Movie-on-wheels ventures are transforming the way rural India watches cinema
Rajmata Sivagami Devi is seated on the throne; her characteristic stony stare hides the battle raging within. As her confidante, Kattappa, walks in dragging a blood-stained sword, she goes from iron-willed queen to grieving mother and breaks down. Amarendra Baahubali has been murdered.
The scene from S.S. Rajamouli’s magnum opus, Baahubali: The Conclusion, is playing out on a large screen in front of a crowd in Jajpur, a remote village in Odisha. Some of the women break down. The crowd’s overwhelming emotions are palpable; the reason is more than the visual extravaganza unfolding before them. Many, among the 100-odd viewers, were watching a film on the big screen for the first time. All this despite the fact they could barely understand a word from any language but Odia—the film was playing out in Hindi!
This story is from the October 21, 2018 edition of THE WEEK.
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This story is from the October 21, 2018 edition of THE WEEK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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