Prologue
The following post is a product of my attendance at the screening of Kadvi Hawa (Dark Wind presented by Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation and Eleeanora Images at Indian Habitat Centre and a talk by Devdutt Pattnaik on 'From Apollo to Dionysus, Vishnu to Shiva: Mythological Connections Between India and Greece' at India International Centre on 21st March 2017.
"On a day when the wind is perfect. The sail just needs to open and the world is full of beauty. Today is such a day" ~Rumi
Desire is such an evil virtue, isn't it?
We are taught to do away with all our desires so that we can attain 'moksha', such a fancy thing!
It is always the non-conformist who desires and he's branded as a rebel. A rebel must not be confused with someone who is breaking things and norms, sometimes they're the ones on whom simple things have dawned and they choose to respond to that call.
I'll talk about two such individuals here: Nila Madhab Panda and Devdutt Pattanaik who did what they really desired. One wanted to make meaningful movies and other wanted to tell mythological tales. Both of them, tale-tellers gave in to the temptation of desire. But from the work they're doing, I can tell that they've attained 'moksha' or 'nirvana'.
Nila is the director of the critically acclaimed, much loved and famous movie: I Am Kalam. And yet again with Kadvi Hawa (Dark Wind), he's at his creative best. I marvel why this man can make movies which are so touching, heart-rending and so 'Indian' because not only he attempts to research voraciously for his themes and subjects, he actually associates himself way too strongly with the cause for which he's making the movie.
I have heard people saying, 'this is cinema if you've a message go start a campaign on it, write an article on it and talk about it'. If at the end of the day, the point is to aware and talk about it, Cinema perhaps has the biggest reach. But we know how the situation is. Small budget and artistic movies don't pay your bills. Anyway, that's not the point I'm arriving at.
The point is we all felt that this time winters were not too harsh, we didn't feel it. Summers are a torcher to me and every year I hear that the temperature is rising. I am not ashamed to tell you that my first introduction with 'Global Warming', 'Green House Effect', and Climatic Conditions happened in the VIIIth grade, in Science lecture, where almost everyone knew the definition by heart except me. And ever since that day, I keep listening to people talking about climate change. Recently, I can site an example of Uttrakhand tragedy, a disastrous calamity happened there, or a Tsunami in the south of India.
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| Pic Courtsey: Kadvi Hawa |
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But except changing the temperature via our AC remote, we never did anything productive. We participated in competitions and awareness programmes. Every time I wondered why do we organise such events when after its conclusion we used to add more instruments of pollution to the environment, by throwing plastic plates and dumping waste here and there.
But we do our share, we will be the first ones to post it on Facebook if it happens. 'भूकंप'|
Responsibility ended then and there. I heard Nila speak about it today. This movie, Kadvi Hawa is a story set in the backdrop of climate change.
Nila spoke about the time when he was doing research for the Discovery Channel on Climate Change. He began to do research and in particular about the Super Cyclone which hit the state of Odisha. Then he pondered upon the thought that we do have stories set in War times, say World Wars, love stories or a murder conspiracy set in those times. We always have romanticised with the socio-political background and narrated a tale.
Why not a cause like this then?
He came up with this story which has clubbed the plight of farmers in the ravines of Bundelkhand where peasants have forgotten the time when it rain last and on the flip side, Odisha where people have almost lost everything to cyclones.
He develops a story where he links the extreme climatic conditions where we have a Blind Man, Hedu, played by Sanjay Mishra who helps the bank loan recovery agent, Gunu Babu, played by Ranvir Shorey by whistle blowing the information about the people in the village who are having money and are in a position to repay their debt, and is trying to save his son, Mukund played by Bhupesh Singh who also owes a huge sum to the bank. Almost fifty thousand.
Gunu is doing the recovery drive in the Bundelkhand region because he wants to relocate his family from the cyclone-prone area of Odisha. And here, in Bundelkhand, the agent gets the double commission for recovery from debtors. Gunu is touted as 'Yamraj' or 'Yamdoot' because whenever he comes for repayment, he has a track-record of recovery from debtors but is not doing well these days, a peasant commits suicide.
In a deal which Gunu and Hedu agreed mutually, Gunu will get to know about the people to approach for money but shall never visit Hedu's house for the loan. He understands that this debt is disturbing his son, which likewise did to his father, him and now his son.
It's very heart-rending to hear when Hedu says, "यहाँ सब अपने हाथन पे लकीर नाही कर्जा लिखवा कर आत हैं । " and on another occasion, "सही कहा तुमने, चूहे हैं। ...सब चूहे हैं। ...सब चूहे की मौत मर रहे हैं "
Tilotama's acting, her understanding of the character is commendable. The way she unveils before a foreigner, any male outside the family. And the way her payal is creating a music, revealing her state: panic, happiness and sadness. Whenever she's on screen, she cannot be left unnoticed.
Tilotama's acting, her understanding of the character is commendable. The way she unveils before a foreigner, any male outside the family. And the way her payal is creating a music, revealing her state: panic, happiness and sadness. Whenever she's on screen, she cannot be left unnoticed.
I don't know how many people would've known the vernacular. I knew it. I understood every word the characters uttered. I had wholehearted laughs and at times my eyes rained. It was such a pity that those meaningful dialogues were so poorly translated.
Apart from it, I congratulate the director for the sensitivity towards the subject, theme, characters and how marvellously he has handled the scenic beauty of everyday life in a village. It was a nostalgic ride. I could remember the time when we used to visit Nani's village in Bareilly. Those huts, that Chappar which served as a place for keeping comb, letters, medicines, comb, money and several other things. Those cow dung cakes, how we used to collect it as a fun activity. And many other things.
It was such a rare opportunity to attend this screening of this unreleased movie which was probably the first screening after the private screening for producers and other 'important' people. The movie is all set to participate in film festivals. I can undoubtedly say that it is there to create an impact.
It's a sincere request to all who are reading this to go and watch this on your nearest cinema halls when it gets released in May or June probably, this year. No, I'm not getting any commission to promote it on my personal blog. 😃
It was such a rare opportunity to attend this screening of this unreleased movie which was probably the first screening after the private screening for producers and other 'important' people. The movie is all set to participate in film festivals. I can undoubtedly say that it is there to create an impact.
It's a sincere request to all who are reading this to go and watch this on your nearest cinema halls when it gets released in May or June probably, this year. No, I'm not getting any commission to promote it on my personal blog. 😃
Epilogue
I can recall that it is the same flummoxed-ness which I experienced after watching Chauthi Koot, about how such 'minimalism' can convey 'maximum'.
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