By David Hurtado
Often when people discuss some of the good movies they have seen, titles such as “The Blind Side” or “Inception” come to mind. For Cineclub, however, most of the great films discussed are more culturally diverse.
Cineclub is hosting its Indian Film Festival from Feb. 7 to April 10. The three films being shown, “Pather Panchali,” “Awara” and “Mughhal-e-Azam” are all considered classics of Indian cinema.
“Pather Panchali,” directed by Satyajit Ray, is centered on a young boy named Apu, who is born into an impoverished family in Bengal, India. His father, a priest and poet, struggles to make ends meet and keep his family fed. At the same time, Apu’s sister, Durga, is constantly stealing guavas from the neighbor’s orchids, much to the disdain of their mother.
“’Pather Panchali’ was as fine as any of the films we have shown,” said William Stockton, Cineclub adviser.
“It focuses on the dynamic of the family in a powerful, intimate way.”
“Awara” follows a young man named Raju who survives on the streets as a thief in result of his estranged father kicking Raju’s mother out of the house years ago. Raju hooks up with a Dacoit, or pickpocket, named Jagga as his surrogate father, but eventually learns Jagga was the cause of the misunderstanding between his parents all those years ago. In a fit of rage, Raju kills Jagga and is sent to court before the judge, his father.
“Mughal-e-Azam” is a film inspired by true events that took place in 16th century India. Prince Salim, the only child of his father Emperor Akbar, is sent off to war at a young age to learn discipline and courage. Prince Salim returns 14 years later and falls in love with a court dancer named Anarkali. However, another jealous court dancer named Bahaar will stop at nothing to ensure she wins the prince’s heart and ascends to queen hood.
“It’s a revelation seeing films like these,” Stockton said.
Samira Hussein, business professor, said she believes it is important for students to watch films from other cultures besides their own.
“Absolutely, cinema in this day and age gives quite a clue in terms of culture,” Hussein said. “It’s the best way to see the current issues that are affecting that people.”
Still, Hussein said she believes that while the films are mostly accurate of the average Indian family life, that is not always the case.
“When one sees the hardship in cinema, it’s not necessarily untrue, but it doesn’t portray the accuracy in the average Indian family life,” Hussein said. “There are pockets in India where the films accurately portray life, though, but the hardship has always been there.”
Cineclub began in 2009 when Stockton and a foreign exchange student began planning regular meeting periods to watch classic films. The club is devoted to learning about classic films, both foreign and American.
“It started with a planned meeting between a French student who loved classic cinema and me,” Stockton said, “understanding that there was a group of like-minded students who would attend when we showed the films.”
Not everyone at the college is as excited about the Indian film festival as Stockton is, though.
Justas Baltrusaitis, student, said that the films didn’t interest him that much.
“I don’t really have time to see them,” Baltrusaitis said.
Past films shown at the college by Cineclub include “Wild Strawberries” directed by Ingmar Bergman, “My Life to Live,” directed by Jean-Luc Godard and “La Dolce Vita,” directed by Federico Fellini.
All showings are free and open to the public. However, Cineclub is a continuing education class and students must register in order to attend. To register for the shows, call 913-469-2323 and tell the operator CRN #20358. The shows will be held in The Hudson Auditorium in the Nerman Museum at 5 p.m. “Awara” will be shown on March 7 and “Mughal-e-Azam” will be shown on April 10.
Students unable to attend the showings can rent the films from the college’s library.
Contact David Hurtado, reporting correspondent, at dhurtado@jccc.edu.