National Award winner Amartya Bhattacharyya's Adieu Godard is a satirical ode to the late maestro

The Odia movie is all set to release in Kolkata and Mumbai theatres tomorrow
Adieu_GODARD_Still04
Adieu_GODARD_Still04

Close on the heels of iconic French filmmaker Jaen-LucGodard's demise,  National Award-winning director Amartya Bhattacharyya's film Adieu Goddard is releasing in theatres across Kolkata and Mumbai on September 16.

An Indo-French co-production, Adieu Godard, starring Choudhury Bikas Das, Dipanwit Dashmohapatra, Sudharsri Madhusmita, Swastik Choudhury, Choudhury Jayaprakash Das, Shankar Basu Mallick and Abhishek Gir among others, is a socio-cultural comic tribute to the legendary French filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard. 

"Ever since I got the news that Godard chose to depart willingly, it seems something we all should salute, respect, honour and admire. This death is no longer a tragedy, it's a statement. A bold and dignified statement," states Amartya, who was in the town to promote his film.

The film is based on an old man named Ananda, who happens to be a pornography addict. He secretly watches porn with some friends in a conservative Indian village. One day, they accidentally come across one of Godard's films which they mistakenly rented as pornography. Though his friends were disgusted, Ananda gets attracted to Godard’s film and gradually develops an obsession. He initiates the idea of hosting a film festival in their village where Godard’s films will be screened. The festival gets organized after a lot of drama and the film is around that.

<em>Amartya Bhattacharyya</em>
Amartya Bhattacharyya

"This film is very simple and enjoyable, yet it has a lot of impact in terms of how the cross-cultural aspects of our society are brought to light. Though I've made both Bengali and Odia films before, I chose to make this film in Odia and shot this in Odisha because the contrast works socially. Rural Odisha is by and large conservative and old men watching pornography secretly in rural Odisha creates that context in which the film is set. Also, the indigenous culture in Odisha villages, makes the French new wave auteur Jean Luc Godard an alien subject to the villagers, which triggers humour," explains Amartya.

A short chat with Amartya on the same:

<em>A still from Adieu Godard </em>
A still from Adieu Godard 

What was the idea behind Adieu Godard?

It was a spontaneous expression of my state of mind which prompted the script. Most of my other films are absurdist and abstract but this is a humourous take and satirical. While writing the script the idea of Godard came into my mind and I felt it was a great opportunity to pay him tribute. Also, though three of my earlier films ran successfully and won several awards at prestigious global film festivals, I have always been looked at as an intellectual filmmaker whose films are not linear or straightforward enough to be understood by the general public. I had a problem with that tag I can’t make simple films.

Any memorable experience while shooting this film?

We were shooting sequences in a village where we were showing Godard’s films and the villagers showed their anger at the organizers. One of the characters was played by our producer who is an actor too. He made sure that the village audience had real villagers and we showed them Godard’s Breathless for 30-40 minutes. So, the reactions we captured were all very authentic and spontaneous which is a memorable thing.

<em>A still from Adieu Godard </em>
A still from Adieu Godard 

How did you conceive then cast?

When I was writing the script some characters were already in my mind like Choudhury Bikas Das, who plays the lead and with whom I have worked before too. He is a fabulous Odia actor and it’s a misfortune that beyond Odisha people haven't recognised him yet. He recently won the best actor award at the very prestigious Sipontum Arthouse International Film Festival held in Italy, which is huge.

The rest of the casting was done after writing the script. I also did auditions and there were a lot of fresh faces who have a lot of zeal.

Do you think that Indian cinema is evolving?

The one unfortunate thing happening is that big-budget films are collapsing but I feel it’s not all bad since people have started understanding that only scale won’t determine success and the audience is getting prone to better content and alternate ideas. They are bored of the same hackneyed formula content.

So, it’s a great opportunity for indie filmmakers and alternate thinkers to come up with fresh ideas. Conventional cinema is done and dusted and viewers are growing up and embracing newness that helps evolve a society.

What about Bengali cinema?

I think it has evolved too but whether it has evolved in a way we would have ideally wanted is a big question. Stalwarts like Buddhadeb Dasgupta and Rituparno Ghosh are no longer there. But there are a few emerging talents and I like Aditya Bikram Sengupta’s work and loved new filmmaker Sourish Dey’s Bagh and Sarmistha Maiti and Rajdeep Paul’s Kalkokkho. These are really potent films and if more of them come up that’s a very good sign.

<em>A still from Adieu Godard </em>
A still from Adieu Godard 

Your inspirations?

No one as such but I like a lot of filmmakers in a lot many ways. I love how Godard used to break things and had broken the formalism of Hollywood structure and at times even his own forms. I love Louis Bunuel for his surrealism and magic realism and the structure of his films. Also, you cannot ignore the works of greats like Tarkovsky and Bergman which are relevant till now and opened up spaces for independent thought.

 Among the new-age filmmakers, the late Korean maestro Kim Ki-Duk inspires me and among Indian directors, I like Ashish Avikuntak, Mani Kaul and Kamal Swarup.

Your upcoming projects?

Currently, I am shooting the last phases of a film based on the cyclone-affected coastal villages during Fani in 2019. There’s also an interesting Bengali musical film with 8 songs that I am working on.

Adieu Godard will be running in theatres from tomorrow.

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