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The Clay Cart |
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Director– Mandakini Mathur Duration: 20 min Language: English |
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Still from ’The Clay Cart’ |
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Roots&Wings |
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.It has been said that man is nothing but a living memory because in our mind the past and the present are two ends of a continuum. This film explores this thought through the life and work of a famous film star of the 1940s. |
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Film Synopsis |
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Still from ’The Clay Cart’ |
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Vanmala, now 86 years old, visits her niece in Panchgani, a small hill station town in the Western Ghats region of Maharashtra. They look at the old stills from the film ‘Vasantsena’ which is now untraceable. For Vanmala the role of Vasantsena was a cherished one. The film was based on the famous Sanskrit play ‘Mrichhakatikam’ by Sudraka and is a love story set during the Buddhist period in the |
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ancient city of Avantika, now Ujjain. Vanmala had also spent her childhood in Ujjain, where her father was the Subedar (District Collector). Hence the reviewing of the stills generate mingled memories – not only of the making of the film but of her life as well. Some of her writings, which describe in detail how the film was conceived and her excitement at playing the role of Vasantsena are also dwelt upon. As the prologue puts it, the attempt here is to recreate not so much the lost copy of the film as the feelings that nurtured it. In a strange way ‘The Clay Cart’ also becomes a reflection on creativity because one is constantly grappling with how to give shape to feelings and thoughts. The film is a kaleidoscope of images both of the present and the past, which try to sketch the mindscape of the protagonist. |