Episode 19: Ankur -- Seedlings of Alternative Indian Cinema

Cut to Scene!

We venture into challenging territory and talk about Shyam Benegal's first film --- Ankur!

Ankur is a 1974 film that is said to have heralded in the era of alternative cinema in the Hindi film industry. It stars Shabana Azmi and Anant Nag in lead roles. It tells the story of Lakshmi, a dalit woman who works at the house of Surya, an upper-caste, confused, young adult male. We talk about how the cinematorgraphy in the film is well ahead of its time, with some spectacular close-ups and motion shots. We also discuss how the writing, though discontinuous inparts, succeeds in covering a huge variety of themes in the rather measly runtime of two hours.

This and much more about this extremely interesting film in the podcast. Do tune in!

Ankur is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Spoiler Alert - This podcast contains a lot of nitty-gritty details from the film.

Intro Track -- Quota by The Casteless Collective from the album Magizhchi (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Kfbc23ao8w)

Outro Track -- Ekla Cholo Re by EPR Iyer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeKTQLXGxwc)

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