Kanchivaram poster

That very same Friday, that very same filmmaker will screen a film called Kanchivaram at the Mahindra Indo-American Film Festival. The screening is at an ungodly hour (noon), and I pray that that film doesn’t open to rows of empty seats that may as well have placards reading “still at work,” “at lunch,” and “try a prime time for a marquee film.”

Kanchivaram won two National Film Awards —  India’s equivalent of the Oscars – for best picture and best actor award (Prakash Raj). And with good reason:

Set in late ‘40s, Kanchivaram depicts an India that has just won independence from British colonial rule. The fledgling democracy faces Marxist ideologies that are gaining ground as alternative forms of governance, while India’s archaic, feudalistic system is beginning to reassert itself.

This is all background, however, to the central story of Vengadam (Prakash Raj), a sari weaver who vows to gift a Kanchivaram silk sari (considered the status symbol for a woman at that time) to his daughter as dowry for her wedding. These eponymous saris are renowned throughout India for their beauty, and created originally in the city of Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu, in South India.

Vengadam looking at skeins of silk

What seems like a plausible mission for Vengadam soon turns out to be herculean. So herculean that it sucks you into rooting for Vengadam despite his helplessness and the paucity of his failing, fragile resources. Pretty soon, the political backdrop pushes to the fore, and Vengadam is torn between being the torch bearer of social reforms and his own personal mission.

Sabu Cyril’s art design seamlessly recreates 1940s rural India. Prakash Raj is an extraordinary talent that the Hollywood agents need to sign, quickly.. His versatility is on display in every role, and he’s morphed from a loquacious Tamil literary intellect in the highly acclaimed Iruvar (1997), to a thuggish cinema villain alongside the ever-shirtless Salman Khan in this year’s commercial blockbuster, Wanted.

I only wish that MIAAC had provided a more convenient slot for this film. But if playing hooky during lunch hours on Friday is your thing, you should absolutely put this on your schedule.

Kanchivaram
Directed by Priyadarshan
In Tamil with English subtitles

Friday, November 13 at 12:00 PM
The Quad Cinema
34 West 13th Street
(between 5th and 6th Avenues)

A vow to a baby daughter...