Bittersweet is an incisive look at human rights and the fight for survival, says Anant Mahadevan

Bittersweet, directed by Anant Mahadevan, tells the true story of Saguna, a sugarcane cutter who discovers the inhuman practices instituted against the workers by the sugar barons, various political forces, doctors and contractors with a vested financial stake.

The film stars Akshaya Gurav as Saguna who aims to expose this injustice. The Marathi film will have its world premiere in the A Window on Asian Cinema section at the upcoming 25th edition of the Busan International Film Festival to be held from 21 to 30 October.

Director Anant Narayan Mahadevan, speaking about the selection, said: "It is indeed a great honour to be recognized at a top A-lister festival like the Busan International Film Festival, the biggest and most prestigious in the Asian continent. The concerted efforts to make a film that meets the standards of global cinema has borne fruit for my producers Suchhanda and Shubha Shetty and is a great shot-in-the-arm for us aiming to break the clutter."

He added, "Bittersweet is an incisive look at human rights and the fight for survival in an extraordinary environment that is a dead end for women sugarcane cutters. It resonates in a universal context with its theme of human exploitation at the cost of scruples and an ecosystem upheaval in the future."

Producers Suchhanda and Shubha Shetty said, “When Anant narrated the plight of the ladies who work in the sugarcane fields and how they fight to survive, we knew this was the film that we had to be part of. Women and their fight for equality has been an ongoing process since forever, be it in the urban corporate scenario or amongst the rural or those below the poverty line.

“One of the reasons we turned producers is to bring women’s causes to light and we feel truly honoured that Bittersweet happens to be our first film. This film deals with an issue that resonates with every woman in any class or society,” they said, adding that they were proud of the world premiere at Busan.