fl hadahammer, sang US enter­ tainer Trini Lopez long ago, I ’d hammer out a warning.

I The Bangalore Film Society and fellow organisations have no hammer. Still, for four days in early June, they hammered out a warning, with cinema as their tool. The purpose: to generate awareness about the vital importance of water, its destructive capacity and the havoc man wreaks on it through ill-con­ ceived development. In the second edition of a multi­ pronged exposition titled Voices from the Waters, five organisations screened documentaries and award­ winning feature films based on water. Interactive sessions with common people who strived to find viable, eco- friendly solutions to their own water- related problems were also held. The documentaries were from India, Nepal, China, Iran, Italy and Mexico. Many cast a spell on the viewers as much as cinema because of the message they sought to convey. The images on the screen had even the college crowd glued because of their sheer power and beauty. Though most of the film-makers have to struggle for finances, they make no compromise on the qual­ Images with a message: (Clockwise ity of their creation. They pay keen from above) Girish Karnad, Nandita Das attention to imaginative taking and and Rohini Nilekani at the inauguration cutting, shot mixing and audiogra- of the festival: stills from The Shadows phy. L et’s not Disturb the W ater from of the Tehri and Climatic Refugees Iran is a superb example. Two other short films dealt with opposite ends of the water spectrum. from different relatives and friends. We Corner People by Keshang Tseten On rocks on either side of the river’s from Nepal presented residents of a course down the hill slope are two remote village of that country who manual mills where women grind saw water as a destructive force. 1 0 0 0 grain for flour. The day ‘black w ater’ 'I — Days and a Dream by P. Baburaj and C. thundered down the hill without Saratchandran depicted the destruc­ warning, two women were working tion of natural water sources by the the mills. One escaped death but her establishment of a soft drink plant, as sister-in-law lost her life. described by the villagers. T he tragedy prompts efforts to build We Corner People, describes the a bridge across the river to enable the surge that took a young woman’s children of the village to reach the life again and again as ‘black water’. school on the other side. As work on Startingfrom different points, Tseten the bridge progresses, scepticism, ego keeps coming back to the woman’s death, with accounts of the incident www.rohininilekani.org •- . ■____ - ___ clashes, mistrust and rifts unfold. Is water the villain here? Tseten makes no such explicit statement. In contrast, Baburaj and Saratchandran track the campaign of villagers who have no doubt about who the villain is. The soft drink bottling plant near their village has been responsible, according to them, for the deple­ tion of drinking water bodies in the region. The documentary then traces the villagers’ relentless cam­ paign over 1,000 days and more to shut down the bottling plants, politi­ cians’ shadow-boxing over the issue, and some bureaucrats’ role as hand­ maidens of money-bags. Similarly, two feature films—M.S. Satyu’s B a r a and Girish Kasaravalli’s Dweepa—represented the two oppo­ site extremes. The first depicts the effects ofalong spell ofmonsoon fail­ ure; in the second, a hillside home­ The theatre was stead is in danger of submersion in the impounded water of a dam being full and there were built. many children. At There were documentaries that took a keen look at positive efforts least some of them like rainwater harvesting, ground- water replenishment by contour may understand bunding and water conservation. The scenes of damage by erection the danger and of bunds to contain floods, land ero­ save nature. sion and the city dwellers’ wasteful C. SARATCHANDRAN, DIRECTOR ways with water, were both stark and scathing. New sensation C H E N N A I: The only other per­ son who hogs the limelight in Tamil Nadu is Chief Minister Karunanidhi’s daughter and Rajya Sabha member Kanimozhi. Mediapersons were disappointed when she wasn’t spotted with her father, who had come to Delhi recently to decide on the presi­ dential candidate. However, to their relief, the poet-MP arrived the next day. Apparently, Sonia Such events should Gandhi was keen on meeting her. Political observers speculate that reach a wider the meeting might pave the way for Kanimozhi’s induction into the audience. We need Union cabinet afterthe Presidential many more election. Karunanidhi, too, hinted to the media that she might be part knowledge sharing of the cabinet soon.

platforms. Waiting to sizzie interviewed filmstars, Rajinikanth’s ROHINI NILEKANI, FOUNDER, HYDERABAD: Rakhi Sawant of friends and former colleagues for ARGHVAM FOUNDATION the ‘kiss-in-public’ fame will soon the book, which contains some rare be shaking her booties for S a la a m photographs of the superstar. The The chief guest at the inaugural H y d e r a b a d , a film produced by Ch. book will also be translated into function, Girish Karnad, had some Nageswara Rao and Rafatunnisa Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu. The harsh words for the government- under the banner of Sri Raghava author, who is a fan of Rajinikanth, run agencies’ poor support shown to Productions. The movie, which feels that Rajinikanth is a superstar documentary film-making. Karnad is based on Hyderabadi culture, in real life, too, because of his sim­ also mentioned interesting asides is directed' by Anand and has a plicity and humility. / '■ about the possible Impact of envi­ multi-star cast which includes ronmental abuse on our vocabulary. well-known comedian Ali. The For instance, we can no more say that shooting is almost over; the hot A political role? someone spends money like water babe is appearing for the first time C H E N N A I: Rajinikanth and his new “because there is no w ater”. in a Telugu movie. flick S iv a ji are making a sensation. Actor Nandita Das, who was pres­ The hype created over the film has ent at the function, too had some Fitting tribute renewed the attempts by a section of words of advice. “The privileged,” BANGALORE: Rajini mania has the public to bring the superstar into she said, “should become the voices reached a crescendo with the politics. While the clever actor held of the voiceless. Bigger steps are so release of the superstar’s S iv a ji, separate special screenings for Chief difficult to take that we don’t take touted to be the costliest movie Minister M. Karunanidhi and oppo­ even a small step.” Documentaries, in made in India. Television chan­ sition leader J. Jayalalithaa, the duo her view, “open our eyes to life’s sur­ nels have been relentless in their played safe by heaping lavish praises prises even more than feature films.” coverage of Rajinikanth’s persona on Rajinikanth. Meanwhile, Telugu The four-day festival drew several and his film. Event the print media Desam chief Chandrababu Naidu hundred adults and 1,500 school chil­ has devoted a large amount of has invited the superstar to join the dren. How many eyes did it open? space to it. Now, a Bangalore-based newly-launched Third Front. Roshni of Sisugriha saw the films. journalist, Mahesh Devashetty, Rajinikanth, however, is a person Emerging from the auditorium, she has written a Kannada book on known not to antagonise anyone—the said: “We m ust save w ater”. “Yes,” Rajinikanth, tracking his journey Third Front just wait and watch. agreed school-mate Anuj, “We must from a bus conductor in the city to Rajesh Parishwad, Kavitha start in a small way....” ■ the country’s biggest star. He has Muralidharan, Lalita Iyer

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