India Foundation For The Arts

Rangbhoomi follows Kamal Swaroop as he attempts to trace the contours of Dada Saheb Phalke's life in Varansasi after he withdrew, disillusioned, from the world of cinema and decided to take up theater. While in Varanasi, Phalke wrote a semi-autobiographical play titled "Rangbhoomi" which forms the core of this cinematic exploration.

Documenting the lives of four Nepalese migrant laborers in a mango orchard in Ratnagiri, the film reveals power struggles between the workers, their employer, and the filmmaker, and explores the complexities of power dynamics at the micro level. It also examines the relationship between the filmmaker and the male-dominated world of migrant labor, showing how power can be limited for those who appear to have it.

A wandering poet-musician, Kshetrayya wrote for devadasis, the dancing courtesans at the courts of the 17th century Nayaka rulers. His padams became the most cherished of her songs of love. O Friend, This Waiting! reflects on the entwined fortunes of the padams and the women they were written for, from the 17th to the 20th century, while dwelling in the performance spaces of temples and courts of the Nayaka period.