While Bollywood is among the most recognizable cinema genres in the world (and rivals Hollywood in its prolific popularity), there is another Indian cinema, of a more independent stripe, that is emerging. The Berlinale is focusing on these groundbreaking films that tackle serious and poetic subjects, with nary a dancing girl in sight.

One of the films generating the most excitement and interest is THE MAN BEYOND THE BRIDGE, a bittersweet dramatic film that has already captured the FIRESCI Critics Award at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival. The film, directed by Laxmikant Shetgaonkar, is screening this week in the Forum section of the Berlinale.

The film centers on Vinayak, a forest guard, who leads a lonely life in a government house in the dense forest on the Goa-Karnataka border. His only interaction in the forst is with the laborers who come to work on the teak plantations. Once they leave, he is left alone in the remote location, with memories of his dead wife and his earlier life.

One night, he comes across a woman lying in the compound outside his house. He drives her away but she keeps returning, like an errant ghost. His initial annoyance turns into curiosity and eventually compassion, as he recognizes another human soul in torment and in need of human comfort. Eventually, he invites her into his home and opens up his heart to her. He attempts to cure her mental illness and psychological distress, but comes up against the superstitions of the small village where he abides.

When she becomes pregnant, the community becomes especially irate and hostile, threatening both the woman and her protector. Director Shetgaonkar builds up the tension between a society that refuses to help those that are different and one man's attempt to reach out to another human being to not only help her but to end his own loneliness.

The film has screened to great acclaim at such international film events as the Cairo International Film Festival, the Asian Film Festival Hong Kong, the Mumbai International Film Festival and the Palm Springs International Film Festival and will screen in the upcoming months at the Istanbul International Film Festival and the Indian Film Festival Los Angeles. The film is represented by the National Film Development Corporation, the government-run body designed to promote Indian cinema internationally. More information on this and other films represented by the NFDC can be researched on their website: www.nfdcindia.com

THE MAN BEYOND THE BRIDGE demonstrates, along with several other Indian titles in this year's Berlinale, that Indian cinema is not just about snazzy dancing and upbeat musical numbers. The "other Indian cinema" is a compelling mix of native Indian culture with influences from Europe, Asia and abroad, and is a cinema culture well worth discovering and savouring.

Sandy Mandelberger, Berlinale Dailies Editor