The
cinema first came to India in the late 19th century when
two French filmmakers exhibited six short films in Mumbai...later,
these films were shown in Bombay in the Watson Hotel.
India's first indigenous film, the silent classic Raja
Harishchandra, was released in 1913 and directed by
Dada Saheb Phalke, who is considered to be the father
of Indian cinema. By the 1920s, the Indian filma industry
was well-establised, though it suffered some setbacks
in the 30s and 40s due to the Great Depression, World
War II, and the movement for Indian independence. But
in the 1950s, the Indian film industry - or "Bollywood,"
as it has been called by some - really came into its own,
and today it rivals Hollywood for cinematic achievements.
And
much as the Independent film movement has risen in America
as an alternative to studio films, so, too, in India,
the Independent film movement is on the rise for the same
reason. One such independent film to come from India is
Suddha, the first feature-length film from director
Ramchandra PN.
To
understand the storyline of Suddha, a little knowledge
of Indian history is beneficial. Most importantly, it
is necessary to understand that several decades ago the
Land Ceiling Act was passed in India. Among other things,
it transferred ownership of land from the landlord to
the tenant, giving the people economic and social independence.
Yet it was difficult for many of the rural farmers to
change their attitudes about class and status that they
had been accustomed to.
Suddha
tells the story of three generations of one such family
- the former landlords of a small rural village. The younger,
educated son of the family lives in urban Mumbai--the
modern home of Bollywood--with his wife and children,
sending what little money he can home to his family. The
resentful eldest son works hard to keep the farm going,
while his own son hangs around with a shifty gang of friends,
ignoring his work and getting into trouble. When the brothers'
mother dies, their father - the formerly proud landlord
- descends into listlessness and depression, and the brothers
decide that they must scrape together what little money
they have in order that her funeral rites befit their
landlord status - even if it is only on paper. But when
their father, too, succumbs to death, the sons are left
with the double burden of two last rites to perform.
