KOLKATA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL : Maestro Ashoke Viswanathan’s ‘Hemanter Aparanha’ given standing ovation

Mail New Service

Jamshedpur, Dec 9: There are a rare lot of filmmakers who set the adrenaline overflowing once the word of camera rolling for a new venture is leaked out. Director and actor Ashoke Viswanathan belongs to this genre. The creative genius who grabbed eyeballs of cinema connoisseurs by winning the National Award with his directorial debut, has not let down movie lovers’ expectations as his latest cinematic brilliance, ‘Hemanter Aparanha’ (Autumn Afternoon) was premiered at Kolkata’s prestigious Nandan – 2 in the course of Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) – 2023.

There are events, moments and happenings in daily life that evade general attention, no matter how mundane they are. What sets director Ashoke Viswanathan apart is his keen and incisive observation of the under layers of life amidst daily living. His latest, ‘Hemanter Aparanha,’ is another testimony towards his penchant for ‘celluloid narratives with a masterly difference.’

‘Hemanter Aparanha’ is a film that presents life in a small town during the aftermath of the pandemic. A theatre group is presenting a Bengali adaptation of a Pirandello play and a retired, elderly, lonely bachelor, is playing a character in the presentation. As he gets involved with a young, aspiring actress, his dreams and emotions reveal the insecurities of a tremulous time.

Noted filmmaker Tathagata Bhattacherjee who witnessed the Nandan- 2 show of ‘Hemanter Aparanha’ was exulted as he observed, “The film, like all his earlier film presentations, bears maestro Ashoke Viswanathan’s ‘Cerebral Cinema’ stamp. The finesse, with which he unravels the underlying period emotions, is worth miles to travel and learn.”

Anusha Viswanathan gives a delectable and at the same time, very sensitive performance with rare aplomb that proves why she is on the way up to be among one of the top-notches and sought after actors in tinsel towns. Poet and actor Satyapriya Mukhopadhyay is simply superb as he delivers the complex ethos of the central character with élan. To add the perfect punch to their characters, Ritabroto Mukhopadhyay, Bidipta Chakraborty, Ashoke Viswanathan, veteran Tamal Roychowdhury, Sudip Mukherjee, Mahi Gorwale, Goutam Shankar, Payel Mukherjee, Subrata Dutta and Moubani Sarcar have emphatically underlined their presence in ‘Hemanter Aparanha.’

DOP Joydeep Bhowmik, editor Arghyakamal Mitra, sound designers Abdul Rajjak and Sujoy Das and music director Gourab Chattopadhyay who has given credence to Ashoke Viswanathan’s lyrics, have combined brilliantly to bring alive all the nuances of a masterpiece, ‘Hemanter Aparanha.’

The film has been jointly produced by Ashoke Viswanathan and Amit Agarwal. ‘Hemanter Aparanha’ is an Adarsh Telemedia Presentation of an AV Production film.