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Talking about the ‘Parallel Cinema’ movement in India, Govind Nihalani is considered a stalwart, with films like ‘Aakrosh‘, ‘Tamas‘, ‘Party‘, and ‘Droh Kaal‘ in his oeuvre. But his 1983 film ‘Ardh Satya‘ is perhaps his most celebrated work.

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Depicting the harsh truths of contemporary Indian society, the ‘Parallel Cinema’ movement became a staple for raising voices against societal oppression and telling the stories of people on the fringe. Nihalani’s previous film ‘Aakrosh’ portrays this profoundly, where the oppression of tribals and lower castes is depicted in an unfiltered way. It also showcases his anguish at the apathy of the well-to-do middle class, who refuse to take a stand and slowly succumb to a complacent lifestyle.

‘Ardh Satya’ broadens this central theme through the psychological exploration of its protagonist, Anant Welankar. Coming from a typical Indian patriarchal family, he is forced to...

Close-Up is a feature that spotlights films now playing on Mubi. Govind Nihalani's Party (1984) is now showing in the series A Journey into Indian Cinema.“Oh, Mrs. Dalloway. Always giving parties to cover the silence.” —Michael Cunningham, The HoursVirginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway begins with the line, “Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself.” In Govind Nihalani’s Party (1984), Mrs. Damayanti Rane (Vijaya Mehta) does not buy the flowers herself; she is a minister’s daughter living in a mansion in Mumbai, so she asks her servants to do it instead. She does, however, lay them out in vases. Like Woolf’s Mrs. Clarissa Dalloway, Mrs. Rane is throwing a party to celebrate a friend, in this case, Diwakar Barwe (Manohar Singh), a playwright who has just won a national award for his work. Even before the party begins, she has had a sedative, a shot of...