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"blending activism and filmmaking"
anand
patwardhan

 

 

 

 


Fishers of Men


Original Language:
ENGLISH, HINDI

Direction:
Ranjan Kamath Padmavathi Rao

1997. 117min.
Madhya Pradesh/India.

 

For over a century, a substantial number of Adivasis, or tribals of the Chottanagpur plateau, have been converting to Christianity in order to free themselves from bonded labour and feudal oppression still prevalent in rural India. A combination of education and Christianity have helped the Adivasis establish an alternative identity outside the Hindu caste system, undermining feudal and Hindu authority. While the demand for a tribal homeland called Jharkand has been gaining momentum from a number of sources since independence, Hindu fundamentalist organisations such as the Rashitriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad have held the Christian missionaries singularly responsible for encouraging the Jharkand movement. In the absence of dialogue between Hindu revivalists and Christian tribals, this feature length documentary represents an effort to understand how the two communities will co-exist within a secular Indian fabric.

 

About the Director ...

Ranjan Kamath graduated with an associate degree from Trinity School of Music in London. He began working in Calcutta's theatre and music world soon after, both as an actor and stage/lighting designer. He then went on to work as an assistant director in Bombay on documentaries and short films. He has completed his post-graduation from the London International Film School, with a distinction in Cinematography, and has been working as a producer and director/ cinematographer on Indian features, international co-productions and short features for the BBC, Channel Four, National Geographic, Discovery Channel and others.

Padmavathi Rao straddles the performing arts, which includes theatre, commercial and documentary film making. She started her career in feature films at the age of 15 and has been performing on stage in various Indian languages, including Kannada, Gujarati, Hindi, and English since. She has also worked as an assistant director and scriptwriter to some of India's notable filmmakers, aswell as on numerous international documentary and short feature projects, for the BBC and Channel Four.


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