Filmmaker duo Sarmistha Maiti and Rajdeep Paul's first full-length feature film, Kalkokkho Also Called House of Time bags the award for the Best Bengali Film at the National Film Awards 2023, which was announced today. The film offers us a journey into the darkness that enveloped us during the COVID-19 pandemic, the daily fight for existence, and how we were painstakingly stuck not just in time, but also in space.
The film which saw a bunch of talented actors like Tannistha Biswas, Janardan Ghosh, Sreelekha Mukherji, Amit Saha, Ahana Karmakar and Deep Sarkar, premiered at the 26th Busan International Film Festival 2021 in the New Currents (Main Competition) section and at the 52nd International Film Festival Of India (IFFI) Goa. Rajdeep Paul and Sarmistha Maiti won the Golden Sparrow Best Screenplay Award at the Diorama International Film Festival 2021 but stayed for just a few days at the Kolkata theatres.
On winning the award, Maity says, “Right now, I am feeling peaceful. I am at solace. It was a long wait, a very difficult journey and we know under what conditions we have been able to make this film. While the film has gone to places abroad, it unfortunately was sabotaged here. We never expected that we would go through such a miserable time. But yes, had we not had the pandemic, we would not have this film, nor would we have the personal associations that we cherish now. It is just not a win for us but for the whole team of Kalkokkho. And since almost none could watch the film then, we would try to make it available on an OTT platform, or re-release at the theatres.”
The director duo have completed their second film Mon Potongo and are waiting for it to be released.