A still from Painting Life
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:For director Biju Damodaran, a highly successful commercial filmmaker, films have always been a medium to explore socially-relevant themes. Although he has made multilingual films, ‘Painting Life’ is his first English feature film which is also the only Indian film to be screened at the 42nd Montreal Film Festival.
The film ‘Painting Life’, which is Biju’s ninth film, revolves around the experience of a stranded film crew in a remote Himalayan village. “Like my previous films, this film addresses social issues. At the same time, it also touches upon a number of other themes,” he said.
With its magnificent landscapes and stunning vistas, the film opens in Sikkim. A crew led by a famous Bollywood filmmaker arrives to shoot a song and dance sequence for their upcoming blockbuster. Soon they find themselves cut off from the outside world after torrential downpours and landslides. Trapped with no basic amenities or means of communication, they are at the mercy of the forces of nature.
The director shares that the biggest challenge before the crew was the unfamiliar climate and geography.
“Although there was help from locals, the topography was a major challenge. In some places, transportation was not available and we had to walk five to six kilometres everyday,” he continued.
The film also discusses environmental issues such as the rampant dam construction which systematically choked off all the rivers and badly impacted the ecology of this once pristine state.
“A number of NGOs and activists from the state who continue to work tirelessly against projects that threaten the ecosystem of Sikkim, were associated with the movie both on and behind the camera,” Biju added.
Another highlight about the film is the diversified crew which includes actors from 10 different states. While the lead role is played by Prakash Bare and National Award-winning actor Geetanjali Thapa, Bengali actor Rita Bhari Chakraborthy also plays a key role in the film. Northeast actors and Malayali actors like Shankar Ramakrishnan and Krishnan Balakrishnan have played major roles.
A three-time National Award-winning screenwriter and filmmaker from India, Biju’s film has been selected to the competition section of the upcoming Almaty International Film Festival to be held in Kazakhstan on September 15.
