Nida Fazli was never given his due respect in the industry during his lifetime, says ‘Main Nida’ Director Atul Pandey
Stories based on local folklore appeal to all: Rajguru B., Director of Kannada film ‘Kerebete’
#IFFIWood, 25 November 2024
The diversity of Indian Cinema found a true reflection today at the 55th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), when a Tamil non-feature film, a Hindi documentary and Kannada feature film came together on the same platform for a press conference. Indian Panaroma films – Tamil language non-feature Sivantha Mann, Hindi documentary Main Nida and Kannada feature film Kerebete, were screened at the festival today and received much appreciation from the audience.
Sivantha Mann
This Tamil language short film is based on a real incident that occurred in the southern regions of Tamil Nadu where a village is grappling with the slow demise of its farming traditions. It narrates the story of Ranjitham, a poor mother who works as a farm labourer along with two other women and is struggling to fund her daughter’s education. It reveals the feudal mentality that persists in our country, and goes on to outline the sequence of events that follow when the overseer, out of personal grudge, withholds Ranjitham’s co-worker Sevuthi’s long-overdue wages and repeatedly defers payment.
Speaking to media at the press conference, Director Infant expressed his intent to highlight problems that confront womenfolk. “The society still wants to suppress the voice of females”, he said. He is hopeful that the protagonist, Ranjitham, will encourage women to fight for their rights. The Director of Photography, Easwaren Karthikeyan, and other members of the crew were also present.
‘Main Nida’
Ace film maker Atul Pandey was highly inspired by the sheer genius of poet, philosopher and humanist Nida Fazli who knew five languages, yet wrote in simple langauge. However, such a genius was never given his due respect in the industry during his lifetime, he stated. This motivated the film maker to tell modern Indian poet Nida Fazli’s story to the world through an audio-visual biography. “A certain kind of poets, poetry and artistes are promoted by the ecosystem of our entertainment industry. While the rest are left aside”, he regretted.
Producer Atul Gangwar, also present on the occasion, had been associated with Nida Fazli for over two decades and had 210 hours of footage capturing various moments of the scholar. The first editing cut led to 121 minutes of footage. Then after 450 hours of editing and twenty second cut came down to the final cut of 59 minutes, revealed the director. While working on the project, Pandey became so much influenced by the genius’ works that he advised, “Read Nida Fazli, you will turn into a slightly better person. His poems will change one’s outlook of life. Follow him: our society will be better.”
Malti Joshi Fazli, Nida Fazli’s wife and companion for 34 years, also present on occasion, stated that Nida Saab used to say – “Keep religion aside, win over life through struggle.”
‘Kerebete’
This Kannada feature film is based in the malnad region of Shimoga district where ‘Kerebete’ is an annual fishing event with a vast folk history connected to it. The director Rajguru B. stated that he grew up in those areas. The film narrates the story of Naga, a ‘Kerebete’ or fish hunter who works hard to buy land for the future with his mother and his love interest, Meena.
Speaking about his preparations for the role, lead actor and producer Gowrishankar S R who plays the character of Naga stated that the fight sequences were kept realistic in the film. Director Rajguru also highlighted that the characters have been juxtaposed against India’s age-old epic Ramayana which appeals to all. Giving the example of Kantara’s success, he opined that stories based on local folklore have widespread appeal.
