A feature film showcasing the journey of a migrant, who lands a government job in the National Capital, rubbing shoulders with the likes of the Prime Minister, while shooing away man’s closest ancestors – monkeys, is set to make inroads in a Chinese Film Festival, as India’s official entry.
Starring Shardul Bhardwaj as the protagonist, Goan movie ‘Eeb Allay Ooo’ will have a world premiere at the third edition of the Pingayo International Film Festival (PIFF), which is being held at Pingyao in Shanxi of China, from October 10 to 19.
The movie has been selected under the Crouching Tigers section category in PIFF, organised by Chinese filmmaker Jia Zanghke and veteran programmer Marco Muller.
The film will also be up for Roberto Rosellini Award and the Audience Choice Award.
The flick follows the absurd journey of Shardul’s character Anjani, as a young migrant, who deals with the odd job of monkey repeller, while moving in the bylanes of Parliament and nearby areas, with the likes of Cabinet Ministers and even the Prime Minister.
After the recent ban on langurs, the government created a new job of monkey repeller, to tackle the menace. According to Shardul, ‘Playing and preparing for Anjani’s role was akin to bird watching, one had to play by the rules of the bird.
‘In the environs of central Delhi my co-actor and real life monkey repeller would take me on rounds where he would be shooing away the monkeys.
‘One had to abandon all pre-conceived ideas of character construction, to become invisible in the space and soak in as much as was possible,’ he added.
The film has been directed by Prateek Vats, a two-time National Award winner.
The film’s India premiere will be at the gold section of Mumbai Film Festival (MAMI) on October 19, followed by few more screenings on October 21, 22 and 24. (UNI)
