Twenty Four ‘Portraits’ of Girish Kasaravalli

Girish Kasaravalli at work for one of his films

I met Girish Kasaravalli for the first time in November 2012 in Goa, at a workshop organized by the FTII. A modest man dressed in an inexpensive kurta pajama was conducting a masterclass on filmmaking, explaining the nuances of the science and art of cinema. He gave examples from the films of Satyajit Ray, Robert Bresson, Ozu, Godard, Bergman, Fellini and the like. There was a palpable honesty and earnestness in the way he was speaking to the audience. His explanation of complex subjects like the structure, grammar and metaphors was simple and relatable. It was obvious that his understanding of cinema as a medium of expression was deep and profound. All his comments and explanations added to the understanding of cinema and provided an insight into the craft of filmmaking. The masterclass was followed by the screening of his film Dweepa (The Island).

The film completely mesmerised me with its cinematic beauty. Intuitively I felt that if I ever made a film, it should be one like Dweepa – so magical was it, yet so rooted in culture and humanity. The magic of Kasaravalli’s cinema had overpowered me. Something within me told me that here was a filmmaker who could be my role model, cinematically and otherwise. This was the beginning of my association with Girish Kasaravalli, a simple, down-to-earth human being and an outstanding filmmaker.

Two years of rubbing shoulders with him and absorbing his cinematic wisdom during my visits to Bengaluru and his to Mumbai gave me the courage to make my first film, that too on the filmmaker I adored.

Life in Metaphors: A Portrait of Girish Kasaravalli was my attempt to explore the world of Kasaravalli’s cinema and unravel the delicate undercurrents of his films and their metaphors. It was an attempt to see the world through the eyes of the great filmmaker and delve deeper into his conscious and sub-conscious mind. The film received National Award for Best Biopic for 2015.

Even after making the film, I felt there was so much more to Kasaravalli’s cinema than what I had captured in my film. Hence, I decided to put together this book: Life in Metaphors: Portraits of Girish Kasaravalli. It has not one, but twenty four ‘portraits’ of Kasaravalli sketched by his colleagues, friends, family members, filmmakers and critics of cinema.

Life in Metaphors: Portraits of Girish Kasaravalli is my dedication to my inspiration, my mentor and an outstanding filmmaker.

I wish to thank all those who have generously contributed the portraits in the book.

And as always, thanks from my grateful heart to Girish Kasaravalli for all his support, inputs and assistance in putting together this book.

I also wish to thank the entire team of Authorsupfront for their sincere efforts in putting together this book.

Launch of the book Life in Metaphors Portraits of Girish Kasaravalli by Deepti Naval and Girish Kasaravalli in Mumbai in March 2019

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Life in Metaphors: Portraits of Girish Kasaravalli – In Conversation with OP Srivastava