FATHER, SON AND HOLY WAR explores in two parts the possibility that
the psychology of violence against “the other” may lie in male
insecurity, itself an inevitable product of the very construction of
“manhood.” In the first part, a reference to the ordeal Hindu god-king
Lord Rama tested his wife Sita’s fidelity with, looks at the communal
fires which have consumed India in recent years. “Sati,” a rite by
which Roop Kanwar was thrown on her husband’s funeral pyre; the upper
castes’ “purifying” fire rituals and the communal fires that ravaged
Bombay after the demolition of the mosque in Ayodhya are set against a
small group of fire fighters: a Rajasthani woman who, against the
odds, condemns Sati; a Muslim woman who battles gender discriminatory
laws; and a band of Hindus and Muslims who march for communal harmony
in the riot-torn streets of Bombay. The second part, examines
“manhood” in the context of religious strife. The Hindu majority has
been raised on stories of marauding Muslim invaders who raped their
women, destroyed their temples, and forced religious conversions.
Today, some Hindus demand revenge for crimes committed centuries ago.
They reject non-violence as impotence and set out to be “real men.”
Watch it on zinemaya:
Father, son, and Holy War

IN THE NAME OF GOD focuses on the campaign waged by the militant
Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) to destroy a 16th century mosque in
Ayodhya said to have been built by Babar, the first Mughal Emperor of
India. The VHP claim the mosque was built at the birth-site of the
Hindu god Ram after Babar razed an existing Ram temple. They are
determined to build a new temple to Ram on the same site. This
controversial issue, which successive governments have refused to
resolve, has led to religious riots which have cost thousands their
lives, culminating in the mosque’s destruction by the Hindus in
December of 1992. The resulting religious violence immediately spread
throughout India and Pakistan leaving more than 5,000 dead, and
causing thousands of Indian Muslims to flee their homes.
Watch it on zinemaya:
In The Name Of God

Music director Vidyasagar will provide tunes to the lines of Vayalar Sarath Chandra Varma.vijay Loknath is the cinematographer.

Neelathamara Signature Video

‘Neelathamara’ is a remake of the 1979 Malayalam classic having the same title. This is the first time a malayalam film is being remade. The original film was directed by Yusuf Ali Kecheri and had Ambika, Ravikumar and Sattar in lead roles. The new version will have new comers Archana, Kailash and Suresh Nair in lead roles.

Cast

Archana as Kunjimalu
Kailash as Haridas
Suresh Nair as Appukuttan
Rima Kallingal as Shaarathe Ammini
Samvrutha Sunil as Rathnam
Sreedevi Unni as Maluamma

Keep visiting Zinemaya for more updates

And here goes this years Award-Winers..

The Best Short Fiction – Kadaltheerathu/ On Seashore Directed by Sherry, Produced by Lakshmanan Shyju Based on a story by OV Vijayan, Vellyiyappan’s son is being hanged to death. And Vellayiyappan is on a lonely journey from his remote village to the prison to receive his son’s body.

Best Short Documentary – Morality TV and the loving Jehad ( A Thrilling Tale )
directed by: Paromita Vohra
Producer: PSBT

The film looks outside the frames that weave the frenetic tapestry of Breaking News on India’s new channels to uncover a town’s complex dynamics – the fear of love, the constant scrutiny and control of women’s mobility and sexuality, a history of communal violence, caste brutalization and feudal equations.

Best Long Documentary – The Mahua Memoirs: Directed by Vinod Raja Produced by: Equations, Grass roots media Pvt. Ltd

Through stories and songs the film unravels, unfolds the struggles of the Adivasis or the tribes aganist the state and the mining companies. When a nation begins to grow rapidly at over 9 percent, what does that mean for 8 percent of people, who remain unseen and unheard?

Best Animation Film to be shared by Mukund and Riaz directed by Nina Sabnani and Shadow directed by Varun Jyoti Deori

Mukund and Riaz : Set Aganist the background of the partition, the film is about friendship between children. Their freindship knows no barbed wire fencing. The film is essentially about every child’s right to friendship and home.

Shadow : This movie shows war as a soul that always roams around in search of a body to make war. And after making war with the help of that body, it abandons the body, in search of a new body.

Pokkudan started planting mangroves at the age of 52 and that created a lot of Mangroves forest in the Kannur district of kerala. In four decades, mangrove forest area in the state of kerala had dropped from over 700 sq km to a paltry 17 sq km. Kannur still has nearly 45 percent of the state’s remaining wetlands, thanks mostly to Pokkudan’s initiatives.

Documentary available for download at zinemaya.com

Reviews on Kandal Pokkudan on India Today and Tehelka.com

About the Film maker – Sanju Surendran
Born in 1980, Sanju Surendran majored in Zoology and was associated with Film clubs and Documentary film making before joining the Film & TV Institute of Pune, India. He completed his graduation in Film Direction in 2007. At present he is working on an Independent script.
Sanju can be reached at sanjusurendran@gmail.com

She slaps him and flees for safety to a spice factory where women grind chillies into fine powder. The aged factory guard, Abu Mian, locks the door behind her, refusing to open it to the soldiers, to the cowardly village men led by the mayor, and to the subedar himself. The town’s teacher, who follows Gandhi, and a few women, led by the mayor’s wife, protest ineffectually against this village-approved rape.

The elderly, but brave, Chowkidar Abu, closes the reinforced door to the factory, and refuses to let the soldiers in. This angers the Subhedar, and he asks the town Mukhiya, to get Sonbai to him, or else he will destroy his town. The terrified Mukhiya and the rest of the townspeople decide to turn over Sonbai to the Subhedar, so that he can leave them in one piece, on the condition that they do not molest any more women. The Subhedhar is angered at this show of defiance, and refuses to agree to any conditions. The villagers and the Mukhiya must now decide whether to hand over Sonhai to him, or let him get her and destroy their village, and molest their wives, daughters, and sisters.
”Mirch Masala” was directed by Ketan Mehta and written by him and Shafi Hakim. Though Miss Patil is the film’s star, the most important character in the film is the watchman at the spice factory where Sonbai finds refuge. While most of the other women at the spice factory think that Sonbai should sacrifice herself to save the village, the old watchman refuses to bow to tyranny.

”Mirch Masala” is less interested in his heroism than in the condition of women in general. Miss Patil, who died in childbirth after making this film in 1986, gives a credible performance. The landscapes are exotic, and so is the soundtrack music, which threatens never to stop. THE PRICE OF HONOR – Mirch Masala, directed by Ketan Mehta; screenplay (Hindi with English subtitles) and dialogue by Shafi Hakim and Mr. Mehta; original story by Chunilal Madia; camera, Jahangir Choudhury; edited by Sanjiv Shah; music by Rajat Dholakia; produced by the National Film Development Corporation.

Cast:
Subedar: Naseeruddin Shah
Sonbai: Smita Patil
Abu Mian: Om Puri
Mukhi: Suresh Oberoi
Sonbai’s husband: Raj Babbar
Masterji: Raghu Nath
Sarasvati: Deepti Naval

Mirch Masala is available for download at zinemaya.com. Click here to preview the movie.

In his eyes, the children were the worst affected-caught in the middle as they were, with neither tradition to fall back upon nor the advantages of mainstream society to look forward to. But today, Kanavu (dream), the school he set up, is helping them rise above oppression and marginalisation to assert their individuality.

Baby moved to Wyanad district in Kerala in the early 1970s. Living among the tribals and experiencing their rich repository of songs, myths and art forms, awoke the writer in him. He wrote his first play, Apoorna in late 70s followed by Nadugaddika in 1982. His first novel Mavelimantram won him the Sahitya Academy award.

Zinemaya.com is featuring Guda (The Cage) his first feature film.

Guda – 2003
(The Cage)

Guda, set in the language of the ‘Kattunaikkars’, revolves around the story of a tribal girl’s ‘Thirandu kalyanam’ (ceremonies in connection with the attainment of puberty). The ceremonies involve putting the tribal girl inside a hut that looks like a cage.

Lechu, a 13-year old girl, has come of age, but does not want to go through the ritual isolation in the “guda”, and the celebration that follows. ‘I will not be in the guda, like a caged bird’ she says and rebels. But the girl is confined in the ‘guda’ and has to remain confined in the ‘guda’, till her parents and elders can organise the money for the celebration. The girl’s stay is prolonged for a year. Lechu’s only contact with the outside world is through her friend, Nannaru.

Baby’s daughter, Santhi, dons the role of the tribal girl. The cast includes 48 students, including tribal and non-tribal, from the ‘Kanavu’ at Nadavayal in Wayanad district. These tribal children also assisted him in making the film.

Direction & Screenplay: K J Baby
Cast: Santhi and inmates of ‘Kanavu’
Music: K J Baby

Guda is available for download at zinemaya.com