MELODRAMA FOR THE CLASSES
Joyojeet Pal writes on the legacy of Dada Saheb Phalke awardee, K Balachander.
The opening sequence of the 1970 film Ethiroli remains an apt introduction into K Balachander as a filmmaker. The title cards appear with no sound other than the crackling of moving film, against the black and white backdrop of a courtroom. There is a noir-ish expectant tension as the camera pans to lawyer Sivaji Ganesan, readying himself to cross examine a witness. The camera focuses on Sivaji for several seconds as he stares down the witness. The exchange between the two of them is wordless with the focus being the intensity of Sivaji’s histrionic gaze as he taps his spectacles against his face. The camera switches back and forth between Sivaji and the increasingly nervous witness. Without a word spoken, with the witness caves and confesses. “That is all your honour", finishes Sivaji.
