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Sep 21 - Sep 24, 2023

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The Home and the World Today

Ghawre Bairey Aaj is inspired by Rabindranath Tagore’s novel “Ghare Bairey” (Home and the World), and is a contemporary retelling of the triangular love story involving Tagore’s characters Nikhilesh, Sandeep and Bimala. It is as much a story of passionate romance as it is of clashing ideologies in the present times, and the way these clashes affect love and friendship.

Director

Aparna Sen is one of India’s most celebrated writer-directors. She is the daughter of the renowned film historian, critic and filmmaker Chidananda Dasgupta.

Her directorial debut in the year 1981 was an English film, 36 Chowringhee Lane, which was also written by her. The film won the Golden Eagle – the Grand Prix – at the Manila International Film Festival and the Golden Lotus for best Direction at the National Awards in India. Her directorial work includes memorable films like Sati, Paroma, Picnic, Yugant, Paromita’r Ek Din and Mr. and Mrs. Iyer and The Japanese Wife. Mr. and Mrs. Iyer, which stars her daughter Konkona Sen Sharma and Rahul Bose, won several national and international awards and has been showcased in innumerable film festivals all over the world.

Retrospectives of Aparna’s films have been held in London, Munich and at Nandan in Kolkata.

Aparna is also one of India’s finest actors. The celebrated Satayjit Ray introduced her in his film Samapti. She has since acted in several films and won several awards and accolades.

She has served on juries at many international film festivals, such as the International Film Festival of India, the Moscow International Film Festival, The Hawaii International Film Festival the Cairo International Film Festival and the Marrakesh International Film Festival.

She was the founder-editor of Sananda, a major Bengali magazine published by the ABP group.

Aparna has been honored with some of India’s most prestigious awards, including the Padmashree Award for Contribution to Cinema by the President of India and the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award.

In recent years, she has he has made several films – Arshinagar, which is a musical adaptation in Bengali of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Saari Raat, which is a film version Hindi of Badal Sarkar’s play Saara Rattir, and Sonata, a chamber piece based on Mahesh Elkunchwar’s celebrated play of the same name.

She is currently in the process of completing her latest film Ghawre Bairey Aaj, inspired by Tagore’s famous novel Ghawre Bairey (The Home and The World), but set against the backdrop of present day India.

Director’s Note: It was the night of the news of Gauri Lankesh’s murder. I went to bed shaken to the very core of my being. What is happening to my country, I wondered, where voices of reason and moderation are being silenced so brutally?

That night I dreamt that a young, first-time director – a Satyajit Ray fan – was remaking GHAWRE BAIREY set in contemporary times. I woke up and realised that that young, first-time director was actually me! Because for me, whenever I make a film, it is always the first time! And when I am doing the work I love best – filmmaking – I am forever young!

Tagore’s GHAWRE BAIREY is about a triangular love story featuring three central characters — Nikhilesh, Bimala and Sandip — set in the turbulent times of pre-independent India.It is about how the interpersonal relationships in the home are affected by what is happening in the outside world. Aparna Sen’s GHAWRE BAIREY AAJ is also about the triangular passionate relationship between Nikhilesh, Bimala and Sandip; but it is set against the turbulent political scenario of the India of today.

Festivals/Awards

Jagran Film Festival, New Delhi, India

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Ketki Parikh

Ketki Parikh is the co-founder and President of Chicago South Asian Film Festival. While growing up in India she was intimately engaged in both the performance and theories of artistic expression through dance and drama at the prestigious Darpana Academy in Ahmedabad. After moving to the United States, In 1995, Ketki founded Vachikam with the goal of sharing these experiences with the greater Indian community in USA by nationally promoting theatrical performances and artists of the highest quality from India. Ketki is also a strong and active supporter of the Indian community. After serving on the board of India Development Service she also serves as a board member of Apna Ghar, a domestic violence shelter in Chicago serving primarily Asian women and children.

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Jigar Shah

Jigar Shah is the Festival Director of Chicago South Asian Film Festival. He is passionate about the connection between stories, films and community. He aims to share perspectives through film and art by providing a platform for talents who are overlooked as he empowers each of us to see our inner artists. Jigar holds several leadership titles and is advisory board member to various nonprofits. He serves as a jury member in other international film festivals. Working in a leadership role in a Global healthcare financial firm, Jigar is a technology strategy leader who holds advanced degrees in Engineering, MBA (Chicago), and Law (Pritzker School of Law, Northwestern, Chicago). “I believe in bringing each of us together through art and culture; this is possible and I make this an everyday action in my life.”

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Amit Rana

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Aparna Sen

Aparna Sen is a critically acclaimed Indian filmmaker, script writer, and actress. She is the winner of three prestigious National Film Awards and eight international film festival awards. Her first film appearance happened in Satyajit Ray’s Teen Kanya when she was sixteen. In 1981, Aparna, made her debut as a film director with 36 Chowringhee Lane which won national and international accolade. Since then she has gone on to direct films on a wide variety of subjects that have brought her worldwide fame and recognition.

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Shabana Azmi

Shabana Azmi is regarded as one of the finest actresses in India. She has appeared in over 120 Hindi films in both mainstream and independent cinema, and has to her credit as an actor several international projects. Azmi’s performances in films across genres have earned her praise and awards, which include a record of five wins of the National Film Award for Best Actress and four Filmfare Awards. In addition to acting, Azmi is a social and women’s rights activist, a Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA), and a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian parliament.

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Vishal Bhardwaj

Vishal Bhardwaj is an Indian film director, writer, composer and producer. He has directed ten feature films, produced five and composed music for more than forty. His directorial work includes Makdee, The Blue Umbrella, Kaminey, 7 Khoon Maaf, Matru Ki Bijli Ka Mandola, Rangoon, Pataakha as well as the internationally acclaimed Shakespeare Trilogy – Maqbool, Omkara and Haider (adapted from Macbeth, Othello and Hamlet, respectively). He has received 3 international awards and 7 national film awards for his work and recently began his stage career by directing A Flowering Tree in the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, and composing music for the Monsoon Wedding musical in Berkeley, California.

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Bhawana Somaaya

Bhawana Somaaya commenced her career in the late 70s as Chief Reporter with Free Press Journal’s film weekly titled Cinema Journal. In 81 she joined Movie as Assistant Editor and went on to become the Joint Editor. In 2000, she joined as Editor Chief, Screen, a film weekly of The Indian Express Group. She is the recipient of several prestigious awards and has contributed columns to prominent publications like The Observer and The Hindustan Times. She has to her credit nine books in a span of 10 years which include Amitabh Bachchan – The Legend and Cinema – Images & Issues. Somaaya does a weekly film review and a Sunday show on 92.7 Big Fm. She is a multifaceted individual who juggles multiple responsibilities including being creative consultant to Enlighten Films and their website Dear Cinema, a guest lecturer at MET college, and serving her second term on the Advisory Panel of Central Board of Film Certification.

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Lillete Dubey

Lillete Dubey has appeared in numerous Indian movies, most notably in the Mira Nair directed: Monsoon Wedding, Baghban alongside the legend, Amitabh Bachchan, Bow Barracks Forever alongside her daughter Neha Dubey, and Housefull alongside Bollywood A – listers Akshay Kumar and Deepika Padukone. Lillete Dubey, in addition to acting, is an acclaimed theatre director, television and film artist, and founder of the Theatre Action Group in Delhi. She has directed a number of plays including Mahesh Dattani’s Dance like a Man, which is the longest running play in English that completed 425 shows across the world and a two week run on Broadway.

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Deepti D'Cunha

Deepti D’Cunha is a Film Programmer, based in Mumbai, India, specializing in Contemporary Indian Cinema. Deepti sources and curates films for the Viewing Room section, Work-in-progress lab and Film Bazaar Recommends section, for NFDC Film Bazaar. Her deep commitment towards independent Indian cinema always keeps her on the lookout for new films and fresh talent from all over India as well as new platforms for exhibition and distribution of Indian cinema across the world. She has been a programmer for the 17th and 18th International Children’s Film Festival of India by the Children’s Film Society of India (CFSI) and well as for Osian’s Cinefan Film Festival. Deepti sources Indian films for International Film Festivals and is currently the India Consultant to Marco Mueller, Artistic director, of Rome Film Festival.

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