MUSEUM OF IMAGINATION

MUSEUM OF IMAGINATION:A PORTRAIT IN

ABSENTIA

Museum of Imagination:A Portrait in Absentia is a 2012 bilingual(Hindi and English) film by

Amit Dutta.Amit Dutta,a contemporary stalwart in Avant-garde movies never fails to fascinate his

viewers with a visual and acoustic treat.The peculiar images,the way he frames the mise-en-scene and

his unique style of filming distinguish him from the rest.Most of his works portray Art

History,Ethnoanthropology and cultural inheritance among other concepts.Watching the movies of

Amit Dutta is a painstaking endeavour since his montage perplexes the audience and the viewers

might end up misinterpreting the director’s celluloid unless they are prudent enough.He is a diligent

researcher and an unconventional film maker whose driving force is his zeal for films. The current film Museum of Imagination:A Portrait in Absentia chronicles the art works of

Prof.B.N.Goswami,a prominent personality in Pahari Painting.Pahari is a miniature art form which is

very intricate and uses natural paints to accentuate the intrigues of the themes which are mostly on

Bhagavatha,The Gita Govinda,Baramasa and Ragamala.This is also called Hill Painting as Pahari

signifies Hills.It often depicts the legends of Lord Krishna. At the onset of the movie itself the mise-en-scene creates a historical ambience.The low

angle shot of the dilapidated building,parasitic plants and unusually calm atmosphere takes us back to

a primeval world.The background score or rather drumming sound reminded me of the beating of

Tom Tom in The Emperor Jones by Eugene O’Neill.I believe that this sound enhances the

concentration of the audience.Subsequently,the film maker takes us through a museum which

includes the entire body of work of Prof.B.N.Goswami.This movie is a contrasting blend of silence and

words where silence predominating,which implies that the director wants his audience to explore the

film and unravel the mystery.Like every great work of art this film suggests everything subtly and

gives us insight into the peculiar paintings projected on screen.Most of the paintings are not given

description which in a way provides scope for the audience to have their say in the filmimg

process.Here the term auteur or rather the concept of director or author is re-defined.Auteur is a

French word which means author.Audience are left to fill the gaps in the narrative though these gaps

do not distort the narrative structure.By deriving their own meanings from the nuances and silence

audience are becoming the auteurs of the film.The paintings reflect Indian heritage,tradition and

legacy.This in a way gives a glimpse into the cultural tapestry of India. The movie mostly employs continuity cuts hence enables us to view it seamlessly without

interruption.The film makes use of both Diegetic and Extra Diegetic sounds which culminated in the

acoustic treat of natural and also refined sounds.Deep focus enables the audience to scrutinize and

examine the nuances of the meticulously crafted paintings and the ambience of a rustic imagery is

created.

The cinematography is so impeccable that we discern the dexterity of the artist without even

a word to supplement the movie frame.The film maker didn’t fail to acknowlege the background

labour went into the production of the Art works.We are given glimpses into the making of the paints

naturally. The next prominent aspect is the conversation the film maker had with

Prof.B.N.Goswami.From the words of the eminent artist we come to know that he hailed from an

ordinary family and that no great art was produced from his family.The professor also recollected

certain sequences from his childhood.The beautiful Mural Paintings,Stone sculptures and Pahari

Paintings indubitably present us an eye-feast and also create the ambience of a museum.Well!When are you going to visit this Museum of Imagination?

- Santhwana Thomas