A pioneering voice of New Indian Cinema, director Mani Kaul devoted the third entry in his filmography (and his first movie in color!) to tackling a folk story on screen. Marriage, rural life, and the fragility of oneself are just some of the key themes dissected in this haunting piece of cinema.
Minimal action, unique frames, and unusual editing make Mani Kaul’s debut feature Our Daily Bread a path-breaking work of Indian New Wave cinema. The film takes a radical departure from narrative cinema and uses a languid pace instead of dialogue to present the overburdened existence of women.
Based on the eponymous novel by Gurdial Singh, this debut feature is a chronicle of the oppression experienced by the Dalits (lower caste) in rural Punjab. With its dark tones, silence, and meditative score, this film becomes a powerful reflection on the resilience and plight of the marginalised.
An iconic B&W avant-garde work by Mani Kaul, who pushed the envelope of experimental filmmaking in India with his unique style. Based on an eponymous play by Mohan Rakesh, the film tells the story of Kalidasa, one of the greatest writers, poets, and dramatists in the history of Sanskrit language.
An ultra-minimal drama by Mani Kaul, based on Fyodor Dostoevsky’s short story, The Meek One. With its ingenious use of light, this film becomes another intriguing chapter in Kaul’s body of work where he explores theories of space and time in narrative cinema.
