Tucked away in the list for the recently announced 63rd National Awards, is the honour accorded to Sruti Harihara Subramanian’s 63-minute documentary on the nonagenarian painter Krishen Khanna.
The film, A Far Afternoon – A Painted Saga , was produced by Subramanian for the Piramal Art Foundation and has won awards for best arts and culture film as well as for best music for its score by the Chennai-based duo Aravind and Jaishankar.
A Far Afternoon … captures how the life and craft of an artist are intertwined. Initially, the Foundation had planned to put together some archival footage of the well-known painter and his method of working. But it turned out to be a far more satisfying experience for Subramanian when they decided to go ahead with a full-fledged documentary.
“I am trying my hand at Tamil, Telugu and Hindi feature films. However, the Piramal Art Foundation chose me to do this documentary, which I readily accepted,” says Subramanian, who is a graduate of Visual Communication from the University of Madras. In the past, she has worked with actor-director Revathy, Vikram Kumar in Yavarum Nalam and assisted Vishnu Vardhan in Panjaa (Telugu). Member of a theatre group, she has also acted in serials.
Khanna is one of India’s most prolific and influential artists. Born in Faislabad (Pakistan) in 1925 and brought up in Lahore, the artist’s family migrated to Shimla during the Partition. Khanna was a full-time banker and part-time artist. His work brought him to Mumbai and he became a member of the Progressive Artists’ Group. He eventually gave up his banking profession to become a full-time artist and there was no looking back. In April 2014, at 89, he set out to create a new art work.
Khanna who is entirely self-taught says, “I had no idea that this painting would reach this stage. I began with the groom on a white mare, with a youngster seated behind him, fearfully clutching him”. He adds, “The painting took off from this image. It was becoming like a mural which, by its nature, borders on infinity. The change in scale involved a wholly different approach.”
Subramanian, who is also a founder trustee of the public archive, The Cinema Resource Centre, says, “ A Far Afternoon… , is a film in five parts, that delves into the influences and the artistic process involved in the creation of the eponymous art work.”
In a previous interview to The Hindu , Subramanian said, “This one painting encompasses all the elements of his life and experiences; the motifs he has used in his other paintings, such as the bandwala. To see a 90-year-old man paint a 20-ft work is a story by itself. This was enough to create interest in my viewers on Krishen Khanna. So I decided to keep this particular painting as the centrepiece and decided to talk to people about him through it.”
The music duo, Aravind and Jaishankar, are elated about the National Award. “We employed only Carnatic ragas, as the great painter lived in Chennai for some time and is fond of classical melodies.”
Since the film revolves around a painter, they chose soothing tunes for the score. “Khanna sahab ’s favourite raga is Sankarabharanam. So we recorded a tune in it. We also learnt that he has a liking for Western Classical music. We, therefore, made use of the cello, which was played by Sekar,” say the composers sitting in their swanky new studio.
Music and sound production artists, Aravind-Jaishankar have worked on award-winning films, documentaries, advertising commercials and computer and mobile games. They made a foray into documentary films a few years ago, when they composed the music for Jayakanthan’s ‘ Orukku Nooru Paer ’ by B. Lenin.
Subramanian says, “It was a rewarding experience.” She feels the film’s scripting was easier, while the editing took considerable time. Talking about Khanna, she says, “He is full of life and loves to view things in a positive way. He enjoys talking and telling stories. It was wonderful to interact with him and his family.”
The 63-minute documentary has music by Chennai-based Aravind-Jaishankar
