Thanks to DVDs, societies bloom again, plan to celebrate all year longINDIA had just got her independence. The mood was buoyant. Barely two months later, in October 1947, a gangly adman called Satyajit Ray, together with friends like Bansi Chandra Gupta and Chidanand Das Gupta, formed a film society in Calcutta (now Kolkata).Even though a society of amateur filmmakers had come up in Mumbai in 1943, the one co-founded by Ray was regarded as the country’s first proper film society. This stoked a desire in aspiring and established filmmakers of that time to experience the world cinema.Twelve years later, on December 13, 1959, such longing showed the promise of becoming a movement when Federation of Film Societies of India (FFSI) was formed. Ray became founder president and Indira Gandhi was its first vice-president. “There were only five to six societies in India but after the FFSI was set up, their number touched 250 by the seventies,” says Shyam Benegal, FFSI’s current president. Mumbai already has five campus societies. And the FFSI golden jubilee year will see more coming up, says Benegal. Year-long celebrations are also lined up in Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Bengaluru and Kerala. The FFSI wants to tap the interest in world cinema among students, says Benegal.Now, 50 years after the FFSI’s birth, societies are finding a new lease of life, thanks to the DVD culture. The DVDs of world cinema titles, released by Palador, NDTV Lumiere and others periodically have made home viewing easier. “The easy availability of these DVDs has made their viewings at film clubs easier,” says Sudhir Nandgaonkar, FFSI’s general secretary. He consolidates his stand by citing that the number of societies which had reduced to 120 in the late eighties has once again touched 250. One of the societies, the Enlighten Film Society, has 1,600 members.“The home-video market might have grown, yet the joy of watching a film together, followed by discussions is something that only these societies can provide,” says Basu Chatterji, one of the main persons behind Film Forum, Mumbai. He points out that many society old-timers, including Ray, Mrinal Sen, K A Abbas, Girish Kasaravalli and Adoor Gopalakrishnan, are big names in filmmaking today.“Societies educate film lovers about the best cinematic works. And that role can’t be played by DVDs,” says Bangalore-based H N Narahari Rao, who has written three books on the movement. “Screenings and interactions are not a monetary exercise but a coming together of those who believe in good cinema,” says Chatterji.
