‘Once Upon A Time In Calcutta’: The untold story of a Bengali film at Venice Film Festival after 21 years

Twenty-one years after Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s ‘Uttara’ won the special director’s award at the Venice Film Festival, National Award winner Aditya Vikram Sengupta’s Bengali film, ‘Once Upon A Time In Calcutta’ (OUATIC), is in competition at the coveted festival. It will be competing in the Orizzonti section and is the only Indian film at the 78th Venice International Film Festival. Sengupta’s film, starring Sreelekha Mitra and Bratya Basu, among others, will have its world premiere at the festival held from September 1-11.

Bengal’s Venice connection goes back to 1934 when Debaki Kumar Bose created history there. He directed ‘Seeta’ under the East India Film Company banner and it was the first Indian talkie to be shown at any international film festival and won an honorary diploma. Bose was the first Indian to receive a global award. Satyajit Ray’s ‘Aparajito’ won the Golden Lion at the 1957 Venice Film Festival. The next big award in Bengal came for ‘Uttara’ in 2000. In 2014, Sengupta’s ‘Labour Of Love’ (‘Asha Jaoar Majhe’) was in the official selection of the 11th edition of Venice Days — an independent sidebar of the Venice Film Festival. Sengupta said, “We are excited to be back with a Bengali film about Kolkata, especially in Satyajit Ray’s birth centenary year.”

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Aditya Vikram Sengupta is happy to have been able to share this news with Buddhadeb Dasgupta before the ‘Uttara’ director passed away. Actor Jaya Seal Ghosh, who played the title role in ‘Uttara’, said, “A Bengali film is competing in Venice in the year Buddha kaku passed away. This is the best tribute to him.”

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Only a few contemporary Indian films have competed in Venice in recent times. Chaitanya Tamhane’s ‘The Disciple’ bagged the FIPRESCI award last year; Ivan Ayr’s ‘Meel Patthar’ had premiered in the Orrizonti last year as well while Sanal Kumar Sasidharan’s ‘Chola’ was there in 2019. Tamhane’s ‘Court’ became the first and only Indian production to have won a Best Film award in Orizzonti in 2014. Some makers have complained that Tollywood films are not even watched by the selection committee. However, Sengupta debunks all these reasons. “These are all just myths that come out of laziness. It is very difficult to go ahead if one is not ready to invest time and love something strongly enough to rear it properly,” he said.

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Sengupta’s film is shot by Palme d’Or winner Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s cinematographer Go-khan Tiryaki, and the music is by Dutch composer Minco Eggersman. The director said the film is his effort to chip away at the “layers of the previously communist city” to reveal a human condition that is tragic, yet optimistic. “I shot all over Kolkata and tried to give a glimpse into the murky waters of the city with colourful characters trying to find a corner of their own without drowning,” he said.

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Playing the role of the protagonist (Ela) is Sreelekha Mitra. Others in the ensemble cast include Satrajit Sarkar, Arindam Ghosh, Reetika Nondine Shimu, Anirban Chakrabarti and Shayak Roy. Non-professional actors, including Sengupta’s father Tridib, also feature in significant roles. “I have faced criticism and humiliation by my industry peers. But I continued the way I thought was right. The Venice announcement has vindicated my stand,” Sreelekha shares.

The selection of this film in Venice is a way of giving recognition to someone who deserves respect.