The 78th Venice International Film Festival 2021, also known as Biennale Cinema 2021, is on in full swing, with several films from around the world winning the appreciation of the esteemed jury, knowledgeable critics and discerning audiences. The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest of the international film festivals. This year, as always, stellar films from the USA, France, Italy, Spain, among others, feature prominently as the countries with the most films in competition for the coveted prizes.
Also this year, as always, Indian representation at the distinguished film festival is meagre, if at all. For a country that is home to the largest film industry in the world, aka Bollywood, to flourishing film industries in individual regional languages, we woefully lag behind in creating international awards-winning films.
Only one Indian film is in competition at the 78th edition of the Venice International Film Festival this year. It is Bengali filmmaker Aditya Vikram Sengupta’s ‘Once Upon A Time In Calcutta’. The Bengali language film is competing in the ‘Orizzonti’ or ‘Horizons’ section of the festival, the second-most important segment after the primary ‘Venezia 78’ or ‘Competition’ section. Once Upon A Time In Calcutta will compete for the following prizes in the Horizons awards section – Horizons Award for Best Film, Horizons Award for Best Director, Special Horizons Jury Prize, Horizons Award for Best Actress, Horizons Award for Best Actor, and Horizons Award for Best Screenplay.
Once Upon A Time In Calcutta is set in the backdrop of Calcutta, now Kolkata, and tells a story with distinctive characters, soaked in the sensibilities of the city. As the old clashes with the new, and modernity takes over the conventional, as Calcutta transforms into Kolkata, the city and its older people find it difficult to straddle the two worlds. Explains Aditya Vikram Sengupta, “They carry a world inside them based on their experience with the city. This also depends on their age and the amount of time they have spent here. In spite of living in the same city, each one of the inhabitants carries a different world within. This difference of world is what I call perception”.
“The film highlights the aspirations and struggles of people gasping for breath in an ever-expanding metropolis. For the viewer, I have tried to create a real glimpse into the murky waters of Calcutta, with colourful characters, all trying very hard to find a corner of their own without drowning,” he says.
Once Upon A Time In Calcutta features veterans Sreelekha Mitra and Bratya Basu, along with an ensemble cast of Satrajit Sarkar, Arindam Ghosh, Reetika Nondine Shimu and Anirban Chakrabarti. The film has big shoes to fill, arriving as it does in Venice on the heels of last year’s ‘The Disciple’, Chaitanya Tamhane’s film that won the Golden Osella at Venice for Best Screenplay.
Once Upon A Time In Calcutta is set to premiere at the Venice International Film Festival 2021 on 7th September. Here’s keeping our fingers crossed that it wins an award or two at the festival, and brings glory to the Indian film industry.