Death in the City

Anyone who has travelled through India, or anyone with an interest in Hindu spirituality will find rich material in this documentary about Varanesi, famed holy city on the Ganges. Many believe that if one dies in this city and is given the rites of cremation in its waters, Lord Shiva whispers the sacred chants in your ear that will release you from the karmic wheel of reincarnation. From these beliefs has sprung a local industry based on death, including wood bearers, death photographers, prostitutes, and an assortment of holy men well supplied with chillums of gunja. For many westerners the fascinating aspect of this Indian-Australian co-production (boasting ex-SAFC executive Defrim Isai as executive producer) will be the acceptance of death, and the way that it is stripped of the fear and grief that all too often attend it.