Another forgotten gem from the 80s Art Cinema, which needs to be duly brought forward in a new digitally restored form is Mrinal Sen’s masterpiece called GENESIS. A significant achievement which can easily be stated as one of the pioneers of minimalist cinema made with a great vision, it’s a film which takes you into the remote interiors of those tough times, when farmers & weavers were easily exploited by the middle men without any major hassles. A tale of the powerful exploiting the weaker, GENESIS also talks about the importance of a female in the deserted life of a person like the much required oasis found in the vast, never ending desert and then the transformation of their world around, post this unexpected collision.
Based on a simple story of Samaresh Basu, abouttwo hard working men living alone in a ruined and lonely part of a desert, it represents the meaning of the word Genesis (the origin or the beginning) in a splendid, visionary manner. And the film actually begins when the empty days of these two men don’t remain the same due to a wandering woman entering into their life coming from nowhere. The mysterious woman starts living with them as a companion, bringing in that pleasant, fresh breeze of a new origin and the characters go through a sarcastic change in just a few weeks, living differently. But since revealing its basic story progression can ruin the film’s symbolic meaning and magic completely, so avoiding the same, I would like to keep you guessing until you got to watch this rather unknown classic of our Indian Cinema at the earliest.
Visually, GENESIS is quite simple in its approach revolving around a region far away from the modernization or development happening in the cities. So one does need to have a lot of patience in the beginning as the pace is slow and there are only four main characters in the script, taking the story forward. But once it comes to the main turning point, the film visibly redefines the meaning of beautiful words like love, joy, freedom, companionship, jealously, hatred and slavery in a remarkable style. And further the final sequence remains another masterstroke played by the renowned director, depicting the real truth of life bringing in the modern machinery, which is not visible anywhere in the entire film clearly till the climax.
Delightfully enacted by the master trio, Shabana Azmi, Naseerudin Shah & Om Puri, the powerful film featured in the Cannes Film Festival in 1986 and was widely appreciated in the west for its symbolic beauty. It has an exceptional camerawork done by Carlo Varini, Art direction by Nitish Roy and the music composed by Pt. Ravi Shankar.
Sadly at the time of writing this piece, GENESIS is yet to be released in a digitally restored DVD version and only a rare VCD was there in the market, which might be available at few online stores having the old stock. So do try to watch this forgotten classic somehow, since the film is certainly worth making any such effort and is a must watch gem of our Indian Cinema undoubtedly.
Directed by Mrinal Sen
Written by Samaresh Basu (Novel), Mohit Chattopadhya and Mrinal Sen.
Starring : Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri and M.K. Raina.
Music by Pt. Ravi Shankar
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Genesis (1986), Movies To See Before You Die Drama, Not To Be Missed Classics List by Bobby Sing at bobbytalkscinema, Mrinal Sen Forgotten Classics, Indian Classics need Restoration, Lost Indian Classics, Must Watch Movies List by Bobby Sing, Not To Missed Films List by Bobby Sing, Worth Watching Movies List By Bobby Sing
