Kayantar review: Poignant reflection on art, religion and gender

Directed by Sarmistha Maiti and Rajdeep Paul, the short film Kayantar (Metamorphosis) unfolds in rural Bengal, where a Muslim family carries on the centuries-old folk tradition of dressing up as Behrupiyas or indigenous cosplay performers.

The male performers dress up as different figures and perform for the audience, often playing Hindu gods and goddesses, and are part of religious celebrations. Increasingly relegated to a life of poverty owing to the dwindling patronage for their art, behrupiyas were also the repository of folk tales and songs.

As a girl, Aasia watches in fascination as her father practises this fading art form and observes as the goddess Kali is washed off him and her father reappears.

Eager to dress up as the goddess, Aasia seizes every opportunity to do so. But the tradition is forbidden to her and the mantle passes on to her brother Aslam, who is reluctant to carry on the family profession.

Aslam sees cosplaying as humiliating. He wants to be engaged in regular work instead of doing what, in his view, is little better than a form of begging.

The enraged father sees this as an affront to the ancestral art form and the family legacy that they have been continuing for generations.

Living on the margins of society, the family follows the tradition of the Baul minstrels, who propounded religious syncretism and a musical tradition. But as religious intolerance widens the gap between communities, the space for a pluralistic culture starts to shrink rapidly.

Religious fundamentalism on both sides disregards people and humanity in general, as the hatred finds new victims and wreaks havoc.

An interwoven tale of contemporary societal issues, the thought-provoking film foregrounds the realm of art, artistic expression, desire and freedom, examining how a divisive society systemically thwarts individual dreams and choices.

It also throws into question gender roles and the dichotomy between the representation of a woman as a powerful goddess and the traditional roles that real women are meant to serve in society.

The pace of the film is a bit slow and some moments, like Aasia's desire to dress up as the goddess, are repetitive. But Kayantar is notable in its reflection on a deteriorating state of affairs that is ripping the country's social fabric apart, in the context of folk tradition and art.

In the words of the Baul song in the film, 'Only when I have sacrificed my ‘I’/ Shall I see beyond the differences and divisions.'

The film was premiered at the 10th Chicago South Asian Film Festival 2019 and has been screened at several other festivals around the world. It was adjudged Best Film on Social Challenges at the seventh Woodpecker International Film Festival 2019.

Kayantar was screened on 9 and10 August at the International Film Festival of South Asia, Toronto.