Entertainment Desk
Bangladeshi film-maker Suborna Senjutee Tushee’s short film “Meenalaap”- “Fish Musing”- won the Ritwick Ghatak Golden Award for the Best Short Fiction, at the 2nd South Asian Short Film Festival 2019 in Kolkata on Monday.
Amitabh Reza Chowdhury also won at this festival, which was organized by the Federation of Film Societies of India. Amitabh won the Special Jury Award for his film “Silence.” Tasmiah Afrin Mou was one of the juries for the awards given in the Short Fiction category.
“Meenalaap” has also previously won the prestigious: Grand Prix award at the Eurasia International Film Festival 2018, Critics Award at the Didor International Film Festival, Tajikistan, Best Film at 6th Siliguri International Short and Documentary Film Festival, Mt Everest Award for the Best International Short Film from Nepal International Film Festival, and Best Short Film at Third Eye Film Festival, Mumbai.
The cinematographer for “Meenalaap” was Archana Ghangrekar, and the art direction was done by Himanshi Patwal. The editor was Kshama Padalkar. The film features the following actors: Titas Dutta, Promito Dutta, Vivek Kumar, and Devas Dixit.
“Meenalap” depicts the transformation of life while living in a lonely city, and hope. The story revolves around a Bangali couple who migrates to India and has a child; plus the feeling of seclusion the couple feels from the alien society around them.
The director, Tushee, named the film “Meenalap” because the protagonists in her film are like fish, who migrate to lay their eggs in freshwater.
The director spent seven years in India, completing her studies at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). However, during those years, Tushee did not participate in any film festivals or in the local film industry, as is the norm with the FTII students.
Her time in India was overshadowed by a tragic accident that killed her husband and put her in a coma. She also had to undergo six surgeries to recover.
Now that she has recovered from the trauma, Tushee has devoted her time to film-making. She is currently working on three projects: a feature film, an archaeological documentary, and a short film. She hopes to finish two of these projects by the end of the year.
