Festive season brings international acclaim for Bengal film-makers

Kolkata: The festive season has ushered in critical acclaim abroad for film-makers from Bengal dealing with sensitive subjects, like rape and religious intolerance. The first big news came from South Korea, where director Aparna Sen’s Hindi film ‘

The Rapist

’ was declared a co-winner of the

Kim Jiseok award

at the 26th

Busan International Film Festival

. The next cause for celebration was the overwhelming response at the BFI

London Film Festival

to Prasun Chatterjee’s debut Bengali film ‘

Dostojee

’ on how childhood camaraderie is threatened in a climate of fast-spreading religious intolerance in the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition and the Mumbai blasts.

Sen’s film, starring Konkona Sen Sharma, Arjun Rampal and Tanmay Dhanania, is a portrait of sexual violence, its aftermath, and the socio-psychological fallout for both survivors and perpetrators. The film had its world premiere at BIFF 2021 in the ‘A Window on Asian Cinema’ section and was one of seven

films

nominated for the award. It deals with themes of crime, punishment and restorative justice through the prism of class dynamics while chronicling the journey of three protagonists and how their lives get entwined because of one incident. “This award has a special significance for me because I was in Busan as a jury member many years ago,” said Sen. “Deeply humbled, grateful and overwhelmed” with the decision, Sen mentioned she had met Kim and is aware of his tireless efforts to promote Asian cinema throughout the world.

Konkona Sen Sharma in a still from 'The Rapist'
Meanwhile, on Panchami, Saptami and Nabami, London hosted multiple screenings of ‘Dostojee’. The film explores how the lives of two school kids — one a Hindu and the other, a Muslim — and the social fabric in a remote Bengal village change due to growing religious intolerance.

Although set in 1993, ‘Dostojee’ strongly reflects contemporary realities. “Unlike Kolkata, cinemas in London allow 100% occupancy. I am overwhelmed by the queue at the box-office, the sold-out shows and the way the British audience reacted to my film,” Chatterjee said.

A still from 'Dostojee'
Before the screening, he met Iranian director Asgarh Farhadi, who has received two Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film for ‘A Separation’ and ‘The Salesman’. Farhadi’s ‘A Hero’ was also screened at the festival. “I couldn’t believe I got the opportunity to discuss with him the process of film-making, writing and briefing actors. The protagonists of my film are child actors and I suppose that was one of the reasons for his interest in discussing cinema with me. Though he couldn’t watch my film because he had another conference, he took along my film’s kit with him,” Chatterjee said.


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