India is probably the country with the most and the most attended festivals in the world. As such, films about these celebrations are coming out aplenty, particularly during the latest years. 23-year-old Bishal Swargiary shoots a documentary about the Fakua, which, in Assam, is celebrated as Doul (Holi) festival. The Fakua (Holi) celebration has religious and spiritual significance, as well as several legendary stories, while more details about the whole concept are presented in the beginning of the film, as indicated by the image below.
The short begins with the preparations for the festival, with a female voice narrating in the beginning, and a man who is being interviewed, without though the director stating his name and capacity, next. The female narration mostly focuses on the proceedings while the man highlights the religious/mythical aspect of the celebration. DP Chiranjit Ramchiary's camera follows the people who are involved quite closely, as they discuss about various topics, while cleaning, preparing music organs, or lighting candles as the night falls. All the while, various rituals and much praying takes place, under the guidance of a Pujari (hindi priest), which stands out from the rest quite intently.
Next we see the preparation of food and various flower arrangements, while a number of people gather around a fire, with the aforementioned Pujari “eulogizing” them. A number of people sound little bells as they proceed in the festival grounds. The next morning, women start attending, bearing fruits and singing and dancing, while the third day, both men and women come to the festival, with the men carrying a portable shrine, having painted their heads, before they embark in a ritualistic competition. The night ends with them watching a series of films.
“Gosain: The Colours of Spring” review is part of the Submit Your Film Initiative
In terms of approaching his subject, Bishal Swargiary's effort exhibits some issues. The not mentioning the identity of them man who is talking is the first one, but the same applies to the filled with terminology narration, and the overall speed of the succession of scenes, with the rapidness of the two resulting in a documentary that is difficult to follow after a fashion. That the narration occasionally does not match the images on screen, adds to this issue even more.
On the other hand, the overall visual approach is excellent, even if a bit too artistic on occasion, particularly through the intense focus on the hands and legs of the people involved in the festival. Apart from this though, the different types of shots, as Swargiary includes long shots, zoom-ins, mid-shots, and even some quite impressive panoramic ones, most probably from a drone, work quite well here. That the quality of the images remains the same throughout the changes of night and day also adds to the prowess of this aspect, which essentially carries the documentary from beginning to end.
Bishal Swargiary needs to work his approach to the documentary a bit more, since his it seems to be more artistic than the medium demands. On the other hand, it is obvious that he has a good eye and that he has found a great collaborator in Chiranjit Ramchiary, with the visuals of “Gosain” being enough for the movie to deserve a watch.
