Flamenco's Indian roots...

Carlos Saura, the acclaimed Spanish filmmaker who was in India recently, threw up some interesting possibilities.

A fire burns bright in the centre of a sparkling black floor as young men and women dressed in cascading red and black glide to the tune of Fado, arguably one of the most popular genres of Portuguese folk music. And that's just one of the many images that Spain's creative genius, 40-odd films old Carlos Saura, brings alive in his musical-documentary, Fados (2007).

At the most basic level, the film explores the evolution of the folk musical genre and its African-Brazilian origins. There is no narrative, there is no tangible plot. What it is, however, is a spectacle, bathed in golden glow for most part, serenading, inviting, intriguing...

It glides from piece to piece, from dance to dance, each step, each strain so breathtaking that you would be dancing in your head. The sets are sparse, lighting taking over, and it's a mirror of the self on reflective surfaces that strikes a relationship between the performer and his expression.

A master of surreal and imaginative cinema, Saura had close links with one of the greatest filmmakers of all times, Luis Buñuel. Buñuel, to whom surrealism is often attributed, was a mentor. But Saura distances himself from "schools" of thought and filmmaking which are largely limiting for creative work.

If Saura's films of the 60s and 70s are thought to have extraordinary socio-political relevance, in more recent times, it is the platform of music and dance that he provides that has lent a highly seductive colour to European cinema. Fados is a prime example.

It's different, in a sense, from Saura's other films that spiral around traditional Spanish music and its dance. Take his 1998 film Tango, for instance. A drama centred around the Spanish form of music by the same name, the story deepens with each movement and cascades along with emotions that find manifestation in the art.

But what remains distinct and speaks louder than dialogues is how the art form is shown as work in progress. The music, the dances, are not what one would see, as the final work on stage, it's focused on artists in preparation.

The master was on his third visit to India recently to receive a life achievement award and speaking on the occasion, Saura reinstated his real interest. "It's the effort that goes into rehearsals that excites me and not the final finish," he said in conversation with film critic Aruna Vasudev at an event organised in the Capital.

Focusing more on intricate hand and foot work, Saura carefully avoids superfluous elements that could distract the audience. The camera must always form a part of the setting, he says. It's no surprise that he started out as a photographer and later specialised in music and dance as a choreographer.

"When I started making films, I retrieved the emotions I had felt as a photographer," he says. From working with actors to professional dancers, Saura has loved having the best dancers and musicians of each form before him.

His framing and detailing in lighting and ambience is seductively striking, yet completely underplayed and surreally natural. And what Saura finds in this surreal play is reality. It's a reality that finds itself in music and dance, and that is taken to another level.

For a country like India, with its own rich vocabulary of song and dance, what is interesting is the connection Saura thinks the Spanish form of music and dance Flamenco (also a movie by him by the same name in 1995) could perhaps have with the Indian form of dance, Kathak.

"It's an old idea of mine to make a film in India. There is no real research done yet but it would be interesting to see if the roots of Flamenco come from India as well," he says.

He corrects the wrong notion people have about Flamenco being a purely gypsy genre, and says it's a combination of bits and pieces from many cultures, though its biggest influence remains gypsy culture.

For a filmmaker who has been to Cannes the most number of times, Saura is dismissive of his achievements. "When I made my first movie, I thought it was my last. Since then, each film I think would be my last and so, every new one seems like a miracle." And there will be more.

SOME OF SAURA'S BEST WORKS

Peppermint Frappé (1967): Winner of a number of awards, Saura explores the surreal nature of obsession in this film. It stars Geraldine Chaplin, daughter of Charlie Chaplin.

Cría cuervos (1976): Centering around a young girl dealing with a great emotional loss, this film was awarded the Cannes Film Festival Special Jury Prize award.

Carmen (1983): This film showcases the art of Flamenco, a Spanish musical genre with its distinct style of dance. It was nominated for the Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Picture category.

Flamenco (1995): This film is one of Saura's most famous works, with over a hundred renowned Flamenco artistes performing before the camera.

Goya in Bordeaux (1999): A historical drama on celebrated Spanish painter Francisco Goya's life, as he shares his memories with his daughter.