Filmmaker Abhiroop Basu scores a hattrick at NYIFF with 'Rhino Charge'
Filmmaker Abhiroop Basu’s short Rhino Charge (2023) is all set for its global premiere at the New York Indian Film Festival held from May 31 to June 2, making it his third premiere on the platform after Meal and Laali. The dark comedy stars Geetanjali Kulkarni, Vinod Nagpal and Shantilal Mukherjee in pivotal roles and has been selected under the Short Film A category. As the social media announcement creates a ripple among audience, we catch up with Basu for a quick chat about the movie.
Excerpts:
Take us through the plot of Rhino Charge.
Razia, a maid turned care-giver finds herself in a precarious situation, when she makes her first attempt at bathing a wheelchair-bound veteran of the Indian Army, in the midst of a personal tragedy – set in Calcutta, at the backdrop of the Ukraine-Russian war.
The film is like jhaalmuri — a mixture of many unlikely things, but when put together, it has a distinct taste and flavour. Essentially it’s a story of a Muslim woman in a man’s world, with an underlying socio-political narrative, told in the garb of a riveting, deadpan dark comedy.
How does it feel to be back for the third time at the New York Indian Film Festival with this movie?
Fulfilling! It's one of the oldest running South Asian Festivals in the US (24th year) and they usually have a great eye for good cinema. Aseem who is the Festival Director and an eminent film critic, has been following my work since the very beginning, so to World Premiere RC at NYIFF feels like homecoming. And Geetanjali Kulkarni representing the film in person is like the cherry on top!
How did the thought of attempting a Dark Comedy come about?
It's just a reflection of the person I am. People close to me know that my humour is often dark and knows no boundary. I laugh at myself and everyone else too. That's just me. And it was about time some of that got spilled over in a film.
Could you shed some light on the name?
It's apparently a war cry for the Assam regiment of the Indian Army. We've just given it a wicked twist!
Was it challenging to find the right cast?
Not really. I usually have someone on my mind when I am writing. And when I have approached them with a screenplay, they have usually ended up saying yes, more often than not. Geetanjali Kulkarni was a no-brainer, I wanted to work with her since I watched her in Court and I wrote this for her.
Vinod Nagpal, the 80 year old teenager was the surprise package... The energy he brought to the sets was unbelievable, so did Shantilal [ Mukerjee] Da.
Do you think independent filmmaking is slowly getting its true recognition?
I get asked this every time and again to be honest, festival recognition equates to nothing as long as you don't get your film on a certain platform where a larger audience can watch it or any audience for that matter. Unless, there is a well-oiled system that takes these films to an audience and also earns from it, independent cinema won't be able to survive, let alone thrive.
What are you currently working on?
Two features and a series! My other short Gudgudi starring Rajshri Deshpande is also going places. We'll announce it soon.