Department of Sociology Faculty of Social Sciences South Asian University

Cinema and Society: A Film Discussion Forum

‘Cinema and Society’ is a young sociologists’ discussion forum, under the aegis of the Department of Sociology, South Asian University. The objective of this forum is to provide students an opportunity to discuss films as young social scientists and to engage with cinematic texts and forms. The forum conducts regular screenings and discussions. The screenings are primarily organized for the students of the Department of Sociology. And for them, attendance is mandatory. But, students and faculty from other departments and faculties are also welcome to participate.

The films chosen for the Winter semester are on the broad theme ‘Cinemas of South Asia.' Cinema has enjoyed a central place in public culture of South Asia for a century now. But by far, the most dominant of this entire region is the one based in Mumbai, now known as Bollywood. The attempt in this semester will be to introduce students to films produced in other regions of South Asia. This of course, is the ‘intellectual’ aspect of the program. We expect participants to simply ‘enjoy’ the whole experience.

Faculty Coordinator: Dr. Anuj Bhuwania Student Coordinators: Ratan Kumar Roy, Sandhya Nair, Avanti Chhatre, Sabari Girisan, Amrita Sachdeva, Bipasha Nath, Asif Bin Ali

Schedule of Cinema and Society 2015 Winter Semester

Venue: 1st year MA Sociology Classroom, 2nd Floor

Screenings begin at 2:15pm

10th February: (‘The Clay Bird’, Bengali, 2003, Director: )

Matir Moina deals with Masud's own experiences studying at a madrasah against the increasing tensions in East culminating in the War of Liberation. Throughout the film there are references to historical occurrences in agitated times, and the film portrays these episodes through the human experiences of the young protagonist, his family, and his teachers and peers at the madrasah.

17th February: Avargal (‘They’, Tamil, 1977, Director: K Balachander)

Avargal is a 1977 Tamil film starring Sujatha, Kamal Hassan and Rajinikanth. The film had a reputation of being one of most sensitive movies on women’s lib. A triangular love story, it revolves around a woman who is caught between the man she fell in love with and her former sadistic husband who is supposedly reformed and wants to rejoin her.

24th February: 3 IAWRT (International Association of Women in Radio and Television) FILMS

CARPET WEAVERS | Batul Moradi

19 min | 2013 | documentary | Afghanistan

Seasons come and go, the children play in the courtyard, a year passes and a carpet gets woven.

TWO WOMEN AND A CAMERA | Madiha Adnan & Nazish Sajjad

33 min | 2012 | documentary | Pakistan

Madiha and Nazish use the camera to document their everyday life in the Talibanized city of Mardan in Khyber Pakhtunistan—on the streets and in the markets, with their families, and at the local radio station—revealing their determination to make a difference in their society no matter how difficult the circumstances might be.

JOURNEY TO NAGALAND | Aditi Chitre

24 min | 2010 | animation | India This is a story of migration and inheritance. A girl is haunted by the ghost of a woman in a red shawl. Through a dream state and guided by a ubiquitous eagle, who turns out to be the carrier of the woman’s spirit, she travels to a distant land where the mystery of the apparition is solved by a woman who tells her a story. Woven into this tale are some ancient folk songs, practices and beliefs of the Ao Naga tribe, which are in practice till date.

17th March: 22 Female Kottayam (Malayalam, 2012 Director: Aashiq Abu, 2012)

A revenge thriller about a young trainee nurse whose ambition to find a job in Canada is thwarted by a series of traumatic events in her life. When Tessa (Rima Kallingal) meets recruitment consultant Cyril (Fahad Fazil), the two fall in love and quickly move in together. But after a violent incident involving Cyril and his boss Hegde (Prathap Pothen), Tessa finds herself caught up in a deadly web of deceit and revenge.

24th March: Guerilla (Bengali, Director: Nasiruddin Yousuff, 2011)

Guerilla is an award-winning Bangladeshi film based on the events of the Bangladesh Liberation war. It is an adaptation of the novel Nishiddho Loban by Syed Shamsul Haq.

31st March: Gabhricha paus (‘The damned rain,’ Marathi, Director: Satish Manwar, 2009)

Some regions in the state of Maharashtra, India are infamous for the number of suicides of farmers that they account for, everyday. 'Gabricha Paus' or 'The Demand Rain' is the story of a lone farmer and his family.

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