When you begin the journey of making a feature, especially in documentary filmmaking, you may be, depending on the subject you are investigating, in for a surprise during the production, because often you may not arrive at the goal you wished for, but instead uncover something completely different. Perhaps the best documentary directors are those who embrace this quality about the process of researching and filming, who find the right balance between sticking to a schedule while also being open to whatever comes their way. Although there are many others who fulfill those criteria, Indian director Amit Dutta has repeatedly proven his awareness for these opportunities. At the same time, his body of work in essence demands this open mind from its viewer, which, in return, may open the door for quite an experience.
In 2008, Amit Dutta embarked on a journey to the native town of iconic Indian artist Jangarh Singh Shyam, an important figure within Indian contemporary art who sadly committed suicide in 2001 in a Japanese museum. As the director points out, he shot hours upon hours of footage during his trip, which eventually not only brought him to Shyam's hometown, but also in close contact with his family and friends who accompanied him for a while and agreed to be filmed as well. Upon revisiting the material he shot that year, Dutta stumbled upon a mini-DV tape labeled “Tape 39” which showed the landscape surrounding Patangarh, the town Shyam is from, a conversation with the artist's brother and Dutta's arrival at the house where Shyam spent most of his childhood.
Essentially, the nature of the footage the short feature shows is a collection of fragments, impressions and moments, linked by the use of intertitles describing what we are about to see. As with his other works, the sound design especially creates a distinct atmosphere, adding a layer of mysticism which seems to intensify the closer we get to the home where the artist lived. Frequently, we witness how echoes of Shyam's art are featured in the landscape and the people, with a scene showing a mother and her child mirroring a similar work by the artist. You can see the beauty Shyam must have seen, or perhaps even the themes or moment he tried to capture, making each of these scenes special and emphasizing the structure of the short which seems increasingly like a walk through a museum.
In the end, “Tape 39” is a short feature about the origins of art and its creator. Through an inventive sound design, Amit Dutta attempts to show what possibly inspired Jangarh Singh Shyam, the moments he tried to capture as well as the beauty, and thus offers a unique approach to the painter's body of work.
