‘Kedara’: 5 reasons to watch Indraadip Dasgupta’s directorial debut

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Kedara

’, music director Indraadip Dasgupta’s debut as a filmmaker, has already upped the expectation bar. After its illustrious festival rounds, winning accolades and most recently grabbing a National Award has made one of the most humble person in Tollywood even more excited ahead of the film’s theatrical release on November 1. ‘Kedara’ promises good content along with captivating performance by Kaushik Ganguly. Here we take a look at the five reasons to watch ‘Kedara’. Read on…

‘Kedara’ transforms loneliness into a painted picture

Indraadip Dasgupta’s debut directorial ‘Kedara’ is making headlines ahead of its November 1 release. The national award winning film sees kaushik Ganguly as Narasingha with his extraordinary skills as a ventriloquist and engulfing loneliness. "It is a slice-of-life film. It is a tribute to a dying art form -

ventriloquism

. Narasingha is a ventriloquist. When the relevance of his art started to fade away, so did his livelihood. Resigned to live in the shadow of his memories, he breaks bread with a junk-dealer, Keshto. Through the course of the film, Narasingha's loneliness becomes a painted picture, replete with images and voices borrowed from the past. The story takes a turn when Keshto presents him with an armchair, something he had always wanted to possess. The wooden armchair acts as a catalyst and changes his life and his personality," explains Indraadip while giving us a sneak peek into the ‘Kedara’ plot.

Kaushik Ganguly as a ventriloquist

Kaushik Ganguly who plays one of the central characters in the film is all praise for Indraadip. Being an award winning director himself, he said we all know about Dasgupta’s oeuvre as a music composer but the audience will be moved to witness his depth as a filmmaker. Ruranil Ghosh also plays a key role in the film. While speaking about his experience of acting in ‘Kedara’, Kaushik Ganguly admitted it’s really challenging to play a key role in a movie that’s largely dependent on the main cast’s performance and where there are so many things to convey ‘between the lines’. "The whole film has two most important characters, mine and Rudra’s (Rudranil Ghosh). And you would find plenty of voices. Not every actor gets this chance to work on such voice modulations in a film. Shooting for the film seemed attending a workshop for me. I even requested Indraadip Dasgupta to give me the opportunity to perform all the caricatures while playing a ventriloquist. I had to challenge myself as an actor,” said the ‘Jyeshthoputro’ director.

A brilliant job by Indraadip in his directorial debut
The way Indraadip Dasgupta has developed the world of Narasingha is magical to say the least. It’s not that he gives you a lot of fantastic visuals. His perfect vision in creating narratives out of a ventriloquist’s talent or the voices he often hears in his head, the hide-and-seek of light and shadow in the room, and his closeness with the things he loves madly is surprising yet refreshing and soothing. Kedara (Armchair) will no doubt find a special place in the viewer's heart. It is that kind of film which will make you smile, feel nostalgic, and look into the corner of the soul that is still a child.

Cinematography that leaves a lasting effect

Cinematographer Subhankar Bhar and editor Sujoy Dutta Roy have a huge contribution in making the film an magical experience. The close shots of Narasingha’s expressions are the most poignant moments as the film is mainly performance-based. A shot of pigeons playing in a ray of light which has peeked through in the dark room as Narasingha feeds them shows the first glimpse inside the heart of the man who is good for nothing in the eyes of the world. There are so many such moments that’s been composed by a relaxed mind with a clear vision. There is also a sense of ‘storytelling’ in the camerawork retaining the intrigue around the story till the end.

A much more serious side of Rudranil

It’s great to see Rudranil Ghosh in a role completely different from the stereotypical ones he usually gets except the characters he has played in ‘Vinci Da’ or ‘Satyanweshi Byomkesh’. He plays a timid man with deep affection for Narasingha, whom he genuinely considers his big brother. He never tries to intrude in his big brother’s secret world, but he understands the beautiful soul Narasingha carefully guards from everybody. Indraadip Dasgupta’s script and Srijato Bandopadhyay’s dialogues help the film retain an organic flow till the end.