While masks have become an indispensable part of our daily lives due to the ongoing pandemic, a dance form unique to Bengal, called Parbha Chhau, has made use of masks since ages. But today, this dance form is facing a grave existential crisis. This traditional
The ‘Competition on Indian Documentary Films’ section at the Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) this year features some interesting works, one of them being Kolkata-based documentary filmmaker and producer Mujibar Rahman’s 100 Years of Jallianwala Bagh Massacre – News, Views, Reflection. Rahman already has well-known
The ‘Competition on Indian Documentary Films’ section at the Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) this year features some interesting works, one of them being Kolkata-based documentary filmmaker and producer Mujibar Rahman’s 100 Years of Jallianwala Bagh Massacre – News, Views, Reflection. Rahman already has well-known
Charaiveti This year’s Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) devotes quite a few sections to showcase short and documentary films, both competitive and non-competitive. Among many others are two films under the well-known banner of Little Lamb Films, Manikbabur Megh directed by Abhinandan Banerjee and produced by
When she settled in the USA for good in 1999, dance was not uppermost on Kolkata girl Raili Roy’s mind. The Presidency College (now University) alumnus, now a scholar in Gender Studies and Comparative Women’s History, is also a trained Bharatanatyam dancer, but she could
Produced and directed by veteran journalist Sovan Tarafder, 8th Day of the Week is a documentary that focuses on visually impaired theatre actors of Kolkata. Tarafdar has been associated with these actors for a long time, and his film covers 20-odd years. What he found
In his nearly 65-year career, Badal Sircar (1925-2011) became a pioneer when it came to taking theatre out of the proscenium and into the public arena. Anybody with any interest in Indian theatre will remember him as a ground-breaker in experimental and contemporary theatre, and
In this two-part series, we explore the history of modern Bengali theatre, beginning at the end of the 18th century, when a Russian Indologist and a few of his Bengali friends planted the seeds from which would sprout a flourishing tree. Through the heart of Kolkata,
The short film Home, directed by Sujoy Prasad Chatterjee, has been officially selected by the 27th Kolkata International Film Festival in the 'Short & Documentary Panorama' category. The film traces “women sharing their ecstasies, uncertainties, solitude, libido and a friendship with oneself”, and unfurls like
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5_w2W5G9OM The Covid-19 pandemic has opened up a new, ever-changing, perilous and transitory world, and so does the film Titane, that revisits the language of ‘taking care’. This offbeat offering is for those who are equally open to the idea of ‘tenderness’ and the pain that