G Aravindan's 'Thamp' to premier in Cannes

Even after thirty years of his passing on, G Aravindan's works never cease to amaze. The auteur carved his characters from real life and sometimes from Indian mythology, but when they were born into Aravindan's world, they were presented with a unique perspective, which made them ageless.

No wonder a restored version of his 1978 directorial 'Thamp' (The Circus Tent) is all set to premiere in the Festival Classics section at the Cannes Film Market set to take place from May 17 to May 25.

The movie, which is a picturesque narrative of the sufferings of a circus troupe, is the ninth film from Kerala to be screened at the prestigious film festival. It follows acclaimed filmmaker Dr Biju's 'Saira', which premiered at the Tousles Cinemas Du Monde (Cinema of the world) section in 2007.

The other Malayalam movies include 'Elippathayam' by Adoor Gopalakrishan, screened in 1982. Shaji N Karun's films 'Piravi', 'Swaham' and 'Vanaprastham' were screened in 1989, 1994 and 1999. Another movie, 'Marana Simhasanam' by director Murali Nair premiered at the festival in 1999, the same year. Murali Nair's other two films, "Pattiyude Divasam", were screened in 2001 while 'Arimpara' by Murali Nair premiered in 2003.

 Meanwhile, India will be the official country of honour at the Cannes Film Market. As the country celebrates its 75th year of Independence, coinciding with Cannes Film Festival's 75th anniversary, a brand new restoration of Indian cinema legend Satyajit Ray's rare movie 'Pratidwandi' will also be presented in an exclusive screening at the movie gala.

According to a press release issued by the festival, "Pratidwandi" is restored under the National Film Heritage Mission, a project undertaken by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. The restoration was carried out by Prime Focus Technologies, Mumbai, and grading was supervised by renowned Indian cinematographer Sudeep Chatterjee. The restored version is presented by the National Film Archive of India (NFDC).

Apart from "Pratidwandi", Hollywood classic "Singin' In The Rain", will be presented in a brand new 4K restoration. The 1952 Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen film, which details the transition from silent film to talkies, will have its screening on the Boulevard de la Croisette.Bollywood star Deepika Padukone has already been announced as a part of the competition jury of the upcoming edition of the festival along with prestigious names such as actor-filmmaker Rebecca Hall and Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi.

Padukone, best known for her films "Piku", "Padmaavat" and "Gehraiyaan" and Hollywood project xXx: The Return of Xander Cage", is part of the eight-member jury which will reward one of the 21 films in competition with the coveted Palme d'Or during the closing ceremony on Saturday May 28.

 

With inputs from PTI