Rang Mahal
Director: Prantik Basu | Duration: 27 minutes | Language: Santhali, English
‘Rang Mahal’ by filmmaker Prantik Basu follows the life of the Santhali tribe in Purulia, West Bengal. Until recently they had no written script, their stories and myths preserved and passed orally through generations. Each narration would assume a different form, much like the rocks of a nearby hill that come in various hues. The film is a tale about the origin of creation, exploring the unique relationship of the Santhali people with nature and culture.
The screening was followed by the screening of ‘Jamnapaar’ and after that a discussion between director Prantik Basu, Abhinava Bhattacharya and academic Nithin Manayath.
About the Director
Prantik Basu graduated in English literature from Calcutta University and then studied film direction and screenplay writing at the Film & Television Institute of India, Pune. A filmmaker by practice, Prantik has been making short films and experimental documentaries since 2007. His student short 1,2 (2011) received the Indian Jury Prize at the Mumbai International Film Festival in 2012. His films, Wind Castle (2014) and Makara (2013) have been screened at various film festivals including Oberhausen, Rome Film Festival, Experimenta & Kochi-Muziris Biennale. His latest film Sakhisona (2016) won the Tiger Award for Short Films at the 46th Rotterdam International Film Festival and has been shown at several festivals worldwide.
About the Discussants
Abhinava Bhattacharyya is a freelance filmmaker and lives in Delhi. He is an alumni of the Creative Documentary Course at the Sri Aurobindo Centre for Arts and Communication (SACAC). He has been working and trying to gain experience in the different disciplines of filmmaking for the past few years. He has been able to gain experience in writing, direction, camera and sound. A deep curiosity in the discipline of visual storytelling along with the need to express drives him to explore the thin crack that runs between documentary and fiction, between reality and madness.
Nithin Manayath is a Professor of Communications at Mount Carmel College, Bengaluru. He is also the co-organiser and curator of the Bangalore Queer Film Festival.
Connected Exhibits and Programmes
People and Water - photographs representing our relationship to water
The Unquiet River Brahmaputra by Arupjyoti Saikia - a public lecture on the river Brahmaputra