| Director | G. Aravindan, Govindan Aravindan |
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The arrival of a travelling circus troupe causes ripples in the idyllic existence of a village on the banks of a river, which is the setting for Aravindan Govindan's poetic, allegorical film Thamp. Through these ripples, the film explores the transience of human relationships and the rootlessness of the marginalised.
G. Aravindan assembled a group of real circus performers and travelled to the village of Thirunavaya on the banks of the Bharathapuzha river with them in a cinéma-vérité fashion. The circus was set up on the first day, and everyone in the hamlet was invited to see the performance. "We didn't have a script and we shot the incidents as they happened," Aravindan claimed in an interview.
Several attendees had never before attended a circus. When they watched, we recorded their comments. After a brief pause, they forgot about the shooting and the lights and thoroughly immersed themselves in the circus. For three days, the circus is the centre of village life. However, after that, the villagers lose interest and turn their attention to planning a local festival, and the circus group disperses without leaving any traces.
The irony of a young guy from the upper middle class finding himself alone in his own environment after returning from abroad to his hamlet further explores the issue of alienation. He then decides to join the travelling circus troupe in an effort to escape his unhappiness.
The film's beauty lies in its reflective pauses, its keenly perceptive but delicate gaze, and its juxtaposition of the pathos of the circus performers as they go about their daily business and, more starkly, as they speak directly to the camera in impassive close-ups. This black-and-white imagery leaves an impression long after the big tent has closed.