Cannes’ featured Bengali movie released here
The prestigious Cannes award winning director Vimukthi Jayasundara’s Bengali movie ‘Chatrak’ or ‘Mushroom’ is now being screened at cinemas around the country. Released in Lite cinemas including Amity Lite Maharagama and Vista Lite Ja-ela, this 2011 film was made on an invitation by a Bengali film producer. It was screened at a number of international Film Festivals including Directors’ Fortnight at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.
The first Sri Lankan to win the prestigious Caméra d’Or at Cannes Film Festival in 2005, for his debut feature ‘Sulanga Enu Pinisa’ or ‘The Forsaken Land’, Vimukthi has made a number of short films and-documentaries since then.
Described by critics as one of the boldest film ever made in India, ‘Chatrak’, discusses deep issues like industrialization and development and human relationships.
The film narrated around Rahul (Sudeep Mukherjee), a Bengali architect working at construction sites in Dubai. He returns home to Kolkata after several years. His girlfriend, Paoli (Paoli Dam), has been waiting for his return.
Rahul’s seemingly successful life is overshadowed by the search for his brother (Sumeet Thakur), said to now be mad and living in the forest, where he sleeps in the trees and subsists on vegetation. This brother befriends a French soldier in the jungle. Rahul and Paoli journey in search of his lost brother.
Screenplay written and directed by Vimukthi, ‘Chatrak’ is produced by Vinod Lahoti.
Musical score by Roman Dummy, editor of Chatrak is Julie Béziau and the cinematographed by Sri Lanka’s Channa Deshapriya.