Karnataka - Bangalore

For the love of good cinema

— Photo: Sampath Kumar G.P.

George Kutty.

BANGALORE: In the glitz and glamour that symbolises the essence of mainstream cinema, a serious film buff often finds himself / herself at a loss. Outside the multiplex, the melting pot of today’s popular cinematic experience, far removed from the fast receding aura of the theatres of yore, the cinema lover hunts for meaningful films.

Perhaps, film societies are the only avenues for them to appreciate, learn and discuss good cinema. Hard pressed for funds, equipment and screening spaces they are, yet the societies have not died down thanks to the never-say-die commitment of people such as George Kutty.

Secretary of the Bangalore Film Society (BFS) for the last 23 years, Mr. Kutty’s arrival in Bangalore 36 summers back could have been the thematic base for a thousand films. His motive was anything but cinematic, yet his primary intention was to search for a job, a subject close to many a filmmaker’s heart.

There was no method in Mr. Kutty’s first brush with cinema. “I just drifted into the circle. It was not a conscious process, although I was passionate about cinema,” he recalls. His encounter with art house films screened by the Alliance Francaise de Bangalore and Max Mueller Bhavan exposed Mr. Kutty to the aesthetically rich, thematically complex works of the European masters. That was trigger enough from him to dwell deeper into the medium.

His interaction with people active in the cine field opened up a thousand doors. The film society movement of the 1970s impressed him. “In 1976-77, Bangalore had seven to eight such societies. BFS, started by the late T.G. Vaidyanathan, Mahesh Shah, Akumal Ramachandran and Harikumar, was among them.”

But by 1970, BFS was on the verge of closure and was eventually handed over to the Centre for Informal Education and Development Studies. Chalam Bennurkar’s revival attempt through a series of film festivals on women’s issues, and other documentaries kept the society going.

It was a challenge running the society. Yet, the interest was alive, exciting. “The main sources for films were the National Film Archive of India, the National Film Development Corporation and the embassies of various European countries. From them, we got a lot of meaningful films, especially from East Europe,” Mr. Kutty says.

From its peak in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the film society movement had to endure countless odds. And that continues today. Explains Kutty: “Finding a good, affordable auditorium is always a major task. We look for affordability, and that affects the cinema-viewing experience. The Government should create spaces for film societies to screen good cinema.”

Fortunately for Mr. Kutty and BFS, the 300-plus members understand its limitations.

“Finances are a big worry for all film societies. That was one reason why most societies closed down. Auditorium rentals are very high, and the acoustics, proper projectors, are all challenges. Still our members come to watch,” Mr. Kutty explains.

But with the onset of the digital era, there is a renewed interest in film societies.

Bangalore today has about three other active societies including Suchitra and the ones set up by The Energy Research Institute, CFD and Vikalp. “Besides, there are active documentary film outfits such as Pedestrian Pictures that focus on films on social issues.”

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