An independent Bengali film which won an award at the Venice Film Festival had a special UK premiere at the Taj Hotel's Cinema Suite in central London. Asha Jaoar Maajhe (Labour of Love) selected for the 58th annual London Film Festival which opened here this week, was screened at the exclusive venue designed by Indian fashion designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee.
"It is a very differently paced film and after a while it seemed to have a life of its own. It was almost like a rebellious teenager," said director Aditya Vikram Sengupta. Sengupta, who won the Fedeora Award for Best Film by a Debut Director at Venice last month, has tried to recreate the Kolkata of his childhood in the film with no on-screen dialogues.
"It was extremely difficult to source financing for a film like this. We have put in all our savings into it and that process is still on, as whatever we are earning at festivals is going back into more prints for the film," he said.
While the official London Film Festival screenings will take place over the weekend and next week, the premiere screening at the Taj Cinema Suite was aimed at showcasing the unique venue, designed by Mukherjee as a journey through world cinema. The 1,832 square foot two-bedroom suite is a tribute to the history of film and takes inspiration from motion pictures across the globe. The suite is inspired most notably by the era of 1940s and 1950s Hollywood and Indian cinema. One bedroom is reminiscent of the golden Hollywood era of Rita Hayworth and Marilyn Monroe, whilst the other draws on colonial inspiration and renowned Indian artists Guru Dutt, Merchant Ivory and Bimal Roy.
"The suite is a celebration of personalised detail and global culture, as well as cutting-edge technology. The 85-inch plasma cinema screen, with a 3D state of the art home theatre system, is the biggest private screen in a London hotel suite," the Taj Group said in a statement.
After the London Film Festival, Labour of Love travels to Rotterdam in early 2015 and is on the lookout for Indian distribution.
Also Read: Filmmaker Adityavikram Sengupta speaks about his debut 'Asha Jaoar Majhe'
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