A frayed rug round his shoulders,
My father came down the Sahyadris
And stood at your doorstep,
With only his labour in his hands.
From “Mumbai” by Narayan Surve
SYNOPSIS
To the seven goddesses who reign over Bom Bahia / Bombay / Mumbai.
The multilingual Bombay, the Bombay of closed mills, of popular culture, sprawling slums and real estate onslaughts, the metropolis of numerous ghettos, the El Dorado. A tale of the city through a tapestry of fiction, cinema vérité, art objects, found footage, sound installation and literary texts.
The narrative is structured around imaginary debates between Ismat Chugtai and Sadat Hasan Manto over the art of chronicling these multi-layered overlapping cities. Shot mainly during the monsoon the film portrays some extremely beautiful yet ruthlessly violent features of Bombay which, generally, are not part of the popular narratives.
CAST AND CREW
Executive Producer Flavia Agnes
CAST
Sadat Hasan Manto Harish Khanna
Ismat Chugtai Vibha Chibbar
CREW
Cinematography Avijit Mukul Kishore
Editing Reena Mohan and Shyamal Karmakar
Location Sound Gissy Michael and Anita Kushwaha
Sound Design Boby John
Music Arjun Sen
Dialogue Sara Rai
Research Renu Sawant
Art Director Tushar Joag
Graphics Pryas Gupta
Assistan Directors Vibha Nijhawan and Abeer Gupta
Genre Non-fiction feature
Duration 100 minutes
Languages English, Hindi, Urdu, Marathi & Bombaiya
Format Digibeta
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
An alumnus of National School of Drama, India, Madhusree Dutta, has been making nonfiction films since 1993. Gender, identity and marginalisation are her chosen areas of work. Her films have been screened widely in India and abroad and the NGBK art gallery in Berlin hosted a retrospective of her works in 2001. She has served as jury member in several international film festivals.
Madhusree Dutta is the executive director of Majlis, a centre initiating multicultural projects in Mumbai, India. The centre is engaged in campaigning for cultural literacy among students and other youth groups, mobilizing artists around contemporary issues and in producing plays, films and multidisciplinary art works.
Madhusree has designed a number of pedagogical courses on multiculturalism both for social movements and academic institutions. She has also curated and coordinated several art and cultural festivals, among others, Expressions, the first women’s art festival in India in 1990; India Sabka, a youth festival on multiculturalism in 2002; Substitute City, a multidisciplinary event on Bombay/Mumbai for Volksbuehne theatre, Berlin in 2003; Culture@WSF, the art component for the World Social Forum, 2004.
Madhusree has co-edited, along with Flavia Agnes and Neera Adarkar, The Nation, The State and Indian Identity, an anthology of essays published in 1994. She has received several citizens’ honors among others the Salaam Mumbai award, Bharat Nirman award and Stree Shakti Sanman.
FILMOGRAPHY
1993 - I Live in Behrampada, on a Muslim ghetto in the context of the Bombay riots in 1992-93. Filmfare Award for best documentary.
1994 - Memories of Fear, on the relation between socializing of young girls and domestic violence. National Award for best documentary on social issues.
1997 - Kya Apko Pata Hai (Do You Know), a series of television spots on legal literacy. RAPA best public Service Advertisement award.
1998 - Sundari: an Actor Prepares, on performance and female impersonation.
Ailo Bailo Sailo, on the menace of girl trafficking. IDPA (Indian Documentary Producers’ Association) award.
1999 - Scribbles on Akka, a musical narrative on the 12th century saint-poet Mahadevi Akka. National Award for best anthropological film, IDPA award, Best Script award in Shanghai Film Festival.
2002 - Made in India, an audit on the visual cultures in India. Commissioned by the Manchester City Art Gallery.
2006 - Seven Islands & a Metro. On the bodies and cities that make Bombay/Mumbai.
CONTACT 101, CHRISTINA APARTMENTS, NEAR POLICE POST, KALINA-KURLA ROAD, KALINA MARKET, MUMBAI - 400098 PHONE - +91-22-56017723. E-MAIL - majlis@vsnl.