Design note:
TRAVELOGUE OF NABAGUNJARA
Entry no. 2025
As our Nabagunjara takes a leap in the air, it transcends time and goes back to one of the cradles of civilization. It lands on the riverbank of Tigris in 5500 BC Mesopotamia. It takes the form of a 8-pointed star and starts getting worshiped as Ishtar. It leaps again. This time it ends up in the Sasanian Empire in 224 AD. He notices a teardrop motif with curved upper end is starting to appear everywhere. It makes a note of it. And keeps traveling further in time. Kashan, Iran in 1600 AD. Where the potters are using their peculiar luster painting on the 8-point star to cover a wall.
Next stop, Paisley, Scotland, 1820s. Nabagunjara stands under a bronze inscription that reads, "Pain Inflicted, Suffering Endured, Injustice Done". Probably the remains of the last witch trials that hanged and then burnt 5 women on the Gallow Green. It sees the people of the town in Kashmiri shawls with a similar teardrop pattern weaved in it. People back home call it the 'young mango' pattern.
From the horizon it witnesses a wave of protesting weavers of the Radical War. Raging in anger and singing in unison, against the employers over payment for "sma' shot" – a small cotton thread which, although unseen, was necessary in holding together garments.
Nabagunjara suddenly feels nostalgic and exhausted from all the time travel. It wants to return to the present again.
Mandipanka, Kandhamal, Odisha, 2024, two young women have died from consuming a gruel of crushed mango kernel. There was nothing else to eat at home. It deeply affects Nabagunjara. It wishes to undo the injustice. But Gods only have so much power when human lives are lost to illegitimate, violent and inefficient systems.
Special Focus
TEES
Dibakar Banerjee
(Hindi/142/2024)
2042 New Delhi.
After his manuscript titled Tees (‘30) is rejected for publication by the Literature and Arts Commission - Anhad Draboo, meets Niharika, a “Reader“ from the Commission, who has been searching for Anhad ever since she read his manuscript.
In 2018, Zia Draboo, a corporate lawyer living in Mumbai and all set to buy the flat she has been renting with her partner Meera, finds out she cannot buy it because of the Housing Society's resistance to her name.
In 1989-90, Ayesha, a housebound State Radio newsreader in Srinagar, Kashmir, reaches out to her childhood friend Usha to solicit help from her husband – a government official. She needs it for her own husband Ghulam Muhammad who faces bankruptcy and ruin amongst rising unrest in the city.
Contemporary Films
ANGAMAL by Vipin Radhakrishnan
(Tamil/117/2024)
In a remote rustic village in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, in the mid-90's, a city educated young man feels awkward because his mother doesn't wear a blouse. But this is how his mother always dressed. What changed suddenly? As he tries to find a solution before a visit from his prospective in-laws, a simple problem spirals out of control.
DHRUBOR ASCHORJO JIBON by Abhijit Chowdhury
(Bangla/135/2024)
“Dhrubor Aschorjo Jibon" is a crime drama film, which tells the captivating story of Dhrubo, a young man standing at a life-altering crossroads, faced with four distinct paths. As he struggles to save his girlfriend’s family while uncovering the truth about his own origins, each choice he makes sets him on a vastly different course. Dhrubo’s journey is a relentless battle between morality and love, justice and compassion. Each decision thrusts him into a unique and challenging world, where survival is the key to discovering the ultimate truth.
APPURAM by Indu Lakshmi
(Bangla/135/2024)
Set against the backdrop of a middle-class family, Appuram unfolds through the eyes of Janaki (Anagha Ravi), a teenage girl caught in the crosscurrents of love, fear and societal constraints. Through the lens of Janaki, Appuram delves into the fragile dynamics of a family grappling with mental health challenges, societal expectations, and the oppressive weight of superstition.
DEAD DEAD FULL DEAD by Pratul Gaikward
(Hindi/110/2024)
Era is an eccentric, pseudo-astrologer and an Instagram influencer. She is found dead inher flat at a high-rise building. Suspects are ERA’s husband RAHUL, House-help CHOTU,and the nosy neighbour MRS. BASANTI.Two newly-joined, incompetent young police constables BALRAM and ZUBEIDA arecompelled to investigate Era's murder.
BAGHJAN by Jaicheng Xai Dohutia
(Assamese, Moan/78/2024)
Manab refuses to accept his pregnant wife's death in the oil well blast and tries to find he Worried, his friends Bimal and Janeki try to help, but they face severe trouble as they struggle to cope with Manab's erratic behavior.
BODY by Abhijit Mazumdar
(Hindi/142/2024)
Months after the third wave of Covid pandemic, Manoj, a young struggling actor, is still trying to cope with his personal trauma. He joins his theatre peers on a trip to a village near Mumbai. During an early morning swim, he gets brutally bullied. His friends abandon him. He tries to find his way back, battling shame and fear, without a stitch on. Back in Mumbai he carries the memory of the trauma and is seen walking naked on the road. His partner Khushboo tries to protect him but fails to save him from the wrath and anger of the public. His existence starts fragmenting into disconnected pieces. He skips crucial rehearsals of their upcoming play and struggles to remain functional. In this dysfunctional state he makes friends with a little boy, a neighbour, finds that he has an abusive father. This discovery sets him off on a complex journey of intrigue.
Films at IFFB '25
RIPTIDE by Afrad VK
(Malayalam/83/2024)
Returning to his room following a paranormal vision, Suku finds his lover Charlie leading a spectral existence, intimate to him but invisible to everyone else.
POEM OF THE WIND by R Ramkrishnan
(Tamil/93/2023)
"Poem of the Wind" is about Bharani, an emerging theatre artist who is subjected to the stereotypical ways of masculinity from his childhood. The presence of femininity inside him confuses his stand on what society expects out of him. The film follows the three stages of Bharani’s life, from his childhood to old age, as he regrets the choices he has made. The film is inspired by Charles Bukowski’s poem “Blue Bird.”
GURAS by Saurav Rai
(Nepali, Hindi/114/2023)
A nine-year-old girl embarks on a mystical adventure through the scenic mountains of Darjeeling, India, in search of her beloved pet dog, Tinkle, who has gone missing.
FEMINICHI FATHIMA by Fasil Muhammed
(Malayalam/100/2024)
Fathima, a housewife in the coastal town of Ponnani, lives under the strict control of her orthodox husband, Ashraf. When her son wets their old mattress, Fathima’s attempt to replace it sparks conflict. Ashraf blocks her at every turn, despite her back pain and growing frustration. Eventually, Fathima realizes the mattress represents more than just comfort it’s her chance to reclaim her independence. By finally buying it, she takes a bold stand.
MONSOON BREEZE by Abdul Aziz
(Tamil, Telegu, Hindi/130/2024)
23-year-old Deepu has just moved to the unfamiliar city of Mumbai with her mother to pursue her Master's. Her estranged father shows up at their doorstep to check in on them and attempt to make amends with his wife not realizing it is their wedding anniversary.
EMUTHI PUTHI by Kulanandini Mahanta
(Assamese/103/2022)
A rebellious teenager Ritika needs money to escape home while her eccentric granny Makhoni wants to travel 500 kilometres in search of a mythical fish for a perfect exit from the world. Both elope together from home one night, chased by one very harried policewoman – Makhoni’s daughter and Ritika’s mother Indira.
HUMANS IN THE LOOP by Aranya Sahay
(Hindi, Kurukh/74/2024)
Nehma, an Adivasi woman from the Oraon tribe, returns to her ancestral village with her children, Dhaanu (12) and Guntu (1), after her divorce. She begins work as a 'data labeller,' training AI models to recognise objects in images and videos. Finding AI childlike in its learning process, she imagines it seeing the world through her eyes, a connection she longs for with Dhaanu. Even as Nehma faces the challenge of giving Dhaanu-forever tempted to flee back to the city-a reason to stay, she notices AI adopting harmful human biases, some echoing prejudices against her community. Ultimately, Nehma realises she's battling not just for Dhaanu's future but for how technology and the world see people like her.
GHAATH by Chattrapal Ninawe
(Marathi/124/2024)
Ghaath is a story told through elements of land, water, and jungle corresponding them with three characters - an undercover Maoist trying to track down a police officer, who is responsible for the death of his brother; a cop trying to secure the surrender of a Maoist guerrilla with the help of an aborigine; and a Maoist besotted by a tribal woman, while on the run from the Maoist cadre. As these about the characters, their psyche and the system.
KISS WAGON by Midhun Murali
(Malayalam/174/2023)
In tumultuous ‘Mountland’, ruled by a wealthy tyrant, Ms. Isla runs a parcel service. With the major religious festival, ‘Atqaba,’ approaching, she receives an unusual parcel destined for a strange address from a VIP. Isla, an extremely self-centered girl, never knew what a roller coaster ride she was about to encounter in her upcoming days. The question is: Will she complete this mission?
SECOND CHANCE by Subhadra Mahajan
(Kullavi, Hindi, English/104/2024)
After experiencing the first major trauma of her young life, Nia retreats to her family summer home in the Himalayas where time, nature and unlikely friendships help her heal.
VIDUTHALAI by Vetri Maaran
(Tamil/242/2024)
(Director's Cut)
Kumaresan is a newly appointed police constable in a district plagued by an armed resistance against the government’s mining interests. His loyalties are tested not only by the harsh treatment from his superiors, but also by the daily violence against the local population, and an encounter with rebel leader Perumal forces him to make a choice.
TORTOISE UNDER THE EARTH by Sisir Jha
(Santhali/97/2022)
In a uranium mining area of Jharkhand, India, a tribal couple cope with the loss of their daughter. For them, the land and forest are witness to their daughter's memory. With great sensitivity and beauty, the film explores the deeply intertwined connections between tribal communities and the forest that is their traditional home. Deftly interweaving the vivid colours of their festivals, their folk songs and the sense of community that binds them together, Tortoise Under The Earth is a poetic elegy to a world that is rapidly disappearing, subsumed by unchecked development and displacement.
RESTORED CLASSIC
THAMP̄ by Aravindan Govindan
(Malayalam/129/1978)
Thamp̄ is a poetic, allegorical film, that gently explores the transience of human relationships and the rootlessness of the marginalized through the ripples created in the bucolic existence of a village on the banks of a river by the arrival of a roving circus troupe. In cinéma-vérité style, G. Aravindan rounded up a troupe of actual circus artistes and travelled with them to the village of Thirunavaya on the banks of the Bharathapuzha river.
ISHANOU by Aribam Syam Sharma
(Manipuri/90/1990)
Tampha, a pretty young woman with a loving husband and a small daughter is leading a tranquil existence in the Manipur valley, occupied with mundane details of life like preparing for her daughter’s ear-piercing ceremony or discussions with her husband about the purchase of a second-hand scooter. Suddenly she begins to behave in a strange manner, talking to flowers, becoming afflicted with dizzy spells and wandering out of the house in the dark of the night. The family runs from pillar to post trying to find a cure for the peculiar malady. Finally, they realize that she does not have an ordinary sickness, but is responding to the inexorable call of the deity. No woman becomes a Maibi by choice; she is chosen by the deity. As if in a dream, Tampha abandons her family to join the Maibi sect of priestesses.We are grateful to Film Heritage Foundation for providing the restored copies. Check out more of their work at Filmheritagefoundation.com
GHATASHRADDHA by Girish Kasaravalli
(Kannada/108/1977)
Set in South India, the film describes the ostracism of a young woman who transgresses the rigid sexual code of the orthodox Brahmin society. The style is deceptively simple in telling the story of Yamuna, a child widow living with her father in the Vedic school which he runs. Seduced and made pregnant by the teacher of the local government school, Yamuna attempts suicide but is rescued by a young student of her father’s called Nani with whom she has a deep bond of affection. She agrees to an abortion – equally suicidal, for, though she survives, she is left in pain and is made an outcast by her own father, who performs a funeral rite for his still-living daughter. In this rite, an earthen pot, symbol of fertility, is broken.
MĀYĀ MIRIGA by Nirad Mohapatra
(Odia/110/1984)
Raj Kishore Babu, an elderly headmaster of a school, lives modestly in a joint family that comprises his mother, his wife and his five children. Tutu’s city-bred wife will not follow in Prabha’s footsteps as a traditional daughter-in-law, the role that is expected of her. On the flimsy pretext of her mother’s sickness, she declines to stay with her in-laws while her husband is away. Prabha resents the preferential treatment given to the new couple. The disintegration of the family’s unity is by now apparent. An uneasy silence follows. In the quietness of the night, and in the privacy of their rooms, the family members recollect the warmth of their togetherness, yet are painfully aware of the impossibility of staying together.
We are grateful to Film Heritage Foundation for providing the restored copies. Check out more of their work at Filmheritagefoundation.com
Girish Kasaravalli Retrospective
TAI SAHEBA
(Kannada/118/1997)
The story of a Brahmin family during the pre- and post-independence periods of India. Winner of the Indian National Film Award for best film of the year.
HASINA
(Kannada/117/2004)
Hasina and Yakub have three daughters, one of whom is disabled. When from a hospital scan Yakub sees that Haseena’s pregnancy is a fourth girl he becomes abusive, eventually leaving her to fend for herself. Seeking justice, she sits on the steps of the mosque and refuses to move.
GULABI TALKIES
(Kannada/119/2008)
Gulabi is a discarded fifty something woman, an outcast living on an island with the fisher folk. Her obsession for films is fulled with the introduction of a television in her life and her village hut becomes a hub.
KURMAVATARA
(Kannada/114/2011)
In Girish Kasaravalli’s gently philosophical character piece, a humble, low-level civil servant cast as the lead in a popular TV serial chronicling the life of Gandhi finds uncanny echoes between his own life and that of the legendary leader — and sets out to correct their mutual failings.
ILLARALAARE ALLIGE HOGALAARE
(Kannada/80/2020)
The title means "neither can I be here nor can I journey beyond" by 16th century poet Purandara Dasa, on the eternal conflict - neither here nor there. The film explores the conflict between wants and aspirations located in the cycle of life.
Short Films
DHARAM SANKAT by Humaam Arifeen
(Hindi/21/2024)
A darkly comedic tale ensues, unraveling the tangled threads of religious polarization, propaganda, and the pernicious influence of social media on impressionable minds. Rahul, finds himself ensnared by the allure of radical ideology. Fuelled by the fervor of his beliefs, Rahul, alongside his trusted friends Amit and Anuj, concocts a daring plan to craft an explosive device. However, their journey is fraught with comedic misadventures and unexpected hurdles.
As Rahul's obsession with recognition reaches its zenith, fate takes a whimsical turn.
JOOYEIN by Vindhya Gupta
(Hindi/13/2024)
Roshni's world begins to crumble when she discovers an itchy, embarrassing secret: lice. Fearing social exile, she forms a desperate and deceptive pact with Chakor, the ostracized girl in her class. As they navigate this shared struggle, a fragile trust blossoms between them, offering both a sense of solace and companionship. However, the lie that binds them starts to fester, threatening not only their newfound friendship but also Roshni's carefully curated image. As the secret grows harder to contain, Roshni must confront the consequences of her choices and the true meaning of friendship.
BUNNYHOOD by Mansi Maheshwari
(English, Hindi, Gujrati/9/2024)
"Mum would never lie to me, would she?" Innocent Bobby discovers the answer to this question when she is surprised by a last minute trip to the hospital.
BOBBY BEAUTY PARLOUR
by Shashwat Dwivedi
(Hindi, Punjabi/19/2024)
On the hottest day of the year, Eelu drops by to see her best friend Manu, who works at the local beauty salon. When the owner of the salon suffers a heatstroke, the girls find themselves alone and unable to get out due to the severe heat. Trapped together in the claustrophobic confines of the salon, the girls get comfortable in their mumblecore haven. They chat, laugh, and dance, but their carefree revelry is punctured by the sudden arrival of a man, asking for Eelu.
IF YOU KNOW YOU KNOW by Bonita Rajpurohit
(English, Hindi, Gujrati/18/2024)
We follow Kusum, a trans girl on a series of dates with boys; As they find themselves trying to straddle the line of respecting her boundaries and expressing themselves and failing at it most of the time.
GAGAN GAMAN by Suruchi Sharma
(Hindi, Rajasthani/30/2024)
Set against a surreal landscape, this is a tale of a woman's quest – in a world infused with myth and mystery, where each move opens up a new world. She meets people, lovers, riddles, world-warping questions and even a goddess as she wades through this haze of wonder and realisation and begins to see everything anew.
