The Krishnaswamy Approach: Documentary and Commitment
- LINDA C. EHRLICH Asian Cinema, (Quarterly, USA) 2000

In a country where film stars have disproportionate influence on the political climate, and where a rural audience makes up a large percentage of the spectators, there is a need for alternative forms of cinema. One such alternative is provided by Krishnaswamy Associates, which, over the past 30 years, has produced documentaries aimed at reaching a wide range of Indian (and international) viewers.

Following the best of India's inclusive traditions, the Krishnaswamy's elegant white studio on a quiet street in Chennai (Madras) offers a small shrine to the elephant-headed god Ganesh guarding over modern recording and editing equipment. Dr.S. Krishnaswamy- documentarist, producer, philosopher - views India as a "crucible" for experiments which then become applicable to humanity at large. While he praises the way Indian film has contributed to the well-being of the nation by helping to break taboos and remove apathy, he also feels it has failed to meet its potential- hence the incentive to make films that fall outside of the standard "Bollywood" fare.

Krishnaswamy's early film "I" offers a tribute to his country while not turning away from the occasional satiric barb at India's political system and the excesses of her commerical film industry. (Krishnaswamy advocates channels of communication, which are open to everyone, rather than the current culutral policy, which weighs heavily in favor of sponsors and the political arena.) "I" presents a montage of images from Indian daily life - a factory worker, a small trader, a clerk, an exuberant merging of colored textiles from different regions, a glimpse at artisitic wonders like the Taj Mahal and the stone bas-reliefs at Mahabalipuram... All of these evolve before our eyes as we hear of a lyrical off screen narration :" I am the common man. I see the whole nation.. I love this land..I have built it.."

In addition to these kinds of short poetic treatments, Krishnaswamy has also tackled the difficult subject of ethnic and religious strife in documentaries about the Sikh riots in Amritsar (After a Thousand Days of Terror, 1984) and the guerrila fighters in Sri Lanka (1987). Ever concerned with endorsing peaceful relations between groups, Krishnaswamy's documentary Sanskriti features interviews with 16 major religious leaders of India, including Mother Teresa and Dalai Lama, to show how sincere religious leaders turn away from fundamentalism. A series of Krishnaswamy Associates' films also followed construction/development projects from start to finish, providing a visual record of the making of such important architectural structures as the lotus-shaped Bahai Temple in New Delhi. A susbsequent work, INDIA 5555, commissioned by the Ministry of External Affairs to mark the fiftieth anniversary of Indian independence, is a four-part documentary filmed in over 100 locations throughout India.

Krishnaswamy's talented daughters, Lata and Gita (Krishna Raj), form an integral part of the Krishnaswamy Associate's operation. Skilled in the classical Indian dance tradition of Bharat Natyam, they have choreographed, directed, and performed in several film and television productions, notably their cinematic version of the dance drama, "Savitri", based on the 24,000-line poem by Sri Aurobindo. Normally, this kind of production would be performed by a large cast. In contrast, Lata and Gita decided to perform all of the roles themselves, taking in turn such parts as the heroine, her mother and father. Satyavan (the groom),and Death personified. Set against a series of painted backdrops, and added by English substitutes and intermittent short narrative sequences by the two sisters, this tribute to the power of creation over death becomes highly legible through its danced interpretation. "Savitri" won an award for Creative Excellence at the 28th U S International Film and Video Festival. Lata and Gita have also directed a 20-part television serial which offers imaginative examples of all of the major dance forms of India.

An additional member of Krishnaswamy family, son K.Subrahmanyam (a film student at Temple University), was the force behind another impressive Krishnaswamy Associates' production - Child-in-Law (1994)- which relates a devastating story of child labor practices in certain parts of India. Only a documentary can fully present this story of children mortgaged by families whose dire straits compel them to involve small children in what is essentially illegal slave labor. Focussing on the cottage industry of bidi (cigarette) rolling in the Vellore area, Child-in-Law mixes first-person narration (by some children, a journalist, a judge, etc.) with voice-over narration of ways the "contractors" who work for this industry have been able to get around the Indian laws forbidding hiring anyone under the age of 14. Actual interviews with several of the contractors are mixed with archival photographs whose sepia tint underscores the fact that what we are observing is not just a recent phenomen.

On a brighter note, the documentary reveals how the Indian Council of Social Welfare has established night schools for some of these children, and has even been able to loan funds to some families to buy out the original contract. Complicating the issue, however, is the insidious depletion of many of the family funds through the father's alcoholism, leaving mothers and children with few options. The awareness that these children's lives have been mortgaged away for less that what we might spend on a good dinner or set of books only emphasizes the tragic irony of the situation. As one "redeemed" child boisterously runs through the village streets, in a slow-motion sequence near the close of the film, the silent footsteps of all those other children hidden away in covert cottage industries reverberates deafeningly. It took three years for Child-in-Law to receive an offer to be broadcast in India- another fact gives one pause.

Krishnaswamy Associates celebrated its 35th anniversary in 1999. Dr. S. Krishnaswamy earned his M.A and Ph.D in Film and television from Columbia University, and is co-author with Erik Barnouw of the influential book Indian Film, now in its third edition. Upon returning to India, he made the courageous choice to establish an independent filmmaking institute rather than enter into a government-sponsored position. He draws insipiration in large part from the work of his father, K. Subrahmanayam, whose 1939 film "Thyagabhoomi" was banned for its nationalist sentiment. In 1991, S.Krishnaswamy directed a remake of this film to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the banning of the original Tamil version. Dr. Mohana, S.Krishnaswamy's wife, has assumed the role of producing all of the Krishnaswamy Associates productions, and has also directed an award-winning video on the status of women in Tamil Nadu. One gets the impression that this is a family made up of strong individual talents who enjoy working together.

Walking around Chennai, one can't help but notice the signs announcing: "Please take diversion," indicating that an unwary pedestrian should choose another route around a gaping hole in the pavement. Thinking of the other meaning of "diversion", I laughed to myself about how my American and European students from the Semester-at-Sea program- newly arrived in India after a week at sea- were probably the first to visit an outdoor set of a South Indian Village before ever viewing an actualy village itself. Through the gracious arrangements of the Krishnaswamy family, we were welcomed into Madras film studios to catch a glimpse of the other side of the coin - the extensive feature-film industry. As one film-studies student from NYU subsequently wrote: " The traditional Indian village set (presented) one of the greatest contradictions of the whole day.

Why would a film production crew go inside Madras and rent a space in Film City when they could just go outside the city and use a real indian village, and not have to hire extras?.. Dr.Krishnaswamy told us how he felt that cable television and advertising were destroying democracy, when presidential candidates can be packaged just like a new car...." These kinds of statements (which are certainly not limited to India) only highlight the need for an alternative to the highly formulaic films of the three large entertainment film industries (in Bombay, New Delhi and Madras). It was inspiring to see how an independently sponsored film institute can make such a difference.

LINDA C. EHRLICH
Associate Professor of Japanese Comparitive Literature and Cinema at Case Western University, has published extensively on Asian adn Spanish Cinema.She co-edited Cinematic Landscapes: Observations on the Visual Arts and Cinemas of China and Japan (Univ. Of Texas Press, 1994)

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