BIOGRAPHY

Mani Kaul was born 25 December 1944 in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India.
His first contact with films was rather late because of his eyesight problem. In the beginning Mani Kaul wanted to be an actor but his father objected the idea. Through documentaries, he discovered that films could be made without actors. That was a revelation for him. He started exploring new languages mixing with classical Indian stories.
He graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) where he was a student of Ritwik Ghatak and later became a teacher. "I think I was his favourite pupil", Kaul has said, "but I betrayed him. When I saw Robert Bresson's Pickpocket, my outlook changed completely".
Mani Kaul worked for three years on commercial Indian film. At the same time he made a name for himself as an abstract painter. After his first film Uski Roti (1970) was well-received by critics, he started making unconventional cinema in a realistic style.
Kaul's career has been associated with somewhat experimental and documentary films.

FILMOGRAPHY

RETROSPECTIVE