DARPAN 2014
Integration through the arts is what Darpan reflects.. Started as a Bengali contemporary film festival in South East Asia in 2012, this festival moves a few steps forward in its every year to bring within its fold greater reflections of cinema as an art form, specially as we celebrate 100 years of Indian cinema globally. With art and culture receiving so much impetus in Singapore, a film festival showcasing such films for a varied range of audience was a given. The ties between Singapore and the Bengal region are well etched in history. From Sir Stamford Raffles’ journey to the capital Kolkata in 1826 to seek permission from the East India Company, to setting up a trading post on the island to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose making Singapore his base to revitalise the Indian National Army in 1943; the links between the two port cities of Kolkata and Singapore go back a long way. Darpan celebrates this intermingling and interaction of cultures, people and ideas, year after year.
Friday, 31st October
Shehsher Kobita – 7 pm, The Cathay
Bioscope – 9.30 pm, The Cathay
Saturday, 1st November
Gran Plan – 1 pm, The Arts House
Deswa – 3 pm, The Cathay
Prague – 3 pm, The Arts House
Room 103 – 5 pm, The Cathay
Shongram – 7 pm, The Cathay
Jaatishwar – 7 pm, The Arts House
Baari Tar Bangla – 9 pm, The Cathay
Sunday, 2nd November
Chaar – 11 am, The Cathay
Take One – 1 pm, The Cathay
Haridas – 1 pm, The Arts House
Brihonnola – 3 pm, The Cathay
Apur Panchhali – 5 pm, The Cathay
Gran Plan – 5 pm, The Arts House
Bari Taar Bangla (Home is Bengali)
Directed by: Rangan Chakravarty
Roopchand Sen, (Saswata Chatterjee) a man of around 40 suddenly discovers that he cannot write anything in Bangla (Bengali language) anymore. Desperate to regain his abilities to write in Bangla, he goes to a psychiatrist (Raima Sen). The film is a narrative of his life and what led to his present circumstances.
Rating: PG; With English subtitles
Watch the trailerBioscope (Marathi) – Darpan Premiere Film
Directed by: Ravi Jadhav, Gajendra Aahire, Viju Mane, Girish Mohite
Four short films that come together to celebrate the finest in Marathi cinema, directed by the best in the Marathi film business.
Rating: TBD; With English subtitles
Watch the trailerShongram (Struggle)
Directed by: Munsur Ali
A romantic drama set during the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war where a British Bangladeshi talks to a London reporter four decades later, about his youth, love, loss and the liberation war which he unwillingly became a part of. Starring Anupam Kher, Asia Argento, Dilruba Yasmeen Ruhee, Armaan Reza
Rating: NC16; With English subtitles
Watch the trailerChaar (Four)
Directed by: Sandip Ray
Four stories across the board from the son of the celebrated director and Oscar award winner the late Satyajit Ray.
Rating: PG; With English subtitles
Watch the trailerApur Panchali (The Song of Apu)
Directed by: Kaushik Ganguly
Based on the Satyajit ray Apu trilogy, this film explores a different perspective on the protagonist Apu.
Rating: PG; With English subtitles
Watch the trailerBrihonnal
Directed by: Murad Parvez
Religious prejudice and racial dogmatism are the curse of Mohanpur, a backwater village out of touch with progress in the contemporary world. But as depicted in the film Brihonnola, humanity has the strength to combat and neutralise the poisonous effects of these evils on the lives of the villagers.
Rating: TBD; With English subtitles; Bangladesh
Watch the trailerDeswa (My Land)
Directed by: Nitin Chandra
The film is a social drama and a crime thriller produced by the acclaimed Neetu Chandra. The film has been screened at the South Asian Film Festival, Habitat World Film Festival, Montage Film Festival, International Film Festival of Fiji, Bhojpuri Film Festival and is still being invited to several National and International Film Festivals.
Rating: NC16; With English subtitles
Watch the trailerTake One
Directed by: Mainak Bhaumik
An Indian Actress Doel Mitra, shoots to overnight infamity igniting the wrath of conservative indian society when a bold sex-scene from one of her foreign films is leaked on the internet, When the public scandal happens. Doel is in the middle of shooting an indian film in which she plays the part of the mythological Hindu character, Sita. Starring Swastika Mukherjee, Rahul Banerjee, Vikramjit Chaudhury, Arindam Sil
Rating: M18; With English subtitles
Watch the trailerA Gran Plan
Directed by: Sangeeta Nambiar
What happens when a troubled young boy meets with an old lady who’s living her own share of problems? A Gran Plan explores this sensitive relationship that develops over time. It intricately weaves a story that has the protagonists overcome boundaries of age, language and culture and reach out to each other to form a lasting friendship. Peppered with moments of fun, A Gran Plan is a drama set in Singapore, starring the very talented Farida Jalal and an upcoming actor, ten year old Oliver Kennett.
Rating: PG; With English subtitles
Watch the trailerHaridas (Tamil film)
Directed by: G. N. R. Kumaravelan
The bonding between a father and his 10-year old autistic son, and the boy and his empathetic school teacher forms the fulcrum of Haridas. Sivadas, the father, gropes in the dark, trying to understand the mind of his motherless son, Hari, who seems to live in a world of his own. A compelling watch starring Kishore, Sneha, Prithviraj Das
Rating: PG; With English subtitles
Room 103 – Darpan Premiere Film
Directed by: Aniket Chattopadhyay
The story of the film revolves around a hotel name Raat Din. Rudra Chatterjee is the manager of the hotel for 33 years. In these 33 years in the hotel he has gathered many experiences. He narrates four of these stories during the course of the film. Starring Soumitra Chatterjee, Jisshu Sengupta, Anjana Basu, Kanchana Moitra
Rating: PG; With English subtitles