Mani Kaul

A worldwide guided tour of the greatest movies ever made and the story of international cinema through the history of cinematic innovation.

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This documentary is a three-part tribute to director Guru Dutt, who died in 1964 at the age of 39. The work traces Guru Dutt's personal story through many interviews with his family members and colleagues and observes his work through the use of extensive film excerpts. The documentary was produced by the British television network Channel 4 producer Nasreen Munni Kabir.

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Samar wants to be successful in life but his parents force him to get married. His wife is shy and reserved and Samar does not like this. The other members in the family often ill-treat her.

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Mani Kaul's diploma film shot at Ajanta Caves

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In this short, rather satirical film we meet various ill-assorted characters who are seeking their own individual ‘Gods’. The characters are a mad preacher, two drunkards, an old beggar, a little innocent boy and a withered demented woman. All of them are chasing a mirage of a supreme deity who will save them.

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Ramesh is a poorly paid employee in the city Power House. His only child has high temperature, but he mistakes it for common fever. At the Power House, employees including Ramesh demand a pay rise. When the management turns down this demand, they plot to turn off the main switch of the Power House for a few minutes in order to teach a lesson to authorities. Ramesh is entrusted with this job. In the meantime, the doctor takes the decision to immediately operate on Ramesh's child. Ramesh is not aware of this. In the Power House, Ramesh turns off the main switch. The lights go off in the operation theatre too...

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A personal video diary film using an audio recording of filmmaker Mani Kaul giving a Dhrupad lesson to poet Udayan Vajpeyi.

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A very clever parrot lives in a Hindu palace, surrounded by many beautiful girls, but the parrot escapes, and is trapped far from the palace. One day, when its new owner is sleeping, the bird convinces a young boy to open the cage door. In return, it shows the boy a secret passage to get into the palace.

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A middle-aged antique dealer and money lender recollects his marriage to a 17-year-old orphan girl.

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Myshkin, an epileptic man, eturns from medical treatment abroad and finds himself in love with Nastasia. There are twists and turns as Myshkin gets engaged to another woman, only to have an epileptic seizure. He and Nastasia are betrothed but on the wedding day, she returns to her rich pursuer Pawan, who kills her. As both men wait together for the police, Myshkin descends into insanity.

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An impressionistic biographical look at Siddheshwari Devi (1908–1977), the classical Indian singer whose voice was appreciated by the maharajas and public alike.

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In a poetic hour and a half, director Mani Kaul looks at the ancient art of making pottery from a wide variety of perspectives.

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Taking an experimental approach to the relationship between the written text and moving image, Mani Kaul has a series of texts read aloud in voice-overs (poetry, essays, and stories), while the characters within the texts walk through real or imaginary landscapes.

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To the city come men, women, fruits, flowers, vegetables, goats and sheep – all ready for consumption. It is the process of consumption/exploitation that forms the core of the film.

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A newly-married merchant’s son is sent away for business. A ghost, who laid eyes on the bride, falls madly in love with her and takes the form of the husband and begins living with her.

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A literary film based on a play in three acts, One Day Before the Rainy Season (Ashad Ka Ek Din) portrays the love of Mallika and Kalidasa, the renowned Sanskrit poet and dramatist. Vilom, a friend to both and interested in Mallika, is a passive onlooker for the first two acts. Kalidasa leaves his verdant mountain valley home for the splendour of far off Ujjain, where he wins fame. The action of the film is rooted in the village to which Kalidasa returns years later and finds Mallika married to Vilom and the mother of his child. Mallika sacrificed her love so that the poet could pursue his muse.

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The film depicts the life of a truck driver Sucha Singh and his wife Balo. Balo has to get Sucha Singh's food ready every day, walk a long distance through the fields and wait for him on the highway as he drives past the village. He leads an independent life, playing cards with his friends and spending time with his mistress, and comes home only once a week. However, he expects his wife to play the traditional role of a devoted wife. One day Balo gets late, trying to save her sister from the advances of a lecherous villager. Sucha Singh is angry, and drives away without his food. She decides to wait for him until nightfall.

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A short film that sets up an opposition between functional forms of industrial age and decorative ones from Indian tradition.

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Sanjay and Ritu meet after two months. While Sanjay is eager to meet her, he falls short of words when they actually meet. They try to make the best use of the passing moments by making purchases and visiting restaurants but both of them realise that their relationship is a thing of the past and become conscious of the growing distance between them.

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