Indira Dhar Mukkherjee On Her Bengali Film Putul Premiering At Cannes 2024: Feel Like A Mother Once More | Exclusive

Debutante filmmaker Indira Dhar Mukkherjee is on cloud nine. Her first film Putul, featuring an exceptionally talented cast of Tanushree Shankar, Mumtaz Sorcar and Koneenica Banerjee is premiering at the 77th Cannes Film Festival’s Marché du Film. Putul focuses on the street children of India. Now, in an exclusive interaction Indira shares her thoughts on Putul and making it to the biggest cinematic stage of them all, with her very first film.


Talking to Zoom, Indira revealed that being features at Cannes is a feeling which cannot be easily expressed in words. "I have a child, my son is five years old and it felt like I became a mother once more,” Indira expressed, adding that a film too is like a child and that making a film, the entire procedure, it is like having your own child. “And seeing that child's success, I am feeling like a successful mother,” a jubilant Indira added.

During the conversation, Indira went on to reveal that Putul was India’s official submission for competition in feature films. Even though they went out of competition, but the film itself is going to premiere at Cannes’ Marche du Film.

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On asking her what she feels will make the audience resonate with Putul, Indira explained, “I made a very simple Indian film. It is a film any audience around the world will connect with. Be it a child or an old man, each and every person can understand the concept. I believe in simplicity and originality. I showcased a film which highlights the plight of the street children of our country.”


As per Indira, “the process was difficult” and they shot right on the streets for several months.


Explaining what Putul is all about, Indira explained, “After 75 or 76 years of independence, religion is not India's biggest problem, it is the future generations of our country who are still living on the streets, which is a bigger hurdle. The film focuses on that.”


The debutante director shared that she made the film over a period of 7-8 years of which five years went into research alone. According to her, not being backed by an institution or a big producer (Indira herself has produced the film), the process took longer. But Indira believes it is all worth it. “Everyone deserves a home, we do not want to see children on streets. Not to blame anyone, but what are we doing to remedy the situation?” she poignantly asked.


But given a choice, what would Indira choose? Commercial success or critical acclaim? The director reasoned, “Both are very important. I cannot shy away from the fact that if today I am not commercially successful, how will I make a critically acclaimed film? My process of filmmaking does not happen overnight. To make a film which will be with me for 5 years before release, commercial success is very important.”


“Tomorrow after Putul, people will expect me to make a better film,” Indira, who finds inspiration in the works of Satyajit Ray, Shyam Benegal and Aparna Sen, signed off.