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Goethe-Institut, Max Mueller Bhavan, Chennai,
presents in its Future of Religion series, films by Kaevam Umrigar,
Zoroastrianism The future of the Parsi, followed by a
discussion on Tuesday July 3, 2007, at 6 p.m.
 Kaevam
Umrigar says about himself: I didn't set out to make films on
Parsis. It was a process that evolved gradually over four years at
the Film Institute in Pune, at the end of which I found myself with
five short films about Parsis. I am quite dispassionate about
everything, including being Parsi, but a film-maker has to make
something he is passionate about. And delving deep into myself,
trying to find a part of me to put into my films, I struck upon my
identity, my community, my pride and shame.
I grew up on stories about the grandeur of the
Parsis - how we were the pioneers of practically everything in
India. The not-so-great aspects of the community were something I
was left to discover myself. This blinkered vision of the community,
refusing to see what it considers inconvenient or embarrassing, has
always disturbed me. And that has had its outlet in the films I made
while studying at the Film Institute.
 Dadar
Ormaj, maney jaldi bolaavo (Lord Ahuramazda, call me soon)
Short fiction
Gujarati/Colour/DVCAM/15 min/2002 Cast: Bomi Dotiwala
Rustomji is in his 70s. His wife dead, his
children abroad, he lives all by himself. Increasingly feeling
lonely and neglected, he decides to jump in front of a train and end
his life. At the last minute, however, he loses his nerve and
returns home. Only to go through the routine again the next day, and
the next
Bedpan
 Short
fiction
Gujarati/B&W/35mm/3 min/2003
Cast: Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal, Rattan Pavri
Mehroo, a middle-aged spinster, returns home from a long day at work
to her bed-ridden father to find that the ayah wants to quit. She
lets out her anger at the old man until she realises what's making
her mad. That unlike him, she won't have anyone to take care of her
in her old age.
 Invisible
Parsis: The poor of a prosperous community
Documentary
English & Gujarati/Colour/DVCAM/24 min/2003
One myth about the Parsis is that no one is poor.
That each one is well-educated, well-fed and well-looked after.
Reality though is slightly different. Poor Parsis do exist. Though
they are better off than most poor, survival for them too is an
everyday struggle. Dependent on charity for food, shelter and
clothing, they live on the margins of Parsi society. Most Parsis are
loathingly acknowledging them; most others have never seen them.
This is a document of their lives.
 Non-Parsi
Short fiction
Gujarati/Colour/16 mm/11 min/2004
Cast: Adil Vania, Dinoo Kama, Freyan Bhathena, Khusnaz Jogi
Anahita's decision to marry outside her Parsi community throws her
parents' lives out of gear. Her pragmatic mother readily adjusts to
the situation. But her conservative father is unable to cope with an
increasingly liberal world. He reluctantly gives his consent, only
to change his mind at the last moment, walking out a few minutes
before the wedding.
 Parsi
Wada, Tarapore Present Day
Documentary
English & Gujarati/Colour/35 mm Cinemascope/22 min/2005
A journey through the village of Tarapore, where hundreds of Parsis
used to stay once upon a time, but today are less than 10 in number.
A document of a once-thriving community now reduced to almost
nothing, their houses deserted and crumbling, their funeral sites
desecrated and vandalised. What will the future of the Parsis of
Bombay be like? Will it be like their present in Tarapore?
For more details, you can contact programme
officer Geetha Vedaraman, at the
Goethe Institut,
No 4 Rutland Gate 5th Street,
Chennai - 600 006.
Tel: + 91 44 2833 1314, 2343, 1345, 1346
Fax: + 91 44 2833 2565
info@chennai.goethe.org
www.goethe.de
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