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The iconic East India Studio has seen some of the greatest of Indian cinema shoot on its premises. The studio had opened its doors in the month of July in 1932. What better month to unveil Bijoy Chowdhury’s BFA Original on it than now?
Why BFA commissioned this film?
Kolkata was once the shooting hub for Indian cinema. Bengali, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu films used to be regularly shot here. This city has seen some 21 film studios in action. Now, only five from the golden era of Bengali cinema are functional. Bijoy Chowdhury is passionate about filming ruins. When we watched his Khwato on the demolition of a nondescript old house in Kolkata, we were sure that he would be the right person to shoot our film on one of India’s oldest studios. His BFA Original with editor and sound designer Korak Misra is a tribute to a studio and an era gone by.
We are extremely grateful to veteran actress Madhabi Mukhopadjhyay for walking down memory lane with BFA and recalling her experience of shooting Mrinal Sen's 'Baishe Shraban' there. This project would not have been possible without the help of Gour Karmakar. We also extend our special thanks to Titas Bhomor Sen and Sourav Chakraborty.
About The Director:
He left a promising career in various advertising agencies and quit his job as the art director of RK Swamy BBDO Pvt. Ltd.’s Kolkata branch. The reason was his strong desire to follow his heart. Romancing ruins is his passion. Zooming in on forgotten legacies remains his hobby. Meet Bijoy Chowdhury who graduated from the Government College of Art and Craft in 1987 and is now working as a visual communicator and photographer. Chowdhury has several national and international awards including the Commonwealth and National Geographic Traveler Photo Award. The prestigious Private magazine has also published his works twice over. International Gallerie has also published his black-and-white photo-features. In 2000, the government of India has also awarded him with the Senior National Fellowship in photography.
Alongside his regular assignments, Chowdhury continues to work on several long-term documentary film projects of socio-economic interest. Khawto (The Wound), his debut documentary, has been screened at more than 15 festivals around the globe ever since he made it in 2017. It was selected at the 12th Istanbul International Architecture and Urban Films Festival. It received the Best Documentary Film Festival in Bangladesh’s Sylhet, the special jury mention at Spain’s FICARQ 2018 and the Best Documentary Film award at the 6th Siliguri Short and Documentary Film Festival.
His Undivided Solitude won two awards – FUR Gold Lotus for best film and FUR Gold Lotus for best director - at the PSBT Film Challenge 2020-21. The competition was supported by PSBT in partnership with the Foundation for Universal Responsibility of His Holiness, Dalai Lama. It was selected as part of the short films section at the 3rd edition of the Habitat International Film Festival, New Delhi and won the best short film competition of Anandalok Short-cut.
In 2022, Chowdhury directed My Son and His Grandfather that focused on the empty-nest syndrome of grandparents. Critically acclaimed musician Tajdar Junaid came on board to compose its background score. The film received the Best Short Documentary award at the 14th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK), 2022. It was screened at the Mumbai International Film Festival. It then went on to receive the Satyajit Ray Silver Award for the second best documentary at the 5th South Asian Short Film Festival, 2022. It also bagged the Best Documentary award at the 9th Siliguri Short and Documentary Film Festival, 2022.