Parallel Cinema
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GALIGE (Dir. M. S. Sathyu, 1995, India)
I recently caught Galige (1995) lurking in the library of Amazon’s Indian film channel Heera. Many of the key titles first made available by the NFDC on DVD through the Cinemas of India label can be found in the library. Most of the films have subtitles and claim to have been restored, which judging by Continue reading
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Canonizing Indian Parallel Cinema – Part 2: The Emergency (1975 – 1977)
This is part two in a series of five posts on canonizing Indian Parallel Cinema. Part one was published in January 2017. The Emergency, an extended period of state repression and censorship, is one of the darkest times in India’s recent history. The foundational years of Parallel Cinema, where some thought it was possible to create Continue reading
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MASSEY SAHIB (Dir. Pradip Krishen, 1986, India)
Filmmaker and environmentalist Pradip Krishen only ever directed three full length feature films in what was a significant but short-lived filmmaking career (although Krishen has directed numerous short films) that came to an end in the early 1990s. Krishen wrote one of the finest essays on Parallel Cinema, titled ‘Knocking at the doors of public Continue reading
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REVELATIONS (Dir. Vijay Jayapal, 2016, India)
Revelations is about the inadequacies and vulnerabilities of relationships. Writer and director Vijay Jayapal crafts four memorable characters and appreciatively gives them time to grow. In doing so the director also draws on common archetypes – the housewife, the husband, a mysterious stranger, the youthful novice – connecting with a recognisable cultural code but inverting Continue reading
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Canonizing Indian Parallel Cinema – Part 1: The foundational years/developmental phase (1968 – 1974)
There is a general consensus that Indian Parallel Cinema officially started in 1969 with the triptych of Bhuvan Shome, Uski Roti and Sara Akash. In 1968 B.K. Karanjia, former editor of Filmfare, was appointed chairman of the FFC. Prior to Karanjia’s appointment, the FFC, reluctant to support new cinema had been criticised for its support Continue reading
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