Meenakshi Shedde: Grabbing the audience

Stills from Asamapta Incomplete Bengali by Suman MukhopadhyayI attended the Mumbai previews of two superb indie films that were theatrically released elsewhere in India earlier Suman Mukhopadhyays Asamapta Incomplete Bengali and Lijo Jose Pellisserys Angamaly Diaries Malayalam Both very different yet very satisfying films that remain with you long after youve left the theatre And yet the Mumbai audience did not give them the warm hug they deserved Mostly what happens to superb nonHindi films in Mumbai is that the Mallu crowd will go to see Malayalam films the Bong crowd will go to see Bengali films mdash with some small surplus of film lovers who appreciate cinema in any language with English subtitles whether its Malayalam or French or FarsiIf Mumbai with its cosmopolitan culture and refined tastes was more proactive about word of mouth and buying tickets for great Indian and other films in any language it would be deeply rewarded Asamapta is an exquisite film from the accomplished Suman Mukhopadhyay whose previous films include Herbert and Shesher Kabita It would be hard to say all that one wanted to say about love in one film but Asamapta comes closeBased on a Sirshendu Mukherjee novel it is a distillation of a lifetime of experiences and observations on love and relationships mdash the highs the compromises the depravity of old habits the beauty in its pathos the damning consequences of remaining noncommittal in love the pathetic need to be needed With stellar performances by the cast including Ritwick Chakraborty Swastika Mukherjee Paoli Dam and Bratya Basu whose magisterial selfloathing would be hard to match it is a film at once mature and modern that acknowledges a married womans sexual needs independent of the marriageThe other film is Angamaly Diaries directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery and produced by Vijay Babu with a cast of 86 debutants including Antony Varghese It is hard to describe why one loves this film set in the small town of Angamaly with most of the characters being useless chaps nohopers rowdies and rival gangs and yet making us care about them The kinetic cinematography by Gireesh Gangadharan and astounding music by Prashant Pillai hurl us right in their midstBoth these movies gave me so much more than most of the mainstream Hindi cinema that swamps us For such gems to find a regular audience we need alternative distribution models PVR the leading multiplex company has launched Vkaao a theatreondemand service that enables film lovers to choose the films that are playing in their local theatres But filmmakers in neighbouring countries are far ahead of the game than in India directly reaching out to audiencesThai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul who won the Palme dOr at Cannes for his Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives put it beautifully We are so busy day to day that we sometimes forget we have amassed quite a beautiful set of movies I think its time we unite and share these films with the world He has started the Mosquito Films Distribution company along with other Thai indie filmmakers including Aditya Assarat Pimpaka Towira Anocha Suwichakornpong and Lee Chatametikool for distribution and international sales of their films Inspired by them tiny Nepal has also beaten India to it Popcorn Pictures Pvt Ltd is a Kathmandu distribution company founded by 10 young and upcoming Nepali filmmakers to expand markets for their films locally and globally Headed by Prachanda Man Shrestha it has released brilliant films like Deepak Rauniyars Seto Surya White Sun which won the Interfilm Award at Venice and Min Bahadur Bhams Kalo Pothi Black Hen which won the Critics Week prize at VeniceRauniyar said White Sun ran for two weeks on about 40 screens remarkable in the Nepali context Word of mouth is critical and film critics film clubs and influencers may like to consider actively helping put bums on seats as the trade squarely puts it Thats when the circle will be completeMeenakshi Shedde is South Asia Consultant to the Berlin Film Festival awardwinning critic curator to festivals worldwide and journalist Reach her at meenakshisheddegmailcom