''Kasba'' (English: ''The Town'') is a 1991 Indian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

written and directed by

Kumar Shahani Kumar Shahani (born 7 December 1940) is an Indian film director and screenwriter, best known for his parallel cinema films '' Maya Darpan'' (1972), ''Tarang'' (1984), ''Khayal Gatha'' (1989) and '' Kasba'' (1990). Due to his dedication to forma ...

. It is based on the short story " In the Ravine" by the Russian playwright

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

. The movie is an important work in the Indian

Parallel Cinema Parallel cinema, or New Indian Cinema, is a film movement in Indian cinema that originated in the state of West Bengal in the 1950s as an alternative to the mainstream commercial Indian cinema. Inspired by Italian Neorealism, Parallel Cinema ...

movement which started in the early 1970s. It is one of the last films to be part of the movement as it died out by the early 1990s.

Synopsis

The story centers on a small town entrepreneur named Maniram who makes a major profit by cheating people and selling them tainted food. His business is run by his daughter-in-law Tejo, who is married to Maniram's mentally challenged younger son. When Maniram's elder son comes back into town to get married, things start to go awry. He runs away from his wife after their marriage night and ends up being arrested in Delhi. The police, with further investigation, start to crack down on Maniram's corrupt business, as all the while Tejo starts to become mad with power and greed.

Awards and criticism

''Kasba'' is the third of Kumar Shahani's films to win the

Filmfare Award The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...

for Best Film (Critics) after ''

Maya Darpan ''Maya Darpan'' () is a 1972 Indian Hindi-language film directed by Kumar Shahani. It is a significant work of the Indian Parallel Cinema movement which started during the 1950s with filmmakers Satyajit Ray ,Mrinal Sen and Ritwik Ghatak. The fil ...

'' and ''

Khayal Gatha ''Khayal Gatha'' (English: ''The Saga of Khayal'') is a 1989 Indian experimental film written and directed by Kumar Shahani. The film is about the history of the Khayal genre of Indian classical singing. The film also traces the relationship of K ...

''. ''Kasba'' is described as being slow and uncharacteristically melodramatic for a Shahani film, but it has gotten acclaim from a majority of critics. The film blog ''Ellipsis'' gave a positive review of the film saying, "One of the most impressive aesthetic elements of Kasba is the positioning of the camera, moving only to parallel the psychological and emotional mood of the characters, whilst windows and doorways are used repeatedly throughout to frame the actions of characters so that the exterior landscapes merge seamlessly with the interiors creating a feeling of social inertia and even rural decadence. At times, Shahani's emphasis on the rituals and traditions tied up in the history of the family recalls a philosophical approach characteristic of anthropologists."

References

External links

* Indian drama films Films based on short fiction Films based on works by Anton Chekhov 1990s Hindi-language films 1991 drama films 1991 films Hindi-language drama films {{1990s-Hindi-film-stub