Alifa, a film by Deep Choudhury which won the best debut film during the national film awards last year has been released in West Bengal. The film which is a saga of human-wildlife conflict, as well as the frailties of human nature and wider social bonding, will be released in Assam on April 6.
It has been released in six theatres including in Nandan in Kolkata on this Friday.
“Being a small film and getting the kind of response in Kolkata is really encouraging. Almost 70 percent of the 1200-seater Nandan I was filled up. We couldn’t do much publicity plus the language is also not truly Bengali. So, it’s a good sign,” Choudhury, the Mumbai based Assamese filmmaker, said.
The director has tried to depict the life and struggles of migrant workers, many of whom have to travel to the city after losing their land and property to flood and erosions to make ends meet. The film narrates the story of Ali, a migrant worker who lost everything to natural calamity and landed in the city for survival and how his life faces twists and turns in the city.
“It’s a saga of struggle, hope, human frailty and despair which explores the plight of migrant workers in urban setups, where humanity remains a question mark and every moment witnesses the emerging of a new challenge. I have tried to explore the reality without being biased or trying to make any statement,” added Choudhury.
The film features Bahahrul Islam, Jaya Seal, Prasun Gain and Victor Banerjee among others in important roles and has been produced by Arman Ahmed. The film is in a dialect spoken by a section of people of East Bengal origin.
Though it was supposed to be released simultaneously in Assam as well, it couldn’t be done due to a big budget Bollywood film. Finally, it has been postponed till April 6.
“It’s really unfortunate and this is not new. It has been happening for quite some time. We need to stand united to do something for bringing a solution,” added the filmmaker.
Alifa had won the best debut film of A Director award in the 64th National Film Awards, 2017.
