Curtain Raiser Press Release
Film Screening of ‘Samayara Chhaire’ at JKK
Jaipur, 20 February: A feature length documentary film, ‘Samayara Chhaire’ In the Shadow of Time by Shankhajeet De will be screened tomorrow at 6.30 pm at Krishnayan, JKK. The film screening is being organised by JKK, Unima India, Sangeet Natak Academy in New Delhi. The Odiya film explores the journey of Ravana Chhaya – a form of shadow puppetry in Odisha over the last 40 years.
Ravana Chhaya shadow puppetry tradition was practiced in central regions of Odisha in eastern India by the minstrel Bhatacommunity who have narrated the story of Ramayana to a rural audience for ages. This form of shadow puppetry was widely appreciated worldwide as the mother of cinematic forms. In the Shadow of Time as the name of the film translated in English; weaves an insightful account of what Ravana Chhaya has encountered and undergone in the meanwhile leading to challenges that it poses the practitioners today.