TAPE-39

                              TAPE-39

Can death overtake an artist?Shakespeare and Keats would say “No!” and also that art

would immortalize its artist.Being an Arts’ student,I’ll agree with them.Amit Dutta intends to reiterate

this nexus between art and immortality in his film Tape-39.This Sixteen-minute-long short film takes

us towards the mysterious paths through which Jangarh walked.The adept artist repined and

resigned from life while he was at the zenith of fame and the reasons for this are yet to be

revealed.Even after almost two decades of his demise we still discuss him! Such is the dynamism of

his deft canvas! Art selected him for herself orelse this adroit youth wouldn’t have left his small village

Patangarh for Japan to proclaim the charm of Art.

The montage of Amit Dutta is nothing less than an

elegant mesh of striking images,where words are a luxury rather than a necessity.The images not only

concoct a story but also impart an inexplicable ardour which even an attentive viewer can seldom

elucidate. Jangarh Singh Shyam the hero of our story( or rather our tragic story)can be considered

as the harbinger of Gond Art.Though Gonds are one of the earliest tribes of India with a legacy of

enchanting indigenous art to their credit viz Gond Art,it’s Jangarh who brought this long forgotten art

to light.Jangarh explored a new dimension in Gond Art and created his own school of art called

“Jangarh Kalam.”Though he filled the canvas of the world with his unconventional colours he left

voids in the canvas of his own life!

This film Tape-39 unravels through 17 scenes where each scene is accompanied by

related images.The first scene is described as “On the edge of Bhopal City,a Computer girl at the

window”This scene is taken in a long shot to enhance the import of the subject and the place

portrayed in the scene.We can deem it to be an establishing shot since the place is highlighted.

This

shot alone gives us a glimpse into Bhopal City where Jangarh was molded into a dexterous artist.This

scene implies that the filmmaker had set out to Patangarh from Bhopal.Now the long shot is zoomed

in to a medium long shot so that we can view the Computer girl clearly. The second scene portrays the “Road to Patangarh”which is obviously a pan shot where

we can view the green fields seamlessly though the tape glitches a bit.We are transported to

Janghar’s milieu which has nurtured the artist in him.The next is an image of the “Farmers at the

plough and a bent in the road”This is an extreme long shot where the director captures the

impeccable grace of nature.The untamed forest(seems to be wilderness),an adjoining field where we

spot ploughing farmers,an alluring brook which is undoubtedly the cynosure of the frame and

eventually the seamless Blue above……….What an enchanting landscape!

I believe we can call the next shot a jump cut because all of a sudden we are directly

transported to the “Cow Dust Hour”from the crack of dawn.In this frame we perceive the shadows of

the filmmaker and his companion.This is not the menacing shadow which we usually connect with

Film Noir but a pleasant one at dusk.Only half of the frame is lighted and the other half is left

shadowed.Perhaps the film maker made use of ambient lighting alone.Next Twilight gave way to

Daylight where the director paints a Grassland in the midst of which we have a cultivable fertile

land.Amit Dutta describes the image as a “A beautiful patch of land.The smell of fresh earth”This

description gives us not only a visual but also an olfactory experience. The only conversation or rather monologue in the entire film is of Pradeep,Jangarh’s

nephew who was travelling along with the film crew.He explained a scene of a protective mother who

sensed a danger for her child and carried it with her.He also revealed that this scene inspired him to

come up with a couple of paintings in Jangarh’s style.This interview is a hand held shot where the

camera operator uses his hands to picture the subject.I do not intend to prolong my description of

this visual treat since elaboration drains the essence of some of the scenes.Within a short time of

Sixteen minutes the film maker takes us through the path wherein an amateur teen Jangarh burgeoned into an artist of universal acclaim.This film proves the age old maxim “Brevity is the soul

of wit”To witness this ineffable beauty…Watch Tape-39! Amit Dutta seldom disappoints his viewers!

-Santhwana Thomas