India
Gautam Ghose
The film has a folkloric feeling," says Calcutta filmmaker Gautam Ghose, describing his new feature, Gudia, which screens in Un Certain Regard today. Based on a story by noted author Mahashweta Devi, it tells the story of musician-turned-ventriloquist Johnny (Mithun Chakraborty), a member of an itinerant troupe. The troupe's leader presents Johnny with the star of the show, the ventriloquist's dummy Urvashi, whose name signifies the seductress and eternal child-woman.
Johnny returns to Bombay where, thanks to the doll, he wins fame and fortune. But the doll seems to take on a life of her own when he is on stage with her. She begins to dominate Johnny's life, driving a wedge between him and his childhood sweetheart.
When communal riots break out in the city, Johnny turns to Urvashi to learn the source behind the unrest. The doll is destroyed and in its place, a living doll appears.
"I wanted to show the communal riots that rocked Bombay a few years ago. The horror witnessed then was a silent scream that still permeates," says the director.
This is not Gautam Ghose's first visit to Cannes. In 1982, Dakhal (The Occupation) played in the Directors' Fortnight. The Voyage Beyond was in Un Certain Regard in 1988, and Boatman of Padma won the Cannes UNESCO Award in 1992.
Ghose began his film career by making hard-hitting documentaries such as New Earth (1973) and Hungry Autumn (1974). His work has always been characterised by its vivid use of realism and its willingness to tackle social issues. Ghose has the ability to move seamlessly between documentary and fictional filmmaking. He recently travelled 12,000 kilometres while making a film about an expedition on Marco Polo's ancient Silk Route. He also acted (appropriately enough, in the role of a director) in Italian director Lamberto Lamertini's 1996 film, The Vrindavan Film Studio.
Gautam Ghose follows in the footsteps of such stalwarts of the Calcutta filmmaking scene as Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen. He is one of the strongest, most distinctive voices currently to be heard in Indian cinema.
Janet Fine
Prod co: Plus Films
Dir/Ph: Gautam Ghose
Scr: Ain Rashid Khan
Art dir: Ashok Bose
Ed: Moloy Banerjee
Cast: Mithun Chakraborty, Nandana Dev Sen, Pran
Running time: 107 mins