BIFFes 16, 2025: The flicks, picks and my jinx, Part I

Among the 1,000 odd classic films that I had yet to see was an iconic film by the late actor-director-producer Guru Dutt, Kagaz Ke Phool (paper flowers). I had managed to watch his other classic, Pyasa, a few years ago. No restored print of Kagaz Ke Phool was available, till very recently, and when I saw the schedule of the Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFes), I found that Kagaz Ke Phool, restored, was slotted for 7.30 pm show on the first day, 02 March, at 7.30 pm. At the inauguration, a day earlier, once the formalities were over, the Hindustani film, Pyre, was shown. Since it was screened outdoors, in a make-shift open-air auditorium, I had given it the miss. Moreover, it was scheduled for two other shows at the main venue, the PVR Inox multiplex, at the Orion Mall, Rajajinagar, Bengaluru and my film viewings began on the next day. But just before Kagaz Ke Phool, there was an Iranian film, The Great Yawn of History, in auditorium 10, and I had time at hand.

Usually, Iranian films are compelling and unusual in their theme and treatment, but this one, directed by Aliyar Rasti, was a let-down, eliciting great yawns. The 93-minute film tells the story of a man who dreams of a box of gold waiting for him at the end of a cave. Curbed by his religious belief that it’s not permissible to go after it himself, he employs the assistance of a non-believer. Together they embark on a long journey across the Iranian landscape, in pursuit of a miracle. Maybe I could not unpeel the layers, or maybe there were no layers in the first place, I saw pretty little happening in the screenplay. The Great Yawn of History film might appeal toa very small niche audience, for it unfolds at a more than leisurely pace.

Now, it was time to treat myself to a much-talked and much written about film, so I headed for the small but swanky Auditorium 3, to see a 2 hours 48 minutes long film, released 65 years ago, made in black and white, India’s first cinemascope film, and a colossal flop when first released. It led Guru Dutt into deep depression and alcoholism, and though he produced a couple of films shortly after Kagaz Ke Phool, he did not direct them, at least officially.

This is not the platform to analyse or review the film, so I will refrain from doing so. But a couple of paragraphs are in order, so here goes. Writer Abrar Alvi, sometimes seen as Guru Dutt’s creative better half, penned a tale about a married film director, with a teenaged daughter, whose marriage is on the rocks, and who falls in platonic love with his new heroine, whom he discovers by chance. Casting her as Paro in Devdas, he has a hit at hand. Who played Devdas, the epitomé of the egocentric lover, who drowns his sorrows in alcohol is not mentioned in the film, nor do we see shooting of, or the finished product, except in passing. Next, after turning out a box-office dud, he finds his producer dictating terms for the next project and humiliating him at every opportunity.  While the tragedy angle is strong, the comedy is tame, in comparison with Johnny Walker’s roles in other Guru Dutt films, and some other films of the times.

Performances are impeccable, led by Dutt himself, as man of few words who does not even try to fight the system that drowns him. Waheeda is brilliant as the heroine. In smaller roles, Veena, Mahesh Kaul (a well-known director himself), Naaz, Minoo Mumtaz, Mahmood, Tun and Mohan Choti do their bits with ease. Two unforgettable, mesmerising songs dot the sound-track: ‘Dekhee zamaaney kee yaaree’ and ‘Vaqt ne kiya’, with the former used to further the narrative and the latter to reflect the situation in which the leading couple finds itself. Both are penned by Kaifi Azmi and tuned by S.D. Burman. One can watch the film if only to be carried away by the magic of Mohammed Rafi and Geeta Dutt’s singing. Alas, two other songs fail to engage, and create a hurdle in the proceedings. Though I feel that the Voice Overs could be avoided, they are not at variance with the story. And a whole chapter can be allotted to the camera-work of V. K. Murthy. Perhaps the audience, when it was first released, would have been more appreciative if Dutt’s character had made some attempts at fighting back, and taking some bold steps, instead of wallowing in self-pity, and if the comedy track was stronger. There are a couple of loose ends too. To me, Kagaz Ke Phool had the makings of a major classic but finds itself in the list of lesser mortals, the minor classics. But who knows, had I been a grown-up and had watched the film in 1959, my views would have differed.

March 3, Screen 4. 10.40 am. I am in for The Hyperboreans, hoping, in good humour, that the film does not turn out to be a hyper bore. In fact, it is anything but. And please do not confuse this movie with the 2023 sci-fi-comedy, The Hyperborean. Futuristic with a bold F, this was a film that had to be seen from the beginning, but I was late. More than ‘late’. Directed by Cristobal León and Joaquín Cociña, and a Chilean production, it must have given a jolt to the passivity of those who feel that Artificial Intelligence is far away, and will sub-serve human minds when it proliferates. Described as a meta-fiction, it is a treat for practitioners and aficionados of stop motion, with influences of Carl Jung and Bertolt Brecht. My last exposure to Chilean cinema was El Conde (Pablo Larraín, 2023), which used the vampire genre to analyse the soul-sucking evil of dictator Augusto Pinochet Ugarte. If that was bizarre and unhurried, this is weird and moves at the speed of light.

The protagonist is an actress/psychologist an actress/psychologist (Antonia Giesen as herself) who talks to the camera, telling the story of a lost film, shot on celluloid that this new movie seeks to reimagine. Her patient, her patient Metalhead (Francisco Visceral Rivera) appears to be speaking through the soul of occult Chilean Nazi Miguel Serrano. In terms of a set, they have used an artist’s gallery-cum-warehouse, and the components of the set keep moving in and out of the frame. It turns out that the film is being produced by AI humanoids, who deduct the salary of the cast and crew for every mistake they make. Political to the core, it deals with Nazi-ism in Chile, and in terms of the thin narrative, will appeal to those who are politically aware of the world politics in the 20^th century and of Chilean politics in particular. An AI aided search told me that in ancient Greek mythology, Hyperborea was a legendary, far-northern land inhabited by the Hyperboreans, people who worshiped Apollo, and were believed to live in a state of perpetual happiness and abundance. Looks like I must catch-up the beginning, if an opportunity presents itself.

At the International Film Festival of India, Goa, November 2024, I ended up watching all the wrong flicks and it was a disaster. I was desperately hoping that BIFFes would undo the damage done by IFFI. Would I pick some worthwhile titles or would the jinx continue? The first day of watching was too early to judge. For the time being, Kagaz Ke Phool would suffice.