I had recently had an occasion to discover VALEY OF FLOWERS. Lot has been said about this film. Thus I would only add that Nalin has played with very dangerous theme and cinematic structure; he comes out as truly talented director, a filmmaker with vision.
But these days the film journalism and criticism is not a pleasant place to be. It is often short sighted and fails to see a great talent behind each work.
My curiosity lead me to spend days and weeks to get hold of some of the remarkable films made by Pan Nalin prior to SAMSARA.
When Pan Nalin was barely 20 years of age, he made breathtaking 20 minute short fiction titled KHAJURAHO. This short film is excellent, has a vision, a unique vision. Shot in CinemaScope and Black and White -it is a sheer poetry in motion. Whether we like it or not a director was born that day.
Apparently Nalin made many silent shorts between the age of 16 to 20 but KHAJURAHO was the first film he was able to complete. I could not track any of his earlier works.
Later, Nalin and his crew put their lives in danger when they went to shoot NAGAS, a documentary on wildest of tribe of North-Eastern India. No filmmaker had ventured there before -and after since the Naga was made in 1995.
Similar attempt were made while making simple but bold documentaries like TULKUS or DEVADASIS.
I was surprised to read some negative criticism on the Net about recent works of Pan Nalin. Valley of Flowers is his (only) second feature!!! Come on, give this guy a break!!!
Most of the film critics failed to remember that what was the first and second films of Hitchcock, Kurosawa, Wong Kar Wai, Bergman, Antonioni.... were like???
I am not hear to defend Pan Nalin, whoever he maybe, but filmmakers in General. First and Second and even third movies of film directors are often like Soparano Singers shaping the color of his/her voice. Give those guys some time. They will master melodies which will move you to tears -if not you have a right to massacre them!
Filmmaker like Pan Nalin, if they were in Hollywood making English language movies, they would have got much better attention.
We should remember how hard it is to make an original work of cinema in Asia or Africa. Often you are not only struggling to make the film of your dream but also trying to feed the family of fifteen at same time!
Someone like Pan Nalin are gifted to give us a meaningful entertainment. They are capable of pulling the best out of Hollywood. Remember, very rarely a Hollywood director will write his own script. Nalin has proved his talent for excellent screen writing with both SAMSARA and VALLEY OF FLOWERS.
Directors like Pan Nalin are truly "International Director" in the line of Inarritu or Meirelles; They make the new cinema, new entertainment and new world we live in - a most fascinating place to be -enjoy and celebrate the life the way it is and not the way you are.
