Kolkata International Film Festival pays centenary tribute to Tapan Sinha, Marlon Brando

Film enthusiasts visit an exhibition during the 30th Kolkata International film festival, in Kolkata, West Bengal
| Photo Credit: PTI

Through film screenings, an exhibition and a felicitation programme, the 30th edition of the Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF) is paying homage to prominent film legends like Tapan Sinha, Marlon Brando, Mohammed Rafi and others, commemorating the centenary year of their birth. 

As many as four films made by the master filmmaker have been screened as part of a Centenary Tribute to Mr. Sinha between December 5 and 6. 

These films included masterpieces like Kabuliwala (1957), Nirjan Saikate (1963), Galpo Holeo Satti (1966), and Harmonium (1976). 

A fifth film by Mr. Sinha, Banchharamer Bagaan was also screened at the festival as a special tribute to prominent actor Manoj Mitra, who passed away earlier this year. 

Mr. Sinha is a venerated Indian film director born in 1924. He was known for his six-decade-long career in cinema, during which he made multiple award-winning films across languages like Bengali, Hindi, and Odia. 

A contemporary of other master filmmakers like Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, and Ritwik Ghatak, Mr. Sinha has won National Film Awards for many of his films. He also won the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2006 and was awarded the Padma Shri in 1992. 

Beyond national borders, Mr. Sinha has won awards in prestigious international film festivals like the Berlin International Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, London Film Festival, and Locarno Film Festival. 

His 1966 film, Galpo Holeo Satti, was the inaugural film of the 30th KIFF and was screened at Kolkata’s Dhono Dhanye Auditorium on December 4 during the opening ceremony.

Exhibition on Tapan Sinha’s life

In addition to film screenings, film enthusiasts can also enjoy an expansive exhibition on Mr. Sinha’s life and work at the foyer of the main KIFF venue, Nandan, till December 11. 

Actor-turned-Trinamool-Congress-MP Satabdi Roy inaugurated the exhibition. Notably, Ms. Roy debuted in films through Atanka, a 1986 film directed by Mr. Sinha. 

The exhibition on the director includes multiple textual and pictorial slides of the director’s life and career in cinema, including special slides on his working relationships with stars like Shabana Azmi, Arundhati Devi, Manoj Mitra, and Soumitra Chattopadhyay. 

It also showcases posters of his films, vinyls of film soundtracks and some of Mr. Sinha’s personal belongings, including a daily report sheet of one of his film shoots. There is also a screen on which clips of his films are being projected continuously, and videos of other renowned directors like Goutam Ghose talking about Mr. Sinha’s directorial legacy. 

Live centenary tribute session

In addition to this, the 30th KIFF is also set to host a live centenary tribute session and felicitation programme for the actors and technicians who were part of Mr Sinha’s films. This will be held on December 11, 2024, at 3 pm at Rabindra Sadan. 

Alongside Tapan Sinha, centenary tribute film screenings and exhibitions have also been dedicated to prominent film personalities like Marlon Brando, Marcello Mastroianni, Sergei Parajanov, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Arundhati Devi, Mohammed Rafi, Talat Mahmood and others. 

Exhibitions for other centenary tributes have been set up on the first floor of the Gaganendra Pradarshashala at the Nandan premises.