Totally unexpected: Riddhi Majumder on winning first Best Film award at Kazhcha festival

Riddhi Majumder’s film Pariah swept away the competition at the third edition of Kazhcha-NIV Indie Film Festival to win the Best Film award.

Pariah is the debut feature of Majumder, who took three ardous years to complete it. The film raises pertinent questions about love, compassion and what it means to be human.

Shot in monochrome, the film revolves around a wanderer with unwonted attributes and a civilization which is controlled by an all-powerful feudal lord, the Zamindar. The film was inspired by various incidents around the world which speak of the same tale of torture, hatred and intolerance. 

Speaking about his win at the festival, Majumder responded with humility, saying, “I didn’t get to watch all the films at the festival, but the ones that affected me the most were Nimtoh and Eeb Allay Ooo!, and I was actually rooting for them. I was pleasantly surprised that my film won. It was totally unexpected.”

He also spoke about the response of the audience to his film, saying, “At the festival, the response to the film was mostly positive and the audience understood what I was trying to say.”

Talking about the Kazhcha-NIV indie festival and the selection of the 12 films featured in the festival, he said, “Festivals like these need to flourish. How they curate is a big statement for other festivals. I was facing a lot of problems with my film getting into festivals, but now things are looking a little better, so I hope the film does well.”