Let It Go, Mates
Kundan Shah, 1983, 132 min

Introduced by Ranjit S. Ruprai and followed by discussion with film scholar and curator Dr. Omar Ahmed

Let It Go, Mates (Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro) is a beloved classic in the history of Indian parallel cinema: a cult comedy that tackles corruption in government, business and media. The National Film Development Council (NFDC) at the time had Benegal and Aravindan on their board and produced films that mainstream Indian producers would have not touched. Writer Sudhir Mishra: “that was the time when it was truly parallel cinema. There would be no meeting point, not even at infinity. There was no dialogue with the mainstream and the two worlds had little to do with each other.” Naseeruddin Shah and Ravi Baswani star as 2 photographers who, as well as exposing shady deals for an investigative newspaper, find themselves in an Antonioni-esque murder plot enacted as a Blake Edwards farce. The result is a satire that contains increasingly absurd set pieces and an iconic ending.

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Blow-Up
Michelangelo Antonioni, 1966, 111 min

Introduced by Ranjit S. Ruprai and followed by discussion with film scholar and curator Dr. Omar Ahmed

Inspired by Julio Cortázar’s short story “The Devil’s Drool”, Blow-Up features David Hemmings as a hip photographer who accidentally captures a murder mystery on film in a park. But what is really happening in this enigmatic masterpiece? Antonioni: “I want to recreate reality in an abstract form. I put reality in doubt.” This is an imaginary London constructed by Antonioni and accompanied by the jazzy sounds of Herbie Hancock. Blow-Up captures the real, counterculture spirit of the time whilst also fabricating an enduring mythology of swinging 60s London.

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Programme supported by Film Hub London: www.filmlondon.org.uk/filmhub