Bengali filmmaker Pradipta Bhattacharyya’s latest film, Nadharer Bhela (The Slow Man and His Raft), has been selected in the International Competition: Innovation in Moving Images section at the 31st Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF), which is scheduled to run from November 6 to 13.

The three-hour film is the sole Indian entry in the category and will compete for the prestigious Golden Royal Bengal Tiger Award alongside 14 other films from around the world, a KIFF official told PTI on Tuesday.

Bhattacharyya, best known for his National Award-winning and critically acclaimed film Bakita Byaktigato, expressed his delight over the selection.

“Though I began pre-production a year ago, the film was shot over just 13 days,” he told PTI.

“Nadharer Bhela' dwells on the journey of a man who is trying hard to match his pace in a fast-paced society. If someone wishes to follow his own pace, he is branded as a misfit in society. If someone's productivity decreases due to advanced age, he is branded as a misfit in this world. My film focuses on such a protagonist,” he said.

The director, who also teaches at the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI), described the film as a meditation on those who do not fit neatly into society’s expectations.

Earlier this year, Nadharer Bhela was screened in the Harbour segment of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) 2025, earning appreciation for its quiet storytelling and philosophical tone.

“I am glad that audiences in my city, along with international delegates, will get a chance to watch the film at KIFF,” Bhattacharyya added. “This selection is a recognition of the entire team’s effort and belief in the story.”

Shot in the director’s native village of Tehatta in West Bengal’s Nadia district, the film features Ritwick Chakraborty as a circus manager and Amit Saha as the titular character, Nadhar — the “slow man” at the heart of the story.