After having shaken and stirred the worlds of painting, photography and sculpture, veteran Paresh Maity concocts a cultural cocktail of films

Veterans and vanity go hand in hand. But where they don't, the whirlwind of possibilities is unstoppable. Artist Paresh Maity, for instance, has just made his debut as a filmmaker, with an 18-minute landscape documentary-feature, 'The Mystic Melody: A Day in the Golden Desert'. The film is part of his exhibition 'The World On A Canvas', presented by Gallery Art Alive. "I wanted to make movies since the last 25 years. I have three feature films in the pipeline. They will be abstract movies related to my art," says the 45-year-old.


Painting the paradox called Delhi

Merchant of Venice
The exhibition is a treasure trove, with watercolours and oils, sculptures and installations. Among one of the finest watercolourists of the nation, this series is a show of riotous colour, fervent flavours of Venice, India and London, and minimalist renditions of China. "All the countries have their own charm and colour. I have been travelling and painting for the past 28 years, and simply love to do that," says Maity, who has displayed his private collection of the visual voyages from 1983 to the present. Stylised forms, flowing colours, movement and stillness co-exist in Maity's works. It's also the luminescence, interplay of warm hues and vibrant colours, and a criss-cross of figurative and representative form that keep you hooked.

Ghosh whisperer
Maity has been working with Kolkata-based Nemai Ghoshu00a0-- filmmaker Satyjait Ray's photographeru00a0-- for the last five years, on his biography. After being introduced by Pandit Ravi Shankar, they collaborated with Bollywood thespian Sharmila Tagore for an artistic biography that shares its name with the exhibition. The actress wrote the text. "When I met Ghosh at an exhibition, he said he would love to work with me, so we travelled together to many countries. He captured me in several moods in a black-and-white background, and then, we contacted Sharmila ji for the compilation," he reveals. This show and the book strike a jugalbandi that is an ardent art aficionado's delight. Meet this Maity, we say.

The World on a Canvas
At Lalit Kala Akademi, Rabindra Bhavan, Copernicus Marg
When Till March 27, 11 am to 7 pm
Continued at Art Alive Gallery,
S - 221, Panchsheel Park
When March 30 to April 10, 11 am to 7 pm