Under the weekly film screening, a Hindi film, ‘Party,’ was screened here on Sunday at Abhirang Auditorium, Bharat Bhavan.The movie was screened under the Chhavi series of classical cinema.
Party is a 1984 Hindi film directed by Govind Nihalani. The film boasted an ensemble cast of leading art cinema actors of Parallel Cinema. Casting Vijaya Mehta, Manohar Singh, Om Puri, Naseeruddin Shah, and Rohini Hattangadi, it based on the play ‘Party’ (1976) by Mahesh Elkunchwar. Shot in real-time, lasting most of an evening, except for a few initial scenes to set the context which show the people who attend just before going to the party: getting ready, looking forward to going, or cribbing about having to go and a harrowing finaleIJ
The film is a deeply intelligent satire aimed at the urban elite especially those poseurs with artistic inclinations, namely, establishment-artists and their patrons. It depicts their apathy towards the society at large while they get away, by the way of small talk and prosaic conversations at parties.The power of the movie derives from Elkunchwar’s play which had a very successful run in Marathi theatres in Pune and Bombay, before Govind Nihalani turned it, with the author’s active participation, into a screenplay.
The movie was produced by National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC). ‘Party’ was the official Indian entry to the 32nd International Film Festival of India, New Delhi, and also took part in the Tokyo Film Festival 1985 and Asia Pacific Film Festival 1985.