Aravindan Govindan’s The Circus Tent explores the ripples created by the arrival of a travelling circus in a remote Indian village.
From their processional entrance through spellbinding performances to their final pack-down, circus life is captured in striking imagery. Cutting between skilled performers and wide-eyed spectators, the film encapsulates the sheer magic of art encountered for the first time.
Shot in semi-documentary style, Aravindan worked closely with real circus people and artistes, travelling with them to the village of Thirunavaya on the banks of India’s Bharathappuzha river – and created one of Indian cinema’s most poetic triumphs.
Aravindan’s joyous, lyrical masterpiece links the transience of the travelling troupe with the inevitable mortality of life. Once thought lost, now beautifully restored, the film will enrapture audiences anew. Presented from the new 4K restoration by Film Heritage Foundation, our region-free Blu-ray features an exclusive, newly filmed interview with Ramu Aravindan, son of the legendary Govindan, plus an interview with FHF founder and filmmaker Shivendra Singh Dungarpur and actor Jalaja, and a booklet with new writing on the film and its restoration by Shivendra.
