THE GUIDE
MUMBAI
THE DISSOLUTION
of the American dream
DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER VIKRAM ZUTSHI’S FILM TRACES THE REAL-LIFE STORY OF A
MEMBER OF THE THE MINUTEMAN PROJECT, IN ORDER TO PROVIDE XENOPHOBIA, RACISM
AND ANTI-IMMIGRANT SENTIMENTS, WITH A ‘HUMAN’ FACE
A still from Vikram Zutshi’s Max Kenedy and the American dream
WONDERLAND — THE ALICE
AND DON QUIXOTE STORY
This Hindi play is for children aged
eight years and above. Wonderland is a
combination of two well-known and
enthralling tales. Alice, an adventurous
little girl, and Don Quixote, a day-
dreaming Spanish gentleman, meet
each other in the Queen’s Palace.
ON MAY 13, 4 PM ONWARDS
AT THE MYSORE ASSOCIATION, 393
BHAUDAJI ROAD, MATUNGA ROAD (E).
KATHAK RECITAL AT NGMA
Based out of UK and Mumbai,
Anurekha Ghosh is a renowned Kathak
dancer known for her unique style. She
is going to perform the Abhisarika,
which is a traditional tale of a woman
PERFORM
who goes to meet her lover secretly
without caring for the dangers she
might encounter.
ON MAY 14, 6.30 PM
AT NGMA, OPPOSITE CHHATRAPATI
SHIVAJI MUSEUM, FORT.
CALL 23510809 / 23524261
LISTEN TO MORNING RAGAS
AT PRATAHSWAR
Pancham Nishad Creatives has organ-
ised Pratahswar, a concert of Morning
Ragas featuring renowned sitarist Ravi
Chary. Noted tabla player, Satyajeet
Talwalkar would be accompanying him
at the upcoming concert.
ON MAY 15, 6.30 AM
AT OPEN FOYER, RAVINDRA NATYA
MANDIR, PRABHADEVI.
ENTRY FREE
NO STRINGS ATTACHED
A puppet show, About Ram, aims to dispel the
notion that puppetry is a mere stringed art by
retelling the ancient epic Ramayana in a darker,
physical and nuanced manner
DHVANI SOLANI
dhvani.solani@mid-day.com
Associations form over time,
often naturally progressing to
being stereotypes. So for
many, puppetry is perceived
as an entertaining perform-
ance with stringed puppets,
targetted at kids. But tonight’s
rendition of the Ramayana
might distort this long-held
perception.
About Ram will do away
with the Valmiki and Tulsidas
versions that Indian audiences
are familiar with and draws
references from the one by
Sanskrit dramatist Bhavabhuti
and the Ramayana versions
that are popular in South East
Asian countries such as
Thailand.
“This retelling is a tragic
love story that takes you from
the time Ram is looking over
the sea at Lanka where Sita is
held captive to the time he
rescues her,” says Anurupa
Roy who runs Delhi-based
group of puppeteers and sto-
rytellers, Katkatha, that has
designed the performance.
Throughout the play, the
puppeteer shares an impor-
tant relationship with the
puppet and is even a part of
the landscape at times. For
example, the puppet is some-
times seen as climbing the
puppeteer’s body to attack the
enemy. The puppeteer, thus, is
a performer in himself; in this
case there are three of them
who double up as the voices in
Ram’s head. Sita is the only
other puppet on stage, accom-
panied by shadow puppets,
animation and music as vital
accompaniments.
“In the play, we portray
Ram as a human figure who is
dealing with real angst and
dilemmas. It’s Hanuman who
THURSDAY, 12 MAY, 2011.
www.mid-day.com
SUREKHA S
surekha.s@mid-day.com
Max Kennedy and the
American Dream is an
exploration of hatred, says
producer-director Vikram
Zutshi about his directorial
debut.
Zutshi decided to make the
film after reading an article in
a US newspaper about Max
Kennedy, a man who was part
of the Minuteman Project, an
organisation started in April
2005 by a group of private
individuals from the US to
monitor the flow of illegal
immigrants at the Mexico-
United States border.
The film, which had its pre-
miere in Europe at the
international documentary
festival, Vision Du Réel, is shot
in the Cinéma Vérité style that
combines naturalistic tech-
niques with stylised cinematic
devices.
THE FILM IS AN
EXPLORATION OF
HATRED –VIKRAM ZUTSHI,
producer-director
is the more powerful one, and
we show Ram metamorphos-
ing into Hanuman right before
the audience’s eyes,” shares
Anurupa who is also the
fourth puppeteer, handling
Sita. “We were inspired by
traditional Japanese theatre
— Bunraku — and the per-
formance takes place with
rods in place of strings.”
The show, that has toured
across India and even to coun-
5
The story of Max unfolds
over a span of one year, giving
the audience an opportunity
to witness the protagonist’s
journey from outrage to
reconciliation. “It is a human
story set against a political
backdrop. Max realises that
the people he is opposing are
in the same boat as him: They
are all economic refugees,”
says Zutshi, who was keen not
to colour the narrative with
his own biases. “The film does
not even have a voice-over.”
The film is a look at the
‘human’ face of xenophobia,
racism and anti-immigrant
sentiment that is not confined
to just the US. “These are uni-
versal experiences. In India
too, the anti-immigrant senti-
ment is prevalent. The MNS
opposing people from UP and
accusing them of depriving
locals of jobs is a perfect anal-
ogy,” elaborates Zutshi.
REAL TO REEL
Max Kennedy lived on the US-
Mexico border for a year and a
half, trying to prevent illegal
immigrants from entering the
US. He had lost a job and his
family had split up. His belief
that illegal workers were low-
ering wage brackets, resulting
in the loss of American jobs
was what fuelled him to join
the Minuteman movement.
“At the border he realises
that the Mexicans are no
different from him. Everyone
is looking for the same thing: a
better life,” concludes Zutshi.
ON May 13, 6.30 pm
AT NCPA, NCPA Marg,
Nariman Point.
CALL 66223737
tries like Taiwan and Israel,
made its debut in the capital
city in 2006. “Though most of
our performances are for
adults, we have realised that
kids get the nuances of this
story too,” concludes Roy.
ON Today, 4 pm and 7 pm.
AT Prithvi Theatre, Janki Kutir,
Juhu Church Rd, Vile Parle (W).
CALL 65763999 / 65760555
TICKETS Rs 150