''Arising from the Surface'' (Hindi: सतह से उठता आदमी) is a 1980 Indian

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

directed by

Mani Kaul Mani Kaul (25 December 1944 – 6 July 2011) was an Indian director of Hindi films and a reputed figure in Indian parallel cinema. He graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) where he was a student of Ritwik Ghatak and ...

. It was screened in the ''

Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...

'' section at the

1981 Cannes Film Festival The 34th Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 27 May 1981. The Palme d'Or went to the ''Człowiek z żelaza'' by Andrzej Wajda. The festival opened with '' Three Brothers'' (''Tre fratelli'') by Francesco Rosi and closed with '' Honeysuckle R ...

. This is an essay film grounded in the writings of

Gajanan Madhav Muktibodh Gajanan Madhav Muktibodh (गजानन माधव मुक्तिबोध) (13 November 1917 – 11 September 1964) was one of the most prominent Hindi poets, essayists, literary and political critics, and fiction writers of the 20th cen ...

the prominent 20th century Hindi writer, poet, essayist, literary and political critic.

Plot

The screenplay of this film is based on two poems, two essays and six short stories by

and the title of film is taken from one of his short story used in the film. The film is neither a biopic nor an adaptation, or an essay, nor fiction, and yet it engages with all these forms producing a cinematic text that defies any categorization. The narrative is fashioned around three characters: Ramesh (

Bharath Gopi Gopynathan Velayudhan Nair (2 November 1937 – 29 January 2008), popularly known by the stage name Bharat Gopy, was an Indian actor, producer and director. He was one of the first actors to be associated with the New Wave cinema movement in ...

) who embodies Muktibodh's subjectivity where as Madhav (Jha) and Keshav (

M. K. Raina Maharaj Krishen Raina (born 10 February 1948), popularly known as M. K. Raina, is an Indian theatre actor and Theatre director, director. Raina graduated from National School of Drama in 1970 with the Best Actor award. Early life Maharaj Krishn ...

) are his companions. All three saunter in and out of numerous

mise-en-scène ''Mise-en-scène'' (; en, "placing on stage" or "what is put into the scene") is the stage design and arrangement of actors in scenes for a theatre or film production, both in visual arts through storyboarding, visual theme, and cinematography, ...

, driven by the political, philosophical underpinnings of Muktibodh's universe.

Cast

as Ramesh *

Vibhuti Jha In Hinduism, ''vibhuti'' ( sa, विभूति, vibhūti), also called ''bhasma'' or ''thiruneeru'', is sacred ash made of burnt dried wood, burnt cow dung and/or cremated bodies used in Agamic rituals. Hindu devotees apply ''vibhuti'' tradi ...

as Madhav *

Satyen Kumar N. Satyen (1932–2002) was a cinematographer in Bollywood who had a career spanning over 50 years. He was born and raised in Mysore, Karnataka, and moved to Mumbai in the 1960s. Filmography Zulmi (1999) Mohabbat Ke Dushman (1988) Muqaddar Ka ...

as Keshav

References

External links

* 1980 films 1980s Hindi-language films Indian avant-garde and experimental films 1980 drama films Films directed by Mani Kaul 1980s avant-garde and experimental films Indian drama films Hindi-language drama films {{1980s-Hindi-film-stub