Chaturanga, which has been made into a film, has been shortlisted in the world competition section at the Montreal World Film Festival
Chaturanga, which has been made into a film, has been shortlisted in the world competition section at the Montreal World Film Festival
h_rashmi@dnaindia.netRabindranath Tagore’s classic novel Chaturanga had received a lot of critical acclaim when it was published in 1916. Now it’s time that the movie gets noticed. Shot in 2008, the film of the same name has been shortlisted in the world competition section at the Montreal World Film Festival, which will be held from August 21 onwards.
Set in colonial Bengal in the beginning of the 20th century, Chaturanga is the story of a love that is caught between conflicting worlds of ideas. Sachish, the protagonist, drifts from being an atheist to a religious believer in his quest for the search of life’s meaning.
However, his search only yields crushing disillusionment. This is because he cannot square his abstract ideals with the powerful presence of two women in his life. One of them is Damini, a young Hindu widow, and the other is Nanibala, the abandoned mistress of Sachish’s own brother.
Suman Mukhopadhyay, the director, says, “It is a prestigious thing to be selected. The novel deals with timeless questions about human existence. Similarly the movie addresses many relevant issues like complications in human relations, moral value systems and the continuous analysis of human beings.”
The movie stars Dhritiman Chatterjee, Rituparna Sengupta, Subrata Dutta, Joy Sengupta and Kabir Suman. Joy Sengupta says, “I play the character of Sribilash who is a balanced individual and has diplomatic philosophies.”
Speaking on the nomination, Joy says, “Rarely it’s seen that an Indian movie is competing with other films from various countries. I think it’s a great honour.”
Suchismita Dasgupta, the costume designer of the movie says, “After speaking to Suman, I was convinced that I had to be a part of the movie. Being a period movie, I had to keep in mind the colonial style of the characters. But each character has a distinct identity. For instance, Damini plays the role of a rich zamindar; so she is wearing blouses, kurtas, a bangle and a payal. Though she is a widow, she still wears a payal; it’s a small way to depict her rebellion.”
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