The Cloud Door
Encyclopedia
The Cloud Door is a 1994 short
Indo-German dramatic film, directed by acclaimed India
n director Mani Kaul
and featuring Hindu and Muslim erotic literary themes. The film was produced by the German producer Regina Ziegler. The Cloud Door was featured along with other short films such as Susan Seidelman
's The Dutch Master and Ken Russell
's The Insatiable Mrs. Kirsch, as a part of Ziegler Film's compilation of short erotic films called Erotic Tales.
drew upon three literary sources for it: the Sanskrit
play Avimaraka, written by Bhāsa
around 5th-7th century; the Sufi epic love poem Padmavat
, written by Mohammed Jayasi
in the 13th century; and the erotic Indian tales Suksapiti.
as part of the Erotic Tales program, due to its erotic theme. Mani Kaul
, known for his aesthetic work, had never previously made an Indian erotic film, despite the country's rich history of erotic folk art and literature. The single-screening of the film caused an uproar due to its erotic nature and on-screen nudity, and resulted in the police being called in to prevent rioting. An extra screening, exclusively for the press, was held later at a different venue. The film was also screened at the Munich Film Festival, Locarno International Film Festival
, New York Film Festival
and the Robert Flaherty Film Seminar.
Variety
reviewer Todd McCarty said the film "features pictorial beauty, slow-building sensuality and surprising humor that combine to rich effect". The reviewer for the New York Times said that the film, when viewed with subtitles and deprived of its cultural context of Muslim and Hindu literature, "becomes a succession of brightly colored images that almost tell a story: a beautiful woman, perhaps a courtesan; a green, long-tailed parrot who repeats the erotic phrases he's picked up in her room; potential lovers; a fish that laughs".
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
Indo-German dramatic film, directed by acclaimed India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n director Mani Kaul
Mani Kaul
Mani Kaul was an Indian film director of Hindi films. He graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India where he was a student of Ritwik Ghatak and later became a teacher. Started his career with Uski Roti , which won him the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie, he went on to win...
and featuring Hindu and Muslim erotic literary themes. The film was produced by the German producer Regina Ziegler. The Cloud Door was featured along with other short films such as Susan Seidelman
Susan Seidelman
Susan Seidelman is an American director, producer, writer, and actress.-Career:Susan Seidelman belongs to the first wave of female independent film makers in the American cinema of the 1980s. She graduated Abington Senior High School in 1969 , and went on to study fashion and arts at Drexel...
's The Dutch Master and Ken Russell
Ken Russell
Henry Kenneth Alfred "Ken" Russell was an English film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. He attracted criticism as being obsessed with sexuality and the church...
's The Insatiable Mrs. Kirsch, as a part of Ziegler Film's compilation of short erotic films called Erotic Tales.
Plot
An Indian king overhears a parrot telling erotic stories to his daughter, and is angered. He desires to kill the parrot. The princess intervenes and saves the parrot's life by explaining to her father that the bird does not know what it is saying. In gratitude, the bird flies to the princess's lover and leads the lover through a labyrinth to the princess's private chambers. The princess and the lover spend the night making love.Production
The Cloud Door has plenty of humorous and sensual imagery and flows like a folk tale. Mani KaulMani Kaul
Mani Kaul was an Indian film director of Hindi films. He graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India where he was a student of Ritwik Ghatak and later became a teacher. Started his career with Uski Roti , which won him the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie, he went on to win...
drew upon three literary sources for it: the Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
play Avimaraka, written by Bhāsa
Bhasa
Bhāsa is one of the earliest and most celebrated Indian playwrights in Sanskrit. However, very little is known about him.Kālidāsa in the introduction to his first play Malavikagnimitram writes -...
around 5th-7th century; the Sufi epic love poem Padmavat
Padmavat
Padmavat or Padmawat is an epic poem written in 1540 by Malik Muhammad Jayasi in the Awadhi language. It is the first important work in Awadhi.- Theme :...
, written by Mohammed Jayasi
Malik Muhammad Jayasi
Malik Muhammad Jayasi was an Indian poet who wrote in the Avadhi dialect of Hindi.He hailed from Jais, presently a city in the Rae Bareli district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh...
in the 13th century; and the erotic Indian tales Suksapiti.
Reception
In January 1995, The Cloud Door was screened only once for the public at the International Film Festival of IndiaInternational Film Festival of India
The International Film Festival of India , founded in 1952, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. Held annually in the beach town of Goa, in the Western Coast of the country, the festival aims at providing a common platform for the cinemas of the world to project the excellence of...
as part of the Erotic Tales program, due to its erotic theme. Mani Kaul
Mani Kaul
Mani Kaul was an Indian film director of Hindi films. He graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India where he was a student of Ritwik Ghatak and later became a teacher. Started his career with Uski Roti , which won him the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Movie, he went on to win...
, known for his aesthetic work, had never previously made an Indian erotic film, despite the country's rich history of erotic folk art and literature. The single-screening of the film caused an uproar due to its erotic nature and on-screen nudity, and resulted in the police being called in to prevent rioting. An extra screening, exclusively for the press, was held later at a different venue. The film was also screened at the Munich Film Festival, Locarno International Film Festival
Locarno International Film Festival
The Film Festival Locarno is an international film festival held annually in the city of Locarno, Switzerland since 1946. After Cannes and Venice and together with Karlovy Vary, Locarno is the Film Festival with the longest history...
, New York Film Festival
New York Film Festival
The New York Film Festival has been a major film festival since it began in 1963 in New York. The films are selected by the Film Society of Lincoln Center...
and the Robert Flaherty Film Seminar.
Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
reviewer Todd McCarty said the film "features pictorial beauty, slow-building sensuality and surprising humor that combine to rich effect". The reviewer for the New York Times said that the film, when viewed with subtitles and deprived of its cultural context of Muslim and Hindu literature, "becomes a succession of brightly colored images that almost tell a story: a beautiful woman, perhaps a courtesan; a green, long-tailed parrot who repeats the erotic phrases he's picked up in her room; potential lovers; a fish that laughs".