Cinema
A Folk Tale
ભવની ભવાઈ
Ketan Mehta · 1980
Synopsis
A group of persecuted untouchables, on the march towards the city, halts for the night, and one of them tells a story from the time when untouchables had to drag a broom to erase their footprints. A king has two wives; when the elder gives him a son, the younger plots to have the child killed, but he survives and grows up among the poor. In a kingdom struck by drought, a well is dug to appease the gods.
Context
The first feature film by its director, shot for three hundred and fifty thousand rupees by the Sanchar cooperative from a play by Dhiruben Patel, it brings to the screen the bhavai, the popular theatre of Gujarat, and the tale Achhut no vesh. It is dedicated to Brecht, to Goscinny and to Asait Thakar, a Brahmin expelled from his community who is regarded as the inventor of this theatre. Naseeruddin Shah, Smita Patil and Om Puri appear in it.
Who it is for
Two hours fifteen in Gujarati; the story breaks off to sing and its narrators comment on what they tell.
Prizes and reception
Nargis Dutt Award for Best Film on National Integration and National Award for art direction; UNESCO prize at the Three Continents Festival in Nantes.
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