Ananso Sangbad Live :Bengali filmmaker Aneek Chaudhuri Malayalam feature-length film ‘Katti Nrittam’s is now a part of Marche du film, Cannes 2020. In December, the film’s script got an inclusion at OSCARS’ Margaret Herrick Library where Aneek’s previous film Cactus is also a part. Katti Nrittam is a modern-day adaptation of Mahabharata where a major part of the shooting took place in Kolkata.
This year, Festival de Cannes was held on a virtual platform and took place from June 22-26, 2020. Most importantly, most of the sections of the reputed festival had also got cancelled down.
Katti Nrittam, meaning the Knife Dance is a melancholic sociopath thriller; a part is also loosely based on O. Henry’s short tale. The film tells the story of a failed Kathakali dancer who is on a killing spree. The wildness is somehow neutralized by a mundane foreground which narrates a complex tale of a love quadrilateral.
The film casts Rahul Sreenivasan, Rukmini Sircar (Meta Award winner from NSD), Sabuj Bardhhan, Anuska Chakraborty and Aritra Sengupta in important roles. In this film, the dark side of Gods has been portrayed.
Aneek’s previous three feature-length films The Wife’s Letter, White, Cactus were screened at Cannes and also got globally awarded multiple times.
On moving to Malayalam films, the Bengali filmmaker speaks, “Malayalam films of this age has left a tremendous impact on me. Or, you can also say that it is far ahead of contemporary Bengali Cinema. Moreover, post 2011, Cinema in Kerala has taken a deviated turn for the better.”
He further adds, “Malayali traditions are something that I have always looked forward to. People do find a lot of similarities between the two (Bengali and Malayali traditions), but I think Malayalis are more grounded and less pretentious. And my last visit to Kalamandalam back in 2018 had inspired me to write a story revolving around Kathakali dancers; eventually, I decided to turn it into a film. That’s how it happened”
The film is scheduled to release in theatres in 2021 after making festival rounds around the globe.
On inclusion in Cannes, the director says, “I always look forward to Cannes every year, however, this year, it does not hold the same charm with the COVID issue hovering around. But, even virtually as proposed, we are going to have a lot of important networking, producers’ meets, and that is all Cannes is about. This is indeed a good opportunity for the team to explore a lot of opportunities as Cannes opens up to a vast area of global networking and often, it takes your breath away. However, this time it is a bit different for me in terms of vernacular as well. I am representing Malayalam Cinema, and am proud to represent any part of Indian Cinema, as long I am alive. We are so looking forward to it.”
The film got rave reviews at Cannes and has secured a deal with a leading OTT platform, already. It has been referred to as a ‘ deadly painting of thoughtfulness and darkness’ by the critics.