harmony between the public and private sectors,” said Bhownagary. All of which was for the good because without this patronage the independents may not
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have survived at all or may have been driven to promotional filmmaking. Independent filmmaker had prospered during the 1950s thanks to the foresightedness of Burmah Shell, the TCM and a host of other major industrial concerns who were willing to finance documentary films. In the 1960s none of this was left and had FD and Bhownagary not been around a film such as Fali Billimoria’s The House That Ananta Built could not have been made. Apart from providing sustenance to the old guard like Fali Billimoria, Clem Baptista and Homi Sethna during these sponsorless years, the FD could well take pride in having nurtured a filmmaker such as Sukhdev who went on to make a series of brilliant films thanks to FD patronage: Kal Udaas Na Hogi, Thoughts In A Museum and India 67 or An Indian Day which created a rumpus at the National Awards because of a few enacted scenes. The award eventually went to Sukhdev but he had changed the very definition of documentary but that is another story. Soon after Bhownagary left in 1967 he was replaced by James Beveridge as Consultant to Films Division (196769). Beveridge was a protégé of the legendary John Grierson and had been closely associated with Stuart Legg and Ross Maclean at the National Film Board of Canada. He was an old India hand and had been Executive Producer with the Burmah Shell Film Programme. Beveridge’s two-year stint with Films Division soon came to an end and he left to join the City University of New York as Professor of Film. His departure resulted in several changes at Films Division. K.L.Khandpur was promoted to the post of Controller and Mohan Wadhwani was appointed Chief Producer on June 21, 1968. Like Khandpur, Wadhwani had joined the organisation in 1949 but had worked in the mainstream film industry before that. A quiet self-effacing personality, Wadhwani more a filmmaker than an administrator but he managed the unit ably till his retirement on March 5, 1971. Thanks to the advent of video and other low-cost formats, the late 1970s witnessed a virtual explosion of short filmmaking in the country. So many films were being made Many independent directors made films for Films Division. A scene from Fali Billimoria’s The House That Ananda Built,
Sukhdev, seen here in Khilonewala, was an independent director who was nurtured by Films Division.
from so many centres that it was virtually impossible to even keep track of what was happening in the field. Very few of the old guard (like Homi Sethna) were still making films. New filmmakers came to the fore with new styles of filmmaking. Many of them were graduates from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune. Many others were from the mainstream cinema. Quite a few of them were also self-taught. None of them really depended on the Films Division to make films. Doordarshan had been introduced and steadily expanded over the 1970s and 1980s. State Governments and Union Ministries had started doling out films on their own rather than routing them through the Films Division. The new enlightened entrepreneurs and industrialists had seen the wisdom of sponsoring documentaries and thus emerging as patrons of the arts. There was, therefore, no dearth of work if one knew where to find it. With the prolificity of sponsors and with Doordarshan providing the news on a day-to-day basis, Films Division lost much of its clout and power. There was even some talk of Films Division having been rendered redundant. Countering this opinion, Vijay B. Chandra, who was to take over as Chief Producer in 1985, said, “Of course, FD could not compete with Doordarshan in regard to news. News is news and it should not get stale by delay. FD fulfilled its purpose upto a point of time. But then it had to give in. Even here, we still have an advantage. We, at FD, stick by the film with an eye on posterity. The colours in our films will be there for a long, long time. No question of first generation or second generation loss as in the case of the video tape.” Chandra instinctively realised that if the Films Division had to survive and retain its utility, it would have DOCUMENTARY TODAY 13
1976. In 1981 he was appointed Joint Chief Producer and then Chief Producer on March 23, 1985. Vijay Chandra took over the reins of Films Division at a very crucial time. It was time for some major restructuring. It was no longer possible to run the Films Division as it had been in the earlier years.
Santosh Sivan’s The Story of Tiblu, the first film to be made in the Idu language.
to re-define its role in the context of today’s electronic revolution. Grasping on the undoubted strengths of the organisation, he set about the herculean task of making the Films Division relevant to the times. Veteran warhorse K.L.Khandpur competently held the Films Division fort till 1976 when he was nominated Chairman of the Central Board of Film Censors. His fellow student at the USCLA and colleague at the Films Division Mushir Ahmed was made Chief Producer on September 30, 1976. A postgraduate in Arts from the Agra University, Ahmed carried on gamely till his retirement on October 31, 1980. A month later he was replaced by N.S.Thapa who had a brilliant track record as a combat and later newsreel cameraman and director. Thapa was often referred to as “Nehru’s favourite cameraman” if only because the first Prime Minister of India had saved his life while filming crucial scenes on two occasions and often inquired about the “diminutive cameraman” after that. With his penchant for adventure and “the hills”, Thapa’s reign saw the making of several “adventure” films like Explorartion Antarctica, the Everest films as also several films on mountaineering. The famous Asiad 1982 was also filmed during his reign and it remained his crowning achievement. Thapa continued his association with the Films Division long after he had retired on March 31, 1983 making the series of brilliant films on the Indian Freedom Struggle. A Science graduate of the Allahabad University, Vijay Bahadur Chandra completed a Diploma in Photography before joining the Uttar Pradesh Government in the Division of Photography and Films. By 1961 he had been promoted to the position of Films Officer but he left to join Films Division in 1963. While still at FD he got the opportunity to study abroad on a Ford Foundation scholarship where he got the chance to observe documentary legend John Grierson, a great advocate of the “official media”. Returning to India he worked briefly with the Central Board of Film Censors before becoming Producer at Films Division in 14
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There was talk of the Films Division having become redundant. There was even a move “to hand over the organization to Doordarshan” which had emerged as the sole audio visual body in the early 1980s. With the vast audience that the electronic media has at its command (a peak viewership of 144 million), Chandra realised that the cinema theatres no longer held the key to wide viewership. He opened the Archives of the FD and Doordarshan found in it a vast treasure house of readymade films of every imagineable genre: from full length documentaries like Frame Within Frame to one-minute animation films of timeless social relevance like A.B. See which could be used as either full-fledged programmes or as “fillers”. The FD Archives were enough to keep the television monster going for quite some time. It is sad that Doordarshan uses these short films haphazardly or as late night programmes. With proper programming and presentation, these films could be used as an educational and informational tool. But this alone was not enough. Chandra visualised a time when these films could be used in the classroom or for private specialised viewing. He supervised the transfer of a wide variety of films - grouped by genre and subject - onto video-tape. Video cassettes of timeless FD films were made available at nominal cost. Also realising that the audience must see documentary films as a matter of choice rather than compulsion, Chandra began to take the FD films to the people, by hosting documentary festivals in the State capitals. The Bombay International Film Festival of Documentary, Short and Animation Films became a larger manifestation of this effort. The festival was a dream come true for Chandra and he has often been referred to as the Father of the Documentary Film Festival. Prem Vaidya’s Man in Search of Man.
Men who shaped Films Division
Mohan Bhavnani
Sarvottam Badami
Ezra Mir
K. L. Khandpur
Jehangir Bhownagary
Mohan Wadhwani
Mushir Ahmed
N. S. Thapa
Vijay Chandra
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a sensation for not only being the first film made in the Idu language but also for its sensitive treatment.
Timeless social relevance... A.B.See
In spite of this, the period was a fruitful one - even for the “official media”. Filmmakers like Nilita Vachchani (Eyes Of Stone), Nalini Singh (her film on booth capturing), Yash Chaudhury (New And Renewable Sources Of Energy, Frame WitMn Frame, Race Against Death), P.C. Sharma (And Quietly Dies The Vasundhari, Premchand), Kuldeep Sinha (Taranath Shenoy), Arun Gongade (A.B. See and End Game), R.R. Swamy (Nimay, Connoisseur) and many others emerged. Old-timers like Girish Vaidya (Circle Of Red) and Prem Vaidya (Veer Savarkar, Kala Pani and Man In Search Of Man), Loksen Lalwani (They Call Me Chamar, Burning Stone), V.K. Wankhede (Warli Paintings) hit peak form. In spite of the redefining of roles, the making of films went on undisturbed. Reacting sharply to the criticism that FD was unable to keep pace with the changing technology, the FD introduced, in the early 1980s, a Rural-biased 16 mm program-me under which a number of featurettes to be made in 16 mm were doled out to outside producers. One such film The Story Of Tiblu by youngster Santosh Sivan created
During the 1980s, the Films Division embarked on a special project: making films for the Indian festivals in countries like UK, USA. USSR, France and Japan. These films include Bhanumurthy Alur’s Shanti Parva (on the Festival of India in USSR) and An Encounter (on the Festival of France), Kuldeep Sinha’s Druzhba (on the Festival of USSR in India) and R. Krishna Mohan’s All For One (on the third SMRC summit in Nepal). There were also films which paid a tribute to India’s friendship with other countries: Two Men And An Ideal (on the Tito-Nehru friendship), R. Vasudevan’s Friendly Mongolia, Kuldeep Sinha’s Bhutan-A Tribute To Friendship, B.D. Garga’s Road To Friendship (on Indo-USSR friendship), T.S. Narasimhan’s Antionette (on the 105th anniversary of Indian immigrants to Mauritius) and Saga of Indian Immigration and Yash Chaudhury’s Equal Partners (on India and the European Economic Community). Other co-productions included Shyam Benegal’s Nehru and two adventure films Against The Current, directed by B.G. Deware, and High Adverture On White Waters, directed by Yash Chaudhury. All these films were made with Indian and foreign filmmakers and technicians working in close collaboration. Yet another important genre of film which came to the fore during the late 1970s and 1980s was the agricultural film, which is made by FD for the Ministry of Agriculture’s Extension Department. A separate Agrifap Unit of the FD had to be set up in New Delhi under a Joint Chief Producer (KK Kapil) to cater to the demand. The popularity of the films made by this department is not discernible in urban areas because most of the films are of specific interest to rural audiences who find them invaluable. D. Gautaman, Nishith Banerjee, Lalit Upadhyaya C.J. Paulose, Mahmood Quraishi are some of the filmmakers who have regularly made films in this genre. The films range from general themes like The Farmer’s Wife and Water And The Land to instructional films like How To
FD’s latest productions Rajeshree Bhagyachandra of Manipur and Naula: A Lifeline
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Films Division on Film
Manohar Singh Bisht and his unit while filming Framing Time
The checkered history of the Films Division is the theme of at least two of its own films: Framing Time (2008), directed by Manohar Singh Bisht, and Unveiling India (1998), written and directed by Sanjit Narwekar. In a sense both are anniversary films: the first being made on the organisation’s sixtieth anniversary and the other being made on its fiftieth anniversary. A third film Through The Lens Starkly (1995), directed by Kuldeep Sinha is actually a history of the 100 years of Indian documentary but also deals with the Films Division, primarily because the organization has been at the vanguard of the documentary film movement in India. Manohar Singh Bisht’s Framing Time shot on the video format is actually a tribute to the organization and indeed begins with a telling quote from James Beveridge. A special highlight of Bisht’s film is that it includes rare footage from the FD archives – and even scenes from the very first newsreel made by Films Division way back in 1948 showing the last contingent of British soldiers leaving India. It also allows us glimpses into the succession of our freedom fighters. Unveiling India is a straightforward no-frills history of the organization. It documents fifty years of documentary filmmaking at the Films Division and how, in spite of
being a Government sponsored organisation, it has lived up to its ideal of providing a showcase for the events that shaped India. Stylistically the film has been designed to tell the story of the organisation through the images immortalised by the Films Division, either through its documentaries or newsreels. The images used are purely from the archives of the Films Division and have been used on two levels: as the images themselves to illustrate the films from which they were taken and then again, in their re-edited form, to reflect the times (and era) during which the films were made. Through The Lens Starkly deals with the Films Division but its main focus is on narrating the history of Indian documentaries and thus has a much larger canvas to cover. Thus the film begins in 1896 with the showing of the first Lumiere films and goes on to show the films made by the pioneers like Harishchandra Sakharam Bhatawdekar, Dadasaheb Phalke and many others before it comes to FD’s contribution. Whatever their approach all three films detail the history of an organization which has played a stellar role in the cinema of the country. All three films are collector’s items since they contain footage rarely seen before and hence could become excellent educational tools for media institutes.
Handle Fuel 0ils And Lubricants; from simple informational films like Rhythm Of Agriculture to sophisticated educational films like Radio Tracer Techniques In Agricultural Research. Veteran filmmaker O.P. Sharma who presently heads this department and his predecessor K.K. Kapil have made it such a success that this department alone has produced a number of national and international award winning films in the last many years. Soon after Vijay Chandra’s retirement in 1993 a succession of Chief Producers followed. Most continued with the work that Chandra had initiated but by then the Bombay (later Mumbai) International Film Festival had become central to the activities of the Films Division. In the absence of a clearly-defined production schedule and the dwindling staff there was not much to do but concentrate on the documentary festival which was slowly become the need of the age and thus, larger than the organization which had spawned it. Things coasted along for almost a decade when the new Chief Producer Kuldeep Sinha took over the reins in 2006. He came with a host of ambitious schemes – outlined in the following article – which were soon put into implementation and it is only now that one has begun to see the full fruits of his labour. However, much more than what has been spelled out needs to be done. There has to be a master plan, a whole new policy for the new millennium. The Films Division has reached a milestone but if it has to witness the centenary it must come up with a brand new policy which will be a mix of production, archiving, documentation and fostering the documentary spirit through festivals. (Sanjit Narwekar is a National Award winning author and documentary filmmaker who has written and lectured on Indian cinema since 1970. He has written more than two dozen books on various aspects of Indian cinema.)
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FUTURE TENSE Fast-forward to the Future By Kuldeep Sinha There is an upheaval in the life span of anything either an individual or an institution when one goes through the traumatic and challenging moments. The same has been true with the Films Division in its existence of 60 years. The Films Division has experienced a lot of changes and challenges since a film unit was first established by the British government under the nomenclature of Information Films of India. The purpose of this institution was solely to promote the war efforts of the British Government during its time. With a narrow vision of the government of that
time, IFI’s role was very limited. Therefore, predictably prior to Indian independence in 1947, the unit was wound up. Unfortunately, for this reason the celebrations of Indian independence and the trauma of partition could not be documented by any official media. These festivities are available in Films Division Archive, courtesy some private entrepreneurs who had covered these immortal events. Further, independent India woke up to new challenges and dreams for the future. The first Prime Minister of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had a great vision for Indian development and self reliance. It was his vision that he thought that the film medium was the best tool to disseminate the information and educate the vast majority of Indian populace. Hence, the Information Films of India was reincarnated in the new avatar of Films Division in April 1948. Since then, Films Division had played a great role in not only disseminating information and educating the masses but also revolutionizing the documentary scene in India. With its production of more than 8000 films, the Films Division has been reaching out to the people through mandatory compulsory exhibitions of documentary films in cinema halls under an agreement between the Government of India and the Film Federation of India. Those who have being keen watchers of Films Division documentary films popularly known as Newsreels still miss the charisma of the fascinating coverages done by more than enthusiastic cameramen without fear to their life. These cameramen reached atop the Himalayas, to the remote islands of Andaman & Nicobar, to the Antarctica and various other subcontinents of the world. It was an endeavour of Films Division to record all aspects of life and development, art and culture, political actions, biographies, science and technology and sports, etc. New genres in documentary films were being created by the imaginative and experimental film makers of Films Division. The Animation Wing of Films Division was pioneering the animation movement in the country. This was certainly and rightly called the Golden Era of Films Division.
Films Division 2008. 18
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The Challenges In subsequent years, there was a definite decline in the effectiveness of Films Division as well as enthusiasm of exhibitors to show its films in the theatres all over the country. Almost simultaneously television had emerged as an effective, convenient and a new medium for reaching out to the people but, in fact, missed them – and even now they are being missed out for effective and authentic information in the vast country such as India. The reach of television is still limited because of economic status and scarce electrical supply in distant rural and the smaller mofussil towns as well as the general hunger of the people for entertainment through the television media. Even the news channels are inclined to thrills and entertainment. This has resulted in depreciating the value of documentary films and their effectiveness. The role of television has been (mis)construed by one and all with their regular news bulletins being compared to the documentary films of Films Division and coming to the wrong conclusion that the latter are not required. Documentary films have been sidelined with so many television channels entering everyday into our drawing rooms. In this context, I may also point out that the screening of documentary films to a captive audience will always be more effective than the channels of satellite television, which are scanned with the speed of 100 per minute. The role of documentary films can never be undermined. Another tendency of most viewers is to compare documentary films with entertainment films and point out that the former are not entertaining enough. Those who want to be entertained through documentary films forget that the very purpose of documentary is not to entertain but to record and present the reality of events and personalities for posterity. Documentary films are like text books and not like a novel which is read in order to pass time. During the course, some disgruntled and vested interests have also emerged to undermine the importance of documentary films as a purposeful instrument of education. They have gone to the extent of suggesting the winding up of Films Division as an institution which has not only served the country with its invaluable record of history of independent India but also has preserved a treasure-trove of India on celluloid which is set to be preserved for another 100 years in ideal conditions. There are many more reasons and challenges which have posed a danger for the survival of Films Division. It was the need of the hour to fight these vested interests and also to stand up in competition amongst the mushrooming satellite television channels. At this critical juncture, when Films Division was almost wiped out from the memories of people and from the agenda of all those who matter, it was a great challenge for me to bring out this pioneer institute out of limbo. The challenges were enormous and options were few which definitely required a great vision, collaboration and support of all those who have been associated with this organization for some time.
Jabbar Patel’s film on the santoor maestro Pandit. Shivkumar Sharma, The Inner Voice, has been made in Cinemascope and Dolby sound.
Updating Production Technology In spite of the tremendous changes and developments in film technology, Films Division has continued with the normal 35mm format of celluloid production which was a major reason for cinema halls not showing Films Division documentaries since, in the midst of screening films in the cinemascope or wide screen format, they had to switch over to the normal 35mm screen for the projection. There has been a regular demand from exhibitors to provide them films in the cinemascope or wide screen format. Even in animation 3D animation technology has come up in a big way. Similarly in the sound, the Dolby system has revolutionalised the impact of the reproduction of the sound. Films Division could no longer afford to lag behind in the technological revolution taking place every day. The entire approach to documentary production needed an overhaul. Now, the production of documentary films in Films Division has been taken up in the cinemascope and Dolby system. The first film of its kind has been made by the noted filmmaker Jabbar Patel on the santoor maestro Pandit. Shivkumar Sharma, The Inner Voice. The first 3D animation film Don’t Wait Until Dark on saving the electricity has been produced in Films Division by in-house animator Bhakti J.Pulekar. In Bhavai, director V.Packirisamy has also experimented with modern technology: shooting the film on super 16 format and later converting it to 35mm cinemascope using the Director Intermediate (DI technology) process. I am sure in the coming years Films Division will be fully geared up to adopt new technology and systems in cinema giving documentaries a new dimension and direction Film Festivals for Documentary, Short and Animation Films Whenever FD units went out location to shoot a documentary DOCUMENTARY TODAY 19
The festival which captured the imagination of the documentary world … Shri Ashok Chavan, Maharashtra State Minister for Cultural Affairs, Shri Vilasrao Deshmukh, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, actress Vidya Balan, Chief Producer & Director, MIFF 2008 Kuldeep Sinha, Shri Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting.
film the unit members were invariably asked, if they were “from Doordarshan” and now the question is: “which channel?” To answer this question has often been very embarrassing but it has taught me that most “innocent” people do not even know that a Films Division exists in the country. So the foremost task for me was to once again refurbish the memories of Films Division among the people who had once eagerly looked forward to its documentaries and newsreels in the pre-television era. In the near absence of the theatrical release of documentary films, the Films Division began to organize documentary film festivals in various states, cities and towns with enthusiastic assistance from local documentary filmmakers and the local government authorities. These festivals have given Films Division and the documentaries an unexpectedly huge audience and media exposure, which had once eluded it, thus bringing Films Division to the fore. These non-competitive local festivals
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have in fact been an extension of Mumbai International Festival for Documentary, Short and Animation Films (M.I.F.F.) whose tenth edition concluded in Mumbai recently and which has made a distinct mark as one of the world’s top documentary film festivals. With every edition, the festival has crossed all boundaries in status and stature besides attracting more and more documentary film makers to its fold. If M.I.F.F. has created a consciousness about documentaries, the local festivals are creating a culture for documentary genre. Documentary Today: A new initiative Creating and promoting documentary film culture was one of Films Division’s main forte. To carry forward this objective, Films Division has initiated the publication of an exclusive magazine Documentary Today for documentary filmmakers and for all those who have a keen interest in short films. Documentary Today has been able to quench the thirst of short filmmakers and scholars.
The Golden Treasure As everyone knows that Films Division in its earlier avatar of Information Films of India was established by the then British rulers to promote their war efforts, the war films made during that period were unseen and their existence out of common knowledge. In spite of that the collection of films has been an essential part of the national heritage. The Films Division recently acquired about 100 films made during the Second World War in 1942. Today these films are a pride possession of the Films Division, courtesy Armed Force Films and Photo Division of Ministry of Defence. Films Division is making all efforts to preserve this invaluable material in its original format. The Films Division Archive In the 60 years of its existence, the organization has produced more than 8000 titles on a wide variety of subjects from art and culture to agriculture, political and cultural events in the country, biographies, science and technology, family welfare, and even defence training films. Someone has rightly said: you name the subject and we have the film in Films Division. This has been endorsed by the noted documentary filmmaker James Beveridge: “If one had the hardihood, and could screen the entire output of Films Division since 1949, one would incidentally be witness to a historical account of the whole evolution of contemporary India since Independence. All the projects, plans, developments, events, crises, upsets, good advice, national campaigns, urgings and scoldings and songs of praise and delight in India’s formidable heritage – all are reflected in the films and newsreels, week to week. India’s story is there on film. So is the mood of the times, of each season, of determination, grim purpose, ebullience, success, setback and disaster, emergency and crises, accomplishment and pride. The films have mirrored not only the national events but the national mood, shifting and changing from year to year as events swept onward.”
The Golden Treasure … the Films Division Archives dates back to the 1940s.
for the esteemed visitors to the proposed Museum of Moving Images which is to be a part of the Films Division. Behind the Frames
International Digital Archive for Documentary, Shorts and Animation Films
During the course of its existence, Films Division has experienced a journey of technological development in the field of cinema. In its technological treasure of cinema, equipments are different kinds of cameras – from the ones used during the silent era to the latest ones. Mitchell, Bombspotting Arricord Eyemo and Arri Metal Blimp 35mm, Arri 35 BL, Arri 16 BL, Arriflex 435, Arriflex IIC (single frame), Arri 35mm Fibre Glass Blimp, 800mm Tele Lens, 400mm & 600mm Tele Lens, 25-250mm Zoom Lens, 100mm Micro Lens and Fish Eye Lens, etc. On the Recording Side, the organization has Uhar ¼” Location Recorder, Nagra 4.2 ¼”, Fostex Digital Recorder, Denon ¼” Tape Recorder, Westrex 35mm Magnetic Triple Reproducer, Westrex 35mm Magnetic Recorder, Siemens Audio Mixer, 35mm portable projector, 35mm Moviola, Steenback Editing machine, Splicer Sound Reader, 10 K.W., 5 K.W. Colortran, Inkie-Dinkie, HMI, Photo Fluid Lights and reflectors, etc.
Films Division has also taken steps for modernizing its existing technology. All its films are being digitalized in the SD and HD format which has automatically resulted in a Digital Archive of Documentary Films produced by Films Division. In addition, Films Division has also collected a number of award winning films of Mumbai International Film Festivals since 1990 – thus mooting the idea of establishing an International Archive for Documentary, Short and Animation Films. Such an archive will be one of its kind in India and will be a milestone in the achievements of Films Division. This international digital archive will be a platform for all educational institutions, film festivals, students and scholars of cinema and NGOs to exhibit these films to suit their various objectives. This digital archive will be a permanent source of documentary films’ exhibition
All those equipments and many more date back to the 1930s. The fact that they have been carefully maintained and stored by the Films Division since its inception is a reflection of its technological passion. It was a nostalgic experience for cine technicians and film lovers to have a look of these equipments in a cine expo Behind the Frames which was organized by Films Division during the IFFI-2007 in Goa and MIFF-2008 in Mumbai. In fact, the craze for this exhibition is so intense that there has been a constant demand from various states and filmmaking centres in the country to replicate this exhibition in their cities. There has also been a suggestion to run a Behind the Frames train throughout the country so people from every nook and corner of India can see the growth of Indian cinema in the last century. DOCUMENTARY TODAY 21
Museum of Moving Images (MOMI) One of the most ambitious projects of Films Division which is likely to take shape in the near future is the Museum of Moving Images which will be a reflection of the growth of Indian cinema in the light of new technology on the lines of film museums at New York and London. The Museum of Moving Images in India will not only be a feather in the cap for Films Division but it will bring pride to the country. When we are establishing our supremacy in all other fields, this cinema exposition will not be far behind. Academic Films There are many more dreams which could be translated into reality to make Films Division once again a vibrant organization. Since the Films Division has attained an expertise in educational and training films on various subjects, it will not be out of context if, in collaboration with various educational institutions and universities, Films Division ventures into production of curriculum-based Digital Text Books. These digital text books could be in great demand as a supplementary material for the students of various classes and courses. A regular arrangement of exhibition of these films can play a very important role in educating all those who have no means to go to schools or have dropped out. In fact, such an educational Strategy can revolutionize the entire educational system at minimum cost. Training Technicians Over the years, Films Division – having the most advanced technology in animation, sound, recording, camera and editing departments – has acquired a certain degree of technological and film production expertise. Many have observed that these facilities have not been optimally utilized. With the increasing demand for trained technicians in the field of cinema and television, the Films Division can share its experiences and expertise to train new technicians to meet the burgeoning demand for trained personnel in the film and television industries. The Documentary Channel With the changing times and technology in the broadcasting industry, a new technology is launched every day – so much so that, satellite television has become a necessity in every home. While the importance of screening documentary films to a captive audience cannot be undermined, the necessity of an exclusive documentary channel cannot be overlooked. The Films Division is striving hard for such an exclusive documentary channel which will be one of its kind, not only in India but in the entire Asian sub-continent. Documentary films shown exclusively on documentary satellite television will give them a distinct identity and their regular telecast will narrow down the gap of understanding between the documentary films and the audience. With fast-changing technology, the documentary on a digital format has become the norm of the day. The production of 22
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Govind Nihalani and Gautam Ghose try out the vintage cameras at Behind the Frames held as part of MIFF 2008.
its films on video is more convenient and economical, paving the way for those interested in documentary filmmaking. This has in a near boom in the documentary film sector because most of the educational institutes and universities have introduced Mass Communication in their curricula. Thus, communication students, with a basic knowledge of cinema and television, venture into experimenting with documentaries, which could stir up the soul and heart of the people. Unfortunately these films remain unseen and unexposed to the larger audience and the purpose of these films is almost defeated. Since Films Division has pioneered the documentary film movement, it’s imperative for it to also initiate and venture into demanding an exclusive documentary film channel. It is indeed a long road for Films Division to travel – to establish its new identity while preserving its old values and heritage. It is not only a challenge for Films Division’s inhouse filmmakers but also all those who have been associated with Films Division in some way or other to see that the glory of Films Division is not lost for ever. This year, Films Division will be celebrating its 60 diamond years throughout the country which should be reason enough to motivate all the documentary film makers and documentary film aspirants. It is rightly said: an institution celebrates its Diamond or Platinum Jubilee or its Centenary not because of a few individuals in the present who toil for their seat; it is an effort of all those who have been and who will be associated with the organization in past, present and future. Hence, I salute all those – past present and future – who have been associated with the Films Division and fervently hope that it celebrates not only its first but many more centenaries. I also salute all those who will make it possible. (Kuldeep Sinha is a National Award winning filmmaker and author who graduated from FTII, Pune in 1973. After working in the mainstream industry for a several years he joined the Films Division in 1981 and is today the Chief Producer. He has several short story anthologies to his credit as well as two books on film technique.)
MEMORIES Life From Behind The Camera By N. S. Thapa I joined the army in the hope of seeing action but when the authorities realised that I was an educated man they sent me to the Army School of Education at Panchmarhi. Here I fought illiteracy when I was eager to fight an enemy in the flesh and blood. Determined to see the War from up close I applied for the post of combat cameraman. Regular production and theatrical release of newsreels and documentaries had already begun in India in 1943, with the setting up of the Information Films of India and the Indian News Parade, to meet the propaganda and publicity requirements of the Second World War. With War raging on the European and Burma fronts the army desperately needed correspondents and cameramen to feed the print and visual media. After being trained as a combat cameraman I joined the 19th Indian Division on the Burma Front. It was October 1944 and I spent the next year documenting the exploits of our brave men. I still remember we used the small Eyemo cameras which contained only 100 feet of film. The moment we exhausted the film we had to reload as fast as we could so as not to miss any event. We would have competitions on who could reload his camera the fastest. We would also have to operate the camera as we parachuted down.
be created for the purposes of British propaganda. However, in the same month, I was fortunate to be assigned to the Services Historical Section as Editor and Supervisor for a project to catalogue and preserve war films. The decision to close down the Information Films of India was unfortunate because now there was no Indian Film Unit to record the historic events of 1947: negotiations with the Cabinet Mission for the transfer of power; the elections to the Constituent Assembly; the communal riots and the resulting trauma of Partition; Gandhiji’s efforts to bring peace and the martyrdom of Mahatma Gandhi. Fortunately, there was a vast pool of trained man-power which had worked in the Information Films of India, Indian News Parade, Combined Kinematograph Services and the Army Public Relations Film Unit readily available. I was among the few cameramen available to film the
historic events of August 15, 1947 in New Delhi. I was among the few cameramen available to film the historic events of August 15, 1947 in New Delhi. Equipment was procured from war-surplus stores. A small unit started functioning by the beginning of 1948 and covered many topical news stories like the immersion of Mahatma Gandhi’s ashes, the Jaipur Congress, the influx of refugees, the merger of Princely States and several other historical events. Within a few weeks of India becoming independent, the Government realised its folly and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, then Prime Minister of India, and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, then Home Minister, decided to set up an official film unit, which, in the words of Pandit Nehru, would “utilise this powerful medium to reach out to the masses and especially help them understand the various developmental plans that the Government was undertaking. These
Often referred to as “Nehru’s favourite cameraman”, N.S.Thapa was close to the Nehru family.
The next year in September 1945 I made my first “real” film. I was sent to Nepal with the Commander-in-Chief to film the return of the Gurkha Battalions and the investiture ceremony. After the end of War, in April 1946, during the constitution of the Central Legislative Assembly, a cut motion was introduced demanding the closure of Information Films of India and Indian News Parade since the members considered them to DOCUMENTARY TODAY 23
in my endeavour to capture what was later called “the most dramatic coverage of floods ever done”. I was saved in the nick of time by the Prime Minister himself and imagine my surprise when the great Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru found time from his busy schedule to come over to my room and enquire about my health.
Films Division unit members brave the extreme cold of the Antarctica ….
films were also meant to develop a social consciousness and a sense of corporate endeavour”. Films Division became fully operational by the end of 1948 and started producing documentaries and newsreels for theatrical release. The immediate task before the Films Division was to create a climate of confidence by making documentaries on the many challenges facing the nation. I joined as a newsreel cameraman. This assignment was no less exciting than the job of a combat cameraman – though it was in the civilian sphere. I was always on the move, constantly filming events which were shaping the destiny of the Indian people: the signing of the Indian constitution, the construction of the Damodar Valley Dams, the inauguration of scientific research laboratories, the construction of the Assam Rail link and many more. The Films Division was fulfilling Nehru’s dream of recording the evolution of the Indian nation. The documentaries and newsreels being made then concentrated on the rehabilitation of refugees, integration of Princely States, the Kashmir Conflict as also the framing of the Indian Constitution, launching of India’s first Five Year Plan followed by developmental projects like Hirakud, 24
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Bhakra Nangal, Damodar Valley Corporation as well as the establishment of steel plants and factories. Since the vast majority of the Indian people were illiterate, film became an important media of information, education and motivation. To fulfill the task of interpreting India to the people at home and abroad, Films Division units travelled widely, often to remote corners of the country, to film India’s vast and varied landscape, its multilingual, multi-racial and multi-religious population and its unity in diversity. During the first decade of independence, newsreels and documentaries projected the image of India emerging as a self-reliant and self-sufficient country. This made the people feel proud of their country and also the fact that their hard work and efforts were bearing fruits. Competent documentaries were mode on India’s rich cultural history and heritage. The newsreels concentrated on the awakening of modern India and how it was building a new life for its people. In 1952 I made a small film on the coronation of Zigme Sighe Wangchuk as the King of Bhutan. In 1953 I rushed to Nepal to film the return of the British Expedition which had conquered the Everest. The same year I filmed the Dibugarh floods and almost lost my life
After Panditji had saved my life one more time - and it seemed to be becoming a habit - I realised that our lives were inexorably intertwined. It came to a pass that Panditji would enquire about me whenever he ran into a bunch of press photographers and cameramen. Soon the word spread that I was Panditji’s favourite camerman so much so that it became an unspoken rule to send me to cover any Panditji event. Panditji was a truly great leader but he also had time for the niceties of life. What amazed me was his genuine concern for his fellowman - no matter how insignificant he was! Thanks to this blossoming relationship I got the opportunity to cover Pandit Nehru’s visit to Russia in 1955. The visit resulted in a feature-length film Mitrata Ki Yatra which not only brought me rave reviews but also a silver plaque from the Eastern India Press Photographers Association. It also brought me everlasting fame thanks to a letter written by Panditji: “In particular I would like to commend the work of the cameraman Thapa who took enormous pains over the film,” What pains I took for the film are the basis of an independent chapter. During the 1956 Suez crisis I was assigned to the United Nations on deputation as Director of Photography. I filmed the clearing of the Canal as well as the peace-keeping operations of the United National Emergency Force in Gaza. Back home I was asked to make a documentary on the Bhakra Nangal Dam as well as two other documentaries: A Day With The Prime Minister and Himachal. Finally, in 1960, I was selected by the Films Division and promoted to the position of director. Even as a
cameraman I had been making films but it was a special thrill to make films as a full-fledged director. Some of this thrill must have shown in my work because the next two films won prestigious awards: Kangra and Kulu bagged the President’s Gold Medal in 1960 while Himalayan Heritage won the Second Best Documentary in 1961.
land as well as in the skies: Harvest Of Glory and Valour In The Skies. Pakistan suffered a humiliating defeat and I returned to making films on the mountains. I had been selected for the 1965 Everest expedition but could not make it but now I was asked by the Indian Mountaineering Foundation to make a film on the expedition.
One day while flying on the Prime Minister’s plane to Ladakh I was summoned by Panditji to the cockpit. Pointing out to the magnificent panorama of ice and snow below us Panditji asked me, “Thapa. Do you know mountaineering?” I had never learned to say “no” so I said, “I am willing to learn.” Panditji said nothing then but when I returned to Bombay I found a directive from the Prime Minister’s office asking me to make a film on “the snows and glaciers of the Himalayas”. The next five months I spent trekking up and down and climbing the Himalayas in the company of the great Tensing Norgay who was a great inspiration and guide. The film that resulted was Song Of The Snow which bagged the President’s Gold Medal in 1963.
Making the film actually meant putting together the footage shot during the expedition but that did not satisfy my artistic needs. I asked the members of the team to assemble again and we set out on a mini expedition to recreate some of the vital scenes and shoot the missing links – all of which gave the film greater depth and authenticity. When the film was shown in New Delhi on the occasion of the IMF’s tenth anniversary Mrs Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India, had only one word for the film: “Superb!” The film won the President’s Gold medal in 1967.
The mountains have been very kind to me but there have been moments of apprehension. In September 1962 while shooting in the remote mountain valleys of Lahaul and Spiti my team and I were trapped by snowfall and avalanches. It was only my experience with Tensing Norgay that helped me to pull them from this tight spot. A month later China attacked India and I got to make several films on the aggression. The most famous of these were Vigil In The Snow and What We Have To Fight For. When I discovered that many young soldiers were losing their lives at high altitudes because they were not acclimatised to the weather conditions I made a film on high altitude acclimitisation which helped to save many lives.
Between the mountains and War - that has been my life. In the 1970s I was soon back to covering the deeds of the Mukti Bahini but this time it was on a proxy basis through my daring
cameramen colleagues Prem Vaidya and H.S.Advani. I was then in-charge of the Indian News Review but never the desk type. Though I could not be out in the front covering the war I was not too far behind. I was in Calcutta directing my cameramen like a General. When the Pakistani Army surrendered I flew to Dacca to record the birth of a new nation. Over the years, Films Division cameramen, in order to film their stories, have undertaken hazardous journeys through rain, snow and desert and even faced the fury of floods and communal riots. During a trek in the mountains for the shooting of a documentary, one cameraman lost his way in a tiger-infested forest and was rescued by local shepherds around midnight. A documentary team making a film on Lahaul and Spiti was trapped by unseasonal snow and blizzards near the Baralachha Pass at a height of 16,000 feet for eleven days. Efforts to contact them failed because of bad weather and high altitude. After a horrifying experience they came back safely on their own with blisters, chilblain, snow blindness and sun-burned skins. Another director was injured by a poison
… and they are present to capture the vanquishing of the Everest.
Once again during the 1965 conflict with Pakistan I not only covered Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri’s call to the nation, “Hathyar ka jawaab hathyar se denge ... “ but also the actual war on DOCUMENTARY TODAY 25
Films Division cameramen caught the liberation of Bangla Desh ‌ Mukti Bahini being trained for the final assault.
arrow of Jarwah tribes while shooting in the Andaman Islands. They were able to take dramatic shots of floods and fires. They became victims of angry mobs during elections. They were beaten up and their camera thrown into deep wells. It is often alleged that Films Division newsreels were personality-oriented. The allegations may be true to some extent. But a person like Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru often asked cameramen not to give too much importance to personalities and instead concentrate on showing what was being done to improve the quality of life of the people of India. Suggestions for the making of documentaries were often received from the President and Prime Minister who would show a great interest in the quality of short films by previewing them regularly at the Rashtrapati Bhavan mini-theatre. Pandit Nehru often asked the cameramen to make documentaries on projects like the Bhakra Nangal and 26
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Tungabhadra and cover community development projects instead of filming conferences and meetings. Films Division cameramen were rushed to the battlefronts during the Indo-China Conflict of 1962 and IndoPak Conflict of 1965 and 1971. The cameramen were often in the thick of the battle to cover frontline action as best as possible. In 1971, during the Mukti Bahini struggle for the creation of Bangla Desh, one of the Films Division cameramen was able to venture deep inside what was then East Pakistan and, with the help of Mukti Bahini, was able to bring back some excellent footage. When General Niazi signed the surrender documents at Dhaka on December 16, 1971, two of Films Division’s cameramen were present to capture the historical moment on film. In later years a large number of socially relevant films were made on a variety of subjects such as I Am 20, India 67,
Face To Face, Man In Search Of Man, Everest, Radha And Krishna, Through The Eyes Of A Painter. The Films Division also played a significant role in the production of a large number of films to train farmers on modern agricultural practices. According to Dr. M.S. Swaminathan, these films greatly helped in bringing about Green Revolution in the country. In the last sixty years, Films Division documentaries and newsreels have successfully bridged the communication gap between the people of India and helped to interpret their hopes and dreams by making films on every conceivable subject. (N.S.Thapa began his film career as a combat cameraman during the Second World war. He joined the Films Division at its inception as a newsreel cameraman and went on to become the Chief Producer. He was awarded the Padma Shree and then the Ezra Mir-IDPA Lifetime Achievement Award for 2002.)
SCIENCE & CINEMA Creating A Scientific Temperament By K.L.Khandpur (This report was actually written several decades back but is full of so many insightful suggestions that it is relevant even today.)
When we use the expression “Science Through Films”, we are obviously reminded of two different aspects in which cinematography has helped the development of science. The first aspect is the use of the motion picture camera as a tool for scientific research and investigation. The second aspect is the contribution which the medium of the film has made and can make in dissemination of scientific knowledge. It is with the second aspect that this paper is primarily concerned. Even before the invention of cinematography, the camera’s extraordinary powers for observing and recording movement were recognised. With the introduction of motion picture
photography, the scientists were able to get a tool with which. they could not only observe and analyse but also put moving phenomena together again on a screen. Since then, there have been many refinements in camera mechanisms, lenses and emulsions. As a result, the investigator can use the motion picture camera with a new mastery over time-scales and dimensions. Scientific cinematography has been responsible for some very useful extensions to our knowledge. When we see the mystery and miracle of the growth of a plant on the screen, we realise the possibilities of slow motion photography. Equally fascinating are the possibilities of high speed photography. Cinemicrography makes things visible which cannot be seen by the naked eye. Infra-red photography helps us to
record things that happen in the dark and ultra-violet photography allows us to look at blinding light without fear of losing our sight. With the use of animation, we can even illustrate those phenomena which cannot be explained with the help of photography. Sound and colour add eloquence and expressiveness. The film can, therefore, be used as an extremely useful tool for communication purposes. It has already played a notable role in the dissemination of scientific knowledge. Scientific cinematography is as old as cinematography itself. In the initial stages, it was nurtured and developed by some outstanding individual pioneers and teams of workers. Later, the production of scientific films was taken up by various countries and the number of scientific films produced over the years has been steadily increasing. At the Government level, the Soviet Union had taken the lead in the production and utilisation of scientific films. Special studios were set up which concentrated only on “Popular and Scientific films”. A number of other Communist countries also follow a similar pattern. The private enterprise in U.S.A. has produced thousands of scientific films on various subjects specially• related to the class-room syllabus. Notable contributions in the production of scientific films have also been made in U.K., France, Canada, Japan, Belgium and a number of other countries.
Cinemicrography makes things visible which cannot be seen by the naked eye.
In some countries, voluntary organisations have been set up to support and enlarge the scope of scientific films. In 1947, DOCUMENTARY TODAY 27
representatives of over 20 countries and UNESCO met in Paris and formed an international body grouping scientific filmmakers and users in various countries. This body is known as the International Scientific Film Association (ISFA). Over the years, ISFA has stimulated the formation of national scientific film associations in a number of countries and developed practical procedures for furthering its main functions which are: “The freest, widest” and most efficient exchange of information about the production, the use and the effect of all types of scientific films; films themselves and cinematic material, the personal experience, skills and ideas of workers in scientific cinematography.” The following extract from the preamble to the constitution of ISFA is also relevant: “The Association is established in the belief that international co-operation in the field of science must contribute increasingly to the maintenance of peace between the nations and to the well-being of mankind, and that in such co-operation the cinema has a major role to fill. The
One of the first cartoon films to be made in India The War That Never Ends never got a theatrical release because the IFI was wound up before it could be shown.
technology in the widest sense. and about their effect upon social and economic conditions and upon the states of mind of individual human beings.” In 1962, another important development took place. The International Scientific Film Library
International co-operation in the field of science must contribute increasingly to the maintenance of peace between the nations and to the well-being of mankind, and that in such co-operation the cinema has a major role to fill. members of the Association are persuaded that all those methods by which cinematography can assist in the increase of human welfare through the application and development of science should be more earnestly and more widely pursued. Such methods include: scientific and technical research for the development and improvement of cinematography; research in all branches of science and of technology by the use of film processes, materials and techniques exposition of the achievements of scientific workers and of scientific theories; popular interpretation of knowledge of science 28
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was established with its headquarters in Brussels. This new centre was created as a permanent educational and scientific service by the ISFA and its member organisations in some thirty countries. The aim of this library is to assemble the best and the most significant scientific films “from throughout the world for convenient on-the-spot reference by the students, researchers, film makers and film users of all countries.” In India, the first attempts in scientific cinematography were made by the pioneers who produced the first set of short films and feature films.
Dadasaheb Phalke who is famous for having produced the first Indian feature film had used time lapse photography to photograph a scene showing “a capsule history of the growth of a pea into a pea-laden plant”. In fact, Phalke showed this scene to a prospective financier and obtained the necessary funds for the production of his first feature film Raja Harishchandra. After the attempts made by Phalke and his contemporaries, efforts were made by film producers to utilise scientific cinematography from time to time. Some short films on public health and other scientific subjects were also produced and utilised. However, the film was not used as a medium of communication to any substantial degree in India until after the beginning of the Second World War. The British Government in India decided to harness the film along with other media of mass communication to boost up the War effort. In 1940, a Film Advisory Board was set up with official and non-official members. The activities of the Board included production, and distribution of its own shorts as well as foreign films with commentaries in Indian languages. In 1943, the Board was superceded by Information Films of India and Indian News Parade. Between 1940 and 1946, the Film Advisory Board and the
Information Films of India produced more than 170 short films. Some of these films dealt with scientific, industrial and medical subjects. Special mention may be made of a cartoon film entitled The War That Never Ends (dealing with the role of microbes in spreading diseases and preventive methods against these diseases) produced by the Information Films of India. Unfortunately, the Information Films o( India was closed down in 1946 before this film could be exhibited in
incorporate interviews with the scientists concerned. These newsreel items were covered by the Films Division on its own initiative or on receipt of specific information from scientific and other quarters. (b) Documentary films on individual scientific institutions and industrial establishments: These films have generally been made on the initiative of the Ministry of Education, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research,
In the last six decades, the Films Division has produced and distributed a number of films/newsreel items dealing directly or indirectly with subjects pertaining to science and scientific developments in various fields including medicine, agriculture, space research, etc. the cinema houses. This film was therefore distributed only after the Films Division came into being. Since 1949, the Films Division has been regularly producing and distributing documentary films and newsreels. The efforts of the Films Division are supplemented by private producers, State Governments, SemiGovernment agencies and commercial houses. At the height of its production, the Films Division produced nearly 150 films per year. This worked out to an average of about three films each week. Most of those films are made in English and thirteen Indian languages. In the last six decades, the Films Division has produced and distributed a number of films/newsreel items dealing directly or indirectly with subjects pertaining to science. These can be broadly classified into the following categories:-
Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Department of Atomic Energy and other scientific and industrial organisations. By and large, these films attempt to publicise the activities of scientific institutions, though these films also contain some scientific information of popular interest. There are dozens of such films in the catalogue of the Films Division. These include such films as Research Aids Industry (on National
Laboratories), National Chemical Laboratory, National Physical Laboratory, A Burning Question (on the Fuel Research Institute), Bases of Progress (on the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore), Pool of Knowledge (The National Register Unit of CSIR). Vijyan Mandir, Canada-India Reactor, Baral~ni Refinery, Bhilai Story, Durgapur, Rourkela, NeyveIi, Standards for Industry (on Indian Standards Institution), Story of a Life Saver (on Hindustan Antibiotics), Central Rice Research Institute, Geology Aids Agriculture (on Geological Survey of India), Research in Agriculture (on the Indian Agricultural Research Institute), and many others. (c) General Information films on industries: These films publicise the industries concerned and impart some scientific knowledge to the general public. Examples of such films are: Battle for Life (on the pharmaceutical industry in India), Chemical Industry in India, The Cup That Cheers {on tea industry), The Black Diamond (on coal industry), The Black Gold (on oil exploration in India). Fibres to Fabrics (on textile industry), Indian Leather, The Indian Plastic, Loveliest Fibre (on silk industry), My Lady Nicotine (on tobacco), Warm and Fleecy (on wool industry), etc.
Films Division made several science-oriented films for general release ‌ from The Black Diamond on the coal industry.
(a) Newsreel items pertaining to scientific developments: Off and on, the Indian News Review (which is released in the cinema houses once a week) contains items pertaining to scientific developments in. various fields including medicine, agriculture, space research, etc. Some of these items are covered in depth and DOCUMENTARY TODAY 29
(d) Films on agriculture: Some of the films on agriculture are of interest to urban audiences. These are shown in cinema houses. However, a majority of films on agriculture are made either for students of agriculture or for farmers. These films are shown to students of agriculture in agricultural institutions or to rural audiences through the mobile vans. Over the years, the Films Division has produced more than a hundred such films. Here are some typical examples: Castor, Banana Cultivation, Apple Cultivation, Gobar Gas Plant, The Cashewnut Story, Hybrid Maize, Hybrid Jawar, etc. (e) Popular films on scientific subjects: A number of films deal with scientific subjects in a popular manner. These include Radio Isotopes, Quake and Quiver (on earthquakes), The Living Cell, Our Planet Earth (on International Geophysical Year), Weather for Tomorrow (on weather forecasting), Herbarium, Aqua Fantasia (on aquaria), etc. One film which deserves a special mention is Life. For the first, time in India, an extensive use of stop-motion photography for showing the natural growth of plants has been made in the film. (f) Scientific films for specialised audience: Not many scientific films
have been produced for specialised audiences in India so far. However, a few films which have been produced clearly indicate that good films on scientific and technical subjects can be produced in India. The films produced so far include Exploration of Upper Air (for students of meteorology), Taxidermist and His Art, Railway Track Laying and Its Maintenance, Mechanised Concreting, etc. (g) Science teaching films for the classroom: The number of science teaching films for the classroom
to close down their production units or to switch over to production of other types of films. The demand for prints of classroom films in India is so limited that it is not easily possible even to recover the cost of production of classroom films by selling their prints to libraries and educational institutions, etc. The number of educational institutions which have film projectors of their own is extremely small and the number of institutions which have sufficient funds for regular purchase of prints of films
A majority of films on agriculture are made either for students of agriculture or for farmers. These films are shown to students of agriculture in agricultural institutions or to rural audiences through the mobile vans. produced in India so far is extremely limited. The subjects on which films have been produced in India include Climate of India, Indian Water Birds, A Day at the Zoo, Working of a Steam Engine, Physical Features of India, Indo-Gangetic Plains, Deccan Table Land, etc. It is a sad reflection on the economics of science teaching films that some private film producers who attempted to produce such films had
Farmer-specific films meant for the rural areas ‌ Banana Cultivation was one such film.
is practically negligible. Most of the institutions borrow prints of films from film libraries maintained by the State Governments, Field Publicity Units and Films Division branches. There is also the Central Film Library under the Ministry of Education. However, these libraries do not acquire more than one or two prints of each film, with the result that the total number of prints of a classroom film which can be consumed in the country is very small. With a better realisation of the roll of the film, the situation is expected to improve. In the meantime, the limited requirements of the country for science teaching films are met by importing films from other countries and in some cases by dubbing them in India. In 1964, the Ministry of Education constituted a small study group to make a detailed examination of the whole question of teaching science through films. The group drew up a comprehensive plan which inter alia recommended that: (i) as early as possible, every secondary school in the country should be enabled to acquire a complete set of projection equipment. The group had visualised that the target may .be achieved by 1981.
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(ii) all the projectors and spare parts should ultimately be produced in India. (iii) proper maintenance facilities for projection equipment should be provided by setting up a proper workshop initially in each state and ultimately in each district. (iv) class-room science films should be produced on about a hundred subjects during the Fourth Plan. The Group suggested that these films should be produced with the help of the Government film units, private agencies. etc. (v) adequate arrangements should be made for the dubbing of these titles in regional languages. (vi) for the Fourth Plan the aim should be to procure 500 to 2,500 positive prints of these 100 films to be screened in all the schools. The Study Group had given detailed suggestions for the implementation of the scheme formulated by them. It had visuaIised an expenditure of about rupees seven crores for the Fourth Plan. For various reasons, this scheme could not be included in the Plan. Subsequently, a smaller scheme was drawn up with limited objectives, but
Railway Track Laying is one of the many scientific films meant for specialized audiences.
no attempt has so far been made to harness this medium in a scientific, systematic and planned manner. The films produced so far have been the result of haphazard and sporadic suggestions made by various persons according to their individual whims and preferences. The purpose of science studies is not merely to acquire a great number of facts, but also to develop a scientific
The scientists, the educationists, the administrators, the planners and the communicators have not yet fully realised the need for dissemination of scientific knowledge and the importance of the role which the medium of the film can play in this field. it appears that the science teaching films may not get the priority which they deserve in the near future. In the meantime, the facilities for projection equipment in schools have shown a slight upward trend, though these are still far from satisfactory. The sum total of all that has been done in India for the production and utilisation of scientific films for various groups is extremely meagre compared to the needs of the country. Except in the case of agricultural scientific films,
attitude and temperament, knowledge of the scientific method and an awareness of man’s environments. The scientists, the educationists, the administrators, the planners and the communicators have not yet fully realised the need for dissemination of scientific knowledge and the importance of the role which the medium of the film can play in this field. Once the need is felt and the importance is recognised, the next step would be to draw up a comprehensive programme for scientific films, give it
the necessary priority and provide the requisite resources. It would be desirable to set up a centre for the production, procurement and utilisation of scientific films in India. It would be relevant at this stage to mention the steps which have recently been taken to set up units devoted to production of films of specialised categories. A unit has been started for production of defence training films. The unit is called the Defence Films Wing and is a part of the Films Division of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. There has also been for some time a unit for the production of films required by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research as well as all films on subjects pertaining to food and agriculture. There is also a proposal for a unit which would specialise in the production and distrbution of films on Family Planning. On the analogy of these units, it may be worthwhile to consider the possibility of setting up of a centre which would specialise in the production and utilisation of scientific films. Fortunately, most of the requisites needed for the production of scientific films are already available in the country. There are a number of film producers, film directors and :film technicians in the country who are DOCUMENTARY TODAY 31
competent to handle the medium of the film for communication purposes. In fact, a number of these filmmakers are science graduates, and which some further experience can turn out good popular science films. Certain film techniques like special optical effects and animation (which are extensively used for production of scientific films) are well developed in the country and can easily be further extended. A good machinery for the distribution of information films through all the cinema houses in the country is already in operation and can be made use of for the distribution of popular science films. Similarly, mobile vans of the Central Government and State Governments can also be used for the exhibition of suitable scientific films specially meant for audiences catered to by these vans. Unfortunately, the facilities for screening of films other than through the cinema houses and the mobile vans are not properly developed in the country. However, this is not a very serious handicap in the programme for the production of scientific films. As the non-theatrical exhibition facilities expand, these could also be harnessed for showing scientific films. The centre suggested above could act as a nucleus for the scientific film
programme in India. It could act as a clearing house of information pertaining to scientific films. By joining the International Scientific Film Association and the Lnternational Scientific Film Library, it could build up a good documentation and bibliographical service pertaining to scientific films. It could supply relevant information about the programme of scientific films in India to the international agencies and could in turn receive information about similar programmes in other countries. It could acquire, for reference, all kinds of printed matter devoted to scientific films-books and pamphlets on the history and technique of films applied to science, still photographs, research papers, communications and theses, works of reference, journals and film catalogues from different countries.
are working abroad. Another series could be devoted to popular interpretation and illustration of various scientific principles in the fields of physics, chemistry, geography, astronomy, medicine, biology, etc. Technical films for specialised audience could also be considered for production.
It could screen and .draw up a list of foreign scientific films which could be profitably used in India either in their original forms or as dubbed versions. It could also draw up lists of subjects on which scientific films should be made in India from time to time. One set of films may consist of the reconstruction of important pieces of scientific endeavour and biographical studies of eminent Indian scientists including those Indian scientists who
I have suggested the setting up of a centre for the production and utilisation of scientific films. The intention in making this suggestion is to ensure that something concrete is done to utilise the medium of the film for spreading scientific knowledge. If the same objective can be achieved by following some other suggestions we should certainly examine these suggestions. I would once again like to emphasize that the paramount need today is to recognise the importance of the role which the films and television can play in the dissemination of scientific knowledge, to accord necessary priorities, to chalk out a definite programme, to provide the necessary resources and ensure that the programme is given a concrete shape in the near future.
Another science film for general release ‌. Gobar Gas Plant.
The centre need not undertake the production of all science films itself. It could produce some films through its own units and could get the remaining films made from the State Government film units, Film Institute of India, private producers, etc. It could also stimulate the production of scientific films by commercial houses and agencies which have the requisite resources and which may be interested in furthering the cause of dissemination of scientific knowledge.
(K.L.Khandpur was among the first directors to join the newly-formed Films Division and he went on to become its longest-serving Chief Producer. He has written several official reports which are full of rare insights and hence, worth studying even today.)
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EXPERIMENTAL CINEMA In Search of Newer Forms By Pramod Pati The term ‘experimentation’ had different meanings for film makers and film production centres all over the world and it continues to be so even today. In technologically advanced countries experimentation once meant application of the grammar of TV to film making, while elsewhere making films without a single word of commentary meant experimentation. To some film makers absolute abstraction meant experimentation, while to others, the use of the common interview technique in itself was experimentation. Some drew directly on film, while others engraved onto it. Some grew fungus on the emulsion surface, creating weird patterns while others used computers to create the colourful imagery on film. Some took pleasure in shooting a full building for hours, while others were happy running a projector without film to an invited audience for a predetermined duration. All these were experimentations. With further expansion of the screen technology, the single screen concept
Many cinegoers ripped apart the theatres when Pramod Pati’s Explorer exploded on the cinema screens across India in 1969.
front screen in one chamber combined with conventional projection of images filmed with a five camera set-up on to five screens in the form of a cross (Labyrinth). A novel experiment which the visitors to Expo ’67 in Montreal
One must consider experimentation in films in this country in the context of relative values of available technical resources, standards of achievements and application of methods. gave place to multi-screen. Stage and film were combined. Direct participation of the audience in changing the plot in a film programme (Kino Automat) was very successfully presented. While some projected images on screens round the audience, others stunned the audience with images projected on to the floor and a
also witnessed was a set-up in which the audience sat in a merry go round turn table which moved through several chambers with single and multi-screen film programme (Carousel Theatre). Others experimented in creating glowing images, rear-projected through a water curtain of needle-spray jets (Water Projection). For filmmakers using single or multiple screens, the
concept of experimentation changed with time. What was once termed experimentation became classic form as time passed. The process continued all over the world. Taking all this into consideration one must consider experimentation in films in this country in the context of relative values of available technical resources, standards of achievements and application of methods. In the Indian context when one comes to think of short film and experimental film production in India, one turns to the Films Division of the Government of India which is chiefly responsible for all short film production work in this country. Films Division’s films are primarily meant for, education, information, instruction, motivation and attitude change on the part of a population some five hundred and fifty million. DOCUMENTARY TODAY 33
animation with experimental form were also made. Experimental sequences with front projection technique, films with freeze frames and reverse shooting were also tried out. It’s The Limit used paper cutouts for animation while G. H. Saraiya achieved interesting effects, by animating figures drawn directly on a slate for the film My Wise Daddy.
Exploring life through the paintings of a child … Kantilal Rathod’s Cloven Horizon
Thus, a constant use of the spoken word is made in all these films to achieve the organisation’s defined goal. With this as the background the first experimentation the Films Division handled was Symphony Of Life which never used a single spoken word, and was compiled mainly out of visuals filmed all over the country for the various films. The film’s director, T. A. Abraham, had a photographic memory for visuals and a strong sense of editing and thus created in the film an almost lyrically visual symphony of life in the country neatly cut to V. Shirali’s music. In its own period and for years later the film attracted considerable attention and recognition. In the Indian context and in a limited sense Radha And Krishna (Shanti Varma and J. S. Bhownagary) was an experiment. So was Khajuraho (Mohan N. Wadhwani and J. S. Bhownagary). Almost made simultaneously was the interesting animation experiment Money Is More Than Money (Ahmad Lateef) within the framework of the Cartoon Film Unit. Realising the value of experiment in a centralised film production set-up, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, around this time authorised the Chief Producer of the 34
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Films Division to undertake on his own a few experimental films every year. This far-sighted decision is responsible for what has been achieved in this country in the field of experimental films today. Immediate results were Ezra Mir’s Do You Know series a film like Symphony of Seasons (V. Shirali and K. L. Khandpur). The latter was again without any spoken word. While more films without the spoken word were tried out, bits and pieces of
Interesting results were achieved by experimenting with the thumb impression technique. Late R K. Malwankar created the short Swayamwar (1966). Around this time notable addition in the Indian context was Face To Face (1967) an experiment with the interview technique by T. A. Abraham and K. S. Chari. The film evolved round a series of answers to the question “What Do You Think of Democracy in India?” A bold film in many respects, Face To Face was released on the eve of the general election in 1967. In the private sector the spirit of experiment was catching on. After Sukhdev’s inspiring experiment And Miles To Go and its success, groups of journalists, painters in Bombay, Calcutta and Delhi were trying their hands with self financed experimental films. The noted dramatist Satyadev Dubey created his first experiment
Sculpture came alive in the experimental Khajuraho, directed by Mohan Wadhwani and Jehangir Bhownagary.
Aparichay Ki Vindhwachal. The film dealt with adolescent relationships in life. Dubey made a part of the film with his own resources. Later financed by the Anandam Film Society, the film was completed and sent for screening at the Expo ’67, Montreal. In 1969 he completed Tongue In Cheek, which again broadly covered the earlier theme but this time with a more dramatic impact. And then, there was Kantilal Rathod who with his own resources experimented with the paintings of an unknown child from a goldsmith family and created the colour film Cloven Horizon. Clement Baptista was experimenting too! The painter in him found the black and white medium more colourful and one comes across films like Kailash At Ellora, which experimented with camera movements on static sculptures creating an unusually dynamic feeling. Another animated experimental film made by Baptista was Inquiry, which in itself was an inquiry into the four human emotions in art forms hewn in the rock of Kailash temple at Ellora in the 18th century A.D. Films Division also sponsored Baptista to try out yet another modest experiment which
M.F.Hussain’s first brush with the cinema was the Films Division film Through The Eyes of a Painter.
Not all experiments undertaken in the private sector with the finances of individuals have seen the light of the day. Yeshwant Chaudhury’s experimental film still remains to be completed. Sukhdev’s Happenings which has some very striking film material, is still in the cans. Perhaps there are many more. Another historic decision of the Films Division was to assign a film to a noted
Another historic decision of the Films Division was to assign a film to a noted painter M. F. Hussain, which was responsible to put India in the international field of experimental cinema. would combine live images with an animated character by the noted cartoonist Laxman and the result was Apathy. But Apathy never reached the level of artistry one sees in Inquiry. Around this time two young journalists Pradip Paul and Madhumita Mazumdar created City By The Sea, based on their own vision of the city of Bombay and of human emotions. City By The Sea became a very personal film. When it ran into financial trouble yet another film society, Film Forum came to its rescue in standing a guarantee for the filmmakers to get a loan from the Film Finance Corporation of India.
painter M. F. Hussain, which was responsible to put India in the international field of experimental cinema. Though made by a non filmmaker Through The Eyes Of A Painter (1967) was a truly experimental film. Hussain wrote of the idea “Cow, Umbrella plus a lantern minus a shoe equal to man and woman. Three different moods of Jaisalmer, Bundi and Chittore. Jaisalmer for infinite space: Chittore for massive structure: Bundi for poetic and lyric images. No story.” Much of the compassion and the emotional character of the images Hussain shot
for the film were also as a result of Vijay Raghav Rao’s music. Using electronic rhythms, flashes of folk tunes from the region and occasional touches of classical notes the sound track was constructed with infinite care and the methods used by Vijay as a major breakthrough in the field of experimental use of Indian music. J. S. Bhownagary particularly deserves credit for initiating the idea of the film. This was the period when I made Claxplosion (1968). A lump of clay and late R. K. Malwankar as a sculptor against a class room of J. J. School of Arts were pixillated to create the novel two minute short on Family Planning. Six Five Four Three Two (1968), another experiment created by’ the author used the pantomime artist Irshad Panjathan, again for conveying a family planning message. In the Films Division the spirit of experimentation was catching on and attitudes of film makers towards conventional subjects were changing. During this period one comes across the films by S. N. S. Sastry Parambikulam Aliyar and Jai Jawan. Almost simultaneously one sees the creation I Am Twenty. With remarkable control of the visuals and the sound track the film is an intimate revelation of all that goes on in the minds of the younger generation. (Continued on page 36) DOCUMENTARY TODAY 35
The Making of Abid Abid Surti remembers
This was sometime in the late 1960s. I was freelancing for the Times of India but since the newspaper was on strike because of some labour problems, I had lots of time on my hands. I also had plenty of colours but no money to buy a canvas. That was the time I thought why not make my flat the canvas. There had been another thought I had been living with for a long time: When you have a painting on the wall or you have a painting displayed somewhere, so you are living with a painting. So I got the idea, why not live within a painting. I was living in a single room at that time, so the whole room just became like a canvas. I started painting the walls and whatever came in the way like fan, furniture, floor, ceiling, cupboard, even small utensils, chairs, everything became a part of the one painting. Like if I take a figure sitting on the floor…half of the body is on the wall where somebody is resting there, the legs are on the floor. So like that the figures were merging with
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the floor, merging with the ceiling, & going from wall to ceiling. Like that everything became part of one painting. It took me about one month to complete the painting. This experiment of “living within a painting” became very popular. All the newspapers and magazines of that time covered the event. With such heavy media coverage it became the talk of the town. Many people even turned up at home to see it. Pramod Pati had seen that coverage given to the experiment by JS Magazine – on its cover and centrespread with lots of photographs and a writeup by Reema Kashyap. That made adeep impression in his mind but that was not when I met him. I met him much later when he saw a mirror collage exhibition of mine at the Taj Art Gallery. He had dropped in accidentally and seeing all the broken pieces of mirror he just got confused. A few minutes he approached me and said he wanted to make a film on my work.
It was much later that I found out that he had actually wanted to make a film on Hussain who was so busy that he has ditched him several times. At first, he wanted to make a biographical film on me. Like the biographical film on Hussain. But I was against that, I said I’m not interested in that. He showed me one of his earlier films where he had, for the first time, tried pixilation. But he was not satisfied with that. He wanted to use that technique plus the concept of that painted house plus the mirror collage experiment. The idea of “living within a painting” had made a deep impression on him and he suggested that I should recreate the whole thing in the studio at Films Division. But a film needs a concept, an idea on which it can be made. So he told me to come up with a concept, how should we go about it? I came up with a simple thought: an artist is born, he creates his work and passes away, but the work remains. This was the concept. He gave me his entire staff for the preliminary discussions. We had a healthy discussion where we discussed script writing. I had the power of veto which was one thing I was very happy about. The first point was: an artist is born. You can, of course, write it down verbally but how do you show that on the screen? Somebody said that he comes from the sky with the wings, somebody said let us show the operation, a maternity ward, a child being born. So finally we came upon the concept of the artist coming from the floor, from the earth, so the door is on the floor. So the door opens and the artist comes out and in the end the artist goes back into the earth. So when this concept came, the whole concept of the room changed. Supposing the door is on the floor then the window is in the ceiling, the fan is somewhere else. So the traditional concept of the room was broken. Its dimensions changed and everything became surreal. The actual shooting went on for 18 days. Pati used an animation technique known as pixilation. Pixilation (from the word pixilated) is a stop motion technique where live actors are used as a frame-by-frame subject in an animated film, by repeatedly posing while one or more frame is taken and changing pose slightly before the next frame or frames. The actor becomes a kind of living stop motion puppet. In animation this kind of technique has a long history but it was first popularised by the Canadian filmmaker Norman MacLaren in Neighbours and A Chairy Tale. In recent years this technique is often used as a way to blend live actors with animated ones in a film.
Thus the actual shooting of the film was painstaking since it had to be shot one frame at a time. We shot for 18 long days. Pati was a wonderful man to work with, very cooperative, very understanding, and very loving. A giant of a worker, he used to work for about 19 to 20 hours a day while we were shooting it. He would take just 3 to 4 hours to freshen up and he was back working. He was completely committed. It was real fun working with him. At the end of 18 days, the total length of footage was that of a feature film. So it had to be trimmed. The sound track was designed by Vijay Raghav Rao. In those days, he was the king of music at Films Division. He was the most creative so with whoever he worked he gave what was required.
The film attracted a tremendous response even when it was being made. People would drop in at the Films Division to see what was happening – particularly those from the film industry. One of them was B.R.Chopra who evinced a great interest in the film. Another was Satyajit Ray. He had heard about the film and so, when he was passing through Bombay he just dropped in. The film was sent to many film festivals and won several awards. Pati had already won an award for an earlier one-minute film – Explorer – at an international competition but he never made a show of it. Abid also won him several honours at various international film festivals. In fact, both went on to become landmark films in the realm of Indian cinema.
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story of Hindustan Photo Films; Weave Me Some Flowers (P. B. Pendharkar and Vijay Raghav Rao) and Biren Dass’s Expression depicting flashes of life in downtown Bombay through the eyes of statues. Other experimental films made in the same year in Films Division include K. K. Garg’s Race With Imagination, freelance writerjournalist Jag Mohan’s From Himalayas To Cape Comorin, G. K. Gokhale’s colour experiment Tandava, and yet another painter Tyeb Mehta’s Flight.
The last of the experimental films … Child on a Chessboard, directed by Vijay Chandra. (Continued from page 33)
During the period of 1967 and 1968 filmmakers in the Films Division submitted more and more ideas for experimental films. Every idea with an avant-garde trend and possibilities for experimentation was encouraged by the Division. My own film Explorer (1968) belongs to this period. Produced for the Mission of Youth experimental film contest on the occasion of the Olympic Games in Mexico City in 1968, the Explorer has been discussed at length, condemned, and dismissed. The film used a psychedelic technique of presentation and perception at subliminal level. The film used sounds generated by a computer and several hundred bits and pieces of sound created by Vijay Raghav Rao, who later combined them into an unusual experimental track. The result was most unusual. When released theatrically in 1969 the film shocked the average cinemagoer and in some cases drove a few out. Its subliminal imagery was attributed to failure of projection equipment and the Films Division even received a bill for furniture destroyed by the audience while viewing the film. The Division’s attitude to expose the Indian audience to such films with a view to develop a better sense of film appreciation was in itself a progressive policy and the 38
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film was not withdrawn from circulation. And I Make Short Films (1969) by S. N. S. Sastry was another noteworthy experiment. The film used chunks of shots from various Films Division documentaries, and conventional Hindi feature films with some special shooting presenting the obvious difference between the two. The film analysed, questioned and even created parodies of statements made by well known short film makers. Other noteworthy films in this context are Paint Paint Paint (1968/ V. B. Chandra) and Ananta (1968/Girish Vaidya). Another new experiment made in 1969 was my muiti-screen-mixed-media film programme India Of My Dreams, produced in the year of the Gandhi Centenary. The film used a novel variation of the conventional triple screen projection with a ceiling full of pulsating images, actuated by the level of the sound on the tracks through an electronic device. The film depicted India of Gandhiji’s dreams using highly stylised visuals and symbols suggestive of the theme, without showing Gandhi as such or using in the sound tracks of his voice. 1969 also saw in the Films Division other shorts like My Name Is INDU (V. B. Chandra), depicting the success
It must be admitted that not all experimental films have proved successful, nor would they in future. But this is a part of all experimentation everywhere in the world and the Films Division has never felt discouraged. It must be remembered that it is experimentation alone that can help change attitude of filmmakers in a centralised film production set up. In fact And I Make Short Films, Paint Paint Paint, My Name Is INDU and Weave Me Some Flowers strikingly reveal a new attitude towards short film production. They speak boldly of a new trend, a new cinema. Today a film maker in the Films Division no longer thinks that a subject has to be selected specially for an experimental film. Instead it is significant to observe that he has developed an experimental attitude which he applies to all films he handles. Some of these characteristics are also revealed in the work of the young graduates of the Film Institute of India, Poona. All this speak of a widening horizon for experimental film work in this country which the Indian audience can look forward to in the coming years. (Pramod Pati joined the Orissa Government as Film Officer soon after his graduation from Utkal University and then went to Czechoslavakia to study puppet animation on a Government of India scholarship. Returning to India he joined the Films Division in 1959 and made a series of path-breaking experimental films. He became Joint Chief Producer in 1974.)
MAKING A FILM The ‘Rush Print’ Brought The Aid By Prem Vaidya At the end of 1966, a spate of alarming news reports started appearing in the newspapers and on radio about the unprecedented erratic weather and its adverse impact on crops in the fertile Gangetic plains of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The dry spell had already proved to be one of the worst – both in its severity and magnitude. People said that they had not seen anything like this ever before. With the Meteorological Department continuing to forecast “no rain” prospects, all hopes of the poor people who entirely depend on their land and land-labour, were withering away. The drought in UP and Bihar soon emerged as a major national problem. Union Food and Agriculture Minister C. Subramaniam had openly warned the nation that in spite of importing 12 million tones of foodgrains in 1966, the next twelve months were
going to be extremely difficult. It was a question of survival of millions of people in two drought-stricken provinces. The political stability of the ruling Congress was at stake. On November 5, 1966, I was assigned to cover the two-day flying visit of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to the drought-hit areas in Bihar and UP. About a million people, mostly malnourished, unemployed farmers and landless labourers had lined-up the 80-mile-long route of the prime minister as she motored through the districts of Monghyr, Gaya and Patna in Bihar. It was not the usual greeting crowds shouting Zindabad with smiling faces but a mass of worrying and starving skeletons, asking, “Where do we get our next meal?” Indira Gandhi looked morose as she saw the multitudes of hungry faces and behind them an unending panorama of sun-baked parched land. I was filming all this with a deadened heart and
feelings of guilt, as my belly was swelling with the sumptuous morning breakfast served inside the VIP aircraft. The Government of Bihar had requested for 4,00,000 tones of foodgrains per month. “We may not be able to accede to the request and even if we want to, we do not have enough stocks in our hand,” was the straightforward reply of the prime minister to the newsmen. The autumn crop was completely lost in this area and as long as rain-god continued to see the other way, sowing for the spring crop was ruled out. All eyes were fixed to the sky and ears tuned to the weather forecast. On November 16, in her ‘Person-toPerson’ broadcast to the nation, the
Suffering knew no bounds … malnourished unemployed farmers worried about their next meal.
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Lucknow. It was a long drive. After the night halt at Lucknow, we left for Manikpur in Banda district. Banda was famed as the rice granary of UP and every year it used to export one lakh tonnes of foodgrains to the other states in India. But now it was in the grip of the century’s worst food shortage. The rainfall in the catchment area was only 11 inches as against the average of 36 inches. The water spots resembled dry, empty bowls. Here we had some glimpses of the devastating drought. We covered a sequence on Taccavi (loan) distribution to the farmers and moved further. At Churai Kesarva village, instead of the government agencies working in the field, we found people from the Ramakrishna Mission and the Catholic Relief Society (CARE), USA, distributing foodgrains, clothes and medicines to the distressed people. Suffering knows no frontiers. We jumped out of our van and started capturing on camera these mercy-mission-men of Krishna and Christ.
In the Films Division, Jehangir Bhownagary, Chief Advisior (Films), briefed Producer (Newsreels), N.V.K. Murthy and Director Krishna Kapil to get on the job immediately on a war footing. On November 30, 1966, Cameraman S.P. Raman, Recordist A.V. Bhashyam and I were assigned for newsreel and documentary coverage on drought. The unit was headed by Director Kapil. For me, this was the second visit to the drought-hit parts. Earlier, I had the luxury of a conducted tour for two days in the prime minister’s delegation. Now it was faceto-face with the down-to-earth reality. It was like walking on dry, burning soil.
We shot a number of faces in utter despair and pair of hands loaded with timely help. In the evening, Director Kapil and I had a long discussion with Swami Kshetrananda of the Ramakrishna Mission to find out, how he came to know about these remote places and the suffering of the people. “We had sent our volunteers to first find out about the worst-affected places where help was most needed and that’s how we are here,” he said. We found that the Swamiji had much more precise information about the drought in the region than anyone else. On the basis of his information, we moved further to Kamalpur in Allahabad district. More than 700 people were working at one spot to build a bunding wall to block rain water, as and when it rained. Young boys and girls, old men and women – all were busy on relief work. Some women were working with soil-laden baskets on their head and infants tied to their dry breast. We were recording these pathetic visual.
Our first halt was Moradabad town in UP and the next morning we left for
The next day we moved towards Mirzapur. On our way we saw a long
Distributing aid was not enough … there was a need to rehabilitate the worst-hit.
prime minister pleaded for the fullest mobilization of talent and resources at all levels with an appeal to every Indian to contribute to the drought relief work. The political atmosphere in the country was fully charged with the coming of the Fourth General Elections. The people in general were completely apathetic while the politicians seemed to care little about the drought-stricken millions. They talked about drought more as spectators than as participants. But how could the official media help? The solution was suggested by the words of Asok Mitra, Secretary to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting: “The only plausible course for the official-mass-media in 1966 was to establish credibility with the citizens by first acknowledging that the worst that could have happened since Nehru’s death had in fact 40
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happened, but all was not lost and ‘we shall overcome.”
herd of camels in search of food. They could prolong their thirst but not hunger. They attacked babul trees full of thorns and made them leafless in no time. Cameraman Raman was on the job. The area which we were covering now was in southern UP. Without the monsoon rains, the kharif (summer) crop here had completely failed with the result that the landless labourers were left with nothing to eat. The Government Relief Work each day gave
No district in Bihar was hit by the drought as badly as Palamu. 1966 was the second successive year of the drought. The population of this district was 1.3 million, mostly peasants, tribals and landless labourers. Some solitary and almost hopeless battles against the drought could be seen in patches here and there. We realized the true intensity of the drought, while filming Dr. Kumar Suresh Singh, IAS, deputy commissioner of Palamu
Winter had added to the sufferings of the poor. They did not have enough winter clothing. Drought had now turned into scarcity and scarcity into famine. them some money to buy essential foodstuffs, barely sufficient to prolong life for a few more days. The destitute and disabled had a different story to tell. The problem undoubtedly was colossal and could not be solved all at once. The next day we left for Bihar. While entering the Bihar border we saw an official hoarding with the words in Hindi: Ghoose lena, dena paap hai (Taking or giving bribe is a sin.) This itself gave us an idea of the state of affairs in Bihar. We reached Patna and met the Relief Commissioner. He gave us some information about the loss of kharif crops and the acute drought prevailing all over the state. Newspapers reported that this was the worst drought in Bihar in the last two centuries!
district at Daltongunj on December 14, 1966. He was popularly known as Kumar Saheb. He was the first senior government official that we came across during our tour in UP and Bihar, who was working round-the-clock for the drought-stricken-people. Immensely popular in Palamu district, he was now facing our camera: “No amount of tears and words are sufficient to express the condition of this area. This year we are faced with a drought of disturbing magnitude.” Following the previous year’s drought, Dr. Singh had requested the
Government to install a number of diesel and electric pumps in this hilly district so that the severity of the current drought could be minimized. But in the state capital Patna, there was complete apathy towards the drought. The coming general elections had assumed paramount importance and over-shadowed all other concerns. After two days of filming around Daltongunj, we moved to Nava village, about 20 miles from Daltongunj. None of us had ever witnessed hunger on such a massive scale. Hundreds of starving people lined up holding empty bowls by the side of a free kitchen run by the Bihar Relief Committee under the chairmanship of Jaiprakash Narayan, who was quoted as saying on December 9, 1966 that 35 million people were starving in Bihar. He feared that the number of hungerstricken to be provided with relief would swell by another ten million in the coming months. Winter had added to the sufferings of the poor. They did not have enough winter clothing. Drought had now turned into scarcity and scarcity into famine. The free-kitchen-movement in this area saved hundreds from dying of hunger. We set up our camera with telephoto and wide angle lenses to read and
Jayprakash Narayan was at the vanguard of the Free Kitchen movement for the drought-stricken people of Bihar.
From the interiors, reports were steadily flowing in that there was a rise in the migration of landless labourers and marginal farmers in search of food. We decided to leave Patna the very next day for Bodh Gaya. In this area the drought was not a lone battle. With patience and determination some people were seen digging wells deeper and deeper. To the four of us, the situation looked very grave. All that we could see were unending stretches of dry land. At the horizon, like a ray of hope, we saw a goods train passing by, probably loaded with food-grains. Amen, I hoped. DOCUMENTARY TODAY 41
record the faces of the hungry crowds in front of the free kitchen. Cameraman Raman had a special knack for filming close-up of human faces and so, Kapil gave him full freedom to do his best. I, with my wide-angle lens was not to miss the ocean of starving people. Both of us were busy throughout the day and for the first time I felt that there was no check on the consumption of film stock. At the free kitchen, there were many in the mob who avoided facing the camera with a bowl in their hands. Probably, this was the first time in their life that hunger had forced them to such a situation. Though, I was very happy with day’s coverage, I asked myself before going to bed at night, “What are you happy about? Seeing millions of starving people or at filming them?” I had no answer. At last a quote from our holy scriptures came to my rescue: Beauty of life is duty and duty of life is action. I pulled my quilt and went to sleep. Back to Patna! On December 17 and 18, we planned to interview JP, the man behind the Free Kitchen movement and the chairman of the Bihar Relief Committee. We had positioned our camera well before the appointed time Millions of starving people lined the streets.
in the open yard at JP’s residence in the Mahila Charkha Samiti, an institution built and nursed by his wife, Prabhavati. Our Recordist Bhashyam was ready with his recorder. Raman and I were on two different cameras. Kapil came out from inside the house, escorting JP to the marked position in front of the camera. With an ‘all clear’
Among the political leaders that we came across during the drought coverage, JP was the only one who was alert to the grimness of the situation. Under his direct supervision, the Free Kitchen service was now increased from 1,000 to 1,400 and on an average, about 700 people were fed daily from each kitchen. As the situation
When truck-loads of grain would come from Gujarat, the social workers found it difficult to get the help of local people for unloading the heavy bags. They would refuse to lift the bags saying that they belonged to the high caste. from Kapil, JP addressed his appeal to the nation: “I regret very much to say that although the need of the droughtstricken people of Bihar is enormous, the response from the country has not been encouraging. This may be due to lack of adequate information about the severity of the situation. Please remember that this is not an ordinary drought. This is an unprecedented drought, the like of which this part of the country has not seen in past centuries.”
worsened, he increased the facilities within his available resources. I was fortunate to meet another great social worker, Swami Ranchhoddasji Maharaj, who continued to work relentlessly even after the famine. Yes, by April 1967, the famine was declared as the first of its kind after independence! I was now on an assignment for the Newsreel coverage After Famine. Along with the press party from Delhi, I reached Ranka, a remote place in Palamu district on September 11, 1967. Swami Ranchoddasji with his dedicated group of social workers from Gujarat had set up a vast relief centre where I could see an eye camp, a free kitchen, tailoring classes etc. run for the benefit of the poor and needy famine-affected people. We had a lively meeting with Ranchoddasji. One of the press reporters asked him about his experiences here during the famine. The Swami spoke at length against the deeprooted caste system in Bihar. He said that when truck-loads of grain would come from Gujarat, the social workers found it difficult to get the help of local people for unloading the heavy bags. They would refuse to lift the bags saying that they belonged to the high caste. And yet they would not mind standing in a queue with bowls in their hand for food in front of the free kitchen!
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On December 19, 1966, at Patna Railway Station, we filmed the arrival of a goods train loaded with foodgrains from different parts of the country. After this coverage, we went to the heart of the city to the Office of the Bihar Relief Committee. Here we found two West German women, Dr. Agape Schmidt and Dr. Ellen Simon, signing cheques as donation for the drought-affected people. I took some shots while they were talking to Kapil. They had gone round the droughtaffected areas and like the Swamiji of Ramakrishna Mission, they were also well-informed about the suffering of the people. “Never in my life, have I seen such human misery, not even during the Second World War,” was Dr. Simon’s comment. The same day evening, we left for Buxar and the next day for Gorakhpur. The visuals in northern Bihar and UP were no different. Dry fields, dead animals, dry wells, etc. Life had come to a stand-still in the fields. Here, water was literally worth its weight in gold. Students from various universities were helping in the drive for digging deeper wells where the water had dried at the source. It felt wonderful to see the powerful force of the young was being utilized so constructively. Surprisingly, with this picture all around, the people in general were not demoralised. The instinctive will to live was evident on their faces. We left Gorakhpur for Faizabad and then to Shajahanpur. We were now gradually coming out of the drought area. On the way to Delhi, it was again a long drive. We started evaluating our work done so far and the future course of action. We were now searching for the right person who would write a fitting commentary and lend voice for our visuals. After discussing and going through a long list of famous names in the field, I suggested the name of Frank Moraes, Editor-in-Chief of The Indian Express. Altogether, a new name in the field of documentary film. But the choice was accepted by Kapil and supported unanimously by all the other unit members. We reached Delhi on
Haakon Lie the charismatic Labour politician who changed the face of post-War Norway.
December 23, 1966. I was a changed man for my family. My food intake had reduced. And I would not tolerate any tap leakage. No wastage of food or water in the house. On December 27, all of our unit members assembled at the Films Division auditorium at Mahadeo Road to preview the rushes which had just arrived from Mumbai. Jean Bhownagary was also present. He was the real backbone of this documentary film project. All our efforts were due to his support. He was the pillar of strength who had given us full freedom to work on the documentary. Fortunately for us, he was also the Producer of this film. We had our fingers crossed when the screening of rush-print started. Throughout the screening, there was pin-drop-silence. And when it was over, Bhownagary was found engrossed in deep thought. We were all eager to know his first reactions. His silence was creating suspense. After a few seconds we heard his comment. “Excellent.” All of us were immensely relieved. It was then that we informed him about our choice of Frank Moraes for the words and voice. “Go ahead,” was his spontaneous reply. Writing commentary and lending his voice for
documentary films was altogather a new field for Moraes. He had never done this kind of work before, nor was he interested now. In spite of his repeated refusal, Kapil and I persuaded him; “At least, see our edited rush-print and then take a final decision.” Moraes agreed. On December 29, Bhownagary introduced me to Mr. Haakon Lie, a Labor leader from Norway and a friend of JP’s. He came all the way from Norway to see the drought conditions and to help JP – if possible. JP had informed him about our coverage. So he came from Patna to Delhi. He was shown the entire rush-print of the drought coverage. He liked it immensely and requested Bhownagary for about 3,000 feet of this rush-print within two days, as on January 1, 1967 he was to fly back to Oslo via Mumbai. We had some technical difficulties. The rush-print coverage was not in order. It was not edited...no sound...no commentary...no music. It was all a ‘rush-print’ as it is called at the most preliminary stage of a documentary film under production. “But your visuals are so powerful, they speak by themselves,” Lie pleaded. Bhownagary took the decision on the spot. He asked me to fly to Mumbai..., DOCUMENTARY TODAY 43
Norwegian aid for drought area and dated-lined Oslo. February 17, the news item said: “The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Norwegian Parliament yesterday proposed a million Kroner Government grant to India. The money will be spent in the drought-stricken State in the way the Indian Government finds best.”
Frank Moraes the extensively-read Editor-in-Chief of Indian Express was roped in to write and speak the commentary.
select the negatives...,order for the print to the Lab on an urgent basis..., and hand it over to Lie at Mumbai. It was a difficult task but as mentioned earlier, Bhownagary was there. By the time I landed in Mumbai, the concerned staffmembers of the Films Division were informed to help me out. The next day, I was busy selecting the negative in the ‘cutting-room.’ It was threaded and sent to the Lab under urgent printing instructions during the night. The next day, on January 1, 1967, as appointed, just two hours before his departure schedule, I handed over 3,623 feet of drought rush-print to Haakon Lie in his suite at the Taj Mahal Hotel, Mumbai. “This is a New Year gift for me,” Lie said and hugged me. “Please do let me know the impact of this film coverage on you audience,” I requested. He promised to send me a letter. Back in Delhi, Kapil screened the loosely edited film for Moraes. Ms. Marilyn Rina Silverstone, a freelance photographer for Life magazine and a friend of Moraes was there with him. After the screening was over, she was the first to cry out, “Oh my God, Frank, you must write for this,” she almost demanded. And then turning to our 44
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side, she said, “Beautiful coverage, I wish, I was there with you.” But we were more eager to know what Moraes had to say. “I will write the commentary and also speak for the film, though, I am afraid, I have never done this kind of work before,” Moraes said. On February 24, 1967 I received a letter from Lie: “When I came, your film was screened for the News Section of our TV-Company. A programme on India was set up which lasted for more than one hour and had eight participants. A short version of Drought In India was used as an opening of the programme, which then turned into a discussion on what Norwegians could do to help. The drive which followed has turned out to be a success - greater than we had dared to hope for. Here the film was the major factor in arousing the people and making them participate...You, shall, however, be glad to know that it was due to your excellent work that the Labor Movement in a small country could make a contribution of 2.5 million rupees to your efforts to increase food production in Bihar.” A news item in The Hindustan Times dated February.18 confirmed what he had written. Under the heading
The letter from Lie was shown to all the unit-members including Bhownagary. We all felt rewarded, more so because, what was shown on TV to the Norwegian audience was just the rush-print! We all decided to work hard, round the clock. And soon we completed the film: Report on Drought. It was released all over the country through cinema houses. The faithful commentary with the deep voice of Frank Moraes was heard in rapt attention against the powerful visuals. It touched many hearts. “Spoken with solemnity, not a word more than necessary. The film was a touching portrait of tragedy,” was the review in one of the leading film magazines. In a review of the meritorious achievements during 1966-67 by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Secretary Asok Mitra wrote: “...but to my mind, the most outstanding creative achievement of the year in the Ministry has been the documentary film Report on Drought. In its architectonic skill, sensitive and delicate perception, in the treatment of the theme and in human compassion, the documentary, to my mind, rates very high by any standard. I would, therefore, like to pay my special tribute to makers of this film. This film must have moved millions of hearts to human compassion and dignity.” (Prem Vaidya is a noted cinematographer-director whose films have become milestones in the history of documentary. He was associated with the Films Division all through his career. He was awarded the Ezra Mir-IDPA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003.)
MAKING A FILM Exploring The Frozen Continent By Deepak Haldankar It was a sunny afternoon and I was sitting at Rishikesh on the banks of the River Ganga with Major D.N.Dass of the Indian Army as part of a rafting mission which I was covering for Films Division when the news of a scientific expedition reading the Antarctica came in over the radio. All at once I wanted to be part of the mission. When I expressed my desire Major Dass replied cryptically, “You still have a chance.” At that point I did not realize how prophetic his words would prove to be. Filming over I was soon back in Delhi when, one fine day, the telephone rang and I was summoned for a high-
level meeting with Dr S.Z.Qassim, who was to lead the expedition to Antarctica. I thought it was one of my friends pulling a fast one on me but I still went for the meeting – and am I glad that I did! Dr Qassim turned to be a welldressed tall handsome man who, when I first saw him, was pruning the roses in his garden. We sat down for lunch in the garden itself – protected by a large sun umbrella – and he came straight to the point, “Would you like to accompany the scientific expedition to the Antarctica? Your name has been
suggested by Mrs Indira Gandhi herself.” What could I say to that except nod. “Good! Keep it a secret because we still haven’t announced the team as yet but you are the first member on board.” My dream of going on the national expedition was going to materialize. As I strolled out of Dr Qassim’s house and started walking back to the Films Division office which was on the same road, I decided that I would start training for the giant opportunity ahead. From that very moment I equipped myself with a rucksack and
The entire team of the Second Indian Scientific Expedition to the Antarctica poses with Mrs Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister. Deepak Haldankar is standing just behind and to the left of Mrs Gandhi while expedition leader V.K.Raina is standing in front on her right. Union Minister Shivraj Patil is at extreme right.
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Deepak Haldankar with Dr Chaturvedi on board the Polar Circle.
loaded it with 20 kilogrammes and trekked for ten kilometers every day. I also began to swim for an hour every day at the Army Polo Pool – this in the freezing month of December. Friends who were surprised to see my busy schedule were brushed aside with innocuous excuses.
visual record of each discipline, that is, make a film for each department so that they can have a record of their projects. We will also make a film for general release all over the country and the world.” A moment’s silence was followed by nods of approval. They had all liked my suggestion.”
The meetings and conferences continued alongside my “fitness programme”. At one such meeting chaired by Dr Qassim and attended by the top brass from the Indian armed forces as also officials of the Meteorological Department, the National Physical Laboratory, the Geological Survey of India and innumerable other departments and agencies, I felt a little out of place. Each one of them spoke about what their department intended to do at the Antarctica.
Questions were fired at me from all directions after that for an hour. Logistics. Equipment. Cost. Budget. I
And then the name “Films Division, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting” was announced. Everyone looked around to identify the representative. Dr. Quassim identified me with a nod in my direction. I stood up to speak, “I have just heard what the various disciplines propose to do at Antarctica. There are eleven disciplines participating. Films Division could provide an in-depth 46
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expedition and the order for my induction into the team as a member were ready. On the basis of the order I appeared for medical examination at the Army Clinic behind South Block, New Delhi. Soon after, all the members of the expedition were briefed and then sent to the J&K HAWAS (High Altitude Warfare School) under the command of Colonel Surat Singh. Major Kim was our instructor. If my training was rigorous then this was in another league altogether. We were familiarized with basic survival techniques, the use of equipment, ice crafts, the pitching of tents. We were taken to the Mutch Hoai Glacier at Dharas which is coldest inhabited town on earth – the temperature often dropping to an amazing -55 degrees Census. This was for us to get acclimatized to extreme cold. Here at night I started getting severe stomach cramps. I was terrified of being dropped from the expedition on medical grounds so I kept quiet and tried to hide the pain from the other members. But not for long! Somehow I mustered courage and told the unit surgeon Major D.J. Singh who prescribed deworming. A couple of days later I found a 7-inch long red round worm in my stools. I put it in a
We were familiarized with basic survival techniques, the use of equipment, ice crafts, the pitching of tents. We were taken to the Mutch Hoai Glacier at Dharas which is coldest inhabited town on earth fielded them as best as I could and left the meeting with a sanction for Rs 20 lakhs to cover the expenses for Films Division. But if I had thought that my proactiveness would get me kudos I was sadly mistaken. Three days later my phone rang. My superiors were none to happy at my “performance”. I was summoned and chastised but Dr Qassim pointed out that my clearance had come from Mrs Indira Gandhi herself and there was no going back on that! Who could dare question her? By now all the necessary papers for the
plastic packet and showed it to the doctor. .He asked me to repeat the dose and after that I was cured. It was a huge relief. We returned to Delhi and started preparing for the expedition. I was not unduly worried about shooting on ice or in the cold. I had begun my career with a film at Leh Armying The Mountains. I was just 20 years old and I was to assist cinematographer Vijay Parmar. S.P. Ganguli was the director. But he fell ill and suggested that I carry on regardless since all the preparations
had been made. So the cold or the ice was the least of my worries. My only worry was that my equipment should not fail at the crucial moment. I discussed the problem with cinematographers Promod Mittal and Kamalakar Rao who had a company called Cinetronics and were experts in fabricating gadgets, repairing and maintaining cameras, lenses and other cinematographic equipment. My problems were unique to the place we were going to shoot in: while shooting when the eye comes in contact
to go for training at the National Sports Institute at Patila for 20 days but I knew that I still had enough time to plan what I would carry for the expedition. I needed 150 cans of 400 feet Eastmancolor 5247 stock, 200 rolls of still negative film, 200 rolls of reversal Kodakchrome for transparences. And then there were the cameras and other equipment. The next was: how was I going to cart all this paraphernalia. At the showroom I saw the largest size of suitcase: 57" and carefully I placed an order for 30 bags: 15 red, 8 green, 4
My problems were unique to the place we were going to shoot in: while shooting when the eye comes in contact with the eyepiece it gets fogged; when one shifts from a warmer place to colder place the camera lens again gets fogged. with the eyepiece it gets fogged; when one shifts from a warmer place to colder place the camera lens again gets fogged. I wanted a heating apparatus like the ones which are placed in the windscreen of aircrafts and in expensive cars Kamlakar Rao is not only a cinematographer but also an engineer. He along with Promod Mittal created the gadgets I wanted. It worked with the current of the 16-volt battery which runs the Arriflex II C camera. They also created a camera harness – a black insulated cover to keep the camera warm. I got many more gadgets fabricated from them in the years to come – particularly during my trip to the Everest in the following year. My colleague at Films Division Mr. Kalaka, Maintenance Engineer, also helped me in “winterizing” my cameras and tripods. Without the help all these experts in various fields I would not have been able to successfully cover the Antarctica Expedition.
brown, and three blue. It was all going to be colour-coded. The bags were delivered to my house in a truck but they still needed to be registered with the Films Division before they could be issued to me. The next day the Kodak office opposite the Le Meridian Hotel informed me
that the film stock had arrived. Soon after it had been picked up I started packing: raw stock went into the 15 red bags: 10 rolls of cine positive along with 10 negative and 10 reversal kodakchrome rolls in each bag. Each bag was marked according to its contents. I also bought 100 packets of namkeen from the UNI canteen. I fitted all this in the bags. Only one bag had my personal baggage. I left Delhi as planned on November 19, 1982, the day ASIAD 82 was to be inaugurated. At the Palam airport I checked in my baggage: 30 suitcases, two camera boxes, tripod and a handbag. The total weight was 4500 kilogrammes. No one would have been allowed so much baggage but I had special permission from the ministry since I was going for a national expedition. The Indian Airlines manager came out of his cabin to see me but informed me that it would not be possible for him to send all my baggage on the same flight .Half of it would be sent it on next flight which was to leave an hour later. I agreed to wait for it at the Goa airport. Everything went as scheduled. I reached Goa airport along with 15 suitacases and my camera bags and got
Deepak Haldankar (with camera) speaks to Captain Gill, one of the helicopter pilots.
Soon it was time to leave. The date for my departure from New Delhi was set for November19, 1982. I had to report to the Goa National Institute of Oceanography at Donna Paula in Panjim. Just before I left I was deputed DOCUMENTARY TODAY 47
the other 15 suitcases by 5 pm. I loaded the baggage in a waiting air force truck and left for the guest house of the National Institute of Oceanography where we were housed for the night. The next day we left for the harbor where our ship the Polar Circle was berthed. Since the film had to be kept at a specific temperature I got the Captain’s permission to store the film in the air-conditioned portion of the ship, securing the suitacases with a rope to protect its contents from pitching and rolling of the ship in rough weather. The camera bags and tripod, of course, went under the bed in the cabin I was sharing . We sailed out of port with great fanfare on 23rd November 1982. we all the members stood waving to the crowded. My colleague at the Films Division Mahesh Sinha had come to cover our departure. I handed over my loaded camera so that he could take the first shots of my proposed film. I boarded another ship to film the departure of the Polar Circle on its mission. It was a beautiful sight: the ship leaving harbour against the backdrop of Goa’s panoramic background. After two hours the Polar Circle had reached the open sea and anchored there waiting for me to rejoin it. I reached the star board of the ship where the rope ladders were situated and climbed on board with my camera slung on a shoulder belt. All this was being filmed by my colleague Mahesh Sinha .Within minutes I was on board and we finally set sail. The ship throttled from 15 knots to 35 knots. The Arabian Sea was calm and as evening approached we saw many flying fishes as if they trying to race us. This is when the thought struck me: I was going to
be away from home for nearly 6 months. I had left my wife Sadhana alone. For the moment my Dad and cousin Bimba Raikar were with her as they had come to see me off. We passed Cochin, Minicoy Islands, Maladives and finally reached Mauritius in about 17 days. This was a technical halt since the Captain and the crew had to be changed. This was another opportunity to buy additional things like films, cameras, video cassettes and other sundry things. In the evening we were invited by the Indian embassy for dinner where I met an old friend from Delhi Doordarshan Mr Layle who was in Mauritius on aa
work. I told him that I needed 14 hours to which he exclaimed, “Do you know what you are saying? Have you any idea as to the cost involved?” I explained, “There are 11 disciplines and they are all conducting experiments at different places. I need that many hours to reach each location. The leader and the Naval pilots Captain Gill and Captain Samra were not convinced. No importance was given to my demand. As we entered the sea at 40º Antarctic Circle we saw huge boulders of ice approaching our ship. These huge pieces of ice – known as icebergs – were the size of two huge cricket
The most wonderful part of the Antarctica is that there is 24 hours daylight for 6 months at a stretch. The sun moves at a 45º angle for 24 hours. This kind of light is a photographers’ delight. assignment to train the TV personnel there. The new captain and the crew had joined and we left Mauritius on the third day. It took us another 10 days to cross the equator and the Roaring Forties as the area around it is called. This was my first experience at sea. Earlier, I had experienced sea sickness twice: once while traveling from Bombay to Goa and then again on the trawler on my way to film Sagar Smarat on the Bombay High. I was hoping nothing of that should happen again. Much of our time on the ship was spent in briefing, chalking out programmes, mock emergency drills, fire fighting drills, etc. The expedition leader V.K. Raina had asked us to meet him at the dining hall to discus the schedule. He asked every member as to how many flying hours each one required for their
stadiums put together. I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the sight and wanted to be placed on one of the icebergs with my camera and tripod so that I could film the passing of the ship with all the icebergs floating around it. I put up the idea to our leader Raina who just stared at me. I could see he was not in favor of my idea. I was annoyed and started grumbling. Just then one of the icebergs was engulfed by a big wave and the huge iceberg disappeared into the sea. Raina looked at me and yelled, “If you had been on that iceberg you would have drowned in super-cold ice water, dead in just 30 seconds.” .I was just stumped. I did not utter a word and kept staring in the direction of the submerged iceberg. After that, for a few days, I kept a low profile.
Snow all around … the base camp of the mission on the Antarctica ice shelf.
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But soon Raina and I became good friends. One day – must have been the 14th or 15th of December – he turned up at my cabin and told me that he had wanted to celebrate his birthday which was on the 18th of December with a small party but had been told by the stores that I had bought all the Bacardi bottles. “Have you consumed them all?” he asked me. I laughed and said, “At five dollars a bottle it was the cheapest liquor so I bought all the bottles.” I lifted the quilt of my bed and showed him all bottles lined up intact. He was surprised. I explained, “My birth day is on 17thDecember and I have purchased the liquor so that I could have a party.” He laughed and was relieved to know that I was not an alcoholic which is what he had thought all along. “We will celebrate with a small party now. We will share the liquor expenses,” he said and left me feeling greatly pleased. We landed on the Antarctica ice shelf on December 20. Our base camp was set up on the ice shelf. In the meantime, our ship the Polar Circle kept moving at the speed of one knot in ocean in the vicinity where we had camped. The diesel engines were kept on till we returned. This was to avoid the ship getting trapped in ice. Most of the necessary baggage was unloaded. The three helicopters did the carting job and dropped all the tentage food stuff. All the activities commenced simultaneously. I covered everything. Major Jai and Major Nayar were basically engineers and so, they were entrusted upon the job of erecting the prefabricated hut which was supplied by the Roorkee Engineering College. The design was not up to the mark for the reason the main structure was of aluminum and all screw points had lost their alignment as it had contracted. Major Jai and Major Nayar were not left with any option but to drill fresh holes and use nuts and bolts .They were able to erect the hut which was originally rectangular in design but had now taken the shape of a pyramid. They both laughed when they saw what had been erected.
Drilling the core (from left) M.K.Kaul, Major Jai Bahuguna, Major P.K.Nayar and Deepak Haldankar.
I was sharing a tent with Dr Matondkar, a microbiologist from the NIO. He was to conduct experiments on photosynthesis. He set up a laboratory in the tent. The other members also set up their working laboratories. One could hear the water flowing while we slept on the tent floor which had just a rubber sheet between us and the ice shelf. Dr Matondkar and I improvised by using the wooden packing material, which was available in plenty, on the tent floor. We added our carry-mats and slept in dawn-sleeping bags. Our under-clothing consisted of a netlike cotton which we wore next to our skin. This trapped the air and kept us warm, a thermal vest and trousers, a woollen sweater. Over this we wore a dawn Gotex jacket and orange colored trousers with expensive boots which cost around Rs 20,000. I wore black silk gloves and driving gloves over them. This gave me the feel of my equipment and I found it easy to set the aperture on the lens or thread the film in the camera while loading and unloading the magazines. and set aperture on the lens. I had carried four of the red-coloured suitcases which contained the Eastmancolor 5247 stock which was rated 100 ASA tungsten. Kodak had not yet come into the market with the Daylight type film raw stock. I also
brought in my Arriflex II C camera with its 25mm to 250mm zoom lens, an additional camera body, tripod, 16-volt batteries, Sekonic exposure light meter, 85N6, 85N3 and 85, color correction filters. Most of the time I used 85N6 with the camera shutter angle at 90º. This gave me an exposure of f16 at 24 frames motor speed. The most wonderful part of the Antarctica is that there is 24 hours daylight for 6 months at a stretch. The sun moves at a 45º angle for 24 hours. This kind of light is a photographers’ delight. The light with little clouds diffused the light and made filming a pleasure. The white snow reflected light all the time. My experience of filming in the snowbound region in Ladakh came in handy. I kept on sending suitcases with the exposed film to the moving ship and replenished my stock with new suitcases with fresh film inside. I worked single-handed for 18 hours every day. I would venture out on the snow scooter called the Skiddo. One day I left base camp on a Skiddo and went off in search of better views of the locale. In doing so I did realize that I had ventured about 30 kilometres from the camp. After shooting for some time I felt tired and sat down on the ice shelf and dozed off. I was woken by the noise of the helicopter and soon, Major Jai Bhuganu shaking me up. I opened my eyes and asked, “What’s the DOCUMENTARY TODAY 49
Deepak Haldankar with Dr Paschra on board the Polar Circle with one of the two helicopters.
matter? I had just dozed off.” By then he was joined by V.K. Raina. “Do you know how long you have been sleeping? You have been missing for nearly twelve hours which means that is how long you were sleeping. We searched for you all over and had given up hopes of finding you alive. In this area one can never say what could happen. There are chances of your falling in a crevasse or falling into the super-cold water and dying in seconds with contractions of the heart (hypothermia).” It was Captain Samara who had suggested that he fly over the area one more time looking for me before the matter was reported to Dr. Quassim and Mrs.Gandhi in Delhi. As he had circled around the area, it was Major Jai who had spotted an orange-colored object. Captain Samra and V.K.Raina had looked very carefully and had identified me. They had known that I was wearing orange-colored trousers. They were relived that I was safe and sound. I was asked to board the aircraft. I took my camera but my camera bag was taken up by Raina. It was then that he realized what a heavy load I had been carrying single-handed. “Are you carrying stones?” he asked me and opened the camera bag. Inside he saw two camera magazines, a changing bag and one roll of film can. 50
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Major Jai opted to take the Skiddo to the camp which was about 30 kilometres. On reaching the camp I was examined by three doctors: Dr.Rao of the Navy, Dr.D.J.Singh of the Army and Dr. Chaturvedi of the Air Force. They decided that I should be kept under observation for couple of days. I kept pleading that nothing was wrong with me and that I had just dozed off while resting. The others cracked jokes and said that I could even end up in the Guinness Book of Records. Not really, I quipped. Indians are known to sleep on the job. But a decision was taken: I was not allowed to go off anywhere on my own. Major Jai was deputed to accompany me on further shoots. Major Jai Bahuguna, to give him his full name, and I would become very close friends. After the Antarctica Expedition I was to go with Major Bahuguna on two more expeditions, both to the Everest, in 1984 and 1985. Major Jai died during the 1985 Army Expedition to the Everest along with four other officers Major Kiran Kumar, Captain (Dr) Negi, Lt. Bakshi and Lt. Rao. I lost a dear friend. When we had already spent 26 days on the Antarctica ice shelf, we got a call from American Task Force10 ship which was passing very close by. The captain invited us on board. Raina
decided to take one scientist from the NPL and me to film the event. The aircraft was flown by Captain Gill. It was a very pleasant experience. The ship was a huge one powered by a nuclear-powered engine and was just slicing through the ice shelf very easily. We were well received by the captain, and were taken to the bridge which was large enough to play shuttle cock, the stairs to go from one deck to another were big like that of a 5-star hotel, each cabin was mounted on gyro-stabilizer to absorb the shock while the ship was sailing. If you placed on the table a glass filled with water up to the brim the water would remain motion less and not spill at all. After all compliments had been exchanged we were served some snacks and coco-cola. We flew back to our camp on the ice shelf. Slowly I was making lifelong friends on the expedition. Once we had decided to fly to a Mountain Wohlthat to take some samples. The Mountain is three hundred kilometers from Dakshin Gangotri (which is now known as Maitree) which, in turn, is about 300 kilomteres from the base camp. The ship (where the helicopter was) was another 100 kilometres from the base camp. Thus the entire distance was 700 kilometres. The idea was to leave the ship, refuel at Dakshin Gangotri and then reach Mountain Wohlthat. On the return we were to follow the same procedure: refuel at Dakshin Gangotri and then return to the ship. We took two helicopters: one with two scientists and the other carrying Raina and myself. We landed at Mountain Wohlthat a 100 yards apart. We collected whatever samples we needed to collect and were ready to leave. Then one of the helicopters – the one flown by Gill – just would not start. They tried all standard procedures: heating the engines, etc. but the engine refused to budge. There was a moment of panic and then the discipline of the Air Force took over. Captain Samra decided to fly his aircraft to Dakshin Gangotri, refuel and fly to the ship and get the engineers to look what had gone wrong.
We returned to Dakshin Gangotri and Captain Samra began refuelling his aircraft. I had strolled away and when I came back Captain Samara was still refueling, I went up to him and said, “Look you are refuelling with the wrong fuel. You are using 100 Octaine instead JP5 which is the correct fuel. Captain Samra gave me a hard stare as if to say: don’t teach me my job. I pointed to the barrel from which he was refueling. This time he looked very carefully and said, “O God! We are saved! We are saved!” He came over and hugged me. The refueling was stopped and the entire fuel drained out and collected in empty drums for use in other gadgets and generators. The helicopter tanks were flushed and refulled. The entire process took about three hours. The helicopter returned to the ship and the engineers were carted back to Wohlthat Mountain where Captain Gill’s helicopter had been stranded. In just half an hour the snag was located and the air craft was rescued. This incident earned me a lot of admiration from the entire team. Raina asked me how I, a filmmaker, could have possibly noticed the fuel. I told him that I had once made a film for the Air Force at Chandigarh and Amballa stations. That is when I had noted different kinds of aircrafts how they were maintained and refuelled. My curiosity had saved the situation. Earlier when I had asked for 14 flying hours of the chopper, I had been brushed off but now I noticed that I could get as many flying hours as I wanted. One thing that gave me tremendous happiness was that I was going to miss covering the Republic Day Parade. I
had been doing it since 1974 (and I was fated to cover it till 2000) and I was getting bored with the sameness of the routine. But our leader V.K.Raina told me that we would be having our own flag hoisting ceremony which I would naturally have to cover. The Army, Navy and Air Force flags were to be displayed on the three helicopters and were to fly past our camp on the ice shelf. It was a grand celebration and a change from the usual Republic Day Parade for me. We all ate kheer which was supplied by the Defence Food Laboratories. The survival kit supplied by them had emergency rations which also contained a packet of upma which merely needed a five-minute dip in boiling water. Major Jai and I would often laugh and query how boiling water could be available in an emergency. Normally items like chocolates, cheese cubes, milk powder, sugar and salt mixture are supplied in emergency rations. Talking of emergencies, I remember once our food supplies had been exhausted. So Delhi arranged a plane to drop supplies. The plane was from the Argentina Air Force, the Hercules which has a great endurance. It takes about 30 hours to fly from Argentina to Antarctica non-stop Rakesh Sharma, the first Indian pilot to go in space was the co-pilot when this mission was accomplished. I still possess one of the parachutes which dropped the food supplies. Another incident occurred during a very severe blizzard which had lasted for 72 hours. Our camp was completely destroyed but the blue-coloured Films Division flag I had hoisted on my tent withstood the blizzard. I proudly
collected it and brought it back to the Films Division office where I handed it over to Mr.Prabhakar Pendarkar who promptly displayed it in the Films Division showcase along with the other trophies in the new office building in Mumbai. The expedition lasted for 117 days, of which 57 days were spent on the frozen continent. It took us 27 days to reach the Antarctica and 27 days to return to India. We left Antarctica in March and returned to India by the end of the same month. It was an exciting expedition and I made many friends. On our return we once again halted at Mauritius for a couple of days since again the crew had to be changed. And soon I was in India once again dealing with the Accounts and trying to explain and justify the expenditure. The film of the Antarctica Expedition was named Exploration Antarctica. I was the first Indian cinematographer to cover the Antarctica in 35 mm. The film got a special mention at the National Awards – the category of Advensture Films did not exist then – and also won an award at Tulon Film Festival in France in 1987. I got neither an award nor a reward except these memories which are dear to me. There were other expeditions but I will never forget the first one. (Deepak Haldankar worked in the mainstream film industry as an assistant to a range of veteran cinematographers before joining the Films Division as Newsreel Officer in New Delhi. He has covered news stories all over the globe for the Indian News Review. He has been a part of several dangerous missions and photographed and directed many “adventure films” like Exploration Antarctica and Everest.)
Republic Day at the Antarctica.
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MEMORIES Years of Living Dangerously By Shankar Patnaik It was nearing midnight. I just returned from the office and was preparing to go to bed when a knock on the main door woke us up. With great hesitation we opened the door and found a group of persons from my office. I had just been summoned back to the office. I was working with the Delhi office of the Films Division as a cinematographer. For the life of me I could not figure out why I was needed so late in the night but, having been brought up in the newsreel tradition, I left without a murmur – though the same could not be said about my family. On reaching the office of was told that I was being deputed on a top-secret Government mission and that I should
pack up and return to the office. No one could tell me for how long I would be gone. Great! I did not know where I was going and for how long! How do I explain this to a wife? Fortunately there was no time for explanations. I returned home, packed my bags and returned to the office while my family stared at me in m ute acceptance. I spent the entire night at the office with a few of the others who had been drafted into this nameless mission. At dawn the next morning we made our way to the Palam airport. Everything was quiet there except for a trickling of Indian Air Force officers who seemed to be certain of what they were doing. We did not know a thing of what was to happen next but even a half-wit
would have made out by then that it was some kind of a secret Air Force mission. As the sun rose in the eastern sky the number of officers at the airport increased. And then we were briefed by a personal emissary of Prime Minister Mrs Indira Gandhi.We were going to the Golden Temple to cover an event. The Golden Temple! It was the oldest and holiest of Sikh shrines built by the fourth guru of the Sikhs, Guru Ram Das in 1574. I had covered the Prime Minister’s visit to the temple just two days back and here I was going there again. My colleague for that fateful day was Raghubir Singh who had still not woken up fully and hence was stumbling about the place.
The Golden Temple built by Guru Ram Das, the fourth Sikh Guru, became the centre of a long-drawn-out battle between the Indian army and the militants.
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Indian soldiers gathered outside the temple complex (left) and General Arun Vaidya at extreme right taking stock of the situation after Operation Bluestar.
As we neared the Golden Temple we could hear guns being fired. Something was amiss but we were not that innocent of the politics of the country not to realize that the militants were being flushed out. The entire place was under tight security but we were allowed to move around without too many restrictions. We began our coverage, shooting what we thought was important, guarding our precious cameras and trying to save our even more precious lives. There were two types of shooting on that day: the guns returning the gunfire from the militants and our cameras storing the moving images for posterity. Operation Bluestar had really and truly begun. It was June 3, 1984 and matters would continue for four more days till June 6, 1984 when matters would reach the climax which would shake the world. During this time I also interviewed the grandson of the Editor of Punjab Kesari with a gun in his hands. Such were the times! Soon after the Akal Takht was brought down I hopped into a helicopter and did an aerial coverage of the entire premises. The film that resulted from this conflict was called A Thousand Days of Terror.
experience the same thrill that I experienced on the first occasion. Four years after the incident at the Golden Temple I was deputed by the Films Division to join the 8th Indian Scientific Expedition to the Antarctica. It was particularly gratifying to go on this mission because of the many stories I had heard about the place from my senior colleague Deepak Haldankar. I stayed on the Antarctica for four months and made a film Frozen Continent (1988). The mission was particularly important because the first permanent station Dakshin Gangotri, established during the second mission, was shut down and
the new permanent station named Maitri was established. India also played a significant role in adopting a Minerals Regime for Antarctica in the same year. For me, personally, the most on-the-edge moment was the time I was trapped in the blizzard at 110 nautical miles. It was freezing cold at – 30 degrees Celsius. Hugging my camera I tried to find my way out of the blizzard when I fell into deep valley and fractured my leg. I was facing certain death but the rescue team found me just in time and saved me from an icy grave. One hilarious moment was when I tried to get a close look at the penguins. At first they looked very cute in their
Cinematographer Shankar Patnaik on a skiddo in the Antarctica.
Such life and death moments are an inseparable part of a news cameraman’s life. I have lived through many such moments but, even today, I DOCUMENTARY TODAY 53
constant freezing wind. At first Colonel Saxena tried to keep up our spirits but after about half-an-hour of this weather, even he was stilled into silence. In our hearts I am sure all of us were praying hard – at least I was. The faces of my family members began to swim in front of my eyes. We had visions of our dead bodies being pulled out of the ice after the storm.
Almost pecked to death … Shankar Patnaik tries to save himself by lying supine on the icy floor of the Antarctica.
smartly tailored Nature’s uniform which resembled a black jacket worn over a white dinner shirt. But I discovered how they dangerous they could be when I got real close. Curious they neared me and began pecking at me. To save myself I lay down on the snow and pulled my huge furry cap. An alert colleague snapped me in the supine position – vanquished by the penguins. But all these moments are nothing compared to the pride I felt when I went to the Siachen Glacier – the highest point in the world – to shoot the film Formidable Frontiers. Once there I felt that possibly no cameraman had come this high but when I saw the Indian soldiers persevering and fighting at the height I felt a sting of shame and then my chest swelled with pride for being an Indian. The Siachen Glacier is located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalaya Mountains and stands at a formidable 21,000 feet. The Glacier joins India to its three neighbours: Pakistan, China and Russia. Our team to the Siachen comprised myself, Jonga, our director, assistants and our team leader Colonel Saxena. It was a bitter cold day in winter when we began our journey. The only 54
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approachable road is from Leh via the Changla Pass, Khardugla and Pratapur. We had reached Khardugla after many obstacles. Our car was slipping on the icy roads. After great difficulty we reached Pratapur where our base camp was located. On the way from Pratapur to Siachen there is narrow bridge called the Glacier Bridge. From the base camp we had to move ahead to the Siachen Glacier. When we reached the Glacier Bridge it was around 8 or 9 in the evening. There was a deadening silence in the area. Little did we know that this was the silence before the storm, the White Out. We were all sitting in the car. The storm started and soon visibility came down to zero. We could see nothing around us. Ice began to form around the car because of the
The milestone marking the Chang La Pass en route to the Siachen Glacier.
After one hour of sitting on the edge of Death the storm stopped. The horrifying sounds that had drowned out any conversation we could have made also stopped. Once again everything was still. Our driver broke the ice which had coagulated on the windshield and we all stepped out of the car. It was incredibly beautiful. The stars were shining up in the sky. I don’t remember what time it was but it must have been almost midnight. We decided to camp there and have dinner. The next morning I felt like Shammi Kapoor in Junglee and wanted to scream, “Yahoo!” at the top of my voice. The frightening scene of the previous night had given way to a calm which I hurriedly recorded into my camera. At last we reached Siachen. At 21,000 feet it has only 5% oxygen content in the atmosphere. Some
wanted to see if anyone would interrupt the act. If we expected to get a reaction then we were shocked by the reaction we got. As the man went about the motions of cutting down the tree, one of the Bishnoi women saw what was doing. She raised a hue and cry and alerted the entire village. Soon, the entire village descended on him and began to physically assault him. We had to all come out of hiding and reveal the fact that we were only testing their beliefs and that we had no intention of actually cutting down the tree. Had we not come to the poor man’s rescue he would surely have ended up in the hospital .. or worse!
The storm gave way to a calm of incomparable beauty … on the Siachen Glacier.
restrictions were placed on us: no intense activity like running around … not even talking unless very necessary. Because of the intense atmospheric pressure even if one cleared one’s throat or rubbed one’s nose it could result in the bursting of some capillary and hence, bleeding. We were required to film and record the lives of our jawans who had got quite used to the life there. We lived with them in their tents and had quite an enjoyable time living and working with them. Since talking was strenuous, we would communicate by writing short notes to one another. The sound of gunfire was all around us but the jawans were quite used to it. They would grin at one another and refer to it as Diwali fire-crackers. If on any day there was silence they asked whey there were no Diwali crackers. We lived with them for 21 days sharing their difficult life but also learned how easily they adapted to it so that the nation could sleep at peace. The film that resulted from these 21 days was Formidable Frontiers.
be in danger. I remember the film when we were shooting for my film on the Bishnois, Nature’s Sentinels. The Bishnois are a highly evolved peaceloving race but they are fiercely committed to guarding wild animals and trees. While shooting the film we wanted to confirm this commitment of theirs. So, I hid with my camera in the sand dunes with our sound recordist Vikas Randive close at hand. One of our crew members Amrit Pal Singh pretended to cut down a tree. We
I have made innumerable films for films division but non has given me the thrill that these films gave me. (Shankar Patnaik was inducted into photography by his brother-in-law, the noted cinematographer W.B.Rao. Soon after his graduation in Commerce from Nagpur University, he trained under the famed D.C.Mehta of Filmalaya Studio and later worked as an assistant to. W.B.Rao, Pravin Bhatt, V.Durga Prasad and D.K.Prabhakar. He joined Films Division in 1978 as a full-fledged cameraman and has been associated with more than 400 newsreels and documentaries.)
Indian jawans guarding the Siachen, the highest border in the world.
But it is not only in these dangerous moments that a news cameraman risks his life. It is also when he is shooting a seemingly simple film that his life can DOCUMENTARY TODAY 55
Composing Music for Documentaries By Vijay Raghav Rao I don’t think, there is any need to explain the scope and importance of background music to the masses. Today everyone knows that background music is the backbone of a film and the whole film stands on it. Still happier thing is that people have started identifying documentary music separately and have started realising that its musicscore involves a different type of skill. Just as background music in feature films, documentary music also plays very important and vital role in the quality of a documentary, with the exception of a very few having contrary opinion. I can say that 99% of the documentaries have inseparable help of music in them and day by day its importance is increasing. Hence time has come when we can talk of this independent art in details. Some may not agree, but it would not be incorrect to take it for granted that people are familiar with universal filmic situations and popular words like sad music, happy music, suspenseful music, slow music, fast music are categories connected with respective situations in films. Yet when we talk of documentaries and their music, it is different. Generally documentary films are of a short duration ranging from 5 to 15 minutes and hence the mood of the music has to change very qUickly, which is unlike feature films. In a feature film enough time is given to register each mood. This shortness of duration calls for a different skill from the documentary music director; with which the feature film music director is quite unfamiliar. Within the limited length of the sequence one has to give 56
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variety, show flare; whereas music needs at least some time to register. The problem multiplies when there is no commentary and the film depends entirely on “music to speak”. Just imagine, how can a music director establish different moods, within two/ three seconds; when sequences change after every three/four feet? Just by striking a note, three four seconds are gone. This altogether different process comes more through experience and not merely by following written theory of music. Such crisis of duration may be overcome by use of different
able to “see” his running; while the music director still wants you to “feel” it. He might then start with a music slower in speed and increase it to a degree beyond the “visual”, so that even when the image becomes blurred the “viewer” still realises the tremendous speed of running. Though we come across a majority of documentaries which are ak~n to a news reel or are with straight narrative visuals; wherein pure incidental background score is fitted, there still are sufficient number of
People have started identifying documentary music separately and have started realising that its music-score involves a different type of skill. Just as background music in feature films, documentary music also plays very important and vital role in the quality of a documentary. instruments in quick succession dev.erly or some other via media which would occur to an experienced musicdirector.
documentaries, of artistic value; which invariably carry exclusive contribution of appropriate, imaginative music, view point approach. Let me give a few examples.
It is no exaggeration to say that feature film music appears limited to a set pattern compared to documentary music. In feature films one can continue the music to the mood of the situation: like if death occurs, give sad music. Whereas documentary music does give one freedom to add one’s own imagination, and an explanation to the situation. Suppose you are seeing a shot of a person running, generally increasing his speed till after a stage he runs so fast that visually you are not
Supposing there is a film on birds. There can be a straight narrative approach explaining the colour and habits of the birds; and yet there can be an artistic approach also. In such a situation, if the director wants to depict the romance between the male and the female, then music can help him a lot. Firstly because natural sound effects of birds do not sustain audience interest for long, tend to become monotonous and generally are not adequate to convey the emotions involved to the
audience. Here the music composers flare for originality and imagination put is to test. Some may fill in the gaps like muck in between bricks or stones with the use of any type of instrumental music, aimlessly composed; while a creative composer ever on the look out for such chances would seize the opportunity for a novel appraoch. For example, one may represent the male bird with a sarod and identify the female with sitar; and play a delicate duet of an Indian Raga. Some may come out with computorised humming of male and female human voices1 or some others may take help of recording vocal humming with varying speeds of the recorder to create the effect of soft floating voices; all of them trying to create an illusions of romance to enhance the beauty of the visuals. Or else it may be a simple sequence showing decorated but empty chairs in the parliament, in a film dealing with “Modern Architecture”. Here again one can simply play the Santoor or the Sitar to bring out the beauty or impart the feeling of parliament in “Session” - the usual loud discussions, verbal duels etc. just by playing the Kathak dance parans on tabla or even by reading the “Bois” depending upon the film directors and the music composer’s view point A creative music director has the tremendous power even to transcend the visuals and present an entirely different point of view; where by the audience will be compelled to “see” something not shown on the screen at all.
hidden snake in the field, and a well scored suspense music can -even alarm the audience to expect a dacoit of a lion. Music can also be in a contradictory mood to the visual In a sequence showing dead bodies of an accident, music can help to reduce the visual impact by playing non committal or completely change the seriousness of the situation by an entirely different score. Since animated films are a popular and distinct category of short films, a brief mention to composing music for these may not be out of place; because it needs entirely different skill and is an art by itself. Many readers may not know that as an animated film is created and shot frame by frame and not in a continuous running shot; so also the musical score for such films is conceived, woven and fitted frame by frame and not footagewise. For this peculiar reason, initially the composer has to note down the footage and numberof frames of every smallest sequence, record music or effect by the time only. Since synchronising the musical pieces one after another with the continuous running picture is not feasible; the music-director has to fit
the recorded music frame by frame at the editing table. In such a process sometimes an entirely new composition emerges, when the composer is constrained either to reduce or increase the length of the prerecorded music. Suppose one has recorded a musical piece which runs as, GA, MA, PA, NI, SA, GA, RE, SA, NI, RE, SA, NI, DHA, PA, and at matching stage we have to reduce the length or say portion of two notes an experience composer wilJ do it without harming the musicality of the piece. This essentialJy needs the expertise and experience of cutting sound on the modulations of a sound track, otherwise it would lead to unnecessary jerks or even noise if not cleverly done. Natura11y this type of ski11 is entirely unknown to feature films music directors. At this stage I would like to remove another misunderstanding that documentary fjJm music consists of only old type classical music - observed amongst film viewers. It is. true that in the early days documentary music used to confine itself to the classical patterns but then a revolution came, of “making” music in smalJest pieces, which infact amounted to producing
Giving music to documentary films is a specialized job … a scene from the animation film The Connoisseur.
In this regard I am tempted to cite another example. Imagine, you are seeing on the screen a very smooth panning shot of a well cultivated, full grown sugarcane field. Depending upon the content of the theme a music composer can give it a significant added dimension. In one case he may add a distantly heard folk tune, either from north or from the south, suddenly hinting at the location of the field, to the audience. In another case appropriate incorporation ofa snakecharmers “Been” to the score would make the spectator look out for a DOCUMENTARY TODAY 57
sound effects minus musicality. Initia11y listeners also felt this as progressive and experimental music, but soon discovered the sha110wness of these sound effects and now know the subtle difference between music and sound .effects. Synchronising a sound effect of ‘Chuichui’ with a fa11ing shoe can only make you laugh. Real music is concerned not with the physical visual but with the soul of it, with its purpose. The success of a creative, documentary fjJm music director lies in unfolding this purpose and give it a meaning. Synchronising a fa11 with the hammering of a tin colnister can only evoke laughter. For a sound produced by a faJIing vessel can be only a sound effect and not music. The most basic defination of music is a combination of notes witha definite system. According to me to make such music, suitable to the visual is, doing music. At the same time confining oneself only to Indian instruments is old fashioned. Obviously the present ‘system’ does. not confine itself to a country or time. Today documentary music comprises of a11 the latest electronic gadgets, like synthesized repeaters alongwith latest types of sound amplification, changing speeds after recording/stretching an octave to 100 notes, and are common experiments. Moreover with the advent of magnetic tape cutting the composers capacity to ‘tailor’ a recorded piece is multiplied many folds.
At the time of independence, there was no official film agency to record the ceremonies and celebration and many a historic moment and momentous images could not be captured on film and preserved for posterity. It was largely due to the wisdom and foresight of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the then Home Minister, and Minister of Information and Broadcasting, that the Films Division came into being to fulfill the needs of independent India.
lack of literacy. He wanted to use documentaries to bring the people of diverse cultures together, to make them understand the unity that existed in their diversity. He wanted to use documentaries to inform the people of the great experiment that India had undertaken; to develop into a huge industrial nation. He wanted documentaries to show that dams and factories were indeed the temples of modern India.
Set up in April 1948, Films Division has marched and marched ahead, synchronous with the eventful moments of independent India. Since then, Films Division has surged ahead to the national cinematographic institution, incessantly engaged in production and distribution of films and rendering a host of multi-faceted service. And over the years, Films Division has grown to become the premier National Film Producing Organisation with a purpose and with difference. Indeed, this is the place where one can see, on film, the wonder that is India with all its facets in its entirety.
It is a famous saying that a picture is more expressive than a thousand words. But the task was challenging, due to the poverty, illiteracy and various sects of different mindsets in our complex society. Moreover, documentary making was considered the poor cousin of the “boy meets girl” commercial cinema. It is still a problem for a short filmmaker to get finance and later, a film release. Films Division has answered this challenge in a big way. It is equipped with all facilities of production, recording theatres, editing rooms, animation unit, cameras, video set-ups and preview theaters and inhouse dubbing and commentary recording with trained staff and inhouse filmmakers.
Like Lenin and Stalin before him, our beloved first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru saw the great potential of documentaries to inform and educate the majority of masses who were unlettered then. He saw how the visual medium could cover up for the
Over six decades Films Division has virtually recorded the country’s entire post independence history, great ups and downs, joys and sorrows, developments and success stories. The
In conclusion, I would only say that constant alertness is the sole key to a good music score for a documentary film. (Vijay Raghav Rao gave innovative and pioneering music to some of Films Division’s finest documentaries: Akbar, Through The Eyes of a Painter, Trip, Interview, Explorer, Life, Ananta, The feature films he scored included Bhuvan Shome, Badnam Basti and Oka Oorie Katha. One of the great classical musicians of India, he has had the privilege of conducting the national anthem from the Red Fort in Delhi in 1947 ushering India’s independence. His many honours include the Padma Shri and Sangeet Natak Akademi award.) 58
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Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (seen here with Mahatma Gandhi )saw the great potential of documentaries to inform and educate the masses.
OPINION Thoughts on the Eve of a Jubilee By U .B. Mathur subjects of the documentaries and news magazines and animation films (nearly 52 every year) are as diverse as the country’s richness, ranging from art, culture, industry, national events, environment, and family welfare to science and technology. The films and newsreels broke the silence of centuries. As the Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen said, “Silence is the most powerful enemy of social justice.” Committed to the basic objective of information and educating the masses, Films Division is also making short fiction films or featurettes (as they are called) on the ill effects of various social evils and inspirational success stories. It has two regional production centers at Bangalore and Kolkata. Today Films Division is not a poor country cousin but a part and parcel of the great heritage of Indian cinema. The Cinematograph Act of 1918 was “Indianised” and the screening of documentaries was made compulsory throughout the country. It has 10 branches for distributing prints across the theaters of the country in Mumbai, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Madurai, Hyderabad, Vjayawada, Bangalore, Nagpur, Lucknow and Kolkata. According to the noted documentary filmmaker John Grierson, “A documentary is the creative treatment of reality.” But now from cinema verite to essay, from current affairs to investigation, from experimental to docudrama, from confusion to fusion, from faction to fiction, from the pedantic to the poetic, we can use all strategies, all the colours in our artist’s palettes, add all our imaginative dream waters to the rainbow river to build the new skyscrapers of the new documentary edifice, to define
documentary for ourselves, our communities, our culture. It is the “truth” as the film maker; sees it. Documentary cinema could be one of the media for humanizing and civilizing us, in the face of intolerance and hegemonistic aspirations. The task was not simple. India a poor country got freedom from centuries of slavery, full of illiteracy, ignorance and lot of biases but Films Division caught the bull by its horns. Over last 60 years the Films Division has motivated the broadest spectrum of the Indian public with a view to enlisting their active participation in nation building activities. The aims and objectives of Films Division, focused on national
where the filmmakers of the world can meet, explore the possibility of coproduction and market their films. MIFF has always been receptive to experimentation in form and content and recognizes the creative output of technological advancement. It is a bridge between different societies and ideas serving as a platform to promote the spirit of competition and search for excellence.The festival began almost two decades ago and is now ten editions old. The festival attracts as many as 500 films from 40 countries and gives away the largest prize money thus making it the top documentary event of the biennial, comparing favourably with the festivals at Leipzig,
Over last 60 years the Films Division has motivated the broadest spectrum of the Indian public with a view to enlisting their active participation in nation building activities. perspectives, are to educate and motivate the public with implementation of national programmes and to project the image of the land and the heritage of the country to Indian and foreign audiences. It is fostering the growth of the documentary film movement, which is of immense significance to India, in the field of national information, communication and integration. Many films produced by Films Division have won laurels at home and abroad in last 60 years. Writing about Films Division would not be complete without making a special reference to Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF), whose aim is to serve as a platform
Berlin, Oberhausen, Krakow and Tampere. According to filmmaker Vijaya Mulay, “When the decision to create Films Division was taken Pandit Nehru had clearly indicated that he did not want a bureaucrat to be in charge of it and a filmmaker should run it. By and large (barring two times) a filmmaker has been its head; I consider it as the saving grace of Films Division. I am sure that, given a little more freedom, the Films Division would achieve even greater heights’. (U.B.Mathur is a noted feature film scriptwriter and an independent maker of documentary films. He graduated from the FTII, Pune in 1972.) DOCUMENTARY TODAY 59
ESSAY O These Problems These Priorities By John Grierson Filmmakers in the public service get very special satisfactions. The most fundamental of these is the service of the public. I know it can be a pettifogging excuse for small men with small ambitions. It can be one way of hiding away from life and adventure. On the other hand, the service of the public can open up not only the old ever honourable channels by which we contribute to the community of today but create the better shapes of the community of tomorrow.
The film is a creative medium of information, education, persuasion and inspiration. It has a special importance, therefore, as a contributor to the community life of today. It has therefore a very special role in creating the better shapes of the community of tomorrow. That is why film men in the public service have a very special reason to be proud of their profession and dedicated to it. One is forever astonished at the wide range of a government’s uses for the cinema. Even when I began my own filmmaking in the Twenties, governments had not been able to keep away from
using film. It has been a logical development from the earliest years of the century. By the Twenties the French Government was using it for the education of farmers and the German Government for general education. The Canadian Government had used it for propaganda in the First World War. So had the British Government! Film was also being used by governments for tourism and to describe their industrial potential to the financial houses of New York. Lenin had already declared that the cinema would be the most important medium of communication in the creation of the new society. Hoover, as Secretary of Commerce in Washington, had declared it would be the most important medium in expanding American wealth. He was the one who said, “One foot of film is worth a dollar of trade.” We have developed a long way since then. We have organised useful film services for almost every department of government. We have informed and instructed the public in many vital areas of public concern; we have engaged their interest in areas of social and economic challenge. Above all, we have – in some countries – built up a picture of national life and aspiration which has inspired national pride and national effort. This was done brilliantly during the last War.
John Grierson
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A government can have very many incidental interests in film along the way. For example, it is interested in film institutes, film archives and film schools. It is bound to be vitally interested in the influence of the commercial cinema – for better or for worse – on the community life; and it is therefore often interested in the
financing of feature films. In many countries, public bodies and private industries combine with the government in supplying films for public instruction. In some countries foreign firms are expected to supply films for the public instruction; in fact it is a condition attaching to their concession. So it is a rich and very varied world of opportunity calling for many different kinds of talent. It also raises many new and difficult problems. I have always been fascinated by these new problems: not least because, as a pioneer, I was sometimes the first to meet them. One of the problems – perhaps the great problem – is to fit imaginative film purposes into the normal framework of government responsibility and government procedure. It is the great test of a good government service to be able to accommodate imaginative men. It is the great test of imaginative men to be able to live freely within the commanding conditions of community life. My experience is that every possible help should be given to imaginative film men but that ultimate responsibility to the government authority must be recognised. As we have seen demonstrated in many countries, great things – even dramatic and poetic things – can be done within the framework of government sponsorship and authority. Much has always depended on the personal imaginative support, or permissiveness, of great political ministers. But however well the relationship is arranged between government responsibility and the creative ambition of film makers, we cannot expect to get away from the demand for freedom and more freedom. It will come up all the time and everywhere: Sometimes it is a demand involving healthy constructive intentions. Sometimes it is related to unhealthy destructive intentions. Sometimes it is only a selfish or conceited or anarchic demand, to be put down. Have sympathy, therefore, for the Film Controller or Executive Producer who has to decide which it is. His is not a job for just a tidy-
To serve the public must be the aspiration of the official media.
housekeeper-sort-of-man. It calls for creative judgment and particularly in the matter of men. . Another problem which frequently occurs is the tendency of unimaginative governments to tie their film operations to departmental needs. There is no question at all that departmental needs are important and provide creative opportunity. They open up wide fields of public interest. Not least, they tie the film people to concrete subjects, and this is good for them. Even the narrowest of departmental interests does not preclude imaginative films. Why, one of the best documentary films ever was about the making of a National Budget. It had the peculiar influence of making one national Treasury actually enthusiastic about the cinema. But the sum of departmental interests does not quite make up the national image. No, the projection of the national image involves another approach than the departmental approach. It involves a more all-seeing, deep-seeing, concern with the sources of national pride and public inspiration. Can it come from a committee? Yes: I have known great creative committees. They were invariably hand-picked. I never knew a committee consisting of representatives of different interests get into a creative act together.
The best supporting powers I have ever known for the projection of the national image was, in one case, an imaginative, far-seeing Prime Minister who was forever thinking of what his country would look like twenty years from then. I have also known Departmental Ministers of that kind, who thought beyond their own immediate interest to the larger horizon. But you never know. Among the most powerful influences were newspaper editors and other public figures of that kind. In one country the greatest imaginative force in “national” film making was a banker; in another, it was, to everybody’s constant astonishment, a commercial film exhibitor. Obviously the builders of a creative national film policy come in different shapes and sizes. To discover them, or uncover them, to bring them together, is perhaps an even greater creative feat than the making of the films. (Considered the father figure of the Documentary Film, John Grierson. with his great foresight and dynamic qualities of leadership bent the medium of the film to social purpose and inspired, coaxed, cajoled and forced governments to adopt it as a useful tool of public information.)
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ESSAY The Problems of the Official Film By Donald Richie It might be convincingly argued that official anything is bad but that official films are worst. An official viewpoint means no viewpoint at all. A viewpoint presumes an individual but the essence of anything official is a committee. Anything which any committee constructs, official or otherwise, cannot by its nature convey either conviction or enthusiasm. It is, by definition, impersonal. The evidence for such an argument might consist in the thousands of official films released by all the governments of the world. Each may have something which would interest a viewer, but each is, usually, subjected to the thought (or lack of thought) of each member of the commissioning board, production group, and governmental approving group – with the consequence that the film emerges impersonal, vague, conservative to a degree of unintelligibility, and completely lacking in the immediacy of impact which is, after all, the salient quality of film. The motion picture is a medium w h i c h
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captures emotions better and faster than any other. It involves deeply, instantly, and is capable of leading the mind by a system of short-cuts to any desired conclusion. It is a mixture of the intellectual and the emotional. It can be made to lie and tell the truth with equal fluency. It is an extremely potent art which can reach millions whom words fail to reach. All of this, however, is only because film retains its power to stir, to involve, to surprise. Surprise is unwelcome in official circles, as, indeed, is any strong and definite opinion of belief other than that held by the majority. It is perhaps then small wonder that this conservative and entrenched officialdom fails to produce pictures which move in any other but the restricted and mechanical sense. The solution to such a problem is to enlighten the sponsoring or governing boards, a task easier outlined than accomplished if an entire government is involved. And yet, this is just what is happening at present. Perhaps the more conservative are dying off, perhaps the survivors have learned that films which are deeply felt will create deep feelings-whatever the reason, in some countries, the ordinary official government film is becoming a thing of the past. One thinks of the Canadian Film Board, the ideal which every official film board should emulate. One thinks of England in recent years, and of France, which – though it may occasionally ban an entire film – does not usually interfere with the films it itself sponsors.
And one now thinks of India. The Films Division’s freedom from conservative, fearful and pettifogging official interference is apparently a recent thing. Certainly official Indian films I had seen earlier combined all the worst features of the official American, Japanese, etc. product. But when I visited India last year I was shown pictures which showed me that something important and salutory had occured. The Films Division were distributing such excellent pictures as I am Twenty of Sastry, and Face To Face by Chari and Abraham, films which treated their themes with intelligence, self-reliance, conviction, enthusiasm, which used cinema properly as a conveyer of both thoughts and emotions. It sponsored Sukhdev’s remarkable India 67 – a film which rose above factions, politics, infighting, to present a true and moving statement. If a government films division can do this in such a short space of time, it can do anything. India is teaming with cinematic talent. And there is no place for it to go. The commercial Indian feature is not noticeably interested in talent. It is therefore up to the only other outlet, the Films Division, to make proper use of India’s cinematic “natural resources. That it will, I have no doubt after having seen what I saw last year in India. It has thrown off the deadening (and quite dead) hand of officialdom and has allowed thought, feeling, intelligence, tact. The Films Division is now coming of age – now adult, it can treat its audience as thinking, feeling adults. (Donald Richie was the film critic of Japan Times and an advisor for Uni Japan Film.)
Aribam Syam Sharma recepient of the
V. Shantaram Lifetime Achievement Award 2008 The winner of the V.Shantaram Award for Lifetime Achievement 2008 Aribam Syam Sharma has been an integral part of Indian cinema ever since he made his debut with Imagi Ningtem, the film which put Manipur on the world cinema map. Since then he has made nine outstanding feature films and 26 thought-provoking documentaries which have earned him innumerable awards and honours at the national and international level. Born in 1936, Sharma studied Philosophy and Rabindra Sangeet at Vishwabharati, Santiniketan and then spent more than three decades as a teacher in a college in his home town Imphal. He was also actively involved with the avant garde theatre movement as an actor and director. A filmmaker with no conventional training, he has made films in different genres against all odds (the paradox of making films in his language against the backdrop of bleak financial realities of his state) ranging from popular films whose box-office records have never been broken to films that have been acclaimed for their originality. However, films were not Sharma’s first love. As a child he fell in love with music and went on to become a prolific composer with many songs which have become classics in his own lifetime. Indeed, within his state of Manipur, he is as much synonymous with the modern music movement of Manipur as he is with his films, if not more. The lyricism, rhythm and “salt of the earth� character of his films are a legacy of his music.
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AWARD WINNERS Winners at MIFF Manjha for the first-time director’s fictional expression of child sexual abuse and survival, portrayed in a highly individualistic, graphic and cinematic style. The filmmaker manages to extract outstanding performances from the actors within a stark, industrial urban landscape. Second Best Fiction Film/Video: THE LOST RAINBOW (Dhiraj Meshram/India/22 minutes) The Lost Rainbow for presenting a series of nostalgic, touching moments in an evocative and playful manner, enhanced by the realistic performances of the child actors. The film details how the results of mischievous sibling rivalry can haunt the protagonists for the remainder of their lives Best Animation Film/Video: MYTHS ABOUT YOU (Nandita Jain/India/9 minutes) Myths About You for a clever and imaginative representation of the history of the Universe, both in terms of Hindu mythology and scientific research, in an original graphic style, all within a short span of 9 minutes.
Mahua Memoirs
NATIONAL CATEGORY Best Documentary Film/Video: INDIA UNTOUCHED (K.Stalin/India/108 minutes) India Untouched – Stories of a People Apart for achieving the ideals of socially and politically committed documentary film making. The film unflinchingly uncovers the allpervasive, deeply-rooted and still existing caste system in 21st century India, with chilling evidence that it shows no sign of abating in generations to come. The Jury recommends it as essential viewing for all audiences worldwide. Second Best Documentary Film/Video: MAHUA MEMOIRS (Vinod Raja/India/82 minutes) Mahua Memoirs for compassionately exposing the ruthless underside of corporate globalization through the ongoing decimation of Adivasi lands, people and their cultures throughout India. Beautifully crafted with outstanding visuals and haunting music, it is an urgent call to re-examine the policies of the day. Best Fiction Film/Video: MANJHA (Rahi Anil Barve/India/40 minutes) 64
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Second Best Animation Film/Video: THREE LITTLE PIGS (Bhavana Vyas & Akanito Assumi/India/6 minutes) Three Little Pigs for presenting a well-known childhood story through wire frame animation techniques in a deceptively simple style. The film I has background voiceovers in the form of a conversation recalling the story, which is both engaging and amusing while bridging the documentary form with animation. Indian Jury Award: I’M THE VERY BEAUTIFUL (Shyamal Karmakar/ India/65 minutes) I’m the Very Beautiful for a personal, complex and often contradictory portrait of an indomitable woman and her continuous struggle in her pursuit of a life of freedom and dignity despite her social stigma in a patriarchal and chauvinistic society. In its style and treatment, the film mirrors the free spirit of the protagonist with abandon and candour. THOUSAND DAYS AND A DREAM (P.Baburaj & C.Saratchandran/India/60 minutes) Thousand Days And A Dream for its poignant and dramatic account of the peaceful struggle of common people against a gigantic multinational company supported by the policies of the state in which the people have been deprived of their vita!, basic natural resources and livelihood.
Best First Film/Video of a Director: MANJHA (Rahi Anil Barve/India/40 minutes)
INTERNATIONAL CATEGORY
Manjha for the understanding of cinematic form and idiom and having the courage to push the form and tell a difficult story.
Best Documentary Film/Video upto 60 minutes: GODDESSES (LeenaManimekalai/India/42 minutes)
Indian Critics Award: MAHUA MEMOIRS (Vinod Raja/India/82 minutes)
The young filmmaker, Leena Manimekalai, is faced with three old material goddesses who for different reasons find themselves naturally emancipated from Tamil tradition and orthodoxy. Leena creates for Goddesses a trusting filming arena that was never manipulative that the three women opened up and revealed their total strength and power bordering on the archetype. They emerged free, master of the very tradition that had earlier kept them shackled.
Best Film/Video of the Festival Award (for Producer only): INDIA UNTOUCHED (K.Stalin/India/108 minutes) Drishti - Media Arts & Human Rights Drishti - Media Arts & Human Rights for taking the initiative and having the courage to investigate the issue of untouchability and its I ramifications in all comers of Indian society. The Jury strongly feels that this film is in the best tradition of documentary film making and is an inspiration to all filmmakers for independent, thought-provoking, freespirited use of the medium for social change. Special Mention: OUR FAMILY (K.P.Jayashankar & Anjali Monteiro/ India/56 minutes) Our Family for its compassionate and sensitive portrayal of the third sex – their bonding and their aspirations. The film traces their roots sourced from mythology combined with a mesmerizing one person performance of the traumas and stigma experienced by their community. RAGA OF RIVER NARMADA (Rajendra Janglay/ India/12 minutes) Raga of River Narmada for its fascinating flowing visuals highlighting the river in its many vibrant moods through its journey complemented by an exceptional use of the Dhrupad.
Second Best Documentary Film/Video upto 60 minutes: ONE DAY IN PEOPLE’S POLAND (Maciej Drygas/ Poland/58 minutes) September 27, 1962 was an ordinary day in Poland except for its reconstruction by Madej J Drygas in the film One Day in People’s Poland. The archival images and sounds retrieved from several sources obviously do not synchronize to a singular reality. Without an effort to force a historical realism upon the material the director keeps the two tracks independent, makes them move closer and further way from each other, creates an extraordinary document that is startling in its revelation of the nature of surveillance the state maintained in the sixties by keeping account of banal and inconsequential details in the daily life of its suspect citizens. The enormous task of editing the monumental archival material in the way it has been done is most commendable. BEYOND THE WALL (VitaZelakeviciute/Poland/20 minutes) Leena Manimekalai shooting Godesses
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Beyond the Wall uses short and pure images that elude description, often cannot be named. Through this poetic procedure the director directly enters into a hazy (often out of focus) universe of Russian soldiers sent to prison hospital to serve their sentence. The nondescript events such as the walks, the meals, the medicines, the crowding of the cell generate an unforgettable poem of silence and depth in confinement Vita Zelakeviciute’s narrative of broken spirits is a reflection on cold and heartless systems mankind is able to set in place in governance of countries. Best Documentary Film/Video Above 60 minutes: SALATA BALADI (Nadia Kamel/Egypt/103 minutes) Salate Baladi breaks down the classical cinema composition and makes a home movie deeply-insightful of history. It makes geographical borders between countries appear unnatural, incapable of constricting families from their extensive affinities. The metaphor is no longer the family tree rooted in local soil – it is closer to a multiplicity in the manner the grass grows. Naida Kamel brings a new world family together. Second Best Documentary Film/Video Above 60 minutes: VIEW FROM A GRAIN OF SAND (Meena Nanji/India/ 82 minutes) Faced with an environment where women are oppressed to the extreme, Meena Nanji was able to make her characters in View from a Grain of Sand feel safe far them to re-evaluate their condition under the Taliban and post-Taliban periods in Afghanistan in front of the camera. Even as they put themselves to risk they are prepared to boldly share their knowledge and experience with the filmmaker – we sensed, for other women and children to understand and question. Best Fiction/Video Upto 75 minutes : KRAMASHA (Amit Dutta/India/22 minutes) In the manner music keeps you quietly enthralled with a resonating sense of things without a need to necessarily reduce the experience to a verbalization of meanings, Kramasha offers a world of images and sounds that made us smell and touch the lush of nature amid a mysterious index of hallucinations. Like a dream that we may fail to understand but that reaches deep recesses of our unconscious and roaches familiar chords. Myths About You is a clever and imaginative representation of the history of the Universe. 66
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Amit Dutta’s Kramasha weaves a powerful narrative that blends legends, myths and nostalgia in a film that allows us to recall our own early experiences. Second Best Fiction/Video Upto 75 minutes: UNDERTAKERS (Emannuel Quindo Palo/India/9 minutes) Emannuel Quindo Palo’s Undertakers inverts certain empty conventions of acting to distance the viewer from the narrative and create a moving account of a Catholic coffin maker whose business is death but whose dead friends can claim free coffins. The absurd idiom of the film draws a humane picture of the struggles of an ordinary salesman who appears strangely caught between his survival and personal ethic. BARE HANDED (Thierry Knauff/Belgium/26 minutes) Just the manner in which the dancer in Thierry Knauff’s Bare Handed handles the newspaper, handles the noise of the newspaper, strangely reveals the violence a newspaper and therefore the world around us may carry. But it is the dancing woman whom a verbal world threatens to contain. In a series of deft choreographed movements and an equal graphic light the film makes the dancer dance her way through memories and desires until after a complete immersion in this world she loses herself in it. Best Animation Film/Video: NOT AWARDED Second Best Animation Film/Video NOT AWARDED International Jury Award: FLOW: FOR THE LOVE OF WATER (Irene Salina/ USA/94 minutes)
The Jury decided to characterize the Award as a recognition of films that bring unknown shocking revelations that threaten ecological and even existential balance of the planet we inhabit The depiction of a global crisis caused by privatization of natural resource such as water in the film Flow: For The Love of Water attempts to educate the audience of atrocities major corporations commit against individuals, families and communities in the name of water and for the sake of plain old profit The message of the film is clear: make water free, clean and available to the citizens of the world. The Jury commends the revealing research Irena Salina brought to bear on the film and unlike our condition for awards at this edition of MIFF, the Jury exempts this film from the obligation of discovering a parallel cinematic form to its content. Best First Film/Video of a Director: INK/SIRA (Bharani Tanikella/India/28 minutes) Through surreal imagery, Bharani Tanikela, Ink, is able to employ a violent visual idiom for existential struggle of the poet, for the fight the poet wages against violence of terrorism. His wife deeply worried about their lives, takes on the mantle of fight against terrorism after the poet’s death. A film full of resilience.
without a need to necessarily reduce the experience to a verbalization of meanings, Kramasha offers a world of images and sounds that made us smell and touch the lush of nature amid a mysterious index of hallucinations. Like a dream that we may fail to understand but that reaches deep recesses of our unconscious and touches familiar chords, Amit Dutta’s Kramasha weaves a powerful narrative that blends legends, myths and nostalgia into a film that allows us to recall our own early experiences.
International Critics Award: SALATA BALADI (Nadia Kamel/Egypt/103 minutes) Best Film/Video of the Festival Award (for the Producer Only) KRAMASHA (Amit Dutta/India/22 minutes) Producer: Film & Television Institute of India, Pune In the manner music keeps you quietly enthralled with a resonating sense of things
Nadia Kamel Director of Salata Baladi (above) receives her award at the hands of Shyam Benegal DOCUMENTARY TODAY 67
Guests at MIFF 2008
Chief Producer & Director of MIFF 2008 Kuldeep Sinha and Kiran Shantaram escort Shri Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting, into the festival hall.
Chief Producer Kuldeep Sinha welcomes filmmakers Mahesh Bhatt (above) and Basu Chatterji (left).
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Filmmaker Subhash Ghai releases two of Kuldeep Sinha’s books on filmmaking. Dr. Jabbar Patel applauds.
n as. e India an of th s to Nandita D m ir a h c k ea ua, tion, sp nu Bar ker Jah ducers Associa a m m il F Pro entary Docum
ya Mehta face Kaul and Vija i an M rs be y, Festival Jury mem V. Packirisam le hi w ce en di the au oks on. Coordinator, lo
More guests at the festival... Arun Gongade, Ram Mohan at a seminar on animation (left). Archivist P. K. Nair with Joy (Bimal) Roy (right).
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NEIGHBOURING CINEMA The Nepal Documentary Has Come of Age
From Stove Blouse Gun
(This is the second in a series ofr articles on the documentary cinema of our neigbouring countries. In this issue we discuss the documentary cinema of Nepal.) India, for historical and political reasons, is obviously ahead of every other South Asian country in documentary production of every type—governmental, developmental and independent. Bangladesh comes second, in terms of quality and volume of output, and the last decade has seen a surge in independent productions. The large donor presence in Dhaka naturally seems to have encouraged young professionals to pick up filmmaking as a career, with the Germans having held a series of documentary workshops in the late 1980s and 1990s. More important perhaps was the cine-club movement 70
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that had existed in Dhaka for decades, which led to a trend towards making low-cost short fictions and documentaries on socio-political subjects in the late 1980s. The result was the emergence of the Bangladesh Short Film Forum in 1986, and film festivals began to be organised in the country from 1988 onwards, which gave exposure to budding film professionals. The war of liberation has been the recurring leitmotif of Bangladeshi films, and till today filmmakers have stayed with this theme—while also making liberal use of different genres of Bangla melody, from the music of Rabindrasangeet to that of the Bauls. This musical bent appears to give Bangladeshi documentaries a natural upper hand with the viewers. Muktir Gaan was of course the controversial
cause celebre in the genre of 1971 films, but the trend continues. After India and Bangladesh, it is Nepal which seems to be producing the largest number of independent documentaries in the region. Documentaries in Nepal, too, have their provenance in propaganda films made in the early years of the autocratic Panchayat regime, which ruled the country for 30 years, starting with heroic portrayals of King Mahendra as he toured the country in the early 1960s. These films, which highlighted government “achievements” and hagiographized the then all-powerful monarchy, were made to be shown in cinemas before regular film screenings. The arrival of television in 1985 brought new genres of films and filmmaking to Nepal. Taking advantage
of the relatively cheap and flexible medium of television, numerous filmmakers entered the scene and began to mass-produce documentaries for airing on Nepal Television, the national network. There was a surge in films seeking to promote national
make these films for the profits they bring, and hope to break out of their genre and make “meaningful” films. Development agencies will remain important sources of funding documentaries for some time to come.
Filmmakers who have a sense of responsibility towards the societies they cover can try and buck the trend, and remain auteurs true to the subject rather than to the funding agency. integration by extolling the culturalphysical bounty of the country. While early productions tried to use the visual medium to depict the natural splendor of Nepal, filmmakers were soon using the medium for “development films,” documentaries commissioned by development agencies to promote their own agendas. The national television station aired such development dramas to fill time in the beginning, but slowly phased out films of this kind. As the quality of these films was nothing to crow about, their removal was not particularly mourned. It was clear, however, that regardless of artistic aspects, they could raise uncomfortable questions about development in particular and governance in general. A start had been made, however, and a generation of young filmmakers created to cater to the genre. Nepal Television began producing bland descriptive documentaries, but the majority of young talented filmmakers were already hooked on development films. Development films offer filmmakers free rein without the bureaucratic interference of Nepal Television. More importantly, they are lucrative. Never mind that the dictates of the client usually prove as troublesome as Nepal Television’s bureaucratic requirements, or that creations are viewed by perhaps a dozen people in a room in a far away Western city. Most development filmmakers candidly admit that they
Filmmakers need to put their foot down when it comes to deciding how to convey the ‘development message’. The fact is, most donor agency officials with the hand on the purse strings do not understand the moving image, and the interest is to provide subtle propaganda that will ultimately help the agency’s own work, including fundraising.
Nepal-based director Alex Gabbay’s Kathmandu: Untold Stories (2002) and A Man Called Nomad (2002) both provide examples of how a filmmaker who sticks to an independent point of view can end up making a film that is useful over the long term. The donor’s brief for the former was to make a film on HIV/AIDS and young people—a staid production to interview HIV/ AIDS patients and ask them questions about how they got the virus, what they had to say to the young and to repeat the donor’s point of view in the narration. Instead, Gabbay talked to young homosexuals, drug users, vulnerable individuals, as well as other youngsters about their concerns, lifestyles and relationships with peers and parents. The product was a film with stories most Nepali, or for that matter South Asian, young people could identify with. The film, if it gets the exhibition it deserves, would have a lasting impact compared to the traditional donor-defined documentary.
However, filmmakers who have a sense of responsibility towards the societies they cover can try and buck the trend, and remain auteurs true to the subject rather than to the funding agency. These filmmakers must convince the agencies that educating the larger public about issues they (the agencies) are interested in can only be achieved if they (the filmmakers) are given a free hand and their creativity is not stunted by excessive interference.
Abhimanyu’s Face DOCUMENTARY TODAY 71
already interested in knowing, it did not do much to expand the power of nonfiction film to attract new audiences.
Dinesh Deokota’s 1997 documentary A Rough Cut on the Life and Times of Lachhuman Magar.
A series of four films on young masculinity in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan made in 2000, supported by the Save the Children UK, treats their subjects similarly, and is an example of a donor actually being ahead of the filmmaker in terms of understanding what ‘clicks’ with the target viewership. Significantly, many films on Nepal tended to be made by Westerners, as the central Himalaya became the stomping ground of the climber, the trekker, the anthropologist and the ‘development professional’. A genre of ‘Shangri La’ documentaries brought out touristic documentaries that tended to focus on the High Himalayan rather than midhill or plains’ societies of the country. Anthropologists shot ‘realtime’ footage of all manner of subjects, from shamanistic rituals among the Magar of the western hills to full-length films on animal sacrifice in Kathmandu Valley—films which keep alive the cultural specificities of the country. One significant production on Nepal was The Fragile Mountain (1982), by California-based filmmaker Sandra Nichols, which set the mindset for the coming decades on population pressures leading to land erosion in the hills (a hypothesis that has now been convincingly disproved). Nepali filmmakers themselves, in the meantime, were rapidly being 72
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converted into development-peddlers by the surfeit of aid agencies with deep pockets, so independent filmmaking took a back seat. It was only in the late 1990s that some Nepali cinematographers woke up from the ‘bikasey’ (development) slumber, and cast about for other themes. The energy for this came from the growth of an audience that had been created by a string of documentary film festivals in Kathmandu, starting in 1994 with a Himalayan film festival
This raises the question of whether it is correct or not to be addressing issues which to some might seem non-issues. This begs the question of why themes have to be identified as issues or nonissues in the first place. The same criticism is never directed at the commercial feature film, because there is a tendency to associate the feature film with entertainment and the documentary with information. But once this assumption is removed, and it must be removed because there is no necessary reason to retain it, the sharp boundary between the two domains is erased. It is in any case difficult to conceptually sustain such a division between the two domains merely on the basis of past practice, because, by that logic, commercial feature films will be barred from looking at serious social issues in a suitably entertaining manner. But that is not an argument that critics of the entertaining documentary will care to make. That being the case, the logic could surely apply in the reverse, namely that it is perfectly possible for the documentary to be as entertaining as it is for the feature film to be serious.
In most developing countries, the documentary has been misused as an instrument of state propaganda disguised as a vehicle for disseminating information. which evolved into the biennial Film South Asia documentary film festival. In most developing countries, the documentary has been misused as an instrument of state propaganda disguised as a vehicle for disseminating information. It soon became a medium for critiquing that propaganda, but in doing so it picked up themes and methods that restricted its access to limited groups of people who already posses the necessary minimum understanding of the issues. To that extent, while it did serve the purpose of expanding the knowledge of those
But the unrelenting critic will still point to the pressing concerns of society as the reason why documentaries must explore issues of justice and development as a first priority before it can make forays into such luxuries as entertainment. There is a merit to the argument that documentaries must deal with such issues particularly since no other medium devotes the same degree of attention to these problems. But to say that is not to assert that the documentary must deal with nothing else, especially since there are other
film-makers who concern themselves almost exclusively with such themes. It is practically impossible to first exhaust all serious themes by way of filmic examination before entertaining themes can be legitimately taken up. There are Nepali filmmakers like Dhruba Basnet and Mohan Mainali who are recognised for their excellent
which ran to a full house at Jai Nepal Cinema in 2003. What is missing in these productions, however, is any reference whatsoever to the excruciating times the Nepali people are passing through in the context of the ongoing civil war. The Killing Terraces (Dhruba Basnet, 2001) and The Living of Jogimara (Mohan Mainali, 2002) have been the rare
New technology, political changes, freer media, and exposure to international films have made amateur and professional documentary filmmakers out of many Nepalis.
subjects ranging from the conflict, cultural phenomena, individual portraits, and entertainment. “Documentaries did become a tool for development propaganda, but the interest of development organisations in films also brought in new technology,” says Mohan Mainali, director of The Living of Jogimara. “Liberal media and digital technology gave the necessary impetus to an already brewing documentary revolution.” The audience for these films is unique in Nepal—the same crowd that enjoys mainstream, commercial films also watches documentary and independent films. The films have local content that is relevant or amusingly offbeat, and generally manage to transcend language barriers. Young viewers in particular are enthusiastic attendees at the Kathmandu Film Festivals. With increased exposure to documentaries, viewers are better able to understand the grammar of the genre, and now watch more critically and demand better films.
treatment of such serious issues like conflict and civil strife. But probing cultural issues does not have to wait on the serious genre completing its task before the making of light non-fiction films can commence. The serious genre by definition cannot complete its task because society always throws up newer and newer problems. For that reason, the ordinary viewer cannot be expected to forego the pleasure of seeing films that are not out and out entertainers and yet are culturally informative without being demanding. The evolution of filmmaking does not need to follow a rigid chronological order dictated by a hierarchy of priorities.
attempts at capturing the origins of the ‘people’s war’ as well as the state’s cruel response, but overall, filmmakers have preferred to pick cultural themes because of political difficulties in dealing with harsh realities, with fear of reprisals from the government as well as the Maoists.
In the new century Nepal found itself on the threshold of a documentary film revolution. When the Himalayan Film Festival opened in 1994, few would have thought that 12 years later, like Nepal’s FM radio success, there would be a boom in documentary filmmaking here too.
The ongoing civil war was well depicted in Dhruba Basnet’s The Killing Terraces.
New technology, political changes, freer media, and exposure to international films have made amateur and professional documentary filmmakers out of many Nepalis. In the past documentaries were considered ‘funded’ projects, designed to fulfil NGOs’ development propaganda, but now local documentaries are made on
The rise of the Nepali documentary is interesting to track. When Ankhijhyal, a fortnightly television magazine made by Nepal Forum of Environment Journalists started airing on Nepal
The existence of a growing and responsive audience inspired filmmakers to produce invigorating and cultural commentaries with a light touch, such as A Rough Cut on the Life and Times of Lachhuman Magar (Dinesh Deokota, 1997), Itihaas Jitneharuko Laagi (History for Winners) (Pranay Limbu, 2003) and Bhedako Oon Jasto ... In Search of a Song (Kiran Krishna Shrestha, 2003), DOCUMENTARY TODAY 73
but we are yet to master that.” The cost of making a documentary has dropped dramatically with digital technology, but it still costs to make quality films. Funding is hard to come by, and often filmmakers don’t even know how to tap into existing sources. Kathmandu Film Society’s Rajesh Gongaju argues that it’s about more than just getting funding. “We lack the support base. It’s not just about funding, it is about marketing and selling your films,” he says.
Kesang Tseten went to one of the remotest parts of Nepal to shoot We Corner People.
Television in the 1990s, it was the only mainstream outlet for issue-based and in-depth stories. When the Maoists started their ‘People’s War,’ few Nepalis in the urban areas or abroad knew what was going on because news coverage was limited to printed media and sporadic images on tv. Dhurba Basnet’s 2001 The Killing Terraces brought the graphic images of war closer to home. Then came a number of war films like Schools in the Crossfire, The Living of Jogimara, and Six Stories (all also available in Nepali). Parallel to these, numerous cultural documentaries, travelogues, climbing films, and films with social messages were released to sold out shows at festivals and in theatres, and sparked off discussions about the issues they addressed in them and about filmmaking in general. The best known of these are Kesang Tseten’s On the Road with the Red God: Machhendranath and We Homes Chaps, Pranay Limbu’s History for Winners, Ramyata Limbu and Sapana Sakya’s Daughters of Everest, Alex Gabbay and Subina Shrestha’s Kathmandu: Untold Stories, Dinesh Deokota’s A Rough Cut on the Life and Times of Lachuman Magar Kiran 74
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Krishna Shrestha’s Bheda Ko Oon Jasto, and more recently Dil Bhusan Pathak’s Newsroom Bahira (Outside Newsroom). “Festivals here, and mountain or Himalayan film festivals abroad are getting a lot more films about Nepal
On the creative side, most filmmakers agree that exposure to the process of documentary filmmaking is essential. “This is a form of storytelling. Just having a script is not enough—you need time, knowledge of the craft, and expertise to make it good,” says Limbu. Nepali documentaries so far generally fall into two extreme categories, war films and cultural films. But with the new openness, access to areas previously restricted to filmmakers, and a recharged economy, we can expect the space between films like
The year 2007 has seen the Nepali documentary scale new heights. Film South Asia 2007 showed that the Nepali documentary filmmakers had come of age. and Nepali subjects, made by Nepalis. This just goes to show that more people here are aware of the scope of films,” says Ramyata Limbu, who is also director of Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (KIMFF). “In 2000, at the first KIMFF, there were hardly one or two entries from Nepal, but this year we’ve received over a dozen Nepali entries.” The increase in numbers is exciting, but documentary filmmaking here is still young and full of challenges. “We have a long way to go in terms of quality,” adds Limbu. Subina Shrestha, writer of Kathmandu: Untold Stories, says we lag behind in terms of conceptual creativity, adding, “A good film also has to be flawless,
History for Winners and The Killing Terraces to slowly be filled with stories and images we didn’t even know existed, told in innovative ways. The year 2007 has seen the Nepali documentary scale new heights. Film South Asia 2007 showed that the Nepali documentary filmmakers had come of age. The impressive achievement of Kesang Tseten in We Corner People is already well-known among film circles here, not least because of his ability to excel within the sometimes suffocating restraints of the NGO-dominated culture of documentary filmmaking. Tseten may have been commissioned to simply document the impact of a bridge construction in a remote village of
Documentary filmmaker Kesang Tseten has distilled the country’s realities into the life of one village in We Corner People.
Rasuwa, but instead he delivers the multifarious voices of the inhabitants whose collective aspiration reconfigures the significance of the project. Pranay Limbu’s entry Forgive, Forget Not! may have garnered the greatest amount of excitement, gauging from the almost palpable sense of electricity in the audience of the packed movie hall. Experimental yet effective, artistic yet punchy, Forgive reenacts the experience of Bhai Kaji, a Nepali journalist detained without charge at the Bhairabnath military barracks for fifteen months in unimaginable conditions, during which he was subjected to frequent torture.
penetrates the black material. Combined with the narration delivered by Bhai Kaji himself and the important soundscape, the scant images we are allowed to see convey on a deep and visceral level the senseless injustice of Bhai Kaji’s harrowing experience. Establishing a form and syntax that is original and so successfully exercised, it marks a landmark in documentary film in Nepal.
The potential of documentary films to reveal the human condition in both its beauty and rawness is rarely as effective as it is in Dipesh Kharel’s A Life with Slate. This sublime, charming, and winning
documentary about the Thami slateminers of Dolakha follows the workcycle of the miners as they harvest slate from the rocky quarry and then journey arduously to their clients to deliver their yield. Trained as a social anthropologist, Kharel’s film is about comprehending his marginal subjects, the ‘others’. But Kharel somehow delivers something that is far from pedantic. What we get is not just a view into the particular practices of one distinct community, but rather an evocative meditation on human labour, its meaning, and its centrality to the rhythm of life. Scenes like a married couple bickering, two friends lazing, or miners breaking off to discuss political affairs brilliantly capture the texture of their working lives. The talents evinced by these films and their brimming receptions herald the maturation of a movement that has already expanded beyond the limits imposed by the showcases that we presently have for them. One hopes these documentaries and others to follow will find the wider releases that they deserve. (This article is based on inputs from Manesh Shrestha, Deepak Thapa, Kiran Krishna Shrestha, Mallika Aryal,Angelo D’Silva and Diwas KC)
The Killing Terraces has footage shot in Maoist strongholds.
Depicted in the first person, the camera is often hooded, rendering those scenes almost completely obscure save for the edges of his vision and the light that DOCUMENTARY TODAY 75
VIDEO PRIMER Configuring Your System (This is a continuation of a our series on understanding the world of video.) One of the most common questions is “How do I configure my video editing system?” Your answer to this question begins by asking yourself “What are my intended uses?” Are you interested in editing home videos on a budget? Or are you going into business as a professional? Your answers to these questions will help dictate the kind of hardware and software you should be considering. You also want to ensure that the system you are getting meets both your current and your probable future needs. Here are a few more questions you should ask yourself: “What kind of video will I be putting into the computer?” Will you only be working with DV footage? Or do you need to be able to edit footage captured in component or composite video? For example, many industrial and broadcast users need to be able to capture and record video in the component format for use with BetaSP decks, in addition to DV. It would make little sense for such a user to have a DV-only system. “How will I distribute my finished video?” Do you intend to distribute on DV, VHS, DVD, the Web? The answer to this question might dictate your selection of a video card. For example, if your business will entail creating industrial videos on recordable DVDs, then you would want a video card that could compress your video into the MPEG-2 format used on DVDs. 76
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“How time-critical will my productions be?” When you add effects like transitions and titles to video, they usually have to be rendered by the computer into their final form. This can take anywhere from minutes to hours depending upon the complexity of your productions. If you are producing home videos, then this isn’t much of a problem. But, if you have clients looking over your shoulder asking for changes, then you might find it well worth your while to purchase a system which can produce these effects instantly.
basic features that define video cards. These are:
“How much video will I be working with?” Remember that one hour of DV video takes about 13 GB of disk storage. If you are producing a 1-hour documentary, then you’ll want at least enough storage for several hours of raw footage. You will often find yourself working with four or five times as much raw footage as you will eventually use. If you are doing professional editing, you could be working with 20 or even 50 times the amount of final footage! Of course, you don’t need to have all of it available at all times, but you will need to think about this when configuring your storage.
The boundaries between “professional” and “desktop” continue to blur. The differences between results are ultimately becoming a matter of the artist’s ability and not the cost of the system they use.
Video Capture Cards There are several different types of video capture cards (also termed “boards”) available on the market today. In fact, many computer systems now ship with the IEEE 1394 interface as a standard feature. Your card choice will depend upon how you answered the questions posed above. In many cases, once you have determined your card, that will also determine your computer. This is because many types of cards are only available for one type of computer platform. There are six
1. Types of analog video input/output supported 2. Types of digital video input/output supported 3. Types of video compression supported 4. Types of special processing supported 5. Types of software included 6. Types of audio supported
IEEE 1394 Cards The simplest kind of card available is the IEEE 1394 interface card. This card is used to add the IEEE 1394 interface to computers that did not ship with one. This card does not support any analog video I/O, compression, or special processing. In fact, it does not really “capture” video, it merely enables the “transfer” of digital video into your computer. The IEEE 1394 interface can be used for many other connections as well, such as hard drives, scanners, and networking. Although the digital video being transmitted by the IEEE 1394 card is compressed, the card itself does not do any compression or decompression. The camera and the computer handle the compression and decompression tasks. If you purchase an IEEE 1394 card, you will want to be sure that the appropriate drivers are available to support your NLE software, such as Adobe Premiere.
Analog Capture Cards Unlike the basic IEEE 1394 cards, analog capture cards actually perform the task of converting analog video to and from digital video. There are many different sources of analog video, including VHS tapes, Hi-8 cameras, Beta-SP tapes, etc. These cards vary in price depending upon the type of analog interface supported. Composite
video, from a VHS deck for example, is the least expensive. Component video, such as from a Beta-SP deck, is the most expensive. The reason for the cost difference is the complexity and cost of the components required to perform the conversion. In addition to the type of analog input supported, you should also be aware of the type of compression being used.
For many years, the MJPEG compression format has been a standard for both consumer and professional video. Recently, newer formats like DV and MPEG-2 have gained in popularity. Some of the newer cards allow you to easily convert from one format to another. That makes it possible, for example, to edit in DV and then to transcode to MPEG-2 for distribution
Consumer Home Video Setup DV Camcorder Computer Computer
IEEE 1394 Card
Prosumer Video Setup 20 GB Storage
Computer Computer
Computer
DV Camcorder NTSC Monitor NTSC Monitor
Computer
Real-time DV Card
NTSC NTSC Monitor Monitor NTSC Monitor
Computer Computer Professional Video Setup 80 GB Disk Array
DV Deck NTSC Monitor
Computer Beta-SP Deck
Real-time Card with Component Analog VO DOCUMENTARY TODAY 77
Different Types of Video Cards Example
Analog Inputs
Digital Inputs
Compression Types
Real-Time Effects
Audio I/O
Approx. U.S. Cost
ADS Pyro
None
IEEE 1394
None
None
IEEE 1394
$100
Canopus DV Raptor RT
None
IEEE 1394
DV, MPEG-2
Titles, color correction, chroma key, 3D FX, DVE
IEEE 1394
$599
Canopus DV Storm
Composite, IEEE 1394 S-Video
DV, MPEG-2
Titles, color correction, chroma key, 3D FX, DVE
IEEE 1394, RCA
$1,299
Matrox RT2500
Composite, IEEE 1394 S-Video
DV, MPEG-2
Transitions, titles, 3D FX, DVE
IEEE 1394 RCA
$799
Matrox DigiSuite LX
Composite, IEEE 1394 S-Video Component
DV, MPEG-2
Transitions, titles, motion IEEE 1394, RCA, color correction, DVE Balanced XLR
$3,995
Matrox RT Mac Composite, IEEE 1394 S-Video
DV, MPEG-2
Transitions, titles, motion IEEE 1394, RCA
$1,199
Pinnacle DV 500
Composite, IEEE 1394 S-Video
DV, MPEG-2
Transitions, titles, color correction
IEEE 1394 RCA
$599
Pinnacle Pro One
Composite, IEEE 1394 S-Video
DV, MPEG-2
Tansitions, titles 3D FX, DVE
IEEE 1394 RCA
$1,299
Pinnacle DC-2000
Composite, IEEE 1394 S-Video, option Component
DV, MPEG-2
Transitions, titles, color correction
Balanced XLR, RCA, IEEE 1394 option
$2,199
Real-Time Cards One of the major differences (besides the price) between desktop products like Adobe Premiere and costly proprietary editing systems used to be performance. If you wanted a special effect like a transition, the desktop system would make you wait while it calculated the effect, whereas the highend system included specialized hardware to create it instantly. Sometimes the calculation of the effect (called rendering) on the desktop system could take minutes or even hours, which would slow production to a crawl. This productivity barrier between the high-end and the desktop has now been shattered by a variety of newly introduced video cards. These boards work with Adobe Premiere and have specialized processors to handle the enormous number of calculations required for video effects. 78
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Prices for such “real-time” cards begin at around $1,000 and offer performance similar to high-end systems for a significantly smaller investment. Such real-time boards provide a phenomenal productivity increase for Adobe Premiere users. Why are video effects so processingintensive? It’s because of the massive data rates involved. Each frame of video contains about 1 MB of data, and these data-heavy frames are arriving at around 30 frames per second. An effect, such as a transition, is the result of mathematically blending two video streams to create a new piece of video. That means that even the simplest effect requires about 60 million calculations per second to create the new bit of video. What kind of effects can be done in real-time? That depends on the board
being used. One of the strengths of Adobe Premiere is its wide range of effects. These include transitions, video filters (e.g. adding camera blur or changing a color image to black and white), keying (e.g. putting an actor shot against a blue-screen into another scene), transparency, scaling, adding titles, and motion. Most real-time cards are capable of handling the most common types of effects such as transitions and titles. Some boards can handle a much wider array of effects, even including the capability to “fly” your video around in 3D in real-time. Other differences between real-time video cards include the compression type (MJPEG, DV, MPEG-2, uncompressed, etc.) as well as the input/output options (composite, component, 1394, SDI, etc.).
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