Exclusive interview with Aneek Chaudhuri, director of off-beat films Streer Potro and White

*Tell us about the themes/central ideas of your two feature films, The Wife’s Letter (Streer Potro, in Bengali) and White (no dialogue).

Aneek: The Wife's letter is based on an abstract theme where mathematics has been related to emotions, inspired by the surrealist form of Dali and simplistic form of Tagore. White is based on sexual assaults on women and has a universal relevance.

*You have obtained degrees in English, Economics and Human Resources. What made you study cinema? Who, and which films, inspired you?

Aneek: I don't find anything else other than Cinema to be more inspiring! It has brought me back to life you know. A time when I was struggling in many ways, it came to my rescue. Films like 400 Blows (François Truffaut), Three Colors Blue (Krzysztof Kieslowski), Subarnarekha (Ritwick Ghatak) are among them. Talking of any director in particular, Ritwik Ghatak is an inspiration, and I visually recall each moment of his films.

*What did you learn specifically from Naresh Sharma and his team at the CRAFT film school, New Delhi?

Aneek: CRAFT taught me the essentials to execute my thoughts into portrayal which is the most important thing in this medium. Naresh Sir was one of those persons who would never merely encourage you, rather would inspire you to be at the top.

*How was the journey, from three shorts and two documentaries, to your first feature? Do dwell on the five preceding outings: subjects, funding, target audience and exposure.

Aneek: I left my job and I made my mind "Enough! No more adjusting with your aspirations". I had already started developing an analogy of shorts on Tagore's short tales which eventually became something else in the form of The Wife's Letter. I had enough to self fund the film, however, did never think of what would happen in the future. My target audience had always been festival goers and critics.

*You hold revered French film theorist and reviewer André Bazin in great esteem, and have even written a book about him. How has he influenced your style of writing and directing?

Aneek: It is not only Bazin, but the age that followed him too influenced my style of directing. I began into films with a critique on the Auteur theory, as I was never in contention with his or Truffaut's thoughts.

*Tell us about your association with Indian Streams Research Journal (ISRJ).

Aneek: As I told you that I began as a film theorist, inspired by French film theories. ISRJ was the first one to acknowledge my thoughts. Then, after successive publications in various journals worldwide, I was nominated as a member at ISRJ.

*Your 2016 film Streer Potro is an amalgamation of Rabindranath Tagore and the works of Salvadore Dali, with Mathematics at the core. You have even named your protagonist X. Do decode these symbols for us.

Aneek: X symbolises a variable. In The Wife's Letter, the protagonist fails to establish a proper identification and hence relates himself to anyone and everyone he encounters. It is a satire on manipulations that overpower emotions and sentiments nowadays.

*Why is White so called? What is the basis of the three-part narrative?

Aneek: White symbolises serenity and a ray of hope. This represents optimism that appears among women even in the darkest situations. I find 3 to be the alphabetical equivalent to W, hence three tales.

*What aspects of colour have you tackled in your book Colours and Cinema?

Aneek: Color and Cinema talks about the significance of Colors in terms of mood and motif.

*Streer Potro was released on Amazon Prime in five countries, and is reaching other countries soon. Where are you planning to screen/release White?

Aneek: We would like to wait. Of course we are aiming at some of the major international film festivals and the rest depends on demand and circumstances.

*What are you planning next? A book? A film in English or Hindi?

Aneek: I am planning to direct my next later this year, though the language is flexible. It will mostly likely be for a wider spectrum of audiences.

Film-maker

Year  Title  Category

●2011  Congested Harmony (Short)

●2015  Embrace (Short)

●2015  The Needle's Lids (Short)

●2016  Urban Voice (Documentary)

●2016  Comic Fingers (Documentary)

• 2015 Cinema Bid Adieu (Feature)

●2016  The Wife's Letter (Feature)

●2018 White (Feature)

Festival circuit

Film  Festival Year

● The Wife’s Letter, Festival de Cannes, 2017

● The Wife’s Letter, Hamilton Film Festival, 2016

● The Wife's Letter, Tirana Film Fest-Albania, 2016

● The Wife's Letter, Competed at Capricornia Film Awards and Tallgrass Film Awards for innovative debutant, 2016

● Embrace, Warsaw Film Festival, 2016

● Cinema Bid Adieu, Netherlands-Lumière Theatres, 2015

● Comic Fingers, El Kisa-Turkey, 2015

● Congested Harmony, Indian Film Festival-Melbourne 2011

Author

Title  Publisher Year

● Colors and Cinema-Amazon-2017

● BAZIN: Who is he?-BookCountry (Penguin group)-2016

● Wanna Write a Script?-Nas-2015

● Vindeshi-Vrinda-Laxmi Publishers-2015

● Cinema's Three Layers-Nas Publishers-2014

● Trishna-Booktango (Penguin group)-2012

--Siraj Syed