Nov 12, 2010

... still we survive, BEYOND BORDERS


What is ‘partition’? Just a division between two parts of anything, or something which, for a change, might draw our attention because living itself is nothing but such a wide partition spread out between life and death! And this truth becomes even more evident, if you can experience how it feels to be separated, of course much against your will and wish from your land, values, principles, families, friends, and from everything, everyone you love in order to survive, at least, if not live the fullest.

That’s why; partition is probably life’s one of the most traumatic shakeups, which challenges one’s survival, immediately, where the person’s sex, caste, creed, colour, religion, etc. remain simply inconsequential.

Though a partition sends away one’s life to astray with utmost disdain and ruthlessness and impacts lives of men and women alike; still it affects and, to some extent, infects the women’s health and psyche, bringing unthinkable and unbearable pain and agony to them.

As a matter of fact, what Nita, her mother and her sister had gone through – as picturised in the movie ‘Meghe Dhaka Tara’ – by falling prey to the evils of the partition of India is not at all an alienated phenomenon to the women of today who also delve deeper into such feelings and pathos in their respective lives, thanks to many partitions and borders which they need to break... to go beyond. Either being different from Nita, her mother and sister or being totally indifferent even towards self.

When all that happens somewhere, sometimes, unnoticed, Sharmila Maiti thought of getting behind the lens to let her, as well as every woman’s senses mingle with ours. And, since 2010 incidentally happens to be the 50th year of the movie ‘Meghe Dhaka Tara’, Sharmila chose to salute and commemorate this masterpiece of Late Ritwick Kumar Ghatak in her own parlance of cinema, which would go BEYOND BORDERS.

BEYOND BORDERS is not just a typical documentary film having a retro-effect to talk aloud in Ritwick’s language; instead, it’s the docu-fiction by a today’s Nita whom we rather know as Sharmila.

Not to mention, BEYOND BORDERS was already selected for International Conference of Cinema 2010 in February. It was also screened as the inaugural film at International Womens’ Day film festival in Kolkata and Pune. It was selected for Haryana International Film Festival too. And now, it is going to be screened at Kolkata Film Festival 2010 – the biggest non-competitive film festival in the world. It has also earned the brownie points from the Indian select for Venice Film Festival.

Given this, the DVDs of BEYOND BORDERS are about to be launched soon. These DVDs comprise of priceless and never-before-heard interviews of the three actresses: Supriya Devi, Gita Dey and Late Gita Ghatak (who went to her heavenly abode shortly after the shooting, so Sharmila’s film captured the last days of this cult Rabindra Sangeet singer & actress), making of the film and some interesting tidbits. Thus, for the reason obvious, each of the DVDs is going to be a pride and prized possession or collector’s item to the connoisseurs of movie and entertainment.

So, go BEYOND BORDERS notwithstanding every partition in life, for, the name of the game is ONLY survival, and '…still we survive'!