Fri May 16 14:21:55 IST 2025: Okay, here’s a news article summarizing the provided text:
**Article:**
**Documentary Explores the Political Landscape of Indian Cinemas**
**Mumbai, May 16, 2025** – A new documentary, “Cinema Pe Cinema: The Theatres. The Movies. And Us,” delves into the complex relationship between Indian society and its movie-going experiences. The film, by Vani Subramanian, will be screened at the Habitat Film Festival from May 16th to 25th.
Subramanian’s work examines how societal tensions and nationalist sentiments manifest within the walls of single-screen cinemas, once communal spaces now increasingly influenced by outside anxieties. She highlights the class divisions often found within theaters, exacerbated by the rise of multiplexes. She also reflects on how audience behavior and film choices can reflect wider societal anxieties, citing instances of heightened tension during screenings of films with nationalistic themes.
“All spaces are political and complex,” Subramanian said, noting that the connection between events outside and audience behavior inside theaters has become sharper. “It has become a slightly more fragile space now.”
The documentary also touches on the nostalgia associated with single-screen cinemas, and how they once served as shared public spaces. It explores how people from all walks of life would come together under one roof and the importance of shared experiences, now largely replaced by virtual interactions.
Meanwhile, another film, “Swaha,” directed by Abhilash Sharma, provides a hard-hitting look at poverty and caste discrimination in rural Bihar. Shot in monochrome, the film follows a family’s struggle for survival and addresses themes of fear, irrationality, and hope. Sharma said the black-and-white aesthetic of the film helped create an unfamiliar world, challenging perceptions often shaped by familiarity rather than rationality or scientific thought. Both films offer poignant reflections on the state of Indian society as seen through the lens of cinema.
First Piper 