Amudhan R.P.

Amudhan R.P. Filmography

2012-01-04T21:30:00.001-08:00

Films by Amudhan R.P.

1) Leelavathi: 55 min; Tamil; VHS; 1996

An investigative documentary on the murder of an activist turned politician Mrs. Leelavathi as she fought against water mafia and tried to get tap water facility for the people of Villapuram, a working class settlement in Madurai.

Coming from a simple and traditional weaving community, Mrs. Leelavthi became a hardworking activist of All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) and later CPI (M) and finally died as a councilor of Madurai Municipal Corporation representing Villapuram. Her end also brought out the danger, the women local body members face in the hands of traditional power holding fellow politicians who happened to be men.

2) Theeviravaghigal (Terrorists):
56 min; Tamil with English sub-titles; VHS; 1997

A socio cultural documentary about the life and struggle of peasants of Gundupatti near Kodaikanal, who had to face brutal and violent assault from police and local politicians as they decided to boycott a parliament election in response to lack of basic facilities such as road, hospital and school. The film brings out the inhuman character vulgarly exhibited by the state police when a community tries to fight for its right in India, particularly if they are dalits/harijans/untouchables.

The peasants are the repatriates from southern Sri Lanka who were brought back to India under the Srimavo-Shastri accord and made to settle on the hills of Kodaikanal, a famous hill station near Madurai. Most of them left India for Sri Lanka for a better life with security and dignity without having to face untouchability, some hundred years back.

3) Thodarum Thisavazhi (Direction to go)
40 min; Tamil; Hi 8; 2001

Students of Government run colleges in Tamilnadu went for a state wide protest in response to the privatization higher education started by the state government. The film captures the experiences of students of two colleges of Madurai.

Government run colleges are the only source of higher education and hope for the students who come from economically and socially backward sections in India. They are heavily subsidized by both the state and central governments to enable the students from all backgrounds to get quality education. But after the advent of liberalization and globalization policies, the governments are trying to give away the responsibility of universal higher education in India. The film tries to question this whole idea.

4) Kaviri Padugai (Cauvery Delta)
45 min; Tamil with English subtitles; 2002

16 farmers died within a period of a month either by hanging themselves, or consuming pesticide, or by heart attack as they faced acute drought and debt in Tanjore district, otherwise called ‘rice bowl’ of Tamilnadu in 2002. The film visits some of their families to register their side of the story which got deliberately hidden by the government and mass media.

Although “green revolution” in agriculture seems to have created enough food to save the starving stomachs of India, it has also alienated the farmers from their cultivation and land as the scientists and industries started dictating the methods and inputs. Farmers lost control over their crops after becoming completely dependent on canal irrigation, diesel and electric motors, hybrid seeds, chemical fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides. As their cost of inputs keep increasing every year, any small derailment in the plan will prove to be fatal.

5) Pee (Shit)
26 min; Tamil with English subtitles; 2003

Mariyammal, a sanitary worker with Madurai Municipal Corporation shares her frustration and anger with the filmmaker while cleaning a street near by a temple in Madurai which is full of shit.

Manual scavenging is officially prohibited in India since 1996. But lakhs of such men and women are made to clean night soil in the cities, towns and villages here. Most of them do not even get proper salary as it is considered to be their traditional occupation under the Indian caste system. They continue to live in a precarious condition for generations without any hope for change as their children are also indirectly forced to continue the tradition.

The film became a proof for all the insensitivity of the society towards such workers and triggered a chain of actions in Tamilnadu which includes the mass movements and direct actions against manual scavenging and of course the protagonist, Mariammal has been shifted out to a little better job, the street that is shown in the film has been shut down by the government and the toilets are better managed now with better equipment and better working conditions in Madurai.

6) Mayana Kurippugal (Notes from the Crematorium)
25 min; Tamil with English subtitles; 2005

The film is an existential journey into the life and experiences of undertakers of Madurai central crematorium who despite facing untouchablity and caste violence from the rest of the society because of the occupation, continue to look life with hope and wisdom.

Cremation is considered to be a holy ritual in India which involves the upper caste priests, the close ones of the deceased, the undertakers and of course the corpse. Although the cremation cannot take place without the active participation of the undertakers, the caste system in India does not give due respect and recognition to them. The central crematorium here in Madurai is run by the government where the workers are forced to work under inhuman conditions without salary, security and safety working environment. Apart from getting occasional beating from the relatives of the deceased they are also abused and insulted regularly, while doing the job.

But the death becomes the leveler which presumably gives belated wisdom to the deceased, only after the death. And those who are alive continue to fail to achieve that.

7) Vandhe Mataram – A shit version
6 minutes; music video; Hindi; 2005

A.R.Rahman, a famous Indian music director produced a music video “remixing” the national patriotic song ‘Vandhe Mataram’ in the lines of “India Shining” propaganda campaign by the BJP led NDA government at the centre in early years of millennium.

This music video uses the same audio to juxtapose with manual scavenging activities that are still prevalent in India amidst the false euphoria of “India Shining” wave.

8) Senthamil Nadenum Pothinile : 5 minutes; music video; Tamil; 2005

Bharathi’s famous song “Senthamil Nadenum Pothinile “sung by M.S.Subbulakshi is used here to juxtapose the shit reality of Tamilnadu with the images of manual scavenging. The song boasts the Tamil culture, land and language as supreme. But the images show poor sanitary workers of Tamilnadu cleaning filthy toilets.

9) Seruppu (Footwear)
74 minutes; Tamil with English subtitles; 2006

This film portrays the life and struggle of the inhabitants of an old slum in Tiruchirappalli with the combination of ethnographic and point of view style.

The protagonists are dalits/untouchables/harijans involved in making footwear for their livelihood, which is their traditional caste based occupation. They are also Catholics and that religious identity “officially prohibits” them from getting benefits such as reservation/quota in education and jobs, scholarship for students, and other measures that are otherwise available for fellow “Hindu” dalits under the same Indian constitution.

Besides the external trouble, they also face discrimination within the church as their fellow Catholics who happened to be “upper castes” practice untouchability and hegemony over the lower caste Christians. Also the entry of multinational companies because of globalization and privatization deprive them the market share, apart from the apathy shown by both the state and central governments who are in the process of slowly stopping all the support mechanism that has been guaranteed to the small scale and cottage industries in India.

10) The Road
10 minutes; Tamil with English subtitles; 2008

Who owns the highways? When foreign direct investment and multinational Indian companies take over the road with heavy funding for construction and expansion who owns them finally? Do the villagers who were robbed off their lands own it? What about the school children? When the houses and trees are bulldozed along with the deities, Hitler’s dream can also be implemented in India.

11) Night Life
5 minutes; English (No dialogue); 2008

I sleep on the middle of the road even during the midnight. While the fast moving vehicles flood light on me, the people with selective blindness cannot notice me. This is my concrete bed and I cannot afford to turn towards either direction. But who is not insane anyway?

12) RADIATION STORIES Part I: Manavalakurichi
54 min; Tamil with English subtitles; 2010

Lush green ambiance of Kanyakumari district, in southern India conceals the artificially created radioactive sand dunes and large number of radiation related illness and deaths. Trucks carry around radioactive sand across villages and towns through out the day and night.Ponds, rivers, plants, trees, our crew and shooting equipment all can be possibly radioactive.Even this documentary can be radioactive. Some call it natural radiation. Some call it man-made radiation.But there is radiation; for sure.

13) Broken Voices: 20 min; Tamil; Documentary 2010

Victims of caste atrocities from different parts of the state of Tamilnadu share their violations in the hands of police, caste Hindus and men. Some of the stories are brutal, some are subtle and some are psychological and all are violent.

14) Hey Mr.Gandhi, Leave the Indians Alone!
40 min; Tamil with English subtitles; 2011

3 villages near Madurai in south India loose 1500 acres of fertile lands to Special Economical Zone (SEZ) a chain of no-tax zones to promote industrialisation promoted by Government of India across the country. People are being forced to leave the lands that were part of their lives for generations.

15) Mercury in the Mist: 16 min; Tamil with English subtitles; 2011

Ex-workers of a thermometer factory owned and run by Hindustan Lever Limited in Kodaikanal, a hill station in south India suffer from mercury contamination. 30 persons have died so far due to various diseases. The ex-workers of the factory continue their fight against the multinational company which refuses to take the responsibility.

16) Thodarum Neethi Kolaihal
124 min; Tamil; 2011; Documentary

Part:1 Capital punishment is a murder in the name of law and justice. India is one of the few countries in the world that have not abolished capital punishment along with United States and China. 20 odd mercy petitions are waiting on the table of the President of India.

Part :2 Rajiv Gandhi's assasination case is one of the most controversial cases in the independent India where still the plot has not been solved yet. But still the Government of India is to keen to hang the 3 Tamils prematurely as part of its revenge acts beside the Srilankan war where more than a lakh Tamils were killed in pursuit of LTTE.

17) Radiation Stories Part II: Kalpakkam

28 min; 2012; Tamil; Documentary; Directed by Amudhan R.P.

Dr.Pugalendi, a brave warrior against nuclear energy has been fighting a battle against nuclear establishment of Kalpakkam for the past 20 years. When the famous scientists of this country are claiming that nuclear energy is safe, Dr.Pugalendi’s argument can give us the suppressed version of the story.

Festivals/ awards
Notes from the Crematorium:
River to River, Florence Indian Film Festival 2006 -Italy,
Gottingen Documentary Film Festival 2006 – Germany,
Doc-Aviv 2006 – Israel,
Signs 2006 – Trivandrum
3 Screens 2006 – ISF, New Delhi
Peace Film Festival 2006 – Mumbai
Film South Asia 2007, Katmandu

Shit:
Tirupur video festival, Tamilnadu 2004(awards shared)
Sivagangai video competion, Tamilnadu 2004 (awards shared)
Jeevika 2004, New Delhi
One Billion Eyes – Indian Documentary Festival, Chennai 2005 (best film award)
Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival 2005, China
Mumbai International Film Festival 2006 (National Jury Award)
VIBGYOR Documentary and Short Film Festival 2006 (Best Documentary Film)

Seruppu:
Jeevika 2007, New Delhi – 3rd Prize
WSF Film Festival 2007, Kenya
One Billion Eyes Film Festival 2007, Chennai
International Video Festival of Kerala 2008, Trivandrum

Amudhan R.P
Marupakkam
A 9/4 K.K.Nagar, Madurai 625 020, India
Ph: 91-452-2523992; 91-93444-79353
amudhanrp@rediffmail.com; marupakkam@rediffmail.com;
http://www.maduraifilmfest.blogspot.com/ ; http://www.amudhanrp.blogspot.com/

Theeviravaadhigal - trailer

2011-12-03T00:22:00.000-08:00

I made this film in 1998, when I was 27. The whole budget was Rs.25,000/. The film was shot with VHS camcorder barrowed from Santhosh Kumar(Tirussur). I had asked Mr.Chinnaraj Joseph, who was a lecturer then at The American College, Madurai to lend their college owned VHS camera to shoot this film. He declined to give as he thought I was going to make a controversial film.

I collected Rs.5,000/- to meet the shooting expenses. Ilamparuthi, a friend of mine accompanied me. He was from CPI(ML)and he constantly called me apolitical. But he believed in the film some how.

We found out the contact persons of Gundupatti from IDEAS, a research centre run by Jesuits in Madurai.

more to come...

2011-10-29T22:17:00.000-07:00

ஆவணப்பட வெளியீடு

“தொடரும்
நீதிக்கொலைகள்”

இயக்கம்: அமுதன் R.P.
தயாரிப்பு: இயக்குநர் சேரன்

முதல் பிரதியை
திரு.பழ.நெடுமாறன் அவர்கள் வெளியிட
திரு. வைகோ அவர்கள் பெற்றுக்கொள்கிறார்

நாள்: 29 அக்டோபர் 2011; சனிக்கிழமை; நேரம்: மாலை 4 மணி
இடம்: கோயம்பேடு உண்ணாநிலைப் போராட்ட அரங்கு, சென்னை

திரையிடல்:
தொடரும் நீதிக்கொலைகள்
124 நிமிடங்கள்; தமிழ்; 2011; ஆவணப்படம்

பாகம்: 1 மரண தண்டனை நீதியின் பெயரால் செய்யப்படும் கொலை
பாகம்: 2 சாந்தன், முருகன், பேரறிவாளன்

அனைவரும் வருக

Film Club Inaugurated by Amudhan RP!

2011-08-08T00:17:00.000-07:00

Reelity Bites – Film Club
Selaiyur Hall, Madras Christian College, Chennai

Inaugurated by Amudhan RP
For the year 2011-12

On 7 August 2011; 2.30 pm at MCC

Films:

Pee (Shit)
26 min; Tamil with English subtitles; 2003
Mariyammal, a sanitary worker with Madurai Municipal Corporation shares her frustration and anger with the filmmaker while cleaning a street near by a temple in Madurai which is full of shit.

Seruppu: (Footwear)
74 minutes; Tamil with English subtitles; 2006
This film portrays the life and struggle of the inhabitants of an old slum in Tiruchirappalli with the combination of ethnographic and point of view style. The protagonists are dalits/untouchables/harijans involved in making footwear for their livelihood, which is their traditional caste based occupation.

Mercury in the Mist
18 min; Tamil with Eng. Subtitles; 2011
A campaign documentary about the plight of the environment and ex-workers affected by mercury pollution from Hindustan Unilever's thermometer factory in Kodaikanal. More than 30 workers have died till date, and several tons of mercury have been discharged in and around the factory. But the company refuses to take responsibility.

We Welcome you!

Mercury in the Mist - working stills

2011-06-25T11:46:00.000-07:00

2011-06-25T11:23:00.000-07:00

Release & Launch of a Documentary

MERCURY IN THE MIST
Directed by Amudhan R.P.

On 1 July 2011 at 7 p.m.

at National Folklore Support Centre (NFSC)
505, Kaveri Complex,
behind Ganpath Hotel
Nungambakkam High Road, Nungambakkam Chennai

First DVD copy will be released by
Mr.Rathnavelu
cinematographer
(ENDIRAN, VAARANAM AAYIRAM, SETHU, NANDHA & more)

First DVD copy will be received by
Ms. Vahidha Nizam
Vice-president, AITUC

Followed by the screening of the film:

MERCURY IN THE MIST
Dir: Amudhan R.P; 16 min;

A campaign documentary about the plight of the environment and ex-workers affected by mercury pollution from Hindustan Unilever's thermometer factory in Kodaikanal. More than 30 workers have died till date, and several tons of mercury have been discharged in and around the factory. But the company refuses to take responsibility.

Guest speakers:
Mr.Bharathi Krishnakumar: writer/filmmaker/orator

Mr.Mahindra Babu: President, Ex workers Association, Ponds India Limited, Kodaikanal

Mr.Nityanand Jayaraman: Activist

We welcome you!

Jointly organised by
MARUPAKKAM, NFSC and
The Other Media

2011-06-23T23:20:00.000-07:00

Release & Launch of a Documentary

MERCURY IN THE MIST: Directed by Amudhan R.P.

On 1 July 2011 at 7 p.m.at National Folklore Support Centre (NFSC)
505, Kaveri Complex, behind Ganpath Hotel, Nungambakkam Chennai

First DVD copy will be released by Mr.Rathnavelu, cinematographer
(ENDIRAN, VAARANAM AAYIRAM, SETHU, NANDHA and more)
First DVD copy will be received by Ms. Vahidha Nizam Vice-president, AITUC

Followed by the screening of the film: MERCURY IN THE MIST
Dir: Amudhan R.P; 16 min; Tamil with Eng. Sub titles; 2011
A campaign documentary about the plight of the environment and ex-workers affected by mercury pollution from Hindustan Unilever's thermometer factory in Kodaikanal. More than 30 workers have died till date, and several tons of mercury have been discharged in and around the factory. But the company refuses to take responsibility.

Guest speakers: Mr.Bharathi Krishnakumar, writer/filmmaker/orator
Mr.Mahindra Babu, President, Ex workers Association, Ponds India Limited, Kodaikanal
Mr.Nityanand Jayaraman, Activist

We welcome you!

Jointly organised by MARUPAKKAM, NFSC & The Other Media

Video Workshop at Lady Doak College, Madurai

2011-06-15T05:47:00.001-07:00

Video workshop at KARISAL at Aalangulam (Sivakasi)

2011-04-23T07:50:00.000-07:00

My new film: RADIATION STORIES

2010-07-20T20:37:00.000-07:00

RADIATION STORIES
54 min; Tamil with English subtitles; 2010; India

Produced and directed by AMUDHAN R.P.

SYNOPSIS:
Lush green ambiance of Kanyakumari district, in southern India conceals the artificially created radioactive sand dunes and large number of radiation related illness and deaths.Trucks carry around radioactive sand across villages and towns through out the day and night. Ponds, rivers, plants, trees, our crew and shooting equipment all can be possibly radioactive.Even this documentary can be radioactive.

Some call it natural radiation. Some call it man-made radiation.But there is radiation; for sure.

MY FRIENDS AT GANDHIGRAM UNIVERSITY!

2010-02-08T10:25:00.001-08:00

My Interview in THE HINDU

2009-09-13T08:14:00.000-07:00

http://www.hinduonnet.com/mp/2009/09/12/stories/2009091251740600.htm

My film "Notes from the Crematorium" at One Billion Eyes!

2008-08-18T01:21:00.000-07:00

Dear Mr.Amudhan

We are pleased to inform that your film Notes from Crematorium has been selected by the Committee to be screened as part of our Indian Documentary Film Festival 'One Billion Eyes' to be held from August 15 – 19, 2008 at Alliance Francaise.

Schedule of the festival is attached for your reference. You may please inform your friends and well wishers about the festival.

Thanking you

Kalyani
Prakriti Foundation

http://www.abillioneyes.in/

Screenings of my films

2008-07-14T23:49:00.000-07:00

1) Vikalp - Bangalore is organising a two day screening of my latest 6 films (Shit, Vandhe Mataram, Notes from the Crematorium, Seruppu, The Road, Night life) in Bangalore

on 18,19 of July 2008

2) Magic Lantern Foundation, New Delhi screens my film 'Notes from the Crematorium' as part of their festival "PERSISTENCE RESISTANCE - a festival of contemporary Indian political films' in London on 22,23 July 2008

Amudhan R.P. : Filmography

2008-07-12T08:32:00.000-07:00

1) Leelavathi:
55 min; Tamil; VHS; 1996

An investigative documentary on the murder of an activist turned politician Mrs. Leelavathi as she fought against water mafia and tried to get tap water facility for the people of Villapuram, a working class settlement in Madurai.

Coming from a simple and traditional weaving community, Mrs. Leelavthi became a hardworking activist of All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) and later CPI (M) and finally died as a councilor of Madurai Municipal Corporation representing Villapuram. Her end also brought out the danger, the women local body members face in the hands of traditional power holding fellow politicians who happened to be men.

2) Theeviravaghigal (Terrorists):
56 min; Tamil with English sub-titles; VHS; 1997

A socio cultural documentary about the life and struggle of peasants of Gundupatti near Kodaikanal, who had to face brutal and violent assault from police and local politicians as they decided to boycott a parliament election in response to lack of basic facilities such as road, hospital and school. The film brings out the inhuman character vulgarly exhibited by the state police when a community tries to fight for its right in India, particularly if they are dalits/harijans/untouchables.

The peasants are the repatriates from southern Sri Lanka who were brought back to India under the Srimavo-Shastri accord and made to settle on the hills of Kodaikanal, a famous hill station near Madurai. Most of them left India for Sri Lanka for a better life with security and dignity without having to face untouchability, some hundred years back.

3) Thodarum Thisavazhi (Direction to go):
40 min; Tamil; Hi 8; 2001

Students of Government run colleges in Tamilnadu went for a state wide protest in response to the privatization higher education started by the state government. The film captures the experiences of students of two colleges of Madurai.

Government run colleges are the only source of higher education and hope for the students who come from economically and socially backward sections in India. They are heavily subsidized by both the state and central governments to enable the students from all backgrounds to get quality education. But after the advent of liberalization and globalization policies, the governments are trying to give away the responsibility of universal higher education in India. The film tries to question this whole idea.

4) Kaviri Padugai (Cauvery Delta)
45 min; Tamil with English subtitles; 2002

16 farmers died within a period of a month either by hanging themselves, or consuming pesticide, or by heart attack as they faced acute drought and debt in Tanjore district, otherwise called ‘rice bowl’ of Tamilnadu in 2002. The film visits some of their families to register their side of the story which got deliberately hidden by the government and mass media.

Although “green revolution” in agriculture seems to have created enough food to save the starving stomachs of India, it has also alienated the farmers from their cultivation and land as the scientists and industries started dictating the methods and inputs. Farmers lost control over their crops after becoming completely dependent on canal irrigation, diesel and electric motors, hybrid seeds, chemical fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides. As their cost of inputs keep increasing every year, any small derailment in the plan will prove to be fatal.

5) Pee (Shit)
26 min; Tamil with English subtitles; 2003

Mariyammal, a sanitary worker with Madurai Municipal Corporation shares her frustration and anger with the filmmaker while cleaning a street near by a temple in Madurai which is full of shit.

Manual scavenging is officially prohibited in India since 1996. But lakhs of such men and women are made to clean night soil in the cities, towns and villages here. Most of them do not even get proper salary as it is considered to be their traditional occupation under the Indian caste system. They continue to live in a precarious condition for generations without any hope for change as their children are also indirectly forced to continue the tradition.

The film became a proof for all the insensitivity of the society towards such workers and triggered a chain of actions in Tamilnadu which includes the mass movements and direct actions against manual scavenging and of course the protagonist, Mariammal has been shifted out to a little better job, the street that is shown in the film has been shut down by the government and the toilets are better managed now with better equipment and better working conditions in Madurai.

6) Mayana Kurippugal (Notes from the Crematorium)
25 min; Tamil with English subtitles; 2005

The film is an existential journey into the life and experiences of undertakers of Madurai central crematorium who despite facing untouchablity and caste violence from the rest of the society because of the occupation, continue to look life with hope and wisdom.

Cremation is considered to be a holy ritual in India which involves the upper caste priests, the close ones of the deceased, the undertakers and of course the corpse. Although the cremation cannot take place without the active participation of the undertakers, the caste system in India does not give due respect and recognition to them. The central crematorium here in Madurai is run by the government where the workers are forced to work under inhuman conditions without salary, security and safety working environment. Apart from getting occasional beating from the relatives of the deceased they are also abused and insulted regularly, while doing the job.

But the death becomes the leveler which presumably gives belated wisdom to the deceased, only after the death. And those who are alive continue to fail to achieve that.

7) Vandhe Mataram – A shit version
6 minutes; music video; Hindi; 2005

A.R.Rahman, a famous Indian music director produced a music video “remixing” the national patriotic song ‘Vandhe Mataram’ in the lines of “India Shining” propaganda campaign by the BJP led NDA government at the centre in early years of millennium.

This music video uses the same audio to juxtapose with manual scavenging activities that are still prevalent in India amidst the false euphoria of “India Shining” wave.

8) Seruppu (Footwear)
74 minutes; Tamil with English subtitles; 2006

This film portrays the life and struggle of the inhabitants of an old slum in Tiruchirappalli with the combination of ethnographic and point of view style.

The protagonists are dalits/untouchables/harijans involved in making footwear for their livelihood, which is their traditional caste based occupation. They are also Catholics and that religious identity “officially prohibits” them from getting benefits such as reservation/quota in education and jobs, scholarship for students, and other measures that are otherwise available for fellow “Hindu” dalits under the same Indian constitution.

Besides the external trouble, they also face discrimination within the church as their fellow Catholics who happened to be “upper castes” practice untouchability and hegemony over the lower caste Christians. Also the entry of multinational companies because of globalization and privatization deprive them the market share, apart from the apathy shown by both the state and central governments who are in the process of slowly stopping all the support mechanism that has been guaranteed to the small scale and cottage industries in India.

9) The Road
10 minutes; Tamil with English subtitles; 2008

Who owns the highways? When foreign direct investment and multinational Indian companies take over the road with heavy funding for construction and expansion who owns them finally? Do the villagers who were robbed off their lands own it? What about the school children? When the houses and trees are bulldozed along with the deities, Hitler’s dream can also be implemented in India.

10) Night Life
5 minutes; English (No dialogue); 2008

I sleep on the middle of the road even during the midnight. While the fast moving vehicles flood light on me, the people with selective blindness cannot notice me. This is my concrete bed and I cannot afford to turn towards either direction. But who is not insane anyway?

11) RADIATION STORIES
54 min; Tamil with English subtitles; 2010

Lush green ambiance of Kanyakumari district, in southern India conceals the artificially created radioactive sand dunes and large number of radiation related illness and deaths. Trucks carry around radioactive sand across villages and towns through out the day and night.Ponds, rivers, plants, trees, our crew and shooting equipment all can be possibly radioactive.Even this documentary can be radioactive.
Some call it natural radiation. Some call it man-made radiation.But there is radiation; for sure.

12) Hey Mr.Gandhi, Leave the Indians Alone!
40 min; Tamil with English subtitles; 2011

3 villages near Madurai in south India loose 1500 acres of fertile lands to Special Economical Zone (SEZ) a chain of no-tax zones to promote industrialisation promoted by Government of India across the country. People are being forced to leave the lands that were part of their lives for generations.

13) Mercury in the Mist
16 min; Tamil with English subtitles; 2011

Ex-workers of a thermometer factory owned and run by Hindustan Lever Limited in Kodaikanal, a hill station in south India suffer from mercury contamination. 30 persons have died so far due to various diseases. The ex-workers of the factory continue their fight against the multinational company which refuses to take the responsibility.

14) Thodarum Neethi Kolaihal
124 min; Tamil; 2011; Documentary

Where the festivals should be? - Amudhan R.P.

2008-03-18T07:25:00.000-07:00

The power of popular cinema is its inherent possibility of reaching people. When western film producers arrived here in India with their silent “shorts” in the early days of cinema, they targeted essentially the upper class of this land. Although caste and racial (are they different?) barriers tried to keep “natives” away from cinema, its popular appeal broke all the shackles to include more and more audiences. More “untouchables” and “unseebales” of this country were allowed. In fact they were invited.

It influenced Indians too and was born our Indian cinema. Despite our “intellectual and artistic lamenting”, popular cinema in India has survived with developing its own genre through the years. At the same time our “masters” have withered away to store rooms.

Development of digital technology has also revolutionized documentary and short film making in India in terms of being inclusive as far as subjects and filmmakers are concerned. As we all know, India in itself a continent with a vast landscape of cultures, languages and experiences with more stories to tell using wide range of narrative styles. The popular wave of independent filmmaking is spreading like a wild fire thanks to mini DV and Adobe Premiere (Final cut pro is not as widespread in rural areas and small towns). The activists who believe in democratizing the independent filmmaking in India might be aware that the changes are happening at a grass root level.

The fact that we have more number of regional political parties than national parties show that there is no one platform which can reflect the aspirations of a hundred crore people. It is also true that we are in the process of developing our own independent cinemas, not only independent of state or private ownership, also independent of centralized standardization of narrative styles. I used the term “cinemas” consciously as pluralism is going to be the connecting identity amidst the broad spectrum of identities.

The Film festivals
Ten years back when some one wanted to watch “the other kind” of cinema she or he had to travel to metros like Mumbai or New Delhi or Chennai. Or they had to travel to big cities (II tier cities?) like Trivandrum, Bangalore (once it was II tier city), Pune, etc. But now things are going through the wave of changes. Festivals happen in smaller and unknown places.

The fact that such festivals happen in smaller towns and villages brings new benefits. Apart from films getting screened in new places in front of new audiences, there is space for all the filmmakers now. Sheer number itself opens up wide range of possibilities.

There is also a freedom now for filmmakers to make films on any topic not getting worried of censorship, taboos and boundaries. Even if major festivals in India try to clamp the filmmakers and films with restrictions, the later can jolly well boycott them and go to smaller festivals. Although such festivals may not have heavy prize money and television possibilities, one can screen films.

The new wave:
But there is a small problem which is both internal and external. There is a new trend emerging in Indian documentaries now. It may not be obvious, but it is subtle. Or it is both. It is the new wave of personal films. These films are also apolitical. They are negating the whole concept of wider audiences. It is almost equal to multiplex wave of filmmaking in Indian feature film industry. It is almost equal to exclusive film shows organized by European film producers in 1890s to 1920’s.

Let me explain that. A feature film recently in Tamil language did very well in box office of multiplex cinemas in big cities while almost bombed in smaller towns. The film was based on cosmetic love story portraying urban life with consumerism as a core value. The cost of tickets in multiplexes is too high, that the film need not do well in smaller towns at all. In other words the common people of Tamilnadu need not participate in that film. Despite that the film can do well. The film catered to urban audience with particular sensibilities and values. It is a sign to show the power of multiplex cinema and of course money. This can lead to exclusive cinema and a reverse to what happened in 1930’s where cinema had to include people from all strata of society to succeed economically.

It is also happening to Indian documentary. The films commissioned and broad cast by PSBT or NDTV are of the same nature where only soft issues are dealt with. Serious political issues are not encouraged and more and more film makers are falling into that trap. Although there is nothing wrong in making personal and artistic films, they should not be the only documentaries that are made in this country. If documentary as a form is left to urban film makers alone that can become a reality. Although there are 100 functioning documentary filmmakers in Mumbai alone, not one documentary on farmer’s suicides has been made so far. Such is the social responsibility of an urban filmmaker.

When Films Division lost interest in producing documentaries in 1980’s due to political and economical compulsions, only independent and activist film makers took it up. They begged, borrowed and robbed money from somewhere and somehow made documentaries dealing with serious political issues facing lot of difficulties. They also took the films to the people. They screened not only their own films. They screened films made by others too. Suddenly it is being propagated as an outdated concept. Articles are written about. Interviews are published. That people’s documentary or activist documentary is gone.

Now the new genre of personal and artistic films has some specific characters. They need not face audiences. They do not have the responsibility of catering to general public. They have international film festivals and international funding. Nothing comes in between them and victory. More and more filmmakers from film schools and institutes are also taking up this style of film making and producing. It is almost like multiplex cinema. In fact some of the new documentaries are also being screened in multiplexes these days. Although one can see it as another space for screening, it can also lead to exclusiveness.

There is also a danger when the apolitical style of filmmaking is getting standardized and popularized through film festivals and awards. Documentary as a form is getting slowly appropriated by such personal and artistic expressions. In a country like India where caste and creed play an important role in access to any resource, such appropriation is a dangerous sign. It can also lead to a documentary Brahminism. In fact it is moving in that direction.

There is space for all kinds of documentaries in India. Artistic, avant-garde, impressionist, cinema verite, personal, political, issue based etc., what ever you call it. But if we succumb to the obsession of shooting ourselves we might end up creating multiplex documentaries alone.
However, there are solutions too.

Village festivals:
India is going through a difficult period politically and economically. More and more billionaires emerge amidst the dead bodies of fellow Indians who happen to be poor farmers, dalits and adivasis. Land, water, sea, forest and air are being taken over by the state and corporate sector in the name of development using “law and order” as a cover. With the failure of media and major political parties to represent ordinary people of India, independent media has all the more social responsibility for the new political forces to emerge.

To make use of documentary as a political form to raise serious political questions about the direction in which the state is led to, the medium has to reach people. The audiences are waiting there in rural areas to watch and discuss films. The film festivals have to go to villages. The film makers should be made accountable for their films. If they face people, the ordinary people instead of just festival and television audiences, more films reflecting people’s aspirations will be created. More new filmmakers with new experiences, new perspectives and new stories from rural areas will emerge. That is the true media democracy.

Amudhan R.P.
Marupakkam
A 9/4 K.K.Nagar
Madurai 625 020
Email: amudhanrp@rediffmail.com; Ph: 093444-79353