Issue - 8 DUÀ¸ïÖ August 2014 Vol - 5 Pages : 8 RNI No. KARBIL/2010/31617 | CPMG/KA/BGS/107/2012-2014 REGISTERED : August 2014 OBITUARY Remembering Ananthamurthy, the critical insider - Prakash Belawadi 1932-2014 In the previous era of journalism, when there were no TV news channels and only a few newspapers and magazines, it often seemed as if journalists simply wrote to each other and not for the readers. There were occasions when the combat between journalists covering the same beat for rival papers got so deep and personal that if one broke a news story, others would write stories trying to trash the scoop on facts and slant, confusing the readers, adding to the noise. That is how it seemed with UR Ananthamurthy and his intellectual peers, critics and admirers. It all got so personal right through his public life, especially when it concerned caste, faith and ritual that critical opinion became not a part of the larger discourse but rather a quarrel within communities and cabals. He has not been spared even in his death. “Born a Brahmin myself, hurting the feelings of Brahmins has only been inevitable and not something that I have enjoyed doing. My stories Samskara, Ghatashraddha and Bharateepura have caused distress to many Brahmins. Not only has it caused distress, it has also angered them,” he wrote once. (This and following quotes, unless specified otherwise, are from ‘Me, as a Brahmin’ by UR Ananthamurthy, Translated by Deepa Ganesh, JOURNAL OF KARNATAKA STUDIES – NOVEMBER 2004 – APRIL 2005). But the writer acknowledged the pressure he felt from peers, his intellectual rivals and groupies, aligned for and against him. He wrote, frankly and brutally, in his way: “There is another reason why I hesitate to criticise Brahmins these days. Non-Brahmin intellectuals see this as a Brahmin ploy. They are highly suspicious about it and believe it is a clever Brahmin’s strategy to gain popularity in non-Brahmin circles. Let them see it any which way, so what, I tell myself.“ But he couldn't remain immune. "Community opinions begin to gradually affect our thinking. For most, it has become an extremely difficult task to perceive issues of caste with any kind of transparency. This is the problem that plagues intellectuals of every caste. The thief’s mind is sour with guilt. The sourer the mind, the more sugar-coated the words get,” he wrote. He cited an instance of an encounter with “a mild-mannered, extremely hospitable woman” in Davanagere, Karnataka, who had served him lunch. She had sought a private moment with him as he was preparing to leave and told him: “Nobody likes us anymore. Why do you poke fun at us? If you had ridiculed members of the other castes would it have been possible for you to survive it? Because we endure even when people sneer at us, everybody chooses to ridicule us. Is that the right thing to do?” I have heard this myself and often enough, from friends and family members. Ananthamurthy once said, ironically: “The only Indian leader anybody can attack without fear of bodily harm and serious retaliation is Mahatma Gandhi.” If I could take the liberty of paraphrasing that, I could replace ‘leader’ with ‘caste or community’ and ‘Mahatma Gandhi’ with ‘the Brahmin community’. But URA would have disagreed. Suchitra Film Society Annual General Meeting and Elections to the Executive Committee SUN 26 OCT 2014 | 10:30 AM NOTICE OF THE AGM 2013-14 Notice is hereby given that the 44th Annual General Body Meeting of Suchitra Film th Society will be held on Sunday, 26 Oct 2014 at Suchitra Auditorium at 10:30 AM. AGENDA 1. Confirmation of the notice to AGM. 2. Confirmation of the proceedings of the previous AGM. 3. Secretary’s report for the year 2013-14 4. Presentation of audited accounts for the year 2013-14 5. Appointment of auditors for the year 2014-15 6. Any resolution of which notice has been given by any member of the society at least one week before the meeting. 7. Any other matter with the permission of the Chair. 8. In case there is no quorum, the adjourned AGM will be held at the same venue at 11:30 AM 9. Election of the Eleven Executive Committee Members for 2014-15 and 2015-16. ELECTION SCHEDULE Members desirous of contesting in the elections are required to file their nominations in the prescribed form available at the office on any working day th from 1st to 18 October 2014, between 5:30 PM and 7:30 PM Last date of filing the nomination th 18 Oct 2014 th Scrutiny of the nomination filed 20 Oct. Announcing list of valid nominations st 21 Oct 2014 Last date of withdrawal of nomination rd 23 Oct. Announcement of final list of candidates th 24 Oct. Elections if required will be held on th 26 Oct 2014 Bangalore Sd/- Date:25.08.2014 Secretary Contd. Next Page
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wrote, frankly and brutally, in his way: “There is
another reason why I hesitate to criticise
Brahmins these days . Non-Brahmin
intellectuals see this as a Brahmin ploy. They
are highly suspicious about it and believe it is a
clever Brahmin’s strategy to gain popularity in
non-Brahmin circles. Let them see it any which
way, so what, I tell myself.“
But he couldn't remain immune. "Community
opinions begin to gradually affect our thinking.
For most, it has become an extremely difficult
task to perceive issues of caste with any kind of
transparency. This is the problem that plagues
intellectuals of every caste. The thief’s mind is
sour with guilt. The sourer the mind, the more
sugar-coated the words get,” he wrote.
He cited an instance of an encounter with “a
mild-mannered, extremely hospitable
woman” in Davanagere, Karnataka, who had
served him lunch. She had sought a private
moment with him as he was preparing to leave
and told him: “Nobody likes us anymore. Why
do you poke fun at us? If you had ridiculed
members of the other castes would it have
been possible for you to survive it? Because we
endure even when people sneer at us,
everybody chooses to ridicule us. Is that the
right thing to do?” I have heard this myself and
often enough, from friends and family
members.
Ananthamurthy once said, ironically: “The
only Indian leader anybody can attack without
fear of bodily harm and serious retaliation is
Mahatma Gandhi.” If I could take the liberty of
paraphrasing that, I could replace ‘leader’ with
‘caste or community’ and ‘Mahatma Gandhi’
with ‘the Brahmin community’. But URA would
have disagreed.
Suchitra Film Society Annual General Meeting and Elections to the Executive
Committee SUN 26 OCT 2014 | 10:30 AM
NOTICE OF THE AGM 2013-14
Notice is hereby given that the 44th Annual General Body Meeting of Suchitra Film
thSociety will be held on Sunday, 26 Oct 2014 at Suchitra Auditorium at 10:30 AM.
AGENDA
1. Confirmation of the notice to AGM.
2. Confirmation of the proceedings of the previous AGM.
3. Secretary’s report for the year 2013-14
4. Presentation of audited accounts for the year 2013-14
5. Appointment of auditors for the year 2014-15
6. Any resolution of which notice has been given by any member of the society at least one week before the meeting.
7. Any other matter with the permission of the Chair.
8. In case there is no quorum, the adjourned AGM will be held at the same venue at 11:30 AM
9. Election of the Eleven Executive Committee Members for 2014-15 and 2015-16.
ELECTION SCHEDULE
Members desirous of contesting in the elections are required to file their nominations in the prescribed form available at the office on any working day
thfrom 1st to 18 October 2014, between 5:30 PM and 7:30 PM
Last date of filing the nomination th18 Oct 2014
thScrutiny of the nomination filed 20 Oct. Announcing list of valid nominations
st21 Oct 2014
Last date of withdrawal of nomination rd23 Oct.
Announcement of final list of candidates th24 Oct.
Elections if required will be held on th26 Oct 2014
Bangalore Sd/-Date:25.08.2014 SecretaryContd. Next Page
2August 2014
He didn’t agree with the Davanagere lady either, but he had confessed to being embarrassed by her direct questioning, had tried to cover it up: ”What we have written are works of literature, they are symbols.”
But where Ananthamurthy breaks through, transcends the incestuous liminalities of the intellectual quagmire, is in his appreciation of the woman: “She understood my difficulty, and felt sorry that she had subjected me, who had gone to her house for lunch, to such a predicament. I couldn’t gather courage to say that what I wrote was the crucial truth that Brahmins had to face. I think we become writers because of such hesitations. And I think we seek cover under symbols precisely for the same reason.”
This was more than intellectual humility and personal honesty. This was a call of the insider, to his ‘own people’, Brahmins, to see with a clear mind the danger, not of affection for one’s own caste, but rather the contempt of another’s.
As he put it: “This, however, is not a danger that springs from an innocent individual who completely believes in his caste and lives a life within it; but a danger from an individual who declares that casteism is bad, but views people of all other castes, except his own, with enormous suspicion... The world of naïve believers of caste is limited; their intentions are clear; their cruelty towards the lower castes is clear... The dangerous ones are those who still hold on to caste even after giving up caste-related professions.”
The Brahmin groups that had opposed and ridiculed URA when he was alive, that continue to do so now when he is dead, did not (and are yet to) see the “critical insider” in him, as someone who could continue to be inside, but also seek change – like Mahatma Gandhi. The anti-Brahmin groups that have alternately admired and abused URA for his extant 'Brahmanism' have seen this as his opportunism or, worse, hypocrisy.
But the inspiration he found in religion and its moral, political purpose, in fact, came from Mahatma Gandhi and Ram Manohar Lohia: “Gandhiji’s Dandi and Navakhali marches are also bold expressions of the latent spiritual aspirations in man. When Lohia said if religion is eternal politics, politics is present day religiosity, one finds in these words the vision of a spiritual desire for equality. It is the responsibility of religions to get an individual accustomed to a system.”
He saw this not only as a “constant process,” but also as one loaded with conflict and contradiction: “In this, there is both good and bad. In this need to acquire adaptability there
is also the danger of getting into a groove, and so to shake oneself, from time to time one needs political struggles. It is here that an individual’s true religious desires get expressed.”
He addressed his ‘own people’ in more direct terms: “For a Brahmin, who lives his life with the belief that all inequalities are the fruits of Karma..., considers unthinking observance of ritual as prayer, and mistakes survival strategies for profound intellectualism, the true lease of life comes when he takes part in movements for equality. Otherwise, religion becomes a mere trade; an occupation for economic gains.”
Ananthamurthy dealt with his other, equally profound, identity of ‘Kannadiga’ with the concern and creativity that so strikingly informed him, managing a negotiating space between chauvinism and a blind surrender to the English language, bringing religion, human dignity and politics into play.
When there were attacks on churches in coastal Karnataka in 2008, his comment appeared in a popular blog, criticising the BJP government, which he believed was complicit: “The Christians in the past had made contribution to the development of modern Kannada. Rev Kittel who composed the first Kannada dictionary was one of our revered ancestors. The Christians continue to run hospital and schools. Most of the gentle and caring nurses in hospitals are Christians.”
In his typical forthrightness, he had asked: “Who converts to Christianity?” He went on to answer himself: “Mostly those who come from low castes and feel ashamed to reveal who they are and what caste they belong to. Christianity gives them a respectable identity and they may be tempted also with jobs and money. If we had a great saint like Narayana Guru of Kerala born into a low caste who took to reforming the decadent Hindu society, there would have been no room for Christians to convert low -born Hindus. Narayana Guru was an advaitin, perhaps the greatest advaitin after Adi Shankaracharya.”
Here then was the ultimate insider of Sanatana Dharma, caste-based Hinduism and the Kannada language, of writing and the public intellectual space, so implicitly and intuitively inside that he could say: “Attacking people who are praying to whatever God is the most irreligious act on the part of Hindus. The Sangh Parivar is destroying Hindu civilization.”
If only we could see him, within ourselves and as ourselves, as he was able to, with the disapproving woman of Davanagere, affected by her but not agreeing, it would be easier to love ourselves and the supposed other. But for
that we must have the courage to amplify what goes on inside our heads rather than offer politically correct bluster to the microphone in the face. Because there is so much noise and confusion inside, so much going on there.
Why are we so keen to dole out moral certificates?
While inaugurating the 80 years' Celebrations of Kannada Cinema and Felicitation to veteran Artiste Sri S. Shivaram on 26 April ‘14 organised by Suchitra, Dr. Bharathi Vishnuvardhan announced a contribution of Rs.50,000/- to Suchitra in memory of her beloved husband Dr. Vishnuvardhan, the Phoenix of Kannada cinema. She handed over the cheque when the President and other Committee Members of SFS recently felicitated her on completion of 5 decades of service for the cause of Kannada cinema. As per her desire, Suchitra plans to invest the amount in a FD and out of its annual interest, conduct a Cinema related programme annually. Suchitra thanks Dr. Bharathi for this noble deed and assures that the amount will be utilised in a befitting manner for promoting good cinema culture.
THANK YOU
gÀAUÁAvÀgÀAUÀ
3August 2014
Richard Attenborough who has died aged 90,
was a cheerful humanitarian and imperishable
idealist who, for over half a century, played an
integral part in British cultural life.
In the history of cinema, the image of the actor
will probably be the most enduring.
Attenborough was in front of the camera for
over a quarter of a century before his
directorial debut, at the age of 46, with Oh!
What a Lovely War in 1969. The director -
hailed as 'a titan of British cinema' - appeared
in films including Brighton Rock, World War
Two thriller The Great Escape and later in
dinosaur blockbuster Jurassic Park. During his
60-year career, he gathered 74 acting credits
after appearing in 1942 war film In Which We
Serve, directed by Noel Coward.
Lord Attenborough was given a knighthood in
1976. In 1993 he became a life peer as Baron
Attenborough of Richmond Upon Thames,
accepting the labour whip. Lord Attenborough
had been confined to a wheelchair since
suffering a stroke six years ago. But his family
said he never fully recovered and continued to
struggle to communicate and move around.
In the Oscar-winning epic Gandhi in 1982,
Attenborough’s breadth of canvas and eye for
detail were at their most impressive, with his
displaying a knack to control some 400,000
extras at the re-creation of Gandhi's funeral.
His 1987 film Cry Freedom, starring Denzel
Washington, told the story of anti-apartheid
leader Steve Biko.
During the Second World War, Lord
Attenborough served with the Royal Air Force,
OBITUARYand was seconded to the newly-formed RAF
film unit at Pinewood Studios after initial pilot
training. His father, who was principal of the local
university college, instilled in his children the
belief that not one minute of the day should be
wasted. It was a philosophy that Attenborough
carried into his professional life astonishing
colleagues with his tireless 20-hours-a-day
energy. A dedicated socialist, he was
introduced to rebellious politics by his mother,
who joined protest marches in the 1930s
against Spain's General Franco and took in
Basque refugees from the Spanish Civil War.
His parents also helped to co-ordinate the
evacuation of Jewish children from Europe. "That particular decision, not merely paying lip
service but taking positive, responsible action
to help other human beings, made a profound
impression on me. It has, I suppose, affected
my life and my attitudes ever since,"
Attenborough wrote. This is clear from most of
his choices of subjects as a producer and
director. Source: The Guardian & The Daily Mail
(1923-2014)
When the notion of getting in touch with one's
inner child entered popular currency, the
standup comedian and actor Robin Williams,
who has died aged 63 in a suspected suicide,
was ripe to be its poster-boy.
The star of Good Will Hunting, Good Morning
Vietnam and Mrs Doubtfire, who battled
depression and an addiction to cocaine and
alcohol for decades, was found 'unconscious
and not breathing' in his mansion just outside
San Francisco.
Known as 'the funniest man alive', Williams
fought drug and alcohol problems when he
became the star of Mork & Mindy, on his path
to stardom.
A swerve into straighter acting, as
the literature teacher who challenges
convention at a stuffy school in the late-1950s
in Dead Poets Society (1989), did not upset this
trend. Instead, he transferred deftly his comic
skills into a dramatic setting as his character
liberated pupils formerly rigid with obedience.
Through his standup act and such films as
'Good Morning, Vietnam,' the short, barrel-
chested Williams ranted and shouted as if just
sprung from solitary confinement.
Loud, fast, manic, he parodied everyone from
John Wayne to Keith Richards, impersonating a
Russian immigrant as easily as a pack of Nazi
attack dogs.
He was a riot in drag in 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' or as a
cartoon genie in 'Aladdin’ for which he
improvised the lion's share of his dialogue
while the animators worked around his ad-libs.
Any magic that film exudes is largely down to
him.
He won his Academy Award in a rare, but
equally intense dramatic role, as a teacher in
the 1997 film 'Good Will Hunting.'
He was no less on fire in interviews.
Sadly though, his undeniable success did not
always bring Williams the happiness his gifts
gave audiences.
Source: The Guardian & The Daily Mail
OBITUARY
Richard Attenborough
(1951-2014)
Robin Williams
4August 2014
When over 50 filmmakers whose films were screened, show up at a festival, the point of the event seems to be achieved. Suchitra was all decked up for the three day event that took place between 22 and 24 August, 2014, and saw the biggest crowd for the Bangalore International Short Film Festival yet.Subhashish Bhutiani’s Kush, the official opening film was screened on Friday evening after an opening address by actor, director Rakshit Shetty.
An initial report of the festival was given by Festival Director Anand Varadaraj, in the presence of N. Shashidhara, President, Suchitra Film Society. Starting out with a small crowd on the first day, the momentum picked up with screenings in the next two days running to full houses. Short films from various parts of the world exposed the participants to a variety of genres, themes and technical styles. Be it an Indian dialect or a foreign tongue, the brilliant language of film spoke clearly in the collection at BISFF.The festival included several interactive sessions, the first of which was a talk by Sound Recordist Jamie de Silva on the importance of location sound in film. Adding inside stories of how location sound had helped improve the overall quality of famous films, Jamie kept the audience engaged through the more technical aspects of his talk. Eminent actors Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah took time off to drop by at the festival where a short featuring Mr. Shah, was being screened.The director of the short film Int. Cafe-Night, a young Adhiraj Bose and Mr. Shah were on a panel discussion following the screening. The veteran said to aspiring filmmakers that if they have ideas, they must not wait around but must begin creating immediately. Stressing that good writing always helps produce quality films, the witty actor said “It is important that we make films that are true to the ages we are in.”
Also part of the star buzz was Rakshit Shetty, director of Ulidavaru Kandante. He spoke, using his film as a case study, on various aspects including ways to record live sound and use of VFX in a narration. The audience responded with endless questions, curious to know more of the making of his debut. Each day moderated interactive sessions were held with filmmakers of that day’s films, helping them in visibility and networking. In the closing ceremony, the winners of the films competing for the Best Film award in various sections were awarded by an esteemed jury that included directors Shivamani and B S Basavaraju for the Karnataka Korner, and Sumana Kittur, Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni, S Vishwanath and Arvind Kamath for the other sections.The response that BISFF, 2014 received is something that the team will talk about for weeks to come. Overwhelming, yes, but something the organisers had hoped for. And something that raises the bar for BISFF, August 2015.
Owned, Printed & Published by N Shashidhara (President) Suchitra Film Society; Printed at Suchitra Printers & Publishers;36, 9th Main (B.V. Karanth Road), Banashankari 2nd Stage, Bangalore-560070 Ph: 080-26711785
Editor: Prakash Belawadi, [email protected] Posted at GPO Bangalore-560001 on the last day of every month
August 2014
Films are subject to change or cancellation without prior noticeFilm screenings are for members of Suchitra.Screenings @ Suchitra
Ph
oto
Co
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esy:
Sri
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Sat 20 Sep 2014 | 7:00 PM
Niko Fischer is living from day to day. He has
dropped out of law school. He drifts through
Berlin. OH BOY describes the turbulent 24
hours in the life of a young man in episodes, at
the end of which nothing will be as before.
With his excellent first feature film, Jan Ole
Gerster successfully reminds us of the great
role models, yet without exploiting them: the
early works of Woody Allen and Martin
Scorsese’s AFTER HOURS – but also the films
set in Munich's Schwabing district from the
late sixties. Yet, despite all the recognisable
role models, Gerster develops his own tone,
which is evident throughout the entire film..
Courtesy: Goethe Institut
O BOY!(82m, 2012, Germany)
Dir: Jan Ole Gerster
Friday, 19 Sep 2014 | 7 PM
Join Sandesh Kadur as he goes on a mission to
document the natural and cultural treasures of the
Eastern Himalaya. For years this region was considered
too volatile, too dangerous, to allow outsiders. As a
result, very little was known of the wildlife and people
of this region. In this series of short films, Sandesh
Kadur a wildlife photographer and filmmaker with a
passion for conservation explores these remote
regions on a quest to document some of the rare
inhabitants from golden langurs to clouded leopards in
a hitherto unseen region of India.
North Eastern Diaries
(Dir: Sandesh Kadur)
(45 mins, 2011)
Sat 13 Sep 2014 | 6:45 PM
EXT GENERATION SHORT TIGER 2012: The short film program NEXT GENERATION was created by German Films in 1998 to introduce young talents from Germany to international audiences. Selected from film school submissions by an independent jury, the program premieres within the framework of the Cannes Film Festival and is then presented worldwide at Festivals of German Films.
•MUJER • DIFFERENT (ANDERSARTIG) • FELIX • MISSION "BOY" (Mission "Junge") • LGASTRASSE 18 • PORTRAIT • RAVENBOY ( R A B E N J U N G E ) • R U N O U T (DURCHGEBRANNT) • SPACE STATION (RAUMSTATION) •TWO MEN AND A TABLE (ZWEI MÄNNER UND EIN TISCH) • THE VAGABOND (DER VAGABUND)
ANGELINHO • BABUSCHKA • CHICA XX
Sun 28 Sep 2014 | 10-30 AM
DECEMBER 1(98m, 2014, Kannada)
Dir: P. Sheshadri
Mahadevappa and his family are excited that the Chief Minister is going to stay at their house as part of his officially scheduled overnight program. CM's visit goes on very well and Madevappa & family are over-awed by the proceedings, but hardly get to interact with the CM. Instead, they face embarrassing moments feeling as though they are outsiders in their own house. The movie will be followed by a discussion with the director
Sun 28 Sep 2014 | 10-30 AM
Sun 7 Sept 2014 | 10:00 AM
ANDAZ(166m, 1971, Hindi, India)
Dir: Ramesh Sippy
Suchitra Film Society turns 43 years on August 28. To celebrate it, we are screening the movie, Andaz, which was released in the same year (1971) .
Sat 27 Sep 2014 | 6-30 PM
MONK WITH A CAMERA(90m, Docu, 2014) Dir: Jan Ole Gerster