The synopsis of the documentary read as the enthralling theatrical journey that happens when a pipe-smoking urban sophisticate like Habib Tanvir travels via Europe to return to his homeland – in Chhattisgarh - to create an essentially Indian theatre…
Well this in short was one of the documentaries that I got to see or rather watch and absorb in a dark auditorium with a few known and several unknown film lovers and critics. The documentary shot in the very raw documentary style show cases the trials and tribulations of a director par excellence trying hard to sustain the very essence of Indian Cinema.
The visual impact or the visual history of the whole documentary spanned only over two years where the director took us through the making and back screen preparations of the theater troupe preparing for the production of a play based on Sanskrit Classics and even some plays the adaptations of Shakespeare and Brecht. Interesting as the topic may seem equally majestic was the interpretation of the themes and the style in which each topic was directed.
The documentary twists and turns itself around the directorial excellence of Habib shahib as he takes on the task of bringing out the artistic skills of the unschooled and uneducated villagers. Each shot of the documentary wound itself around the topic, “ The Naya Theatre “and the man behind the success of the theatre, Habib Tanvir. Simple takes and excerpts from the very people he works with and the glimpses of the long list of celebrity admirers get you to hold on to your seats wondering what’s next. It’s also of great pride when you come to know that this director actually took his bunch of rural artiste’s to berlin and won the competition, in a land where no one knew the dialect and also the music.
In many ways being a critic is easy, we risk very little and yet enjoy a position of the people who offer up their work and their work to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism that’s fun to write and to read. But what we critics often must realize is that in the grand scheme of things the average piece of junk we read and hear is often more meaningful than our criticism designating itself. Not trying to impose myself with the position of being a critic in any way, since I neither have the understanding nor the experience of actually making a critical statement, it doesn’t really stand in the way of me passing a comment o something that is put together beautifully.
The documentary was followed by an interactive session with the director Ranjan Kamath who shared his experience on making the film and also the difficulties. The very first thought going into the making of the film in itself explained the fate or in fact the plight of the Indian Theatre scenario. Asked as to why he made this documentary on the Naya Theatre, his only reply was for my children. For a person who spent the better part or the whole of two years documenting a theatre troupe to make that statement is grave. Well who wouldn’t think so. The pays poor in fact it sucks (@ Rs. 2000/- per month), the hours long and the attendance decent, great only when known persons take the helm. With hardly any encouragement this is one form of entertainment that is nearing its last days. Several other questions later you also come to another revelation that is although the whole of India liked it and applaud its humble origins it has been entered into over 30 film festivals and never once been in the list of films being shown as it lacked international elements. Funny when you actually take in the international films into our nation and one to many of us sit and watch the show blissfully unaware of what’s happening and if at all we are asked whether you understood anything we simply reply oh of course every bit when in reality it’s all gone swish over your head.
Naya theatre is truly an eye opener in terms of the very little we have conceived of the notion of Indian Theatre.
Well this in short was one of the documentaries that I got to see or rather watch and absorb in a dark auditorium with a few known and several unknown film lovers and critics. The documentary shot in the very raw documentary style show cases the trials and tribulations of a director par excellence trying hard to sustain the very essence of Indian Cinema.
The visual impact or the visual history of the whole documentary spanned only over two years where the director took us through the making and back screen preparations of the theater troupe preparing for the production of a play based on Sanskrit Classics and even some plays the adaptations of Shakespeare and Brecht. Interesting as the topic may seem equally majestic was the interpretation of the themes and the style in which each topic was directed.
The documentary twists and turns itself around the directorial excellence of Habib shahib as he takes on the task of bringing out the artistic skills of the unschooled and uneducated villagers. Each shot of the documentary wound itself around the topic, “ The Naya Theatre “and the man behind the success of the theatre, Habib Tanvir. Simple takes and excerpts from the very people he works with and the glimpses of the long list of celebrity admirers get you to hold on to your seats wondering what’s next. It’s also of great pride when you come to know that this director actually took his bunch of rural artiste’s to berlin and won the competition, in a land where no one knew the dialect and also the music.
In many ways being a critic is easy, we risk very little and yet enjoy a position of the people who offer up their work and their work to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism that’s fun to write and to read. But what we critics often must realize is that in the grand scheme of things the average piece of junk we read and hear is often more meaningful than our criticism designating itself. Not trying to impose myself with the position of being a critic in any way, since I neither have the understanding nor the experience of actually making a critical statement, it doesn’t really stand in the way of me passing a comment o something that is put together beautifully.
The documentary was followed by an interactive session with the director Ranjan Kamath who shared his experience on making the film and also the difficulties. The very first thought going into the making of the film in itself explained the fate or in fact the plight of the Indian Theatre scenario. Asked as to why he made this documentary on the Naya Theatre, his only reply was for my children. For a person who spent the better part or the whole of two years documenting a theatre troupe to make that statement is grave. Well who wouldn’t think so. The pays poor in fact it sucks (@ Rs. 2000/- per month), the hours long and the attendance decent, great only when known persons take the helm. With hardly any encouragement this is one form of entertainment that is nearing its last days. Several other questions later you also come to another revelation that is although the whole of India liked it and applaud its humble origins it has been entered into over 30 film festivals and never once been in the list of films being shown as it lacked international elements. Funny when you actually take in the international films into our nation and one to many of us sit and watch the show blissfully unaware of what’s happening and if at all we are asked whether you understood anything we simply reply oh of course every bit when in reality it’s all gone swish over your head.
Naya theatre is truly an eye opener in terms of the very little we have conceived of the notion of Indian Theatre.
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