Abbar Kanchanjangha, directed by film-maker Raajhorshee De and produced by Shilpi and Akshatt K Pandey, is adding one feather after another in its cap with back-to-back recognition at international screenings and festivals. After its release in the City of Joy earlier this year and a successful run at the theatres, the film with an ensemble of 17 actors is winning hearts beyond borders,too. Set in the scenic location of Darjeeling, with the Kanchenjunga hills captured at its full glory across scenes, De’s family drama is his tribute to film maestro Satyajit Ray.
Its most recent laurels include Best Feature Film in Bengali Film Festival of Dallas and Devlina Kumar awarded as the Best Supporting Actress at NABC, Las Vegas. “We have a WhatsApp group of Abbar Kanchanjangha and any good news that comes in, we share there. Everybody is very happy about the fact that lot of films have been made this year as a tribute to Ray but only Aparajito and Abbar Kanchanjangha have cut across the world section and have been acclaimed internationally. It’s already invited to the Chicago International Film Festival 2022. Made it to the official selection category of the prestigious Thrissur International Film Festival. It was invited at the fifth edition of the Ottawa Indian Film Festival Awards (OIFFA), Canada. We also got the OTT and satellite rights. We are hoping to release it in the USA. We have been invited by Sydney from Australia. We are trying it in London, too,” said Raajhorshee.
The screenplay written by Padmanabha Dasgupta, saw actors like Saswata Chatterjee and Koushik Sen coming on screen together after a long time, the debut of actors Deboshree Ganguly, Sohini Guha Roy and film debut of TV star Ranieeta Dash. Actors like Arpita Chatterjee, Gaurav Chakrabarty, Rahul Banerjee, Tnusree C, Anindya Chatterjee, Ashish Roychowdhury, Richa Sharma, Bidipta Chakraborty, Priyanka Rati Pal and Rupankar Bagchi play interesting roles, too. “Internationally people are loving it. And in Dallas, despite so many films, our film got the best feature. So, this is a huge encouragement for producers to produce Bengali films. A young couple like Akshatt and Shilpi Pandey have showed their faith in this film and agreed to cast 17 stars together. I was confident that my actors and crew members are extremely powerful in what they do. In my film, there is a thing that all actors look beautiful. For Devlina, who has been working for so long in the industry, to get an international award is such a big thing for us,” added Raajhorshee.
Talking about the film’s international acceptance and response, Raajhorshee said, “This is a first time experience for me. A Bangladeshi person who organised the festival in Dallas called me at 4am in the morning and the auditorium filled with 800 people wanted to interact with me. They were crying, sobbing and asking me questions; I never thought of receiving such a response. I got texts from people saying that they are getting to watch a family film like this after a long time. With every passing day, we are living isolated lives. The family bonding in this film is what appealed to the global audience. My message through the film was only that. To connect with each other beyond the virtual world and live those moments. As a director and writer, I wanted to capture such moments through my camera.”
The cast of the film at the shoot location
Shilpi and Akshatt K Pandey
The pandemic had brought a gloomy situation of uncertainty on the Bengali film industry but this year it gained momentum with multiple releases in the halls and getting a good audience response too. Expanding on what international recognitions mean for a regional film industry in such a situation, with back-to-back films bringing home laurels from international festivals, Raajhorshee said, “I was very skeptical about the fact that my film was releasing with RRR and that it was a blockbuster in terms of box office. The bombardment of Bengali films post-pandemic and Aparajito’s success worldwide is an eye-opener for all of us in the industry. Beyond everything, the content is touching people’s heart. Things are changing and this is the right time if you come with the right content. Bengali films have started experimenting once again.” The director who is gearing up for his next film, Maya, further added, “Aparajito released in so many halls in the USA, NABC called us, Chicago called us. I never expected this to happen. I thought in Bengal people will react to Abbar Kanchanjangha but the international audience giving a standing ovation is huge for us. This shows us hope that the monopoly of producers will be disrupted and many people who want to do good films, like Shilpi and Akshatt, will come forward to present such stories that could not gain the confidence of producers earlier.”
