Chatrak

Chatrak (Mushroom )
Directed by Vimukthi Jayasundara
Produced by Vinod Lohti
Starring Paoli Dam
Sudip Mukherjee
Tómas Lemarquis
Music by Roman Dymmy
Cinematography Channa Deshapriya
Edited by Julie Beziau
Release dates
  • 18 May 2011 (2011-05-18) (Cannes)
Running time
 90.00 minutes
Country India
Language Bengali

Chatrak (English: Mushrooms) is a 2011 Indian Bengali drama film directed by Sri Lankan director Vimukthi Jayasundara.[1] The film was screened at several film festivals worldwide, including the Directors' Fortnight in the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. An explicit cunnilingus between Paoli Dam and Anubrata Basu depicted in the film, caused uproar in India, especially in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal state, where the film was mainly shot.[2]

Plot

Rahul (Sudeep Mukherjee) is a Bengali architect working at construction sites in Dubai. He returns home to Kolkata after an absence of several years. His girlfriend, Paoli (Paoli Dam), has been waiting for his return. Rahul's seemingly successful life is overshadowed by the search for his brother (Sumeet Thakur), said to now be mad and living in the forest, where he sleeps in the trees and subsists on vegetation. This crazy brother befriends a French soldier in the jungle. Rahul and Paoli journey in search of his lost brother.[3] The story involves people who are expropriated for construction projects.

Cast

Release and screenings

The film was screened in several film festival, including the prestigious Directors' Fortnight in the 2011 Cannes Film Festival,[4][5] the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival and the Pacific Meridian film festival in Vladivostok, Russia.[6] The film has not received a theatrical release.

Reception

The Hollywood Reporter commented on Mushrooms that, "The film's abstract naturalism does create an austere portrait of a crass and careless human society but any larger meaning gets lost amid the film's many non-events and preening nihilism."[7] The Variety review noted the "extremely slow-burning story", saying, "... the main element uniting Jayasundara's plot strands is a sense of torpor..."[8] A review in the online film magazine "Notebook" praised the film, noting that it artistically portrays "...Cinematic dreams and nightmares, visible intuitions of the world around, visual understanding of what corruption of the society and corruption of the soul can do."[9] Sight & Sound of the British Film Institute praised the film stating, "Disconcerting though the plot may at least initially be, the film has its wild as well as some comic moments that soon win the viewer over."[10]

Controversy

A scene of the film with explicit frontal nudity and cunnilingus, featuring Paoli Dam and Anubrata Basu, was leaked on the Internet in 2011, causing uproar in India, especially in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal state, where the film was mainly shot.[2][11][12] A version of the film without the sexually explicit scene was arranged to be shown in the 2011 Kolkata Film Festival.[13] Director Jayasundara admitted that there are several versions of the film, and some versions do not contain the sex scene. He also admitted that he was surprised to witness negative feedback due to the inclusion of such sex scene in his film.[12] He further commented that the cast and crew, particularly Paoli Dam, were being unnecessarily targeted by certain segments of the audience; he stated, "Those who are voicing these opinions are making it seem as if Kolkata is still living in the 1940s while the whole world has raced far ahead."[12]

References

  1. ↑ "Women on top". The Telegraph. 24 June 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  2. 1 2 Vats, Rohit (12 October 2011). "Is 'Chatrak' the boldest film ever made in India?". The Times of India. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  3. ↑ Mirguet, Benjami. "Chatrak". quinzaine-realisateurs.com. Société des Réalisateurs de Films. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  4. ↑ "Cannes 2011 film profiles: Directors Fortnight & Critics Week". Screen International. 6 May 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  5. ↑ "Paoli Cannes do it". The Telegraph. 17 September 2011. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  6. ↑ Dasgupta, Priyanka (18 August 2011). "Paoli at Toronto International Film Fest". The Times of India. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  7. ↑ Honeycutt, Kirk (19 May 2011). "Mushrooms (Chatrak): Cannes 2011 Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  8. ↑ van Houij, Boyd (31 May 2011). "Cannes Reviews: Chatrak". Variety. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  9. ↑ Duhamel, Marie-Pierre (19 May 2011). "Cannes 2011. Snapshots: Vimukthi Jayasundara's "Chatrak"". Notebook. MUBI. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  10. ↑ "Cannes 2011: The S&S blog". Sight & Sound. British Film Institute. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  11. ↑ Dasgupta, Priyanka (15 September 2011). "Paoli axed from movie promos". The Times of India. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  12. 1 2 3 Dasgupta, Priyanka (18 September 2011). "I'll cast Paoli in my next: Vimukti Jayasundara". The Times of India. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  13. ↑ Dasgupta, Priyanka (29 September 2011). "Kolkata spared Chatrak blushes". The Times of India. Retrieved 3 August 2012.

External links

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