Dwell in the parallel worlds of alcohol de-addiction, in Lock and Key, and Bihar’s launda theatre in Naach Bhikhari Naach at an open screening this weekend. Director Shilpi Gulati, the National award-winning filmmaker from New Delhi, will be in the city for the screening organised by Marupakkam, Discovery Book Place, Panuval Book Store and Periyar Self Respect Media.
Gulati won the National Award for Best Anthropological/Ethnographic Film with her film Qissa-e-Parsi, a portrait of the Parsi community in India. The researcher from TISS and JNU believes research is an important aspect of filmmaking and, in some ways, documentaries are ‘mini PhDs’ in themselves. She shares with us her process, theatre background and diverse interests over an email questionnaire. Excerpts:
How has a background in theatre shaped the film director in you?
My engagement with theatre has been for more than 14 years; from my time in Delhi University as an undergraduate student where I wrote and directed plays for the dramatics society of my college. Subsequently, I joined Pandies, an activist feminist theatre group in Delhi and have been working with them for over a decade now. I regard theatre as the backbone of my creative expression. It has allowed me to experiment with different narrative processes. More importantly, it has helped me interrogate my politics as an individual as well as an artist; and continues to inform my documentary work as well.
The experience as a researcher in TISS -- does it feed your identity as documentary filmmaker? Tell us how an academic background helps in filmmaking.
With every film I extensively research the field, immerse myself in a new world and try to develop a argument of the film from my point of view. My training at TISS and JNU has inculcated this discipline in me and helped me think through questions of representation, methodology and politics of the form and content.
Your primary interests are gender and oral histories of India. Could you explain your fascination for both?
My first film, Dere tun Dilli, was based on oral narratives of refugees from Dera Ismail Khan, a community that is hardly mentioned in the Partition literature of India. My latest film, Naach Bhikhari Naach, a collaborative work with Jainendra Dost, is based on the legendary artist, Bhikhari Thakur, whose life and works have not been documented on video. I see the value of such projects in bringing an alternative perspective to the social and cultural history of our country. As far as my work on gender is concerned, I don’t see it as an ‘interest area’. It is a perspective, a political lens through which I view the world around me.
The films being screened this weekend are quite diverse in their theme and treatment...
Every film demands a different creative treatment. Depending on my access to the subject and what I want to say through the film, I decide its aesthetic and form. One is about the relationship of artists with society and the other is located within the intimate space of the household. Narrative styles of both these films are distinctly apart. I hope this exploration with form and treatment continues in future as well.
How did you first find out about launda theatre, the native Bihari theatrical style?
My co-director Jainendra and I are doctoral scholars at the School of Arts and Aesthetics in JNU. My area of research is contemporary documentary practice in India and he is looking at performance tradition of launda naach in Bihar. It was Jainendra who introduced me to the world of Bhikhari Thakur and his work. Our interaction over the last six years and a deep-rooted love for theatre lead us to collaborate on this film. Both of us felt while naach is a thriving tradition in Bihar and Eastern UP, little is known about it in the urban cultural spaces. This film, made as an ode to the 100-year-old performance tradition of Bhikhari Thakur, is an attempt to document his practice as well as get a glimpse of the ‘old man’ himself, through narratives of senior artists who have been trained under him.
Tell us a little about your experience staying with the artistes. How is this form different from the modern theatre?
Having originated among the lower castes, our artists often dress as women on stage and are referred to as ‘laundas’. For a certain elite section of society, the word 'launda' is considered vulgar. And given the elements of cross dressing and double-meaning dialogues, the performance tradition is often been considered a blot in the name of ‘Indian culture.’ Our experience of working with the artists has been heart warming. Not only did they open up a world of memories of Bhikhari Thakur and his art, they also made us question the very boundaries of social and moral conduct in society. Highlighting the contribution Naach has made to their lives, they made us think who has the power to define what is vulgar, why do certain things get stigmatized while other are considered high culture.
Also, about the Lock.and Key, a film on de-addiction, how traumatic an episode was it? And , personally how did you grapple with what you were recording ?
About two years back I was invited by Hermitage Rehab Home in Amritsar to collaborate on a film project. At that time we weren't sure if it was going to be a feature documentary. In fact I had very limited understanding of addiction so I first started with spending time at the rehab and sitting through counselling sessions. I was lucky to have extensive conversations with Dr. JPS Bhatia, who gave be a psychiatrist’s perspective on the epidemic of drug abuse in Punjab which I found refreshing. It is through my initial period of research where I met the protagonists on my film - recovering addicts who also served as counsellors at the rehab.
Over a period of time, I came to realise at one level, the story of every drug or alcohol addict is the same. Apart from the physical and mental abuse there is almost always a complete breakdown of familial and social structures of support. In the beginning, I was personally quiet disturbed by the stories I came across but over time, I was sure that I didn't want to sensationalise substance abuse or the larger problem of addiction in Punjab like it is done in mainstream cinema and news. Our team wanted to concentrate on the process of recovery. It took us a while to understand the philosophy of a process that comes with its own share of struggles, bittersweet moments, hope and regret.
How easy is it to strike that balance and sense of detachment as a filmmaker behind the lens?
I am extremely attached to my films and one can easily get a glimpse of my politics and thought in each of them. I do not make any efforts to distance myself when I am behind the lens. In fact I try to delve deeper into my own gaze, my own location as well as my relationship with the people I shoot with. A sense of detachment is surely practised, to a certain extent, in my role of an editor where I have to let go of a lot to sharpen the script of the film. It’s a balance that one has to constantly strive for.
The films will be screened at Discovery Book Place, KK Nagar on June 8, 6 pm; Panuval Book Store, Thiruvanmiyur on June 9, 6 pm; and Periyar Thidal, Vepery on June 10, 5 pm.