The third-annual Tasvir: Festival of South Asian Films will be a diverse and glittering mix of things familiar and things new, of things both tragic and blissful and, most importantly, of things truly powerful.
Tasvir, founded in November 2002 by then-undergraduate Bilal Qureshi, screens films of the Indian subcontinent this year, touching on themes of partition, cultural conflict and human compassion. The festival boasts wide attendance across the student body and sponsorship from a variety of groups.
Shambhavi Singh, director of this year's Festival, describes the event as "an invitation to explore and celebrate South Asian Cinema -- we hope to introduce the University and Charlottesville community to the vibrant fabric of South Asian culture."
Today through Saturday, the Festival hosts an eclectic array of eight award-winning films, which students said they look forward to seeing.
"I saw Lagaan at the South Asian Film Festival and fell in love," said Aylin Ozildirim, a third-year College student who attended the Festival last year. "The idea of Tasvir is brilliant -- it brings the exotic and intriguing cultures of South Asia to Newcomb."
This year's festival begins with Mani Ratnam's Yuva (2004). A dynamic film with fast-paced and episodic cinematography reminiscent of movies such as The Rules of Attraction (2002), Yuva ("Youth") tells the tale of three young Indian men from different walks of life whose paths cross on one fateful day following an accident on a Calcutta bridge. Fans of 'pop' Indian films will recognize Bollywood favorite Kareena Kapoor, as well as Abhishek Bachchan, son of the legendary Indian film star Amitabh Bachchan. More importantly, filmgoers will find in Yuva an energetic, offbeat and refreshing experience, backlit by an effervescent musical score by A.R. Rahman, of Dil Se (1998) and Earth: 1947 (1998).
The first day of Tasvir concludes with Osama (2003), the first Afghani feature film since the Taliban fell. Controversial for its portrayal of the harrowing struggles of modern Afghani women, Osama relates the story of one twelve-year-old girl's struggles to save her broken family by disguising herself as a boy.
Set in the city of Kabul, the film, inspired by a powerful true story, is remarkable for its amateur cast of native Afghanis.
Friday begins with the indie darling Little Terrorist (2004), the fifteen-minute tale of a young Pakistani boy whose wanderings carry him across the border into India.
Friday evening continues with 2003's Khamosh Pani ("Silent Waters"), the first feature from long-time documentary filmmaker Sabhila Sumar. Starring Kirron Kher (Devdas, 2002), this compelling film, set afire with luminous photography and award-winning dialogue, follows the story of a middle-aged woman (Kher) and her son in a Pakistani village torn apart by fundamentalist conflict.
Friday evening ends with 2004's Veer-Zaara, an ambitious love story from director Yash Chopra (Dil To Pagal Hai, 1997), which explores partition through the heartbreaking story of an Indian Air Force pilot and his Pakistani love interest. Described by critics as "pure opera," this much-touted blockbuster boasts familiar stars such as heartthrob Shahrukh Khan (Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, 2001) and Preity Zinta (Dil Se, 1998).
The festival comes to a close on Saturday with three films. In the afternoon audiences will be treated to legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray's Apur Sansar (1959). Known in the West as "The World of Apu", Apur Sansar concludes The Apu Trilogy. The first two films, Pather Panchali (1955) and Aparajito (1956), were screened at the first two Tasvir festivals. The film follows Apu as he struggles to find himself and to pen his life story. A film that comes alive with Ray's lush, vivid storytelling, Apur Sansar is no less than an epiphanic and magical experience. If movie-goers have time for only one of Tasvir's many remarkable films, Apur Sansar is the one.
"For any student of South Asian cinema it is blasphemous to avoid Satyajit Ray," festival director Shambhati Singh said. "The inclusion of his films is not only a tribute to a master of his craft, but also an effort to add rich dimension to the festival's program."
Saturday's offerings continue with Aparna Sen's Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (2002), the story of a Muslim man, Raja, and a Brahmin woman, Meenakshi, who meet by chance on a bus-trip to Calcutta. The story takes a turn for the worse when the bus is attacked by Hindu extremists. When Meenakshi claims Raja as her husband in order to save his life, a relationship blossoms of an unusual kind. A quiet story of cultural conflict and human compassion, Mr. and Mrs. Iyer is hardly standard Bollywood fare; and, like so many Tasvir films, it is a shining example of the finest that Indian cinema has to offer.
The festival concludes Saturday evening with Swades (2004). At three and a half hours, Swades is Tasvir 2005's longest offering, but rewards moviegoers more than the average Shahrukh Khan-romantic comedy. Directed by Ashutosh Gowariker (Lagaan, 2001), the movie portrays a brilliant young NASA scientist (Khan) as he returns to India in order to find his childhood nanny. Somewhere between the sometimes-giddy lyrics and the haunting score lies an infinitely comforting story of what it means to find home.
On the whole, the movies this year seem to evoke a different mood than the crossover hits and Bollywood blockbusters of past Tasvir festivals, which have included more mainstream films such as Bend it Like Beckham, Monsoon Wedding and Lagaan.
"After the first two festivals, I felt like the crossover films had been typified," explains director Singh. "Many people think South Asian cinema is only about song-dance sequences. In order to counter such stereotypes, I looked for films with a more substantial message that were entertaining at the same time. I hope I have achieved an amalgamation of so-called 'fun' and thoughtful films in this program"
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