Dancing Othello
(Brihnnlala Ki Khelkali)
The film explores the moment of imaginative intersection of two seventeenth century classical artistic tradition- Shakespearean tragedy and South Indian dance form- Kathakali. Giving birth to a hybrid performance merging the epitome of English literature and the quintessence of Indian art. Situated in an ambivalent dramatic space, the Shakespearean English, as a symbol of a colonial language, collapses into the classical renderation of an orthodox dance form.
2002, 16mm, Color, 18 minutes.

Credits
Directed, produced & written by: Ashish Avikunthak
Cast: Arjun Raina
Cinematography: Setu
Editing: Neeraj Voralia
Sound Recording: Julius Basaiawhoit
Sound Design: Rishi Oberoi

Selected Festivals
2010 "Royal with Cheese" Aicon Gallery, London
2009 Gallery Lal & Chatterjee, Bombay
2006 Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley
2005 Cinema-Nova Brussels

Distribution
Lightcone, Paris