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Background
The International Film Festival of India, held in January 1995 in Bombay (India’s “Bollywood”), was in an uproar. For the first time, despite a treasury of native erotic art and literature, an Indian erotic film had been made by Mani Kaul, the aesthete among Indian filmmakers, and could be seen at the festival. Only one screening was allowed for the Erotic Tales program - Wet, The Dutch Master, and The Cloud Door - and, sure enough, the police had to be called out to prevent a riot at the doors of the Sterling cinema. IFFI director Malti Sahai resolved the dilemma by scheduling an extra press screening for The Cloud Door at the Little Theatre in the Tata Institute on Nariman Point. After the press screening, Indian Television interviewed co-producer Lalitha Krishna and actress Anu Arya Aggarwal, who had placed her career on the line by exposing a breast in the production. A taboo had been broken. Or had it? Two year later, the Indian distributor of the Erotic Tales was still trying to clear the films at the government censor board.
Mani Kaul drew upon three literary sources for The Cloud Door: Bhasa’s Sanskrit play Avimaraka (5th-7th century), Mohammed Jayasi’s Sufi epic love poem Padmavat (13th century), and the anonymous writer of the Erotic Indian Tales Suksapiti. Indians know well the story of the parrot Hermani leading Ratnasan to the bed-chamber of the Princess Kurangi, but they have yet to see it on the local screen.
Locarno wrestled München for the right of “first festival night” (München won), and both the New York Film Festival and the Robert Flaherty Seminar selected The Cloud Door for presentation - such invitations are high praise for any director.
Synopsis
In an ancient castle in Rajasthan the King overhears the parrot in its cage whispering erotic descriptions to his young daughter Princess Kurangi. Enraged, he pulls out a knife and attacks the cage. Kurangi defends the bird by arguing that its speech is all learnt. Young women descend into the waters of a pool. Kurangi clutches the green parrot with its long tail against her bosom. Her clothes fall on the steps as she enters the waters with the parrot. The bird suddenly spreads its wings and flies off travelling over the mountain top to a far place.
The parrot has been captured by a bird catcher. When Ratnasen passes by its cage, he is startled to hear the parrot speak his love's name: "Kurangi"
If Ratnasen would free the parrot from his sleepy master, it would be willing to show him the way to the palace and lead him through the secret passages to Kurangi's chamber. The two reach the palace and the bird flies off to tell Kurangi of her lover's approach. Ratnasen scales the tower to finally reach her chamber in the clouds and spend a night of' love. THE CLOUD DOOR has been adapted from three sources: Bhasa's Sanskrit play " Aimaraka "(5th-7th century) Malik Mohammed Jayasi's Sufi epic love poem " Padmavat " (13th century) and the erotic Indian tales "Suksaptiti" (writer unknown).
Mani Kaul – Director
Born in Rajasthan in 1944 Mani Kaul studied arts at the University of Rajasthan before enrolling at the Film Institute of India. He is greatly influenced by Indian classical music as well as early Sanskrit texts. In 1969 came his breakthrough with USKI ROTI (Our Daily Bread) and his recent Dostoievsky adaptation THE IDIOT was presented at the New York Film Festival. A Jawaharlal Nehru Fellow, he has had retrospective shows of his films at Rotterdam, Pesaro. Berlin and Paris.
Filmography:
1999 Naukar Ki Kameez
1995 The Cloud Door
1991 Idiot
1991 Nazar
1989 Before My Eyes
1989 Siddeshwari
1986 A Desert of a Thousand Lines
1985 Mati Manas
1983 Dhrupad
1980 Arrival
1980 Satah Se Uthata Admi
1977 Chitrakathi
1976 Ghashiram Kotwal
1975 A Historical Sketch of Indian Women
1974 Puppeteers of Rajasthan
1973 Duvidha
1971 Ashad Ka Ek Din
1970 During and After the Air Raid
1970 Uski Roti
1968 Forms and Design
1967 6.40 PM
1967 Homage to the Teacher
1966 Yatrik
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