Metros on celluloid

For city film aficionados,who are interested in a bit of research perspective on celluloid,Open Space is the place to be today.

For city film aficionados,who are interested in a bit of research perspective on celluloid,Open Space is the place to be today. For,Open Space and the Forum For Exchange and Excellence in Design (FEED),is initiating an illustrated talk-cum-film screening as part of the Cinema as Documentation lecture series starting today. The talk,facilitated by film scholar Ajit Duara,will explore the theme of Cities,Industrialisation and Architecture.

The first lecture in the series titled The Filming of a Metropolis,will discuss history as a series of parallel narratives recorded in films,through the point of view of some landmark filmmakers of the 20th century. Through this lecture,I would like to make the point that cinema,through its hundred year history,can be considered an effective medium of social,economic and historical documentation,while exploring other aspects of the medium,such as its art and aesthetics, says Ajit Duara.

He explains how history was documented,citing the Harappan Civilisation,where clay pottery and ceramics are the centre of his documentation.

Story continues below this ad

He also cites Hieun Tsangs travels,which are regarded as a colourful and rare source of information about erstwhile India. The diary is a akin to a Chinese documentation of India, says Duara. He further explains that the Revolt of 1857 was termed as a sepoy mutiny by the British,whereas for Nehru,the same revolt was significant,since he viewed it as the first war of independence. Different perspectives hold immense importance for an accurate documentation of history, he adds.

NewYork,Tokyo,Rome and Kolkata are the cities,which Ill mainly focus on in the talk, says the film scholar. Movies like Godfather and Manhattan depict New York in different perspectives,La Dolce Vita by Federico Fellini and Vittorio De Sica are masterpieces. Aparna Sens 36 Chowrangee Lane,Satyajit Rays Pratidwandi and the works of Raj Kapoor and Guru Dutt,from 1947 to 1964,portray the Nehruvian vision of socialist India,which is now very much capitalist, adds Duara.

The film scholars second talk will look at the links between literature and film. Filmmakers have destroyed literature. The narrative structure of the novel has been hijacked,a ransom has been demanded and sometimes paid, avers Duara.

(The event will take place today,8.30pm onwards,at the S M Joshi Auditorium,Navi Peth)

Click here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories