The Bengali film, which premiered at the prestigious Busan International Film Festival 2021, is an existential horror inspired by the pandemic
The Bengali film, which premiered at the prestigious Busan International Film Festival 2021, is an existential horror inspired by the pandemic
In early 2020, Bengali filmmakers Rajdeep Paul and Sharmistha Maiti were planning to launch their first film – a social realism film that wanted to explore the underbelly of Calcutta (producers, intentionally or otherwise, don’t say Kolkata). It was to be installed on the streets of the city. Then, COVID-19 brought Bharat and his film to a halt.
Rajdeep and Sharmistha, both alumni of the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, are not the first to venture into films. In fact, he has won a National Award for his short, At the Crossroads: Nandan Bagchi Life and Living, But directing a feature length film was special to him.
“When COVID hit, we could not go out. We waited week after week. But we didn’t know when it would end,” says Rajdeep, “We were unsure whether we could make films at all or at least step out of our homes. Even the stories we thought of were not good enough.”
Felt both creatively and literally. Then, Rajdeep got a news about a woman from Kolkata. “Her relatives were taken for quarantine and she could not even contact them. And there were a lot of people like him,” he says.
The next morning, he had this germ of a thought: ‘What if someone, in this state of anxiety, kidnaps a doctor?’
it grew kalkokkho, A complex sci-fi, survival horror story set in the backdrop of a pandemic. The makers say that the film was a reflection of what happened in front of them.
“During the pandemic, we were simultaneously experiencing a strange state of anxiety and boredom,” Rajdeep says, “that what seemed real suddenly became our reality. We humans are extremely apathetic as well as highly empathetic. We were told to go out only for essential work. So, we asked ourselves ‘What is important in life? Is it just buying groceries?’ My father passed away during the pandemic. And, he was going through depression due to the lockdown. We wanted to explore these things in our film.”
In July 2020, when he gave it to Aurora Film Corporation, which has produced films featuring Satyajit Ray and Rithvik Ghatak, he immediately flagged it.
However, he had just joined the hurdles. A feature film was to be made with only six actors, a 30-member crew, a minimum budget.
“Finding a home for the film was a struggle especially with the travel restrictions. Casting a child and a senior citizen was also a big challenge,” says Sharmistha. “We really wanted Aahana Karmakar to play the role of the young girl as we worked with her in our short film. But she initially refused because she was afraid to pass out during the first wave. It was a big task to convince him. It took about a month.”
“We went on floors in December 2020 after a two-month workshop. We shot for 14 days inside a house, with a 30-member crew in almost quarantine-like condition. Even after returning home from shooting, we used to isolate ourselves so that we would not spread it to our families,” she adds.
The film, finally, was completed in April 2021.
kalkokkho It’s finally in cinemas. But, as is the case with most independent films in India, it has not been easy to screen. “It’s a struggle to get your film out to the public,” lamented the producers.
But recognition has not left him. The film premiered at the 2021 edition of the prestigious Busan Film Festival in the New Currents (Main Competition) section. It won the Golden Sparrow Best Screenplay Award at the Diorama International Film Festival 2021. Girish Kasaravalli, who was on the jury, wrote a letter of appreciation to him after watching the film. This year, the film was screened at several international festivals including the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, Dhaka International Film Festival, Kolkata International Film Festival.
The makers especially remember the Chennai International Film Festival, which was held with great enthusiasm this January.
“We got a show on Sunday at 10:15 am,” says Sharmistha, “We thought we would be able to watch the film with only a few organisers. But we got the whole house! He was so engrossed in the film that when someone’s phone started ringing in the middle of the show, the eyes of the rest of the audience fell on that person.
More than the awards, Rajdeep and Sharmistha get satisfaction from the acceptance and acceptance of the audience.
‘Kalakkho’ will be screened at the Thrissur International Film Festival on September 22. It will also be part of the competition section of Russia’s Orenburg International Film Festival 2022 (East and West; Classics and Avante Garde) from 14 to 19 October. The director is also pushing for an OTT release.