Mani Kaul

A worldwide guided tour of the greatest movies ever made and the story of international cinema through the history of cinematic innovation.

A middle-aged antique dealer and money lender recollects his marriage to a 17-year-old orphan girl.

A very clever parrot lives in a Hindu palace, surrounded by many beautiful girls, but the parrot escapes, and is trapped far from the palace. One day, when its new owner is sleeping, the bird convinces a young boy to open the cage door. In return, it shows the boy a secret passage to get into the palace.

Mani Kaul's diploma film shot at Ajanta Caves

In a poetic hour and a half, director Mani Kaul looks at the ancient art of making pottery from a wide variety of perspectives.

A stylized version of Vijay Tendulkar’s radical Marathi play chronicling the Peshwa regime in western India, a collective effort of direction and cinematography made by an independent group of young filmmakers.

A worldwide guided tour of the greatest movies ever made and the story of international cinema through the history of cinematic innovation.

A middle-aged antique dealer and money lender recollects his marriage to a 17-year-old orphan girl.

A middle-aged antique dealer and money lender recollects his marriage to a 17-year-old orphan girl.

A very clever parrot lives in a Hindu palace, surrounded by many beautiful girls, but the parrot escapes, and is trapped far from the palace. One day, when its new owner is sleeping, the bird convinces a young boy to open the cage door. In return, it shows the boy a secret passage to get into the palace.

A very clever parrot lives in a Hindu palace, surrounded by many beautiful girls, but the parrot escapes, and is trapped far from the palace. One day, when its new owner is sleeping, the bird convinces a young boy to open the cage door. In return, it shows the boy a secret passage to get into the palace.

Mani Kaul's diploma film shot at Ajanta Caves

In a poetic hour and a half, director Mani Kaul looks at the ancient art of making pottery from a wide variety of perspectives.

In a poetic hour and a half, director Mani Kaul looks at the ancient art of making pottery from a wide variety of perspectives.

A stylized version of Vijay Tendulkar’s radical Marathi play chronicling the Peshwa regime in western India, a collective effort of direction and cinematography made by an independent group of young filmmakers.

An impressionistic biographical look at Siddheshwari Devi (1908–1977), the classical Indian singer whose voice was appreciated by the maharajas and public alike.

An impressionistic biographical look at Siddheshwari Devi (1908–1977), the classical Indian singer whose voice was appreciated by the maharajas and public alike.

A newly-married merchant’s son is sent away for business. A ghost, who laid eyes on the bride, falls madly in love with her and takes the form of the husband and begins living with her.

A newly-married merchant’s son is sent away for business. A ghost, who laid eyes on the bride, falls madly in love with her and takes the form of the husband and begins living with her.

Chitrakathi is about the folk artists of western India who narrate with the help of leather puppets. Mani takes us to the sleepy Konkan coastal village and introduces us to the family that has preserved this unique art for several centuries.

No synopsis available yet.

Unpaid... overworked... a woman at home.... mother ! How muchdoes her labour cost ? Raising such a questions, this film fathomshistory - of matriarchy and patriarchy, of morality, of oppressiveanti-woman modes.

The precautions to be taken during and after an air-raid by the people, are shown in this film.

This film suggests a network of hierarchical relations between people through sometimes subtle and at other times blunt illustrations.

Based on the text written by Vijaydan Detha and Kamal Kothari, the film is set in the arid desert of Rajasthan, a setting similar to Duvidha, where two rival clans face off one another in the desert.

Sanjay and Ritu meet after two months. While Sanjay is eager to meet her, he falls short of words when they actually meet. They try to make the best use of the passing moments by making purchases and visiting restaurants but both of them realise that their relationship is a thing of the past and become conscious of the growing distance between them.

Sanjay and Ritu meet after two months. While Sanjay is eager to meet her, he falls short of words when they actually meet. They try to make the best use of the passing moments by making purchases and visiting restaurants but both of them realise that their relationship is a thing of the past and become conscious of the growing distance between them.

A short film that sets up an opposition between functional forms of industrial age and decorative ones from Indian tradition.

A short film that sets up an opposition between functional forms of industrial age and decorative ones from Indian tradition.

A literary film based on a play in three acts, One Day Before the Rainy Season (Ashad Ka Ek Din) portrays the love of Mallika and Kalidasa, the renowned Sanskrit poet and dramatist. Vilom, a friend to both and interested in Mallika, is a passive onlooker for the first two acts. Kalidasa leaves his verdant mountain valley home for the splendour of far off Ujjain, where he wins fame. The action of the film is rooted in the village to which Kalidasa returns years later and finds Mallika married to Vilom and the mother of his child. Mallika sacrificed her love so that the poet could pursue his muse.

A literary film based on a play in three acts, One Day Before the Rainy Season (Ashad Ka Ek Din) portrays the love of Mallika and Kalidasa, the renowned Sanskrit poet and dramatist. Vilom, a friend to both and interested in Mallika, is a passive onlooker for the first two acts. Kalidasa leaves his verdant mountain valley home for the splendour of far off Ujjain, where he wins fame. The action of the film is rooted in the village to which Kalidasa returns years later and finds Mallika married to Vilom and the mother of his child. Mallika sacrificed her love so that the poet could pursue his muse.

A 'filmscape' on the Kashmir valley.

Despite its suggestive title, this multi-part Danish omnibus film is not a work of exploitation. Instead, it presents 20 different short films (back-to-back) on the general theme of Danish women, directed by filmmakers including Krzysztof Zanussi, Monika Treut, Gustav Hamos, David Blair, Vibeke Vogel, Dusan Makavejev, Morten Skallerud and Lars Norgaard. Some dramatic vignettes mix with other comedic ones, but all are offbeat and experimental. The picture includes one animated sequence (by Norgaard).

Taking an experimental approach to the relationship between the written text and moving image, Mani Kaul has a series of texts read aloud in voice-overs (poetry, essays, and stories), while the characters within the texts walk through real or imaginary landscapes.

Taking an experimental approach to the relationship between the written text and moving image, Mani Kaul has a series of texts read aloud in voice-overs (poetry, essays, and stories), while the characters within the texts walk through real or imaginary landscapes.

A Monkey’s Raincoat is a personal documentary about young artists working at the ‘Rijksakademie’; an institute which offers residency to sixty talented artists from all over the world.

The film depicts the life of a truck driver Sucha Singh and his wife Balo. Balo has to get Sucha Singh's food ready every day, walk a long distance through the fields and wait for him on the highway as he drives past the village. He leads an independent life, playing cards with his friends and spending time with his mistress, and comes home only once a week. However, he expects his wife to play the traditional role of a devoted wife. One day Balo gets late, trying to save her sister from the advances of a lecherous villager. Sucha Singh is angry, and drives away without his food. She decides to wait for him until nightfall.

The film depicts the life of a truck driver Sucha Singh and his wife Balo. Balo has to get Sucha Singh's food ready every day, walk a long distance through the fields and wait for him on the highway as he drives past the village. He leads an independent life, playing cards with his friends and spending time with his mistress, and comes home only once a week. However, he expects his wife to play the traditional role of a devoted wife. One day Balo gets late, trying to save her sister from the advances of a lecherous villager. Sucha Singh is angry, and drives away without his food. She decides to wait for him until nightfall.

The film shows the role of school teachers and the importance thereof.

Mani Kaul's last film documents his days in Holland and his engagement in India with that form of cinema which for him was the Big Other i.e. Bollywood. Included are interactions with his family, his son the well known physicist Ribhu Kaul and with Bollywood comedians like Johnny Lever.

A documentary story told through images, poetry and the Dhrupad, a vocal genre in Hindustani classical music, said to be the oldest still in use in that musical tradition.

Documentary short about the nomadic puppeteers of Rajasthan.

To the city come men, women, fruits, flowers, vegetables, goats and sheep – all ready for consumption. It is the process of consumption/exploitation that forms the core of the film.

To the city come men, women, fruits, flowers, vegetables, goats and sheep – all ready for consumption. It is the process of consumption/exploitation that forms the core of the film.