Now showing: Tambu Talkies in Europe

When Amit Madhesia took photographs of a group of Maharashtrian villagers huddled in a tent watching grainy images of a Bollywood blockbuster unspool on a makeshift cloth screen, he never imagined the images would leave an imprint on 12 European countries.

Earlier this year, Madhesia’s vibrant photographs of Maharashtra’s Tambu Talkies, an ingenious entertainment tradition where films are screened in makeshift tents across rural areas, won a prestigious international photography contest.

In this age of sink-in cushioned seats and Dolby-sound multiplexes, the idea of watching a three-hour film squatted on one’s haunches, while swatting mosquitoes under a tent, may sound alien. But till a decade ago, before the influx of cable television and VCDs, this was rural Maharashtra’s only exposure to cinema.

The photographs are being exhibited in 12 countries across Europe.Madhesia, a professional photographer, and Shirley Abraham, a researcher, first heard of Tambu Talkies when a Singaporean filmmaker asked them about the phenomenon. The duo’s initial queries about Maharashtra’s travelling cinema companies soon developed into a full-fledged project to document the dying tradition.

“A decade ago, there were 300 tambu cinemas being pitched across Maharashtra through the year, barring the monsoons. Now, their number has fallen to about 50, with dwindling audience interest, owing to easy access to cable television and cheap VCDs,” Abraham said.

The tent talkies tradition began about 60 years ago when wealthy merchants, who had experienced the thrill of watching films on 70mm screens in cities like Mumbai, sniffed a money-making opportunity.

“They set up travelling film companies that lugged projectors on bullock carts,” said Abraham. The idea was an instant hit, with villagers flocking to the tents to gape at the larger-than-life antics of actors.

Abraham and Madhesia were charmed by the audience’s response to the medium on their first visit to the annual Pusegaon festival in Satara’s Sevagiri temple. “Ten to 12 tambus, each accommodating about 300 people, were packed to capacity,” recounted Abraham. A ticket costed Rs15. “There are separate enclosures for all-women audiences too,” said Abraham, pointing to a photograph of a tambu full of women.

These cinemas take the viewers’ opinion seriously. “Dialogues and songs are replayed on demand, and films are changed midway if given a thumbs down by the majority of the audience,” said Madhesia. Marathi social dramas and Bollywood
action films attract the most.

The two-year project, aided by the Bangalore-based India Foundation for the Arts, began in October 2008.  A book encapsulating the research and photographs, and a documentary film are on the cards.