As the Durga Puja celebrations kicks off in West Bengal, a short film on searching for one's own roots through the gastronomical route during the festival is catching eyeballs on YouTube.
Directed by National Award winning filmmaker Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, "Debi" is a thirteen-minute-long film released exclusively on the digital platform.
Shot in the heritage backdrop of Lahabari and the old lanes and bylanes of the north Kolkata, the film's story revolves around Anuradha, daughter of the Basu Chowdhury family of Kolkata who returns to their age-old family mansion after twenty years of staying abroad.
The film portrays the homecoming of the protagonist and her daughter and how Bengali delicacies, popular during Durga Puja, help them trace their roots.
Chowdhury said capturing the audience interest within a span of few minutes while narrating a complete story is one of the most critical creative challenge for any filmmaker that the technology of internet has thrown up.
Aditya Agarwal director of Emami Group of Companies, who has presented the film, said people were so far used to stories, songs, fashion, etc related to Durga Puja and so they thought of creating a 'Pujor Chhobi' (Puja film) that will deal with the emotion of homecoming which is very relevant during this time.
"Nothing can be a better platform to connect with greater number of people within the minimum span of time than the digital medium, especially with the huge Bengali diaspora for whom homecoming during this time of the year holds a place of special emotion," he said.
The film stars National Award winning actor Ananya Chatterjee, Arjun Chakraborty, Kaushik Banerjee. Noted singer Anupam Roy has composed the film's music as well as lent his voice while Bengali poet Srijato has penned the lyrics for "Debi".
