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Strings
Hemanti
Sarkar, Editing 1994
When
Sanjay Jha told me he had shot an English film
during the 2003 Kumbh Mela at Nasik and wanted
me to edit it, my first reaction was, "Oh
no! Another bit of spiritual mumbo-jumbo for the
phirangs." But when I started editing,
I realised that it was one of the most challenging
projects I‘ve ever worked on.
 What
Sanjay had: Scenes shot to a bare narrative about
a Brit called Warren (Adam Bedi) who comes to
the Kumbh after reading his great grandfather's
diary. Warren hopes to find the India his great
grandfather was so enamoured with, and unearth
the hidden strings binding him to this place.
He stays with a priest and his daughter and develops
a relationship with her – in other words,
just another love story. But along with this,
Sanjay had about three and a half hours of candid
footage of the Kumbh Mela attended by over 2,00,000
devotees. Sanjay had a strong belief that somehow
all this footage could be incorporated into the
narrative. A love story against the backdrop of
war, famine, riots or a sinking ship can be created
and shot to requirement, but a Kumbh Mela of millions
cannot (at least, not for an 80 lakh budget).
Besides the Kumbh Mela is not a calamity but a
spiritual experience for the protagonist. The
pilgrimage is as much an internal journey as an
external one, and that is what it should be for
the viewer.
This was indeed a daunting task for both Sanjay
and me. What worked in our favour was that none
of the actors were known faces, so Sanjay had
managed shots of the different characters walking
or taking part in the Kumbh without people looking
into the camera. And the film had looser scenes
of Warren and the others just walking and visiting
other places which could be shuffled around to
get the desired structure.
As we started working we realised that the Kumbh
had become a strong silent protagonist, who influences
all the other characters. Initially when the Kumbh
begins, it's just wide shots of faceless millions
milling towards the river, as seen by Warren from
the window. By the time the second song starts
(Piya Milan ko Jaana), a sceptical Warren
in his designer suit steps out to attend ‘India’s
grandest festival'. We see incredulous naked sadhus
and the old bunkum co-existing with equally frivolous
rock groups, and millions taking their first dip.
All this becomes part of the eternal circus which
is the spirit of the Kumbh – a festival
celebrating creation itself.
As the film progresses Warren begins to join the
circus, as in the rain song. As Warren, Krishna
(the priest's daughter played by Tanishtha Chaterjee)
and Maya celebrate the rain, baharupiya as Shiva
takes shelter only to join back as Hanuman, (this
constant interchange between gods and the concept
of many gods and one god is a repeated theme in
the film). Amazingly, Sanjay had this footage
of thousands of devotees braving the rain as they
wait to take a dip, or others bathing in the drizzle.
These we incorporated, giving the rain celebration
a wider dimension. The song ends on shots of flash
floods at Nasik where the river is in spate.
Elsewhere, when Warren comes closer to Krishna,
the Kumbh reveals a more human face. I could use
early morning footage of common people at the
Kumbh, some drying clothes, some praying, an old
woman cautiously drawing a tilak. This
built up the perfect ambience for Krishna meditating
on the temple steps. Her faith blends with the
faith of the common people and moves Warren. It
is with her that he too merges with the millions
as they roam the Kumbh. Soon their love song starts.
 By
the time the second cut was done, we realised
that the backdrop had given the film such a realistic
travelogue texture that a typical lip synched
love song just wouldn't work so we re-edited using
shots of Warren and Krishna at Tribakeshwar. The
challenge also was to interweave the Kumbh to
express the mental state of the characters. As
Warren gropes to find his great grandfather's
India he does not connect to the maniacal naked
sadhus taking a dip at 2 am. When things fall
apart for Krishna and her father and their faith
is shaken, they cannot blend and the Kumbh becomes
alien.
I don’t really know whether what we‘ve
tried has worked or these are just thoughts in
my head, and would like feedback in that respect
once people see the film. Of course the film has
a roughness that cannot be overlooked but I had
enjoyed experimenting and editing a fiction film
more in a documentary style, shuffling and changing
things around to make the structure work.
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Comment by :
Batul Mukhtiar
Since I haven't seen the film, I don't know whether you've succeeded in what you set out to achieve. But yes, it must have been a challenge. It has always fascinated me - the merging of documentary and fiction.
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Mr
Comment by :
Andre Vaillancourt
I am finishing a film on Kumbh I need about 6 minutes of additional footage. I can offer you 10% of the gross if I use the footage. Can I get a dvd of your film? And are these terms agreeable to you, it is for dvd release. Thank you. Namaste. Andre
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