S. N. S. Sastry

Biography

Films Division India began in 1948 with the purpose of recording and documenting the history of the newly formed nation. The primary medium of this visual history would be through the creation of documentary-style films. S. N. S. Sastry joined Films Division India as a newsreel cameraman in the early 1950s. Over time, he eventually went on to become a director. Through his distinctly experimental films, he eventually became known as one of the key figures of documentary and short film practice in India. Under FIlms Division India, S. N. S. Sastry made state-sponsored films, however, he drifted away from other government filmmakers in that he developed this nervous, explosive, humorous style of films. His films were known to catch the audience's attention by juxtaposing serious topics with nuanced, ironic, and even dark humor. Even during the period of the Emergency, when state-sponsored films were heavy-handed propaganda, Sastry used images and sounds in ways that evaded fixed meanings—including an eclectic style of montage, dissonant sound, and “remix". Titles that demonstrated these possibilities of subverting state propaganda include And I Make Short Films (1968), Our Indira (1973), and This Bit of That India (1972). In all of his films, Sastry leaves the audience breathless; his visual metaphors and exciting mixes of sound and media make it so every second of every film serves some sort of purpose; blink, and you'll miss it. The audience tirelessly attempts to catch up with his satire, as he even subverts the definitions of what a documentary is supposed to be. Titles that explicitly question what it means to make documentaries include And I Make Short Films (1968) and On the Move (1970). The exact date of his birth is unknown, however, TMDB will not let me put "1930" by itself. Therefore, I have put 1/1/1930 as a placeholder; please note 1/1/1930 is not his real birthday.