THAMP̄

Aravindan Govindan’s Thamp¯ is a poetic, allegorical film that explores the transience of human relationships and the rootlessness of the marginalized through the ripples created in the life of a village by the arrival of a circus troupe. In cinéma-vérité style, with no script in hand, Aravindan took a troupe of circus artistes to perform in a village where many locals had not seen a circus before, and shot their reaction as they were watching. They soon forgot the camera and got immersed in the circus. But soon the villagers lose interest and the circus packs up and leaves. The deeply observational, delicate gaze of the camera, captures the pathos of the circus performers and the awe of the villagers, in black and white imagery that stays with you long after the big tent has folded up.