The National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC), the central agency established to encourage the good cinema movement in the country has commenced the shooting of its production, As the River Flows. It is a Hindi-Assamese bilingual inspired by a true incident. It stars Sanjay Suri in the lead. The film is written and directed by Bidyut Kotkoy, a National award winning filmmaker.
The film tells the story of a journalist named Abhijit Shandilya (Sanjay Suri) who is caught in a multi-layered world of intriguing happenings in the largest inhabited river island in the world, Majuli, in Assam. The movie, a socio-political thriller, talks of social conflicts and individual commitments in an age where being self centered is the norm.
Apart from Sanjay Suri, the cast of the film includes veteran actor Victor Banerjee along with popular actors like Raj Zutshi, Nakul Vaid, Naved Aslam and newcomer Bidita Bag. The music of the film is being given by well known singer & music composer from Assam, Zubin Garg. While the Hindi version will be named as As The River Flows, its Assamese version will be called ‘Ekhon Nedhekha Nadir Shipaare’.
Talking about the new project director, Bidyut Kotkoy tells us, “Initially I had my apprehension regarding NFDC, considering the general conception associated with a government organisation. But I must say, my experience with them came as a pleasant surprise. With my personal experience, I can claim that NFDC still remains the best bet for a newcomer if you have a good story to tell.’
Bidyut Kotkoy has won a Special Mention at the 53rd National Award for the film Bhraimoman Theatre – where Othello sails with Titanic. He has to his credit more than 100 short films (non-fiction).His film `Forgotten Melodies’, has been included by the Ministry of Social Welfare ( India ) in their syllabus for trainees of Alzheimer care. His `The Road Less Travelled’, was screened in the 6th Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short & Animation Films, Centrun Kultury i Rekreacji Film Festival of Poland and NISCORT Film Festival of New Delhi, and others.
NFDC till date has produced and financed more than 300 films in 15 Indian languages and has more than 15 International co-productions to their credit. Its catalogue includes some award winning films like Gandhi, Salaam Bombay, Massey Sahib, The Making of Mahatma, and Train to Pakistan. NFDC has worked with some of most acclaimed filmmakers like Satyajit Ray,Shyam Benegal, Mrinal Sen, Mira Nair, Aparna Sen, Ketan Mehta and Girish Kasaravalli.
