SYNOPSIS

Once again, Bappaditya Bandopadyay presents in his film the dramatic situation and the social problems that some people live in their countries. In this plot the director relies on both satire and social comment to tell his story, all the while exploring the ongoing conflict on the borders of India and Bangladesh. The suspicion, the competition and the fear plays a outstanding place in the story topic, the illegal inmigration, the survival and the struggle to find her/his identity.

In this way, Katataar tracks down yet another woman criss-crossing barbed fences in search of an identity. The backdrop of the film is an imaginary military invasion in the Indo-Bangladesh border in contemporary times. The entry of the army scars the small village on the frontier, toppling its socio-political balance and the more personal worlds of the residents as well. A socio-political-love drama, Kantatar centers on Sudha, an illegal immigrant who for survival's sake and in search of an identity, moves from one man to another and from one religion to another.

But the immediate threat of attack entirely changes the climate of her remote border village. Sudha takes refuge in a temporary weather camp just outside the village. Binod, a meteorologist working in the village, becomes fascinated by Sudha, and they soon begin a physical relationship. But when Sudha's identity is called into question, she is seen as a terrorist suspect. Her dreams of security are once again threatened.

“In a way, Kantatar is the most contemporary of my films. It is a reaction to the growing violence in everyday life. The lyrical music, the landscape, the architecture, even the weather, are all nostalgic memories of a culture which has sadly become marginal in the present context. Kantatar, like all my films, is, once again, a statement against elitism in all its forms”.This are the words that the director uses to describe his film.

TECHNICAL DATA

Director: Bappaditya Bandopadhyay
Producer: Binay Prakash
Cinematography: Rana Dasgupta
Script: Debasis Bandopadhyay
Editors: Uttam Roy
Music: Abhijit Basu
Cast: Sreelekha Mitra, Sudip Mukherjee, Rupsa Guha, Rudrani Ghosh, Sankar Debnath, Nemal Ghosh, Iqbal Khan, Pradeep Bhattacharya
Runtime : 119 min. Color. Language: Bengali. Subtitles: spanish

DIRECTOR

Bappaditya Bandopadhyay has won himself the honor and reputation of being the Most Prominent Director from the BJFA (Bengal Film Journalist Association) in 2003 for his work like film director, television serial director and poet.

Bandopadhyay was born on august 28th 1970 and he graduated in Sociology from Calcutta University. In this way, he became in one of the most famous directors of bengali cinema.

Bappaditya has had a bubbly working life. We just have to focus in the films that he have directed and the awards that these films have received. Bappaditya Bandopadhyay´s first feature film was Sampradan (The offering of the daughter). The film won three awards in the BFJA awards in 2000.

The second one was Silpantar (Colours of hunger). It was premiered at the Sofia International Film Festival in Bulgaria and it was the only Indian film selected at the Helsinki International Film Festival in Finland (2003).

Starring by Perizaad Zorabian and Suman Ranganatha, Devaki, a real story about the women exploitation and sexual molestation, was his third feature film. This film was premiered at the Osian Cinefan Asian Film Festival in July 2005 and it made him win the public support. Also, Kantataar, his last film, was selected in the 7th Osian Cinefan International Film Festival.

However, Bandopadhyay job is not only in the big screen. He directed a television serial, Anandanagarir Kathakata, and he is also a poet of repute. He published a book called Pokader Atmiyasajan (Friends and relatives of the insects). Evenly, he wrote about various aspects of modern cinema.