Films about India's creative legends at IFFI

Panaji, Nov 28 (IANS) Quite a few films at the ongoing 38th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) are devoted to people who have made a mark in creative arenas like cinema and music.

'Pandit Ramnarayan - Sarangi Ke Sang' is about one of India's finest sarangi players and has been created by the Films Division with V. Pakirisamy as director.

'Ramnarayan is to the sarangi what Mozart was to the piano. He raised the sarangi from an accompanying instrument to a glorious level of excellence and made his name synonymous with it,' says an introduction to the 50-minute, Hindi film.

The sarangi, sometimes called the Indian fiddle, has three to four main playing strings and a number of sympathetic strings. The instrument has no frets or fingerboard. The pitch is determined by sliding the fingernail against the strings rather than pressing it against a fingerboard, like in a violin. This instrument is considered to be extremely difficult to play.

The Film Division has also made a biopic on acclaimed music composer Naushad Ali who gained fame for his work based on Indian classical music. The 39-minute Hindi film has its screenplay and direction by Buddhadeb Dasgupta.

'Mubarak Begum', a 19-minute film by the Films Division, is about the legendary playback singer. Director Vipin Choubal said he was inspired by a newspaper article on how the singer was in penury, struggling to survive with her youngest daughter, while suffering from Parkinson's disease.

'M. Tyude Kumaranellurile Kulangal' traces the journey back home of Jnanpith award winner M.T. Vasudevan Nair. It looks at the pathetic state of his favourite river, the Nila, about which the writer has nostalgic childhood memories. Prominent Kerala documentary filmmaker M.A. Rahman has made the 54-minute long Malayalam film.

Yet another film on cine personalities is 'Masti Bhara Hai Sama', which focuses on prominent music director Dattaram Wadkar of Goan origin who played a key role in Bollywood till he died in penury, neglected and almost-wholly forgotten in his home state.

IFFI's Indian Retrospective Films segment also features the works of filmmakers Tapan Sinha and Vijay Anand. IFFI, now in Goa for its fourth year, will conclude on Dec 3.