Special screening of Sanskrit film ‘Taya’ at Prasad Lab on April 6

Chennai, A special screening of Sanskrit film ‘Taya’, directed by G Prabha, a retired Sanskrit professor, will be held at Prasad Film Lab in Saligrammam on April 6 at 6pm. “The film is my second one in Sanskrit, released in 2022 and has been a festival favourite. It is also late actor Nedumudi Venu’s last film,” said Prabha, former head of the department of oriental languages at Loyola College, Chennai. Although films were sporadically made in Sanskrit – the first one was called ‘Adi Shankaracharya’, made in 1983, by Kannada director G V Iyer – they were usually on puranic stories, Prabha said. “I am the first to discuss social issues in Sanskrit. Usually, since Sanskrit is a puranic language, the films in Sanskrit too explored our ancient traditions,” she added. Prabha said ‘Taya’ is loosely based on the real life story of Savithri Antharjanam, better known as Kuriyedathu Tatri in Kerala. In 1905, Tatri was tried for adultery by a kangaroo court of community elders and expelled. “She is an enduring icon worthy of superstardom in women’s struggle for gender justice. The body blow she struck at the vicious patriarchy that ruled the Namboothiri community is part of folklore in Kerala,” the filmmaker said. The director said he took liberty in making Savithri’s story more engrossing to the contemporary audience. “For instance, in the original story, there was a king involved. I changed the circumstances more suitable for now and the king is a judge in my story.” Prabha said he always aspired to make films in Sanskrit ever since he watched Sanskrit plays by Kavalam Narayana Panicar featuring Nedumudi Venu. “But I wanted my films to start a debate, questioning the orthodoxy and regressive social practices.” He said his first film ‘Ishti’ too discussed the ill effects of patriarchy, “again very specifically in the Namboothiri community. That too had been a festival favourite, winning many awards.” Veteran cinematographer Sunny Joseph who shot ‘Taya’ said that as long as films visually convey what it wants to tell, language is not a barrier. “Be it Sanskrit or Manipuri, visual idioms of the films are the same. For me films should be philosophical inquiry. ‘Taya’ is a story that happened 100 years ago and yet remains relevant to this day, and will make us delve deep into the human psyche,” said Joseph, whose debut film as director, ‘Bhoomiyudde Uppu’ was showcased in film festivals around the world, in Kolkata, Nepal, Ottawa and Moscow, last year.

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