“There is not enough documentation for students or for the world to get to know about our cinema. Our films are not readily available, and there is a dearth of literature on our films. So a space has to be created for serious writing on Indian films,” said Aruna Vasudev, former director of the OSIAN Asian Film Festival.
Speaking at a programme organised to release the book ‘Culturing Realism: Reflecting on Girish Kasaravalli’s Films’, at the second Bengalooru International Film Festival. Ms Vasudev said that there is a distorted view of Indian films, mainly because English writing on Indian cinema is largely written by westerners. This book is a compilation of writings on the films of Girish Kasaravalli, put together by film critic Manu Chakravarthy, and will be formally released soon.
Stating that the book is not mere tribute to the filmmaker, she said
“This is an attempt to understand his films. It is the initial step towards evolving our own theoretical framework.”
Sudheer Nandgaonkar, general secretary of the Federation of Film Societies of India, and filmmaker Girish Kasaravalli were also present at the programme. The Suchitra Film Society will now publish material on Kannada and English films. This year, two books have been brought out - the first, a biography of M R Vittal, was also released at the film fest.