The Open Frame: A Film on S G Vasudev

By Vishal Tondon

The Nandan exhibition hall at Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan, was the venue for the screening of the film ‘The Open Frame’ on the 29^th of August 2011. This film tracks the artistic and personal journey of the veteran artist S G Vasudev.

The film is directed by Chetan Shah, who has the distinction of having been an assistant director on the film ‘A Passage to India’ that was based on the eponymous novel written by the canonical author E M Forster.

‘The Open Frame’ also boasts of having Navroze Contractor as its cinematographer. Navroze is an accomplished and well regarded film maker in his own right. Just the evening prior to the screening of ‘The Open Frame’, we had the pleasure of watching a film directed by Navroze. On view the previous evening at the Indira Gandhi Centre for National Integration, Santiniketan, was the documentary called ‘Jharu Katha’ directed by Navroze Contractor. I shall give more details of this screening later.

Coming back to the film ‘The Open Frame’, special mention needs to be made of the smooth narrative that was a result of the perfect collaboration between the director, the artist-subject and the cinematographer. The film itself was as painterly as the canvases of S G Vasudev.

‘The Open Frame’ exposed us to S G Vasudev’s formative years during the early 1960’s, and his involvement with the Cholamandal Artists’ Village at Tamilnadu. The artists’ village was the answer to a dire need; a space where artists could interact with each other, and through the involvement of the local artisans come up with the crafts products that could help sustain the community. It is also with regard to this background of indigenism that we must view and assess S G Vasudev’s work.

The narrative of the film seamlessly incorporates inputs by art historians like Geeta Doctor, colleagues like Amit Ambalal, contemporaries from theatre like Girish Karnad and Arundhati Nag, the artist’s journalist wife Ammu Joseph and gallerists like Geeta Mehra.

The film carried insights into the artist's work, the Madras Art Movement, and the Cholamandal Artists' Village by art historians like Ashrafi Bhagat and Sadanand Menon too. Sadanand Menon has earlier written the text for a book, titled 'Past Forward', on S G Vasudev's work.

The film also threw light on S G Vasudev’s contribution to the growth of the arts community in Bangalore by being a major inspirational force behind the setting up of the Department of Visual Arts at the Bangalore University. His endeavors have also helped nurture - through the assistance provided by the Arnawaz Vasudev Charities - young artists like Shantamani, N S Harsha and Ravi Kashi amongst others.

At the end of the film screening, there was an open session where the students of Kala Bhavan interacted with the artist, the film maker and the cinematographer, and were able to elicit insightful comments from them. 

The DVD of the film 'The Open Frame' will include a separate disc with footage arranged around discussions on various subjects, such as the concept and practice of the Cholamandal Artists' Village, the debate around art and craft etc.