Seven Bengali films will be screened at the 12th Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.
While Indranil Aneek Chaudhuri’s Jharokh will have its world premiere at the festival, Indranil Roychowdhury’s Mayar Jonjal, Parambrata Chatterjee’s Abhijaan, Subhrajit Mitra’s Avijatrik, Srijit Mukherji’s Dwitiyo Purush, Rezwaan Shahriar’s Nona Joler Kabbo and Ashrujit Nandi’s Shimul Palash Katha will be screened at the festival in different categories.
Jharokh is Chaudhuri's fourth film to be screened at the film festival. The 80-minute drama, which deals with the desire to escape from life, stars Husne Shabnam, Usha Banerjee, Sabuj Barddhan and Ipsita Kundu.
Mayar Jonjal, based on Manik Bandopadhyay’s two short stories Bishakto Prem and Shubala, stars Ritwick Chakraborty, Kamalika Banerjee, Paran Bandopadhyay and Bratya Basu. The Indo-Bangladeshi joint venture had its world premiere at the Shanghai International Film Festival 2020.
Soumitra Chatterjee’s biopic Abhijaan, starring the late legendary actor, Jisshu Sengupta and Paoli Dam, was first premiered at the London Indian Film Festival 2021. Mitra’s Avijatrik, based on the last leg of Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay’s novel Aparajito, stars Arjun Chakraborty as Apu, who sets out on a journey to immerse in the offerings of life with his son Kajal. A tribute to Satyajit Ray and his Apu trilogy, the film takes off from the conclusion of Satyajit Ray’s Aparajito (1956).
Srijit Mukherji’s Dwitiyo Purush, the sequel to the popular thriller Baishe Srabon (2011) has been selected for screening in the Love is Love category.
Ashrujit Nandi’s feature film Shimul Palash Katha, a dark tale on human trafficking, has been selected in both the No Equality without Equity and Love, Longing and Loneliness categories.
Indian Film Festival of Melbourne is slated to be held from 12 to 21 August in cinema halls and from 15–30 August online.