Documentary on Mumbai to release in multiplexes on Oct 6

Mumbai, Oct 4: Documentary filmmaker Madhusree Dutta's non-fictional film 'Seven Islands and a Metro', based on Mumbai, is set for a multiplex release on October six.

The documentary is being distributed by Shringar films. Docuitary was screened for a week in Kolkata earlier where there was a good response from the audience.

Talking to UNI, Ms Dutta said the multiplicity of Mumbai interests her very much.

''I chose to make a non-fictional film on Mumbai because I live here which is the most important metropolis not only in this region but the whole world. This is no ordinary city. There are many layers, stories and has many cities within this metropolis'', she said.

She said her film was a movie on contemporary Mumbai in the context of its history. 'Seven Islands and a Metro' is not just a physical name but also a symbolic one.

''Mumbai is united, but at times one can see that people are isolated from one another'', she observed.

She said the release of her documentary feature in theatres would break the myth that audience does not want to watch a variety of movies.

''Audience tastes have matured and they look for different kinds of movies. So it will be possible to release a variety of films and not just the formula flicks which the audience has been fed for years'', she explained.

She said that in 100 minutes, she captures the essence of Mumbai through drama, non-fiction and interviews.

Produced by Majlis Production, the non-fiction documentary is structured around imaginary debates between Ismat Chugtai and Sa'adat Hasan Manto, the two legendary writers who lived in this metropolis, played by Harish Khanna and Vibha Chibbar.

Madhusree said, 'Seven Islands and a Metro' was about a city that came into existence by weaving seven isles. This documentary is a tale of the cities of BomBahia / Bombay / Mumbai, through a tapestry of fiction, cinema , art objects, found footage, sound installation and literary texts. It was about the multilingual Bombay, the Bombay of intolerance, the Bombay of closed mills, of popular culture, sprawling slums and real estate onslaughts, the metropolis of numerous ghettos.

Madhusree said, though the documentary on Mumbai was her first release, she has been making documentaries for a long time.

'' Seven Islands.. has been my most ambitious and expensive effort so far. And it gives me immense pleasure to receive such a warm response by reviewers, press and industry. Generally these so called art movies get a very specific and class consumption and never mass consumption. I'm glad that my documentary is reaching it's subjects and right audiences. Documentaries are boring, but non-fiction is liberating, you can use visual art, music and literature,'' she explained.

''I wanted to be an actress after going to the National School of Drama. But during the 1992-93 riots, my friends pushed me to make a documentary - 'I Live In Behrampada'. So I'm an accidental filmmaker,'' she added.

Madhushree has playfully weaved in art, poetry, theatrical characters playing literary ones, and Bollywood-style shots.

Shot mainly during the monsoon the film portrays some extremely beautiful yet ruthlessly violent features of Bombay, which generally, are not part of the popular narratives. Where the city's seven islands become touchstones for seven significant moments in it's life to generate a tantalizing mix of images, anecdotes and information.

Mr Shyam Shroff, Sringar Films, said, '' I was highly touched by this piece of art and felt, it deserved a wider audience. Hence we decided to make available our platform for this creative effort. I'm sure it will receive a very good response and will narrate a new tale to the citizens of this city about their city.'' This documentary is a document of how the city's past holds cautionary lessons for it's future, Mr Shroff added.

UNI