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| Home > Regional Films > Kannada Films > Navya Tradition
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| | Navya Tradition
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The Navya literary tradition of the Kannada language had a tremendous influence on cinema - opposition to Brahmanical control and rituals was the major aspect of this movement. It originated with Gopalakrishna Adiga`s volumes of poetry - Nadedu Banda Dari (1952) and Bhumigita (1959) and acknowledged its debt to Kafka, Freud, Camus and Sartre. By placing the protagonist within the existing culture and mass impact, Navya distanced itself from romanticism of any kind. Ananthamurthy`s stories represent the pinnacle of this tradition. The three films directly associated with it are Samskara (1970), Pallavi (1976), and Ghattashraddha (1977).
1970 - Samskara: Directed by Pattabhi Rama Reddy, the film starred Girish Karnad, Snehlata Reddy, P. Lankesh, B.R. Jayaram, Dasharathi Dixit, and Laxmi Krishnamurthy. A renegade Brahmin, his low-caste mistress - and the other Brahmins who refuse to cremate him. His mistress appeals to a scholar who is initially at a loss for the solution. After a sexual encounter with her, he is forced into introspection. A talk with an ordinary villager helps him realize the unifying reality of all beings and his affinity with the dead man: he performs the last rites. Ananthamurthy`s story formed the basis for Girish Karnad`s screenplay of the triumph of humanitarian values over dogmatism.
1976 - Pallavi: Directed by P. Lankesh, the film starred Vimala Naidu, T.S. Seetaram, P. Lankesh, Pandu, Shashidhar, Shankara Swamy, and Parvathavani. An idealistic young couple in love apply for the same job - the woman gets the job and later marries her boss. Her past love reappears and accuses her of betraying their love for financial security. Her life story forms a major part of the film at this stage. At the close, her accuser, a fugitive from the law, is caught by the police.
 1977- Ghattashraddha: Directed by Girish Kasaravalli, the film starred Ajit Kumar, Meena Kuttappa, Ramaswamy Iyengar, Shanta, Jagannath, Suresh, and S.M. Shetty. The ghattashraddha ritual (of expulsion) performed by the father for his widowed daughter - a love affair leaves her pregnant; the induced abortion to the (chance) wild beating of tribal drums that muffles her cries of pain while her lover steals away under cover of night. She is subsequently made to endure the ritual - her white saree and shaven head contrast with her father`s lecherous gaze at a young girl to start a family with. The old man is allowed what the young woman is not. This was Kasaravalli`s first feature film and ranks among the most renowned of Indian cinema.
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