Sounding in Changes

A copper workman works on a sheet of shiny metal carefully performing,what is called,the mathar kaam on it. A second frame has shots of people taking a heritage walk through the claustrophobic alleys of Tambat Ali,while a third has Rashmi Ranade,designer of the contemporary range of copper products at Fab India and an executive committee member of INTACH interviewing a Tambat Ali copper smith. These stills form the crux of the nine-minute short film,’Sights and Sounds of Tambat Ali’ which will be screened today at Fab India,Bund Garden road,as a part of their exhibition of contemporary copper products. Directed and written by Sudakshina Banerjee,member and in-charge of the copper project at INTACH,the nine-minute film,was shot on a shoe-string budget,with almost everyone working on it for free.

“We conceptualised the idea in February and shot it in the end of February for two days in Tambat Ali. Post that the editing and post-production took us around seven days. It was ready completely in 10 days,” she says. The film is divided into three parts. The first part details the work that goes on behind making the copper products in the 400-year-old tradition of the artisans. The second talks about the manner in which Ranade managed to standardise the production of these products in such a way that the artisans not only bought refined quality to them but also ensured that they were paid their just dues. “There were no films ever made on these artistes hence we decided to show their hard work to people who came to buy these products. Also we will be putting up a three-minute edited version of the film on YouTube so that people can watch it,” she says.

The third part is where the heritage walks conducted by INTACH are showcased in the film. “We got the artisans and their children to come and watch the film. A lot of them have not gone to the traditional family business but have moved onto IT and industrial jobs and professions. They too were very happy to learn of their rich heritage and the manner in which their previous generations are preventing it from becoming a lost art form,” she says.