A maverick independent filmmaker and abstract painter of considerable reputation, Mani Kaul (Dhrupad, SFIFF 1984) finds inspiration in Indian classical music and historical studies of Indian aesthetics. Among Indian music's fundamental principals is the concept of elaboration and it is upon this tenet that the Bombay-based director has fashioned his latest feature. A hypnotic meditation, rich in intricate patternings of evocative sound and image, Siddeshwari is an experience of pure and soulful music. Siddeshwari Devi "was the most extraordinary 20th century singer in the classical thumri tradition which, according to legend, goes back to a eunuch at Indra's court, cursed for failing to return a lady's love. As a young woman, Siddi silently absorbed the music, listening to the artful performances of Siyaji Maharaj. Thrown out of her aunt's house for daring to ask questions, she painfully tried to survive in the streets of Benares, the city of rituals, suffering and death but also of passion, transformation and the sublime. Eventually, accepted as a disciple by Maharaj, she became a uniquely popular singer, condensing a life of horror and joy in the grain of her voice. The narrative is structured like a thumri piece: it presents key motifs (of Siddi's life, as well as of myths and locations) and elaborates on and around them with different songs, moods, camera movements, etc. until the whole becomes a moving tapestry celebrating the transfiguration of life into music." --Paul Willemen, London Film Festival