Reelism Films’ fourth annual screening brings a National Award-winning documentary and a Lucknow-shot drama to Novelty Cinema
Lucknow: For the fourth year running, the work of a Lucknow-born filmmaker has found its way back to the city that shaped him. On October 6, Reelism Films hosted a special screening of two films by National Film Award-winning filmmaker O. P. Srivastava at Novelty Cinema, Lalbagh, giving the city’s film enthusiasts an evening devoted to two distinct cinematic narratives.
The screening marked the fourth consecutive year of the initiative to bring Srivastava’s films to audiences in his hometown. The programme paired Life in Metaphors: A Portrait of Girish Kasaravalli with Banwari Ki Amma. The two films differ in form, subject and mood, and together they offered viewers a varied experience of cinema.
An artist examined
Life in Metaphors turns the camera on Girish Kasaravalli, one of Indian cinema’s most acclaimed filmmakers. The documentary explores his cinematic vision and creative journey, looking at how an artist’s way of seeing shapes the films he makes. The film received the National Film Award for Best Biographical Film in 2015.
A mother, a city, a time
Banwari Ki Amma is closer to home in every sense. Set in Lucknow in the late 1970s and shot entirely in the city, the film portrays a mother’s unwavering love amid life’s uncertainties. Through an emotionally engaging narrative, it captures Lucknow’s distinctive atmosphere and the human relationships that give the city its character. For a Lucknow audience, watching the film meant seeing familiar streets and a vanished era brought back to life.
The filmmaker from Lucknow
Srivastava was born and raised in Lucknow and holds a master’s degree in Physics from Lucknow University. His route to cinema was an unconventional one. He began his banking career with the State Bank of India in 1977 and later worked with PNB Capital Services and ICICI. Before turning to filmmaking, he played a pioneering role in technology-led retail banking.
His creative pursuits today span cinema, culture, social concerns and environmental issues. He is also an author, with books that include Banking on Technology, Pillars of Parallel Cinema, Branding@Mythology and Come Back Soon.
Two views of cinema
The two films made a complementary pair. One celebrated the artistic vision of an accomplished filmmaker, while the other explored the enduring emotional bond between a mother and her child. One looked outward to a master of Indian cinema, the other inward to a city and a family. For Lucknow’s film lovers, the evening was also a chance to see their own city, and one of its own sons, on the big screen.
