Tripura’s Samarpan Bhattacharjee bags award for ‘Best Debut Filmmaker’ at KIMFF

Agartala Feb 04: Lights, Camera, Sound and Action! The world of movies transports us into a different realm. It is no different for Samarpan Bhattacharjee (Sam), a student of Graphics and Animation who dreams of making movies that would inspire many.

Recently, Smarpan was handed over a trophy by prominent Indian film director Goutam Ghosh at the Kolkata International Micro Film Festival (KIMFF) for his first short film “Pujor Jama” entirely made in the soil of Tripura with the local artists here in the category of Best Debut Filmmaker.

He explains how he got into the film industry, skills necessary for making a film, story structure and the camera. Edited excerpts from the interview:

How did you get into this filmmaking industry?

I am fond of writing stories based on the issues I come across in my everyday life, the ones that compel me to think and interests me to explore further. While studying in college, probably in my 2^nd year, I wrote the story of “Pujor Jama” in the year 2013, a story revolving around the emotion of buying a new dress for Durga Puja festival. Later, when I discussed the story with a few friends, I got the inspiration of converting it into a short film. And this is when I got into film making.

Being a student of Graphics and Animation, I made few such projects during my college days and with that little knowledge I tried to put soul into the story of “Pujor Jama”.

 

What is the film all about?

“Pujor Jama” is a 30- min short film made with all the local artists of Tripura and also entirely shot in the state. The story basically revolves around the sentiments of buying a new dress for the Durga Puja festival which we all know is a grand and most important festival for us.

Children especially have a huge fantasy of buying new dress for the puja but many cannot afford it because of financial constraints. “Pujor Jama” story is of a small boy who also wishes to buy a dress but finds it difficult to buy one as his parents strive hard for two times meal.

The inspiration for the story came from the reality of our society where a huge number of people belonging to the poorer sections find it hard to fulfill their ‘small’ dreams.

 

How was your experience on the sets?

It was a great learning experience. Because it was the first one in my career, it was a tough job because one has to be on their toes, right from doing special efforts to costumes, set designing, camera handling, directing the cast to bring the required output.

However, I believe that Tripura has a bunch of talents and with growing times, this industry will surely flourish here.

 

 

How do you feel about your achievement at the Kolkata International Micro Film Festival (KIMFF)?

Honestly, I didn’t even expect to be nominated, forget bagging an award. I was taken by surprise when my film was screened at the festival. Definitely, I am elated, honoured, very happy. At the festival, I not only showcased my film but learnt from others’ work as well. It was a fulfilling experience for me.

 

Having received your first award as a Best Debut Filmmaker, what do you think about the film industry in Tripura?

As mentioned earlier, Tripura is a mine of talents. Artists of various genres are dedicated towards their art and are keen to work hard to make a good project. But the problem in making a film here is budget. We lack enough money to make bigger projects here. But I believe it is skill that matters, what one has in mind to bring out the desired output. Besides, in recent day’s Tripura has seen a remarkable growth in terms of the film making industry and hopefully in the coming days it will be far greater.

 

What’s next?

The recent award, my first, is like a booster for me. I have two more stories in mind and will try to make good films in the coming days. But at present I am working to make a documentary based on Tripura’s famous ‘Charak Mela’ that will be out by April next.