Inaugural Film
BAAGH (The Tiger )
Director & Editor : Sourish Dey
Producer : Snigdha Biswas
Cast :
1. BISWANATH BASU ,
2. ABHRA SHANKAR ROY
,3. FAIZ ALAM KHAN
,4. AMIT DEY
Synopsis :
“Baagh” explores the relevance of our wild animal instincts in a civilized society through the eyes of a folk actor who performs as the tiger for a living. A Citizen advises the King to interview a tiger to know more. Mr. Jaiswal, the Goat, helmed in-charge of the project. Grand arrangements are planned but later the King orders Citizen to cut down the expense. Disappointed by the Tiger's meek responses, the Goat resorts to torturous conduct and what follows from here is absolute mayhem.
Director Bio :
Sourish Dey is a director, writer, editor and colorist. He primarily started working as an editor. After honing his craft by editing for numerous feature length films, short films and documentaries, he started making his own short films. He made four short films and later has written, edited and directed his own independent experimental silent feature film, “Juto” (The Journey).
Filmography :
1. Juto (The Journey) ( 2019
Bengali FF 2022 @Thrissur RAVIKRISHNA Theatre
September 17 - 26,
TOBUO Nandini
Director : Subrata Sen
Producer : Subrata Sen Communications Filmwallah
Editor : Rabiranjan Maitra
Cast :
1. Swastika Mukherjee
2. Mir
3. Dibyendu Mukherjee
4. Bratya Basu
Synopsis :
Nandini is a working lady living happily with her engineer husband Aniruddha. Aniruddha works in a oil drilling company and stays away from home fifteen days in a month. Deep is a famous fashion photographer and a painter based in Bombay who is on a vacation to his home town Kolkata. Deep meets Nandini and Aniruddha at a city club and develops an immediate liking towards Nandini. This liking grows into a full-fledged affair with everyone left wondering how fragile today’s relationships are.
Director
Subrata Sen is a filmmaker and journalist based in Kolkata. Born in 1963, he started as a Probationary Officer in a Nationalised bank and then moved to journalism in 1989. In 2001 he made his first movie Ek Je achhe Kanya (The Girl), which won him several awards including an official selection at Karlovy Vary Film Festival. His second work Swapner Feriwala (And they dared to dream) was also selected at Karlovy Vary film festival. He is credited with making India's first digital film Nil Nirjane (Vacation Blues) in 2003. He has made fourteen films so far, including a documentary and three television films.
Filmography :
1. Ek Je Achhe Kanya (The Girl) ( 2001 )
2. Swapner Feriwala (And they dared to dream) ( 2002 )
3. Nil Nirjane (Vacation Blues) ( 2003 )
4. Hothat Nirar Jonno (Suddenly, for Nira) ( 2005 )
5. Bibar (Calcutta, unabashed) ( 2006 )
6. Shirin ra (For television) ( 2006 )
7. Khela Jokhon (For television) ( 2007 )
8. Ei Mili (For television) ( 2009 )
9. Koyekti Meyer Golpo (Those city girls) ( 2012 )
10. Sada Canvas (Blank Canvas) ( 2014 )
11. Mister Bhaduri ( 2016 )
12. Kali (Documentary) ( 2018 )
13. Manab Manabi (Masculine Feminine) ( 2019 )
14. Tobuo Nandini (Nandini) ( 2021 )
' Nei Manusher Kissa’
This 88-minute film by highly acclaimed film maker Soumendu Bhattacherya sensitively portrays the identity crisis of a person who is a non-entity in society. The cast includes Sanchari Dutta, Faiz Khan, Anuj Banerjee, Manjil Bhattacharya and Tania Mitra.
Synopsis
: A thought provoking Bengali film movingly chronicles the journey of a Nobody through life.It raises interesting questions of human identity, its eternal yearning for love and struggles for life amidst the canvas of nature. The director’s passion for photography and travelling can be seen in the reflective cinematic shots of both closed spaces as well as natural landscapes. In this film, Faiz is the nobody who after surviving a suicidal attempt tries to come to terms with the meaning of his life. After meeting his ex-lover and understanding the daily existential turmoils of life, he wonders askance at life’s turns and toils. The film then moves to a remote village with the hero befriending a local young man, Anuj in a tea shop. They cycle together to an ancient shrine where Faiz discovers Gautama, the Buddha. The movie reveals the quintessential dream of the rural boy Anuj who wants to implausibly be a movie star in Mumbai after his terminally ill mother departs. Faiz then meetsthe bold Tania who has come out from her home leaving her 2 children & husband. They immerse themselves in eye opening experiences in a boat journey learning about the wretched lives of coal poachers and the beauty of a village fair. They depart as friends wishing each other good luck. Next, we see a contemplative Faiz sitting on the rocks before the vast ocean at dawn. He realizes that it is our actions which give wings to our dreams. The film shows his ex-lover Sanchari gliding down the sky and the couple rediscover each other. The climax of the film is beautifully shot showing the collaborative immersion dance of Devi Durga with the rhythmic beats of the Indian drum conveying that life goes on.
Credits
: The film’s story, screenplay and production is by Soumendu Bhattacherya himself with cinematography by Biraja Kar.
*Director’s note:
The* director notes that this film is his labour of love being self-financed.It is an independent film of journey, questioning hope, humanity& identity with a touch of fiction.
CONTEMPORARY BENGALI CINEMA
Manohar and I
Directed and produced by Amitabha Chaterji, the film features a star cast of Shyamal Chakraborty, Senjuti Roy Mukherjee, Monalisa Chatterjee, Udita Maitra, Amrita Mukhopadhyay, Ashis Majumder, Upamanyu Majumder and Tania Chowdhury.
Synopsis :
Winner of the Best Debut Film ( K R MOHANAN AWARD )at the prestigious International Film Festival of Kerala in 2018, director Amitabha Chaterji’s fascinating urban tale documents two loners in the bustling city of Calcutta. They meet regularly during the course of their journey and share stories, creating a connection that reveals expressions of distress, seclusion and longing. The two talk like two passers-by on fortuitous topics and inconsequential matters about their lives. However, we realise that most of the personal information they share is made up, and that in reality they both lead companionless lives. In a bid to hide their loneliness from each other, they pretend to be what they are not. Manohar pretends to be happily married, while the woman claims to have a boyfriend. But one day when death makes an appearance, the haunting truth about the other is revealed. The main protagonists are simple mundane people who the director has woven together in a tapestry of black and white making it a compelling watch. Manohar and I is one of those movies where the central theme is of the pain of loneliness.
Credits
The film’s cinematography is by Modhura Palit and Amitabha Chaterji. It is edited by Simanta Mukherjee. The sound recording by Aparna Das and the sound design & mixing is by Sk Abdul Rajjak which lend a tinge of pathos to the movie. The assistant director is Amrita Mukhopadhyay.
Director’s note/
: The director says that it’s a treatise on loneliness, and a comment on the monotonous life led by people devoid of passion or purpose. It searches through a compassionate lens, the stories of people with nothingness writ large in their lives.
Contemporary Bengali Cinema
Mahananda (2022)
This socio-political drama starring Gargee Roychowdhury, DebshankarHaldar, IshaaSaha and others in key roles, revolves around the story of writer Mahananda whose personality bears similarities with the life and persona of Mahasweta Devi. The film is produced byFirdausul Hasan and Prabal Halder with able direction by Arindam Sil and Apurba Bose as associate director under the banner of Friend’s Communication.
Synopsis :
Mahananda is a larger-than-life portrayal of the firebrand activist Mahasweta Devi who endeavoured to speak the truth. The film explores the protagonist's thought provoking and inspiring journey as she seeks justice for the oppressed. The protagonist’s childhood and youth are portrayed convincingly leading to her evolution as a strong committed individual standing up for marginalised communities like the Shabar who were labelled as natural criminals.
The movie portrays Mahananda’s estranged husband as selling his soul for commercial success unlike Mahasweta Devis estranged husband who was a doyen of social-political literature till his dying moments. Inspite of the liberties taken with the documented truth, the film is lit up by brilliant performances.
Credits :
The soulful music using flutes and sombre tones has been composed by Bickram Ghosh while the script is co-written by Subhendu Dasmunshi and Arindam Sil. The prosthetic makeup by Somnath Kundumakes for a convincing Mahasweta Devi.Ayon Sil is the director of photography.
Director’s note :
In the words of the director, Arindam Sil, the film talks about the essence of Mahasweta Devi. It makes very clear-cut political statements through her philosophy of life. It shows her personal life, political and social life which all evolved from certain principles. The story flows like river from one generation to another with the focus being on Mahasweta’s uncompromising ethics.
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