Reality Check

Documentary Film Screening An NCPA Presentation in collaboration with Cinema Collective The Reality Check film series promotes and encourages documentary filmmakers in India whose work reflects life and culture in the country today in a thoughtful blend of creativity and integrity. Mani Kaul and That Thing Called the Actor Hindi & English with English Subtitles (96 mins) Based on director Mita Vasisht’s own experience of working with Mani Kaul on her debut film, Siddheshwari (1989), the film traces the journey of a young actor, fresh out of drama school, who finds herself working with an exceptional filmmaker who challenges her to grow—creatively, physically and intellectually. With that, arrives a deeper understanding of acting as a craft, a philosophy and a way of being, deeply rooted in the over 2,000-year-old Natyashastra. Running alongside this is an intimate exploration of Kaul himself—his ways of seeing shaped by the landscapes of his childhood in Rajasthan, his engagement with Indian aesthetic traditions and his groundbreaking body of work that redefined cinematic language in India. Weaving together fiction, memory, archival material and personal testimony, the film dissolves the boundaries between documentary and narrative cinema to capture Kaul’s philosophy in its truest essence. Directed by Meeta Vasisht The screening will be followed by a Q&A session. Entry free on a first come, first served basis. NCPA Members will get preferential seating till 6.20 pm.