‘Pandavapuram’, which came out nearly two decades ago was a landmark novel in Malayalam literature. The celebrated work by Sethu which led the readers to the world of fantasies, was also a take on the alienation of a lonely woman. A film adaptation of the novel, namely ‘Nirakar Chhaya’, (Formless Shadows), directed by Ashish Avikunthak, will be screened at Children’s Park Theatre on Friday at 5.30 pm.
The film helmed in 2007 is a stylised adaptation of the novel. Set in modern-day Bengal, the film delves deep into the psychological pathos of Devi, who is abandoned by her husband Madan. The film throws light on the present day urban society that increasingly confronts the issues related to estrangement and disaffection arising from nuclear family units and rising levels of marital separation and abandonment. Devi awaits a paramour whom she fantasise will rescue her from the drab existence and will bring some hope to her otherwise mundane life. The film through the life of this lonely woman, inhabited by a loving sister-in-law and an imagined paramour, narrates what awaits Devi, as her yearning translates into an imagined reality.
The story has a tweak when Rahul, a stranger from her past visits her. He narrates a story in which he was friends with Devi and Madan when they lived in Alirajpur. As proof of his veracity, he mentions the now separated couple’s shaky and argumentative marriage. Rahul also claims to have been Devi’s lover. Shocked, the young woman denies the whole story, saying she has never left Calcutta or been unfaithful to her husband. However she agrees to lodge the mysterious traveller who continually makes reference to their shared past, which she finds increasingly disturbing. After numerous failed attempts to persuade her, Rahul turns to her sister-in-law, who does not believe his story either. After living with the two women for a while he suddenly decides to leave. Devi, fearful at losing a situation she has begun to enjoy, tries to persuade him that his presence in Calcutta is not due to pure chance, but to her secret desire to find a lover.
‘Formless Shadows’ probes into the complex nuances of the boundaries between reality and imagination. The film, shot in both black and white and color, is a melancholic contemplation upon the reality of the imagined world that the protagonist of the film creates. The narrative of the film constantly oscillates between real and non-real, heightened by the usage of both black and white and color images to produce an intense emotional experience exemplified by loss and pain.
The film is also an interplay about the subtext of desire and secrecy between people which simultaneously threatens and bonds any relationship. The cultural anthropologist in Avikunthak comes out as the films attempts to deal with cultural complexities relating to religion, sexuality, performance and political identity in postcolonial India.
Sethu, Ashish Avikunthak, T Kaladharan and C S Jayaram will take part in a public meeting that will be held prior to the screening.