3 min readSep 16, 2013 05:54 AM IST
First published on: Sep 16, 2013 at 05:54 AM IST
In a montage of images,painter,sculptor and photographer Randeep Maddoke seeks to document a fiery chapter of Indian history. Gadar 1913,a documentary film in English and Punjabi,fuses together images of theatre with historic photographs and poetry to create an unconventional filmmaking language.
The aim of Gadar 1913 is to mark the centenary of the Ghadar Party,launched in 1913 in the US by a group of fiery expatriates who wanted an end to the colonial rule. This struggle against the British in India took place under the leadership of Har Dayal,with Sohan Singh Bhakna as the party President. The party was built around the weekly paper titled Ghadar.
Maddoke,whose other photography projects chronicle the lives of rural people and their concerns,has sourced black-and-white original photographs from various museums in the US,Canada,the UK and poet Amarjeet Chandan’s private collection. To these,he has added images and scenes from various plays on the Ghadar movement such as Itihaas Ke Safe Te,Gatha Kale Pani Di,and Gathae Ghadar. “The super-imposition is done with both technique and art to create moving images of these scenes,corresponding to the photographs and important incidents,’’ says Maddoke.
One sequence is of the “Komagata Maru” incident,where a photograph of Indians on a ship is given motion by a scene from a play in the background. The film also includes short interviews with people who have been associated with the members of the movement,including 90-year-old Comrade Gandharv Sen as well as authors and poets who have written on the subject. Original poetry by members of the movement that are sung by folk musicians,and music created for theatre and street performances have been incorporated in the documentary. “I have followed the few remaining families of the ‘Ghadarites’ to make them a part of this effort. I am travelling to the Andamans,where several Ghadarites were jailed and were subject to kala pani. This will be the final part of the film,’’ says the filmmaker,who will release the documentary in November.
It was a challenge to make the film relevant to today’s audience,while remaining true to the vision of the movement. “The Ghadarites were nationalists,who did not belong to any caste,religion,and region. I hope the film makes us reflect on the current issues that India is facing,’’ says Maddoke.
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