“When I started my career, my intention was to create my own universe… where the characters are similar, the situation, the predicament, the vision, the problems are all alike. Ganesh has been able to bring out that part about my work successfully,” said legendary filmmaker Girish Kasaravalli.
He was speaking at the 13th edition of the Bengaluru International Film Festival where a book about the filmmaker and his works, written by writer and film critic Ganesh Matkari, was being released. Titled Seer of Contemporary History – Girish Kasaravalli and his Cinema, the book has been published by the National Film Archives of India (NFAI).
“I’m a little embarrassed to be speaking here because the book is about me and my films and so I can’t say it’s a great book. But I can’t say bad things either because it is beautifully written,” quipped the filmmaker at the event that saw Suneel Puranik, chairman of Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy; Narhari Rao, the artistic director of BIFFes and Guru Prasad from NFAI preside.
Known best for his films, Ghatashraddha (1977), Tabarana Kathe (1986), Thaayi Saheba (1997) and Dweepa (2002), among several others, Kasaravalli is a recipient of 14 national awards, including the Padma Shri.
Speaking about the book, Kasaravalli went on to explain that film directors can be categorised into two groups– filmmakers and auteurs. “Filmmakers are those who jump at the opportunity of making a film. They don’t think about the content, the ideology or the vision. They just grab the opportunity and start making films as their interest is to tell a story. But not all filmmakers are interested in telling a story. Some are interested in developing a discourse around a story. That group of filmmakers come under auteurs. They have a particular vision, style and approach to content and the format because their vision is purely personal. What I liked the most in this book is that Ganesh has been able to capture that aspect of my oeuvre.”
He further added that the writer has not just categorised his films in the book, but has drawn parallels between his different works. Citing instances from the book’s chapters on mosques, on the three women in his films, and another one on alienation and the degeneration of values, he shared, “This book is not a chronological rendering of my work. On the contrary, the writer has attempted to find a conceptual link that is flowing through all my films. I find it very fascinating and I’m happy with the book. I hope everyone else also finds it interesting.”
He signed off by adding that even though this would be the tenth book in English that’s been written about his works, it saddened him that not one had come out in Kannada yet.
