Movie: The Servant's Shirt October 23, 2003

by Mani Kaul (Naukar Ki Kameez, The Netherlands/India 1999, 105 min.). Both chatty and absurd, The Servant's Shirt follows Santu, a lower-middle-class junior clerk in a provincial government office, as he struggles to keep from slipping down the social ladder. Santu and his wife attempt to maintain their sanity and social standing while dealing with a host of small-town characters, including his alcoholic supervisor, a senile peon, their phlegmatic landlord and doctor, the doctor's wife who always wants help with her domestic chores, and Santu's administrative chief who needs a new servant.