The October film Mahishasur Marddini, starring Rituparna Sengupta, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Saswata Chatterjee and Shaheb Bhattacherjee, will be screened as the Centrepiece on September 27 at the annual IHC Theatre Festival, one of the most prestigious theatre festivals in Delhi, organised by the Habitat World, India Habitat Centre.
First look poster
“The selection of Mahishasur Marddini at the IHC Theatre Festival came out of the blue. We had submitted the film for consideration for next year’s Habitat Film Festival. India Habitat Centre came up with the suggestion that they would like to screen the film for their annual theatre festival instead. They complimented us on the ‘successful marriage between content, form and style’. What made it all the more sweet is the fact that this would be the first time in the two decades of their theatre fest that a feature film is being screened. Also, the IHC Theatre Festival is one of India’s oldest and most prestigious theatre fests. Needless to say, we are humbled. Our entire team feels vindicated since this film experimented with its form, and being acknowledged by a national body feels really special,” says director Ranjan Ghosh.
Talking about the first look of the film, Ranjan added, “It is like opening a window to the world of Mahishasur Marddini. Durga Puja is a celebration of the Divine Mother. We worship Her as Shakti and as Maa. But the reality of many women around us is devastating. We read about it every single day in the newspapers, and watch the atrocities being heaped on them on our television and phone screens. All this destroys the glamour and pompousness surrounding the Durga idol. The face seems sad, as if hiding in grief, bereft of all glory. We have tried to achieve this in our first look,” says Ranjan.
Saswata Chatterjee
Mahishasur Marddini was recently screened at Bengaluru Bengali Kannada Film Festival. “It was raining heavily that Sunday and there was the India-Pakistan Asia Cup match. I was doubtful how many people would turn up. To our surprise we saw a packed house! The 300-strong audience stayed put in their seats and greeted us with applause once the film got over. They seemed deeply moved. Pawanji (Kanodia; producer), Ritudi and co-producer Vinod Lahoti ji congratulated me... they felt we have been able to come up with a powerful film. Saswatada and Parambrata were also happy, as were Koushik Kar, Shaheb and Poulomi and my fab four — Sritama-Arunima-Abhyuday-Aryuun. I am happy indeed,” smiles Ranjan.
