Koothu
A film by Sandhya Kumar
52 min | 2018 | INDIA
English & Tamil with English Subtitles

30 July, Tuesday | 7:00 pm
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Bangalore International Centre [BIC] 
#7 , 4th Main Road, Domlur II Stage

Entry free and open to all
The screening will be followed by a discussion with the filmmaker.
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SYNOPSIS
In many villages in Tamil Nadu, a theatre tradition still links people with a past. Closely connected with religion and caste rituals, koothu brings to life stories about gods, demigods, kings and demons from the Indian epics. A typical koothu performance is an all-night show in which performers wear elaborate make-up, costumes and wooden ornaments, and simultaneously sing, dance and act on stage. During the festival season, many koothu companies tour the countryside, often commissioned by villages to perform for several consecutive nights. Yet, in spite of its enduring rural popularity and because of its low-caste associations, koothu struggles to find place and patronage in urban art circles. Who creates the binaries of folk and classical?  The film delves into questions of representation and patronage of the art form while presenting its art and aesthetics.

THE DIRECTOR
Sandhya Kumar is a film graduate of San Francisco Art Institute and Jamia Millia University, New Delhi.
​Her 2012 documentary, ‘O Friend, This Waiting!’ won the Indian National Film Award for Best Arts/Cultural Film, for its unconventional exploration of the Devadasi tradition in South India through the medium of love-poetry.
​She has received film grants from the India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) and the Public Service Broadcasting Trust (PSBT) and has been an ATSA fellow at ARThink South Asia.

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