“Gandu” awarded Jury Prize at Seattle Film Festival

After winning accolades and the National Award this year on the domestic front for his film “Love in India”, director Qaushiq Mukherjee (also popularly known as Q) has bowled over critics internationally again at the 37th Seattle International Film Festival with his film “Gandu” that was previewed at Yale University before making its international premiere at the 2010 South Asian International Film Festival in New York City. Gandu was also officially selected at the 2011 Berlin International Film Festival and was also screened at the Slamdance Film Festival. 

 

Directed by Quashiq, Gandu is the story of a sucker who hates his life and also hates his mother. He raps out his hate, anger, dirt and filth of his existence as he and his rickshawpuller friend enter the world of smack, rap, porn and horror. In this Bengali film, Reality and fiction, surreal and bizarre all come together as it combines bengali rap music, porn scenes, pety crime, masturbation, and sex. A completely expletive movie, it is also one of the first Bengali movie to express such strong issues. The movie reflects largely as to what is happening in the present society.

The 25-day festival, which was held from May 19 till June 12, 2011, featured over 450 films from more than 70 countries. "We chose to give the prize to a movie that bowled us over with its kinetic, brash humor and style-hoping dexterity, a portrait of tortured youth that refreshingly pokes fun at adolescent self-centeredness while simultaneously exploring the anger, despondency and malaise of a generation," the jury was quoted as saying on the Seattle International Film Festival website.

Qaushiq Mukherjee, who walked away with the cash prize of $ 2,500 for his self-proclaimed anti-Bollywood adventure 'Gandu' says that his film is not only a revolution for Bengali cinema but for Indian films in general as he has cut away the Bollywood stereotypes, trading the romance and gloss for graphic sexuality in monotones to give us a 'risky post-modern third act'. After working in advertising for more than a decade and having directed over 50 commercials, "Q" is known for his progressive experimental films such as 'Love in India', 'Bishh' and now 'Gandu'.