'The Bihar pavilion' at the 53rd IFFI NFDC Film Bazaar

The Bihar pavilion at the 53rd IFFI has called out the budding filmmakers to explore the historical, archaeological, cultural and natural heritage of the land of Buddha and Mahavira.

Swati Bhat

This year at IFFI, as an initiative, several state governments have installed their pavilion at the Film Bazaar to promote film-making industry in the states. States such as Manipur, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Delhi and Puducherry have installed their respective pavilions.

Shri. Anurag Singh Thakur, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting had visited the Bihar pavilion at the inauguration.

Earlier, renowned actor Mr. Pankaj Tripathi who inaugurated the Pavilion of Bihar, was delighted to see his home state being represented at IFFI. He said that the state has immense film-making potential which needs to be harnessed.

Smt. Bandana Preyashi, a Bihar government official said, the state government has taken several initiatives to attract film-makers for shootings in Bihar. She talked about the improved security scenario and availability of rapid connectivity and robust infrastructure.

A state government official present at the ‘Explore Bihar’ pavilion said that there is the need to break the stereotype of Bihar as a poverty-stricken state. Actually, the infrastructure of Bihar has grown by manifold in terms of rail, road or air connectivity and other forms of infrastructure. ‘Explore Bihar’ pavilion highlights the fact that several renowned actors, directors, technicians of mainstream film industry have their origin in Bihar.

It is expected that the accomplished film-makers, actors who have migrated from Bihar and established themselves in mainstream Bollywood industry or other regional film industry shall be inspired to return to their homeland and contribute in establishment of robust film-making industry.

The pavilion highlights cultural, natural and archaeological wonders such as Sonepur cattle fair which is the largest cattle fair of Asia and the Harmandir Takht Shri Patna Sahib which is one of the holiest pilgrimages for the Sikh community.

The pavilion also highlights the heritage of film-making in Bihar. Some of the most iconic scenes in Richard Attenborough’s Oscar-winning ‘Gandhi’ were filmed at the centuries-old Patna Collectorate.

The iconic song ‘O Mere Raja’ from the movie ‘Johny Mera Naam (1970)’ was shot at various spots of Rajgir.

‘Manjhi -the Mountain Man (2015)’, the critically acclaimed Hindi language biographical film is based on Dasarath Manjhi who was a poor labourer from Gaya, Bihar.

Several scenes of ‘India’s Most Wanted’ have been shot in Patna, it is a 2019 Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Raj Kumar Gupta, and starring Arjun Kapoor.

Recently, a film titled ‘Grinding Humanity’ has been entirely shot in Bihar. ‘Grinding Humanity’ is a 2022 Hindi-language film directed by Ruchin Veena Chainpuri.

The department of Art, Culture and Youth of the Government of Bihar would soon publish the Bihar State Filmmaking policy. The policy, among other things, would include a ‘Single Window Clearance mechanism’ which would help the film-makers to get different permits in little time.

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‘Kurangu Pedal’ captures a generation's emotional connect with bicycle

Kurangu Pedal captures a child's interest in learning to ride a bicycle while the father doesn’t know to ride a cycle. “The story kept on lingering in my mind as cycle was the one of the most intriguing things in my childhood. Learning to ride a cycle gives one a confidence, that pushed me to make a movie”, said Kamalakannan, director of the movie.

While interacting with the media and festival delegates at one of the ‘Table Talks’ sessions being organised by PIB on the side-lines of the 53rd International Film Festival of India in Goa, Kamalakannan said Kurangu Pedal captures a generation's emotional connect with bicycle.

Kamalakannan said that “Cycle reminds of our childhood and through the movie the audience is also reminded of their childhood”, when asked what interested him to make a movie about cycle. He added that the innocence of child artists entwined with their playfulness, friendship bonds and emotions leave the viewers nostalgic.

The director when asked about the competition from high budget movies to his movie, he said that it’s the storyline, tight screenplay and performances which is important for a movie to reach larger audiences.

Speaking about his experience in the film, actor Kaali Venkat accepted that despite having acted in more than 90 films in Tamil, he learnt a lot from the child artistes who have debuted in this movie. Adding to it, story-writer Rasi Alagappan expressed delight that the director has beautifully brought it onto the screen while faithfully capturing the emotions in the story.

The movie, based on Rasi Alagappan’s short story ‘Cycle’, is a contender in 53rd IFFI's Golden Peacock award in the International Competition Category and UNICEF - ICFT Gandhi medal. The music of this visually delightful and nostalgic film has been scored by Ghibran with child artist Santosh playing the lead character “Maari’ and actor Kaali Venkat playing the role ‘Kandasamy’, his father.

About the movie

Director: Kamalakannan S

Producer: #Montage, UVW Business Pvt Ltd.

Screenplay: Prabhakar, Kamalakannan

Cinematographer: Sumee Baskaran

Editor: Shivanandeeswaran

Cast: Kaali Venkat, Santosh, Ragavan, Gnanasekar, Rathish, A.E. Sai Ganesh

2022 | Tamil | Colour | 119 mins.

53-Hour Challenge gives birth to “Five Amazing Films” by 75 Creative Minds, presenting Idea of India

The second edition of 75 Creative Minds of Tomorrow has concluded today with the award ceremony of the “53-Hour Challenge”. The competition provided a challenge to the 75 ‘Creative Minds’ to produce a short film on their idea of India@100, all in 53 hours.

Swati Bhat

The Challenge was launched on 21st November by Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting and Youth Affairs & Sports, with hitting the gong and kickstarting the event. This segment of IFFI 53 is powered by National Film Development Corporation in collaboration with Shorts TV. The Challenge had its finale today. Over the course of the 53 hours, 5 short films were created. From the shoot to the final film delivery, the filmmakers worked non-stop to bring their scripts to life.

The wining team is Team Purple whose film Dear Diary has won applaud and appreciation of the jury for presenting the story of a woman who is forced to confront her past trauma when she meets with her sister, who wants to visit the very venue where her abuse took place. The winning film highlights how women’s safety will be a new normal in the future.

The winning team comprising 15 candidates were selected based on capabilities across various fields of cinema such as cinematography, direction, acting, music composition, playback singing, animation and VFX, scriptwriting, costume designing, make-up, editing & art design. The winning team receives a cheque amount of Rs. 2,25,000, for their extraordinary display of filmmaking in 53 hours.

Here are the other four films.

Antardrishti (The Insight) by Team Orange is about a man who has not stepped out of his home for several years, who has to now confront the outside world and the smaller joys of life.

The Ring by Team Yellow is centered around a young woman who has to decide who she is when confronted with a tradition she doesn't agree with.

Almost by Team Green is the story of a young girl who discovers that a child can have both father and mother.

Team Pink presented Sau Ka Note where a world where physical money is obsolete and a child has to figure out how to use a 100-rupee-note he has been given.

All five films would now be broadcasted across in India on Shorts TV at 9 PM, on Sunday, 27th November, 2022. Subsequently, the broadcast will be done in America, Europe & Latin America.

The five short films produced as part of the group competition showcasing the idea of “India@100” were judged by a three-member jury panel, led by Padma Shri awardee Mani Ratnam as Chairperson; and CEO and Shorts TV founder Carter Pilcher and Deputy Secretary (Films-I), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Armstrong Pame as members.

Speaking on the challenge, the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Singh Thakur said that as we celebrate Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav and march towards 100 years of India’s independence, he is glad that 75 young filmmakers from all over India got the opportunity to showcase their skills and talent as part of the 53-Hour Challenge. “The five short films produced by the ‘Creative Minds of Tomorrow’ showcase their vision of India@100 and it is commendable that the best film Dear Diary not only has a woman protagonist, but it has also been directed by a woman! This is a testament to India’s Nari Shakti, and how women of the country are leading the transformation across sectors with the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat @100.”

“Every single one of the five films has something in it that is absolutely amazing”, observes Carter Pilcher, addressing an IFFI Table Talk session later today.

Visual storytelling impacts the cultural fabric of the nation, can lay a foundation for the future and create a positive impact on society. The 53-Hour Challenge gives an opportunity to budding young talent from India to come together and create stories envisioning India at 100. These young creators are the future of the country and through their stories, they can shape the nation.

The running of the challenge from vision to reality required included concept development, event space concept, design and build, equipment and workstations, Recce of the event location, devising filmmakers’ briefs and creative package, mentoring, script consulting, equipment sourcing, building a team for the coverage of the event and challenge, editing team, technical support and local producers.