Different narratives, open frames

With its 14th edition, the PSBT Open Frame film festival in New Delhi sets out to present a commentary on filmmaking and its role in the society

Salman Khan's latest film, Kick, was declared a blockbuster within the first week of its release, going on to become the second highest grossing Bollywood film of all time. Some non-believers may scoff at the phenomenon that makes the superstar the heartthrob of millions, but nobody can choose to ignore it. Interestingly, filmmakers Shabani Hassanwalia and Samreen Farooqui, in their film Bhaijaan, have attempted to explore Indian masculinity by mapping the emotional, spiritual and philosophical contribution Khan makes to the lives of three men in small-town India. It is the closing film of PSBT's annual documentary film festival, Open Frame, where almost 40 films are being screened in New Delhi till September 2, on themes ranging from gender to identity, from urban ecology to celebrations of culture.

Hassanwalia and Farooqui, seasoned filmmakers who assisted Dibakar Banerjee in Bombay Talkies, have been making films around gender-power dynamics and found Khan to be the ideal way to tell this story. "The onscreen persona of Khan is immune to everything, he's like water off a duck's back, he's just cool like that," they say. And behind every phenomenon, there's a socio-economic trigger that led to it. "A friend told us that he went to watch Wanted in Meerut a couple of years ago, and all the men there took off their shirts exactly when Khan did onscreen! We realised that this 'testosterone frenzy' was partly due to the fact that Khan uses certain codes that may be old fashioned, but have succeeded in capturing the imagination of men across social and cultural divides," the filmmakers say. This idea took them to Shan Ghosh, Khan lookalike by profession and passion, known as the Junior Salman of Nagpur.

At the heart of Bhaijaan and the various other documentaries being screened at India International Centre this week are numerous stories, memories, experiences that are shaping the social and political interpretations of our daily lives. Anandana Kapur, filmmaker and facilitator at the screenings, elaborates, "There are many different curated components of the festival, which have to do with the body, the cityscape, identity. Each day has a different thematic focus but it all ties up to the idea of the self." For instance, among the retrospectives, The House on Gulmohar Avenue by Samina Mishra, a film about home and belonging, focuses on the filmmaker's inherited legacy of being a Muslim within an India in flux. Delhi Diary 2001 by Ranjini Mazumdar, professor of cinema studies at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, attempts to understand the impact of the imposition of Emergency and the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 on the lives of people in Delhi.

Kapur commends PSBT and other trusts such as Magic Lantern and Vikalp - Films for Freedom for encouraging an entire generation of filmmakers to tell their stories with conviction. "Organisations like PSBT have fostered and sustained the documentary form in the country, allowing local audiences greater access - the festival is increasingly open to students, scholars, practitioners of all kinds" she says.

Another interesting narrative is Pallavi Paul's Long Hair, Short Ideas, constructed around revolutionary poet Vidrohi's wife. It traces her relationship with the political radical movement. Paul speaks about the journey of the film, "A project that started out as focusing on the women's movement, it soon found itself looking at the experiences of those at the margins of political mobilisation." The film hopes to raise certain questions about the documentary form itself, where the audience is expected to engage in playful questioning rather than merely finding answers.

Zorawar Shukla's Sulh-e-Kul (Peace to All) also appears to be a must-attend, delving headlong into the sights, sounds, history and cultural influence of the Dargah Ajmer Sharif. Reggae lovers know Shukla as Mr Herbalist, a member of the musical group Reggae Rajahs, but Shukla is a man who wears many hats, one of a filmmaker who worked with Deepa Mehta on Midnight's Children. Sulh-e-Kul is his second film, and investigates the sway of the most important Muslim site of pilgrimage in India. For 800 years, people of various faiths, communities, castes, colours and nationalities have been converging on the tomb of venerated sufi saint, Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, also knows as Gharib Nawaz, to ask for their wishes to be granted. The film looks colourful and intense, following pilgrims on their journey on foot from Delhi to Ajmer.

There are many other equally captivating stories waiting to be discovered at the 14th edition of the festival, which is amply supported by the community of film lovers in the city. Cinephiles interested in knowing more about the filmmakers' journeys, passions, and hurdles can participate in the detailed question and answer sessions that will follow each screening.

The PSBT Open Frame Festival is on at India International Centre till September 2.
For the complete schedule, visit www.psbt.org