NEW DELHI: Doordashan’s cultural channel DD Bharati, which has been telecasting some gems from the Best of Indian Cinema every week, is slated to telecast the Marathi film Shevri and the Kannada film Kanasemba Kudureyaneri during this month.
Under this series, Doordarshan along with the West Bengal government had telecast six Bangla films earlier this month - for the first time in a hall. It featured some award-winning and renowned films like ‘The Last Lear’ by Rituparno Ghosh, ‘Nishhabd’ by Jahar Kanungo, and ‘Kalbela’ by Goutam Ghose. Other films are ‘Prohor’ by Subhadro Choudhury, ‘Ellar Chaar Adhyay’ by Bappaditya Bandopadhyaya, ‘Mahul Banir Sereng’ by Sekhar Das. Some of these are slated to come on DD Bharati shortly.
Under the series launched to coincide with the centenary of Indian cinema, the films are telecast every Saturday at 8.30 pm and repeated at2.30 am and 20.30 pm the next day.
Under this section, the films have to be either winners of the Swarna Kamal Award for the Best Feature Film of the Year, a National Award winner for Best Direction, the Rajat Kamal Award for the Best Feature Film in any Indian language/dialect (including Hindi, Urdu and English), or have won the Indira Gandhi Award for the Best Film of a Director or it should have been selected for the Indian Panorama of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI).
Films that have participated or showcased in any of 16 prominent International Film Festivals can also be screened. These festivals are- Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Toronto, Locarno, Karlovy Vary, Nantes or Festival de 3 Continents, Rotterdam, Fribourg, Munich, Busan, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Rome, and Sydney.
Shevri is a Marathi film made in 2006 by the renowned Gajendra Ahire and produced by Neena Kulkarni. Noted Marathi actress Neena Kulkarni’s maiden production venture, Shevri (wisp of cotton) is a sensitive portrayal of the havoc played by divorce in a simple middle class woman’s life. The ‘Shevri’ in the title is embodied in the films protagonist Vidya Barve played by Neena herself, a helpless little soul drifting along with winds of change in her life, without a strong will or desire of her own. The title ‘Shevri’ suggests an insignificant wisp of cotton. Her coming to terms with her state today and becoming present to her life is what gives essence to the film which will be telecast on 13 September.
Girish Kasaravalli’s adaptation of Amaresh Nugadoni’s ‘Savaari’ is a film connoisseur’s delight. Kanasemba Kudureyaneri (Riding a Stallion of a Dream) is a 2010 starring Vyjanath Biradar, Umashree and Sadashiv Brahmavar in lead roles. It won the National Award for Best Screenplay and for Best Feature film in Kannada. Kasarvalli's use of non-linear narrative for the first time succeeds in building the audience's curiosity. Engagingly convincing, Biradar and Umashree are seen throughout the movie in tattered clothes, getting every inch into the characters. The film will be telecast on 27 September.
