SPIC MACAY concluded the year with a film screening session of the film Devi with actress Sharmila Tagore
SPIC MACAY concluded the series of programmes ‘Rendezvous Series’ for the year 2021 with a beautiful programme graced by the actress and Padm Vibhusham awardee, Sharmila Tagore. She speak to young students post the screening of her film Devi (1972) under SPIC MACAY’s weekly Cinema Classics series. She talked about her film journey, her role in the film and her association with renowned director Satyajit Ray.
Treasures of Indian classics, the mirror of society of old era is a perfect blend of expressions, creativity, and intelligence.
Devi is a 1960 Bengali drama film by Ray, starring Tagore and Soumitra Chatterjee. It is based on a short story by Provatkumar Mukhopadhyay. The title Devi means ‘goddess’.
The haunting Devi, set in the 19th century Bengal and at the intersection of blind faith and rationality, was Tagore's first lead role. Umaprasad tries to save his wife Doyamoyee as his father believes that Doyamoyee is the reincarnation of goddess Durga and worships her but fails to bring her back as tragedy strikes. The story is a fine attack on religious dogmatism in a patriarchal society, and was telecasted live on December 31, 2021, through online medium for students.
The screening was followed by an interactive session with the actress who is also known as Begum Ayesha Sultana Khan.
It all started because of the Covid lockdown, when SPIC MACAY started conducting their activities online. It also became an opportunity to reach out to many more students nationally and internationally, while providing them with holistic alternative sources of inspiration. Cinema has always fascinated so many of us and good cinema is something which should be encouraged to be watched at a very young age. It would then help lay the foundation for good taste and aesthetics besides imparting healthy values while exposing the young mind to different cultures and perspectives.
"In the Cinema Classics module, SPIC MACAY introduces young students to meaningful and well-crafted films; their cinematic appreciation improves, and they understand the potential of cinema, thereby, raising it to a level of an art,” appreciated Girish Kasara Valli, the Kannada filmmaker and winner of 14 National Film awards.
For the last one and a half years, SPIC MACAY has taken the Cinema Classics module completely online and has been able to screen 68 films so far, covering films from 20 languages (regional Indian, English, Hindi, Japanese, Swedish, Tibetan, Iranian, and so on) and 35 directors. They have been able to invite experts (filmmakers, national award critics, film faculty, et al) for discussing the film with the participants after the screening of the film. In the process, they have been able to reach out more to more than 30,000 students through this series.
Screenings of such exemplary artworks of the Indian and world cinema have been taking place regularly under the module, virtually since August, 2020.
Under the module, screening of selected films by legendary filmmakers like Charlie Chaplin, Akira Kurosawa, Vittorio De Sica, Satyajit Ray, Richard Attenborough, Adoor Gopalkrishnan, which are not only artistic treasures but are great lessons in different aspects of the human experience, are organised every week for an audience of students from different schools and from across the country.
The format of the module helps the youth to bridge the gap between them and the cultural heritage of India and the world through the powerful medium of cinema.
Following is the list of weekly programs being conducted by SPIC MACAY every weekend, as part of the weekly series of programmes conducted for schools and colleges across the country and sponsored by SPIC MACAY, free of cost for host institutes:
Cinema Classics Film Screening followed by interaction — every Friday at 6 pm
GMS – Interaction with disciple of a Great Master of Indian classical arts followed by concert telecast — every Saturday, 3 pm
Rendezvous — Live Concert Module followed by interaction — every Saturday, 6 pm
Folk / Craft Talk Series – Talk Module or introduction to the folk arts or crafts— every Sunday, 12 pm
An early exposure to such master pieces coupled with expert facilitation has the potential to enlighten young minds in unexplored dimensions and inspire creativity and brilliance.
Taking this module forward, they continue to look for supportive institutions and find many more dedicated volunteers to ensure that every child can have the opportunity to feel the inspiration from such experiences.
( Cinema Classics are screened at 6 pm IST every Friday in the Zoom link bit.ly/smcinemaclassic)