Retrospective 2015

Agraharathil Kazhuthai

Ein Esel im Brahmanen-Dorf
John Abraham
Indien 1978
96 min
V'15

John Abraham’s second film is a hard hitting satire on the brahminical bigotry and superstition, where a donkey becomes the central character. This donkey strays into a village dominated by the upper cast Brahmins. Prof. Narayanaswami decides to keep it at his house. He appoints a mute girl to look after the donkey. The entire village turns against the donkey and his caretaker. When the girl’s stillborn baby is deposited outside a temple, the donkey is blamed and killed. But after the death of the animal some miracles start happening in the village. (...) “No brief synopsis can do justice to the innovative narrative style of the film. The repetitive structure lends itself to the quite humor of the story, and carries the unsuspected audience to the startling finale of anger and pain, of rebellion against stupid superstition, social hypocrisy and injustice.” (Shampa Banerjee)

Supporting film: THE CORRIDOR

Credits
  • M.B. Sreenivasan - Professor Narayanaswami
  • Swathi - Uma
  • S. Gopal
  • Krishnaraj
  • Raman Veeraraghavan
  • John Abraham
  • Venkat Swaminathan
  • Ramachandra Babu
  • Ravi
  • M.B. Srinivasan
  • Lawrence Gaulbert
Nirmithi Films
35 mm
bw
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