Retooling a Tradition

Viewers unfamiliar with tensions between the Muslim and much larger Hindu factions in India are unlikely to know what to make of this "fictive documentary" subtitled "A Rajasthani Puppet Takes Umbrage at His Stringholders." Numerous film and video clips from Rajasthani kathputli puppet shows are combined into a three-act meditation by a Muslim nawab puppet. Initially, the nawab complains of the blatant prejudice shown against Muslims by the Hindu puppeteers, but in the second act his charges are answered by the courtesan puppet Anarkali, and in the third, a fictitious Puppeteer Guild Leader named Chaggan Lal points out the positive social and unifying aspects of modern puppetry. While an interesting examination of the question of bigotry in Indian puppet productions, this would be of very limited interest to general audiences (especially since the program assumes the audience is familiar with the issues). At the same time, it's too experimental to be useful to students of Indian culture. Unless you have strong holdings on the subject of Indian puppetry, this is a very optional purchase. (R. Pitman)