Apr 02 2025 to Apr 02 2025 6:30 p.m.

Where

Bangalore International Centre

7 4th Main Rd, Stage 2, Domlur 560071

Event Description

2024 | 81 mins | Hindi & Marathi with English subtitles | India

Kumar Gandharva, a child prodigy who subsequently became one of the finest and most original geniuses of Indian classical music, was struck by tuberculosis at the height of his abilities. For years, he lay in bed, barred from using his lungs, unsure if he would ever be able to rise or sing again. Meanwhile, his senses were gathering sounds from nature, from distant folk melodies, and from every vibration of life. Sometimes he practiced, singing so softly that it was hardly audible beyond his bed.

This film takes this single moment of him lying on his sick bed and expands it, where his life of music and contemplation moves like a dream. When he rises after six years in bed, with only one lung spared, he writes, sings, and teaches again, giving voice to the six long years of silence and bridging the old and new with visionary insights.

The screening will be followed by a discussion featuring Co-Writer and Music Consultant Kuldeep Barve, Animator and Art Director Allen Shaw, and Anitha Balachandran, along with an audience Q&A. Kuldeep Barve and Allen Shaw will be joining us virtually.

Director & Speakers

Amit Dutta
Filmmaker
Amit Dutta is an Indian filmmaker known for his diverse works, including fiction, literary adaptations, video diaries, and animation. A 2004 FTII graduate, he has made over 40 films and authored seven books. His notable films include Rhythm of a Flower, Kramasha, Nainsukh, Sonchidi, Chitrashala, and The Seventh Walk. As a writer, he explores various themes, with works like Invisible Webs and Kaljayi Kambakht, the latter winning the Krishna Baldev Vaid Award. His films have earned numerous awards, including the Golden Conch (MIFF), the Silver Lotus (National Award), and the Jury’s Special Prize at Venice. Retrospectives of his work have been held at Cinéma du Réel (Centre Pompidou), the Smithsonian, and the National Film Archive of India. In 2015, he received the Tagore Fellowship at IIAS. His Kramasha was listed among essential films by Jonathan Rosenbaum, and Nainsukh was named one of the best biopics by The New Yorker in 2024.

Kuldeep Barve
Co-Writer and Music Consultant
Kuldeep Barve is a musician, teacher, composer and writer based in Pune. He is a faculty for Western Music at FLAME University, Pune and the SPPU (Pune University). While his musical explorations have been mainly in the realm of western classical music, his deep interest and active role in improvised forms of music such as Indian classical music and jazz has immensely influenced his musical thought and oeuvre. He is a founder member of the Pune Guitar Society, an organization dedicated to western classical and jazz guitar. He is also deeply involved in film music and has composed music for films, documentaries and art installations.

Allen Shaw
Animator and Art Director
Allen Shaw is a Berlin-based Indian artist, illustrator, animator, and storyteller. His life revolves around traveling and collecting stories from different parts of the world, which he documents in his sketchbooks—a practice he has maintained for 29 years, making it an integral part of his life.

Born on April 27, 1973, in Munger, Bihar, Allen graduated from the National Institute of Design with a specialization in Animation Filmmaking under Communication Design. Although he did not practice animation for 20 years after graduation, the pandemic provided him the time and space to return to it. His journey back into animation began with a music video for a German band, followed by animating ten pieces for Varun Grover’s debut film, All India Rank.

Rhythm of a Flower is the first feature-length film he has animated. Currently, he is working on two more films.

Anitha Balachandran
Animator, Artist & Researcher
Anitha Balachandran is an experimental animator, artist and researcher based in Bangalore. Her recent work explores animated documentary, bringing together drawing and stop motion. She has been the recipient of several awards including an INLAKS foundation scholarship and artist grant from IFA, Pro-Helvetia and ASIFA. Over the years her films have been screened at international film festivals, galleries and museum exhibitions. Anitha did her MA at the Royal College of Art, London and is currently pursuing a PhD at the Arts University, Bournemouth. She also teaches at the Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology.