Kshay, Khyanikaa, Naach Ganesh to be screened at Bandra Film Festival under 'Fantasy' category

Next week, the Bandra Film Festival (BFF) will showcase the features Kshay (2012) and Khyanikaa (2017), and the short film Naach Ganesh (2011), under the 'Fantasy' category, which will highlight the genres of fantasy and psychological drama.

The digital film festival, presented by Filmkaravan in collaboration with YouTube, will be streamed live from 4 October on the streaming platform.

Kshay features Rasika Dugal as Chhaya, a woman who becomes entranced with a white statue of goddess Laxmi and wants it for herself. Her husband, who is finding it hard to manage financially, tells her he will get it for her once he can afford it. But Chhaya’s desire to acquire it, at any cost, leads to disastrous results.

Speaking about her early project, Dugal said she was happy with the love Kshay had received over the years. "[It] was shot on a shoestring budget over weekends with a four-member crew," she shared. "We travelled to set on [director] Karan's [Gour] bike, did our own makeup and finally dubbed the film in a two-bedroom house at midnight to avoid traffic noise."

The film was Dugal’s first lead role, and she said the experience of playing Chhaya in a character-driven script was a treat as an actress. She said, "With Kshay, I received appreciation for my performance from critics in different parts of the world when the film travelled to film festivals and also on its release in India. It was very encouraging to have my work reviewed like that."

"It made me believe that there is a payoff to brave decisions, hard work and believing in what you are doing when most others didn't," Dugal continued. "I am delighted the film is part of this film festival and I hope through BFF's platform more people will know about it."

Amartya Bhattacharyya’s Khyanikaa: The Lost Idea tells the story of a poet and a painter, who both claim possession over the same idea. Set in a rural background that has been presented as a wonderland, the film features Amartya Bhattacharyya, Choudhury Jayaprakash Das and Chaitali Gharami.

It was the only Odia language film to be screened in the Indian Panorama section at the 48th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in 2017.

The short film Naach Ganesh, directed by Bikas Ranjan Mishra, stars Hemant Mahto, Aganu Kumar and Balram Mahto. The drama revolves around a tribal dancer who has to make the tough choice to provide for his family and continue the family tradition of ritual Ganesh dancing.

Naach Ganesh was premiered at the 16th Busan International Film Festival in 2011.