Once Upon a Time in Calcutta

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Once Upon a Time in Calcutta
Directed byAditya Vikram Sengupta[1]
Written byAditya Vikram Sengupta
Produced by
  • Anshulika Dubey
  • Priyankar Agarwal
  • Shashwat Singh
Starring
CinematographyGökhan Tiryaki[1]
Edited byAditya Vikram Sengupta
Music byMinco Eggersman
Production
company
For Films
Release dates
7 September, 2021 (Venice International Film Festival)
CountryIndia

France

Norway
LanguageBengali

Once Upon A Time In Calcutta is a 2021 Bengali language Indian-French-Norwegian film directed by Aditya Vikram Sengupta.[1] It is the third film by the Indian director and produced by Wishberry Films, in association with For Films, with Catherine Dussart Productions (of France) and DUOfilm As (of Norway). The film had its world premiere at the 78th Venice International Film Festival in September of 2021.[2]

The film stars Sreelekha Mitra as the protagonist, along with Arindam Ghosh, Bratya Basu, Satrajit Sarkar, Anirban Chakrabarti, Reetika Nondine Shimu and debutant Shayak Roy in supporting roles. The film was in development since 2015 and was part of the LÁtleier Cinefondation at the Cannes Film Festival before it was supported by CNC, Sorfond and NFDC Film Bazaar.

Sengupta says he got the idea for the film when he took a picture of a dinosaur statue outside Kolkata's Science City, which was fast being overshadowed by the construction of a new flyover – a literal representation of a relic from the past, juxtaposed with a symbol of Kolkata's economic development. To Screen Daily, Sengupta mentions, "It looked like the flyover and the dinosaur were about to start a race".[3]

Synopsis[]

Ela (Sreelekha Mitra), a bereaved mother, wants to leave the house of her husband and start an independent life of her own. She's the daughter of a cabaret dancer, who once had an affair with the owner of an iconic theatre in Calcutta. Ela's step-brother, Bubu (Bratya Basu) lives alone in the now abandoned theatre.

Unable to secure a bank loan to buy a house of her own, Ela uses her boss, owner of a ponzi-scheme to get what she wants. Soon, however, she realizes that she's not the only scavenger in a city hungry for more.

The film is inspired by true events.[4]

Cast[]

Production[]

The film was shot over a period of two and half months in Kolkata, India.

Initially, Fred Keleman was supposed to shoot the film, which was then titled Memories and My Mother. Later, Gökhan Tiryaki, the collaborator of Nuri Bilge Ceylan came on board as the cinematographer.

The shoot was abruptly interrupted because the production refused to play by the rules of the Federation. The conflict arose when the Federation asked Aditya Vikram to hire its members. Generally, a film shot in Kolkata has to have approximately 70 members from the Federation in its crew. Many directors and production houses have complained that sometimes it gets too much for them to abide by this norm. "They wanted us to work with their members. That wasn't possible for me as I have my own team. When I refused, the Federation president said they would not let me work in Kolkata. That is when I realised this was an unfair logic and stopped indulging in it. I found it juvenile," Aditya told Times of India.[5]

Jonaki Bhattacharya, who previously collaborated with Aditya on Labour of Love and Jonaki joined as the executive producer and the production designer. Dutch composer, Minco Eggersman, was the last to creatively come on board and scored the original soundtrack of the film.[6]

Release[]

The film premiered at the 78th Venice International Film Festival.[7] The premiere was attended by the lead actors Sreelekha Mitra and Arindam Ghosh, along with co-producers Catherine Dussart and Ingrid Lill Høgtun, and For Films producer, Priyankar Patra, who also attended the Venice Production Bridge to pitch Sengupta's next project.[8]

Reception[]

The film received overwhelmingly positive reviews after the Venice screening.

Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave the film four out of five stars. He writes, "Once Upon A Time In Calcutta is a triumph. It meshes the intimate with the epic with glorious felicity."[9] Giving the film 4.5 out of 5, The Quint writes, "As we concentrate on the minutiae of everyday life, the film captures with tenderness and brilliance a city in flux."[10]

The Hindu in its post Venice coverage added, "save Dune for IMAX, don't miss Once Upon a Time in Calcutta."[11] Cineurope gave the film a positive review, calling it "a cinematic poem to contemporary Kolkata".[12] Anupama Chopra praises Sreelekha Mitra in her review for Film Companion, "Sreelekha plays Ela without a trace of vanity. Her circumstances might be pathetic but she certainly isn't. Instead, Aditya and Gokhan imbue her life with poetry."[13]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "Aditya Vikram Sengupta on his film 'Once Upon A Time In Calcutta'". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 2021-09-26.
  2. ^ "Biennale Cinema 2021 | Once Upon a Time in Calcutta". La Biennale di Venezia. 2021-07-08. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  3. ^ Shackleton2021-09-05T21:31:00+01:00, Liz. "Indian filmmaker Aditya Vikram Sengupta talks Venice premiere 'Once Upon A Time In Calcutta'". Screen. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  4. ^ a b Once Upon A Time in Calcutta | Anupama Chopra's Review | Film Companion, retrieved 2021-09-19
  5. ^ "The Federation president told me I am doing illegal things and I asked him to file a case against me: Aditya Vikram Sengupta - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  6. ^ "ONCE UPON A TIME IN CALCUTTA, by ME". ME. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  7. ^ Ghosh, Sankhayan (2021-07-28). "Aditya Vikram Sengupta On His Venice-Bound Once Upon A Time In Calcutta: 'This Is A Film For Everyone'". Film Companion. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  8. ^ "Biennale Cinema 2021 | Selected projects of the Venice Gap-Financing Market / New edition of the Book Adaptation Rights Market". La Biennale di Venezia. 2021-07-02. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  9. ^ "Once Upon A Time In Calcutta Review: A Portrait Of A City As A Giant Living Organism". NDTV.com. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  10. ^ Ghosh, Stutee (2021-09-09). "Review: 'Once Upon a Time in Calcutta' Tenderly Captures a City in Flux". TheQuint. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  11. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (2021-09-09). "Notes from Venice Film Festival: save 'Dune' for IMAX, don't miss 'Once Upon a Time in Calcutta'". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  12. ^ "Review: Once Upon a Time in Calcutta". Cineuropa - the best of european cinema. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  13. ^ Chopra, Anupama (2021-09-08). "Once Upon A Time In Calcutta Review: A Heartbreaking Fairytale About A City That Survives". Film Companion. Retrieved 2021-09-19.

External link[]

Retrieved from ""