It’s a full house for Konkona Sen Sharma’s celebrated feature debut, A Death In The Gunj, which is being screened at the Roxy Cinemas in Dubai on August 16.
All of the 110 seats for the indie screening of the hauntingly disturbing thriller, organised by The Scene — an initiative to bolster world and independent cinema locally — have been snapped up.
The overwhelming interest shouldn’t come as a surprise as Sharma’s 1970s-set thriller, about a family re-union that goes horribly wrong, has been receiving superlative reviews ever since its theatrical release in India June.
The film, which touches upon tempestuous family dynamics, and shines the spotlight on that underdog cousin who is bullied (Vikrant Massey, take a bow) and the dysfunctionality behind a seemingly wholesome group of vacationers, has also been travelling the film festival circuit, including the Toronto International Film Festival.
“It’s a process that took about two or three years from its conception, to completion to the execution... Direction was never on my radar. But because I was able to distil some of my childhood memories, feelings and put my own experiences in order to make a film... It all developed organically,” said actress Sharma in an interview with Gulf News tabloid!. The actress, behind Hindi hits such as Wake Up Sid and Mr & Mrs Iyer, is the writer-director of this acclaimed feature.
A Death In The Gunj also boasts a star-studded ensemble cast led by Massey, Kalki Koechlin, Tillotama Shome, Ranvir Shorey, Gulshan Devaiah and Jim Sarbh.
Massey plays the sensitive and unsure cousin, Shutu, who’s constantly derided by his own cocky relatives. His downward spiral is showcased in this thriller.
“People like Shutu exists in our society and they go unnoticed. We are sometimes so overawed by flamboyance and machismo that we forget to ask ourselves how we treat others,” said Massey, who has done an outstanding job of playing a character that unravels in front of his viewers.
