Berlinale 2024, Post #5: Siddartha Jatla tackles capitalism in the haunting ‘In the Belly of a Tiger’, which had its world premiere at the Berlinale

Where are the gods in the modern day, and in their absence, who is going to save the downtrodden? Asking this question, this film becomes an ode to belief.

One of the most famous stories from the Bhagavata Purana is that of the elephant named Gajendra, who was attacked by a crocodile. Gajendra was abandoned by his herd, and, all alone, he called out to Lord Vishnu to save him. The God killed the crocodile and saved Gajendra. This episode appears as a play staged in a village in Siddartha Jatla’s In the Belly of a Tiger, where the actor playing Vishnu tells Lakshmi that He will be there for his devotees whenever they are in pain. Apparently, everyone in the village is a devotee. We get a flashback where a grandmother tells legends about Vishnu to her grandson. And the audience of this play offer a prayer to the actor playing Vishnu, as though he were really Lord Vishnu. But despite the actor’s promises, despite the pain of these present-day Gajendras, there is no saviour in sight.

You can read the rest of the review here:

https://www.galatta.com/hindi/movie/review/in-the-belly-of-a-tiger/

You can watch the trailer / video review here:

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