Decoding literature, theatre and cinema with Daulat Hawaldar

NT BUZZ

The finance Secretary and director of Art and Culture, Government of Goa Daulat Hawaldar highlighted the differences and similarities between literature, theatre and cinema on the World Book Day (the birth and death anniversary of William Shakespeare) celebrated by Gomant Vidya Niketan (GVN), Margao on Monday. He spoke on the topic ‘Inter-relationship of Literature, Theatre and Cinema’.

Daulat said that literature is the oldest form of art that is around 4000 years old, while the world of printing such literature began around 600 years ago; theatre is 2500 years old that led the foundation with Greek tragedy; while cinema is the most recent form of art with unprecedented power.

He asserted that literature is the purest form of art. However, it can never replace theatre and cinema. “This is because the communication of each art form is different. Literature is about words and sentences that a reader has to read, theatre is a live moment shared by an actor and the audience, cinema however communicates with moving images. These three variant mediums require different languages to communicate with their recipient,” he said.

Story-telling is an ancient tradition found in all three mediums- literature, theatre and cinema. He mentioned it as a similarity in all forms of art. Story is told through a book, through a performance in theatre or in moving images in cinema. “It is true that people will never be tired of story-telling and listening,” he stated.

He added that generic humanity is also found in all three art forms. Generic humanity is when we keep aside the differences such as gender, wealth, class, etc and move beyond humanity. “One example of this is films of comedian Charlie Chaplin. His films were silent yet everyone understood what he conveyed because he focussed on conveying the significance of love and compassion in our life,” he explained.

Daulat expressed his wonder over the reality of how even the oldest dramas are performed in various ways even today, that shows how it is effective even though times change. “Theatre is the most perfect art form. It provides us with a new vision and an extraordinary way of thinking. It is an irony that there are so many issues that take place around us to which we never pay attention. Theatre gives a vision to imperceptible issues around us,” he pointed out.

According to Daulat, a play never reached its audience in its original form. A playwright writes a play and hands it over to a director. The director perceives the play from his own view point and directs the way he thinks it should be done. Further, actors who perform in it have their own style and perceive the play in their own way. This is the way, one play is perceived divergently by all those who participate in it. Hence, it does not reach the audience in its purest form watch it unlike like literature that is read.

Audience play an important role in theatre. He recalled: “I remember, in old times when any of my relatives or friends would suggest me to go for a movie, we would never decide in advance about which movie we wanted to watch. However, we would be careful in selecting a play by knowing who it is directed by and who are the actors. Sometimes, we would even wait for a good play.”

Cinema, on the contrary creates a lasting impact on people. During the initial years of film making, a film critic Andre Bazin equated films to novels, the most prestigious title a film could ever get. Cinema is a mass art that can reach millions of people, which is not possible with literature and theatre. “This is the reason we understand the cultures of other countries and people. It is a medium for informal cultural education,” he adds.

However, cinema is an impure medium because it is very expensive. Daulat mentions: “The cast and crew of film are usually big. There is need for proper screenplay, suitable actors, make-up artists, location, transport, etc, hence it somehow gets commercial. A film is a simple product derived out of different complexes that are ventured during its making.”