‘A true people's warrior’: Artists and activists mourn documentary filmmaker KP Sasi

Sasi's films covered many social and environmental issues, from the struggles of tribal communities in Uttarakhand and violence on Christians in Odisha to the Narmada valley movement.
Filmmaker KP Sasi
Filmmaker KP Sasi
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Activist, documentary filmmaker and cartoonist KP Sasi passed away on Christmas Day, 2022, a Sunday. He was 64 years old and reportedly undergoing treatment for ailments at a hospital in Thrissur. One of the pioneers of documentary filmmaking from Kerala, Sasi was known for always standing up for the rights of marginalised communities through his work. 

"KP Sasi has left his body, but will never leave our hearts," wrote renowned documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan, shortly after Sasi's death. Long tributes from contemporary filmmakers, activists and friends across the country have been pouring since Sunday. Sasi's films covered a wide range of issues including the struggles of Adivasis in Uttarakhand, the violence on Christians in Odisha, environmental concerns from the days of the Narmada movement, pollution of Kerala’s Chaliyar river, and various other human rights causes. 

Redefining Peace on the struggles of the people of Manipur against the draconian Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, Development at Gunpoint about the Adivasis’ struggle against bauxite mining in Odisha, A Valley refuses to die on the movemenet against dam projects on the Narmada river, and Voices from the Ruins on the violence against Christians in Kandhamal of Odisha were a few of his many issue-based documentaries. He was also one of the founders of the VIBGYOR film festival for short fiction and documentaries held in Thrissur every year.

Speaking to TNM, artist, activist and author of River of Stories, Orijit Sen, remembered Sasi as a true people’s warrior. “I have known KP Sasi and have been familiar with his work since the Narmada Bachao Andolan days in the 1990s. My wife Gurpreet and I used to also stock his films and cartoons, and proudly display them at our People Tree store in Delhi. He would make it a point to bring along some of his latest creations, especially the cartoons, whenever he visited. I'm shocked by the news of his passing. A true people's warrior and hero, gone too soon! Rest in power, Sasi!” he said.

Watch: Sasi's music video Gaon Chodab Nahi

"He always took a clear stand on various political issues and never held back his views and arguments," wrote documentary filmmaker and media activist Amudhan RP.

Sasi, who was born in Kerala, grew up in Delhi and started working as a cartoonist with The Free Press Journal in the 1970s. Activist and academic Ram Puniyani wrote in Sabrang India about Sasi’s “remarkable work” when he did drawings for his book Communalism: An Illustrated Primer, including one called 'skeletons talking to each other and asking their religions', and other cartoons like the one he did on beauty pageants with a contestant called Miss Poverty.

But by the early 80s, Sasi was drawn to the world of films and began using it as a medium for expressing his dissent against the establishment. "It was in 1982 that he moved to Thrissur and made his first documentary on the Thrissur pooram. Except that one, most of the rest of his works were based on relevant issues of the time," says documentary filmmaker Pandavath Baburaj who worked with Sasi for 14 years. Baburaj says how Sasi's films on the lives of fisher folk were instrumental in spreading awareness about conserving marine wealth and protecting human rights. His film Living in Fear was one of the first anti-nuclear documentaries in Asia, Baburaj says. 

Sasi used different formats including music videos, documentaries and feature films. Music videos like America, America, an anti-war satire, and Gaon Chodab Nahi, on the Adivasi struggle in Kashipur, were made decades ago. He also made two feature films called Ilayum Mullum and Ek Alag Mausam. The first was a Malayalam film on social and psychological violence against women, and the second, a Hindi film featuring Nandita Das, told the story of a woman with AIDS.

“We have used Sasi’s Ilayum Mullum to teach public health students about gender justice,” wrote Dr Ramankutty, doctor, artist and an old friend of Sasi. “Sasi made films to wake up social humanity. I remember how he came home and made my father watch his film on the Narmada issue. I believe that it helped my father form a new approach on environmental issues,” said Ramankutty, who is the son of late Chief Minister and Communist Party of India (CPI) leader C Achutha Menon. Sasi was also the son of a CPI leader – one of the founding members of the united party – K Damodaran. 

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