Ranjan’s film 'Mahishasur Marddini' lauded at New York film fest

Ranjan Ghosh is elated to see the overwhelming response his film 'Mahishasur Marddini' (‘A Night to Remember’) has received at the New York Indian Film Festival. The film starring Saswata Chatterjee, Rituparna Sengupta and Parambrata Chattopadhyay in the lead is a letter of apology to women for the wrongs done to her through the ages that continue even to this day. It is set in one location and tells the story of a single night. Be it the creative concept, the dexterous blending of mythology and socio-political issues or the staging, setting, colors or dialogues – each of these aspects made 'Mahishasur Marddini' one of the talking points at the recently concluded film fest. For instance, Priyanjali Sen, a lecturer of Cinema Studies, New York University says that Ranjan’s film takes a sophisticated approach to horrific subject matter and he raises the bar, sparing nothing and no one — not even the gods. 'Mahishasur Marddini' begins with the gang-rape and murder of a ten-year-old deaf-mute destitute girl a night before Durga puja is scheduled to begin in Kolkata. She happened to live through her days and nights at the local Hindu crematorium and Muslim graveyard. The storyline then shifts to the house of a landlady and her four college-going tenants who are busy with last-minute festival preparations. Through the night they receive a few visitors, some planned, some unplanned. The incidents that unfold thereafter showcase the trials and tribulations faced by women all over. The characters too have their moment of catharsis as they realize that a girl-child or a woman in distress is nothing short of humanity in peril. The hard-hitting film also stars young actors Sritama Dey, Aryuun Ghosh, Arunima Halder, Abhyuday Dey, and Purbasha Mal, along with actors Shaheb Bhattacherjee and Poulomi Das in pivotal roles. Ranjan’s film was also screened at the Bengaluru International Film Festival last month and earned appreciation there as well.