Three Bengali films make it to the Rotterdam film fest

At a time when only a handful of Bengali films make a cut at the international film festivals, three movies have made it to the prestigious 54th International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR). While Suman Mukhopadhyay’s Bengali film ‘Putulnacher Itikatha’, also known as ‘The Puppet’s Tale’, is set to compete at the ‘Big Screen Compilation’ line-up at the film festival, two other films - Pradipta Bhattacharya’s ‘Nadharer Bhela’ (‘The Slow Man and his Raft’) and Ishan Ghosh’s ‘Marichika’ - will also be screened.

Taking to social media, Bangladeshi actress Jaya Ahsan, who plays a pivotal role in ‘Putulnacher Itikatha’, congratulated the director and the team for the remarkable feat. “‘Putulnacher Itikatha’, a world premiere at the Rotterdam International Film Festival in the ‘Big Screen Competition’, is one of the most prestigious festivals in the world. I couldn’t have imagined a better beginning for the film. This is a high point in my filmmaking career. Based on the iconic novel by Manik Bandyopadhyay, this film has been a dream of mine for the past 16 years. Finally, with the unwavering support of Samiran Das and ‘Kaleidoscope’, that dream has come true. I am deeply grateful to the extraordinary cast and crew who gave their utmost dedication and talent to this film,” posted Mukhopadhyay on social media. The film stars Abir Chatterjee, Jaya, Dhritiman Chaterji, Ananya Chatterjee, Parambrata Chatterjee and others.

Actress Priyanka Sarkar, who plays an important role in ‘Nadharer Bhela’, also congratulated the team for having its world premiere at Rotterdam.

Several Bengali directors like Atanu Ghosh, Suman Ghosh and Subrata Sen have congratulated the filmmakers for making it to the prestigious festival. Now, can this mark the revival of Bengali cinema’s golden days? Well, only time can tell.