In the spirit of Cinema Retro's quest to help make audiences aware of worthwhile independent films, columnist David Savage reports on the new short Sahaja Springs.
If
precious few directors have exploited the inherent comedy of the ashram -- a
retreat for meditation, yoga and enlightenment -- it may be because, like the
fashion biz and network television, for example -- these realms do an awfully
good job of satirizing themselves.
One
director willing to take a stab at sending up the yoga lifestyle is emerging
indie director Rebecca Conroy, a recent graduate of Columbia
University's graduate film program. Her hilarious short, Sahaja Springs,
recently screened at the IFC Center in Manhattan, and has both tickled and
angered audiences, depending on whom you ask. (Men seem to be amused; women,
not so much, according to Conroy.)
The
film's multi-thread narrative follows a group of ashram residents as they
struggle to find inner peace promised by an Upstate New York ashram run by a
faux-Indian, fraudulent yogi. That the character is played by a real-life
Indian yogi, 92 year-old Kumar Pallana -- the Indian character actor with a
recurring role in many of Wes Anderson's films such as Rushmore, The
Royal Tenenbaums, and The Darjeeling Limited -- is a good example of
the film’s layered comedy.
Meanwhile,
a male ashram resident – a hunky, magnetic loner who speaks in mystical yet
baffling headscratchers – seems to be driving all the females crazy with
frustrated lust and confusion.
It’s
a smart, deadpan jewel from a young director who knows whence she speaks:
Conroy drew upon her own experiences as a yoga follower, ashram-crasher and
daughter of a hippie mother.
I
sat down recently for coffee with Conroy and discussed the idea behind her yoga
satire and “The Great Kumarâ€â€™s surprising theatrical history.
CR:
What made you choose this as the subject for your film?
RC:
I had an experience in Ithaca, New York a few years ago with my then-boyfriend.
We were invited to a party in the country which was thrown by a group called
the Rainbow Gathering, a group of wealthy hippies who travel the world. I was
struck by the look and vibe of these people, who were all really good-looking
and tan and drove Volvos. In the driveway were a bunch of expensive cars, and
they all had beautiful babies but they wore tattered clothes. Super-annoying
but also cool. Nomadic. How did they know how to live like this?
CR: Was your
original intent that of a satire, or did that tone grow out of an earlier,
"serious" incarnation?
RC:
Every filmmaker has their own tone, but this has been through five incarnations
and this film is the final result. Most people along the way thought it was
funny and weird. My favorite movie has always been I Love You, Alice B.
Toklas. It was always in my head. I liked the tone. The pot brownie scene [in
Sahaja Springs] was inspired by it.
And as a child I was around a lot of hippies. My mother is basically a hippie.
But truthfully, I was always disgusted by these hairy hippies, always searching
for something. I always found the men most disturbing. They hold no
responsibility. It's that sort of selfish soul-searching, not paying the bills,
sexual promiscuity, not faithful to one woman. . . . Pot-smoking is a big
issue. People who smoke regularly think their thoughts are like a verbal diary.
It leads to taking oneself so seriously. Being under the tidal wave of every
little emotion.
CR: Tell me about how
you came to cast Kumar Pallana.
RC: I found his son and called him and described the project to him. He passed
the idea on to his father, who eventually called me back and said “Only if I
meet you.†So I had to jump on a flight
to San Francisco [where Pallana lives] and show up at his door, all the while
not knowing if it was going to pay off. He was this super nice and short man
who made chai tea for me. We had immediate chemistry. It took him a while to
commit, I must say. In fact I didn't know until I picked him up from the
airport if he was actually going to do it.
CR: Apparently he has a pretty rich theatrical background?
RC: He appeared with the Rat Pack in the 60’s as a plate-spinner and
equilibrist. Las Vegas, Chicago, all over. He's actually a real vaudevillian,
but at the same time he's a real yogi. He still travels the world at 92 doing
films. He just got back from India where he was in a Bollywood movie. He's
amazing. . . He attributes his longevity to hot liquid, yoga and spices.
[As
the legend goes, Wes Anderson "discovered" the diminutive Indian
actor at 80 years old when he was the proprietor of The Cosmic Cup coffee shop
in Dallas, where the director and his brother used to hang out.]
CR:
What kind of reactions have you experienced so far at the screenings?
RC:
Men really like it. All of the negative reactions have come from women. “I was
making a comedy!†I try to tell them. I was trying to bring out the absurdity
and comedy of this way of life. My female professor at Columbia told me she
thought it was “too esoteric.â€
CR:
What is it about yoga that makes someone want to throw a banana peel in and
watch what happens?
RC:
Yoga is supposed to be about getting to the point of absence-of-ego, but
modern-day yoga seems to be nothing BUT ego. It’s not “selfless†at all. I do
believe in yoga. I believe in its original purpose. But it’s something I
struggle with everyday -- the time spent on something that’s supposed to take
you out of yourself.
CR:
Why do you think the search for enlightenment is a fertile ground for comedy?
RC:
Anything in that idyllic setting, where life is easier, one can be so
free-ranging and self-indulgent to a degree that's not even possible in “real
life.†And all that lingo and time spent on just meditating and perfecting
poses would never be allowed in the real world. Things get hard when you leave
the ashram and start living your life again.
CR:
What do you think is the main thing people are seeking at ashrams? How many
have you known that ever find it?
RC:
Affirmation and love. I have a huge issue with what these things cost. I
addressed that subject in one scene with all the wallets and credit cards. I
feel it’s about money. The money culture is behind it. Shouldn't yoga be free?
There should be all types of people present. That’s something I never understood,
the money.