The geometry of life

Mona

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Filmmaker Hemant Verma is a man on a mission – a mission to preserve the fast-disappearing art of the country. He wants to save it for generations to come to enjoy, learn and propagate.

In Chandigarh, on Tuesday, to be part of Chandigarh Arts and Heritage Festival, he brought along his documentary, Warli Paintings, the result of three years of hard work.

“It was by chance that my friend took me to Dahanu, the home to warli art. Fascinated, I started shooting right there,” opens up Hemant. As he delved deep, he found people like him trying to get this art recognition that it deserves, and umpteen sessions later, this 35-minute documentary was born.

“Warli is the only art that uses all four geometrical shapes—circle, line, square and triangle.” Done with geru mitti, mixed with rice flour and applied with bamboo sticks, warli is not just a painting but a significant ritual in weddings. “I was fascinated to see the tribal life come alive on the walls of the huts,” says Hemant, who moved from his hometown Bhiwani, Haryana, to pursue film journalism, and later filmmaking.

His documentary makes one meet real artists, the process, and juxtaposition of real-life activities and its mirrored images in walls. “An actual wedding, the entire process of rice turned to flour to walls being prepared for the painting and Padma Shri Jivya Soma Mashe, who got this art global recognition, are part of this documentary.”

While warli was traditionally done by women, now men do it too, and the medium has moved from wall to canvas. “The true love for nature is my take-away from this labour of three years,” says Hemant who is only too happy to share it with Chandigarh audience.  

Traditional value

Art, customs and rituals fascinate Hemant Verma, who is happy to treasure these in largely self-funded documentaries. “It’s my passion, and there is no stopping, ever,” says the filmmaker, who makes corporate films for a living and has documented Rajasthan’s Natt Kala, Turra Kalgi and Syalde Bikauti Mela solely for passion. 

“The more I see, the more amazed I am. Syalde Bikauti Mela is a 2,000-year-old tradition in Uttarakhand.” 

Black Coffee is his feature film starring Virendra Saxena and Suhasini Mulay. “It’s India’s only film with just two characters,” he says about the film that won the best film award at the Festival of Globe (FOGsv) in San Francisco, and awaits its India release.