Meet Tathagata Ghosh. He is a package full of miracles shaped and moulded as a surprise package of a short film maker with a unique approach that covers the short footage of his films fascinatingly. Tathagata is a film making graduate (Mass Communication and Videography) from St.Xavier's college, Kolkata. He holds a Diploma in Writing on Film and Television from Vancouver Film School, Canada.

He has been involved with the visual medium for the past decade and has been associated with numerous projects in various ways. He has written and directed 7 short films so far. His films have been nominated by various festivals such as the Kolkata International film festival, Indian Film Federation Society Film Festival, Kerala International Short Film and Documentary Film Festival among many others.

He has directed numerous commercials, music videos and written screenplays for several projects. His recent short films "If", "Miss Man", "Footprints", "The Scapegoat", "The Meat" and "The Demon" have travelled to numerous prestigious international film festivals and have won awards.

Ghosh has now made a powerful film that throws up different readings depending on the perspective of the viewer/s concerned. The name of the film is Amar Comrade (My Comrade) in Bengali. It has participated at the 33rd Arizona International Film Festival / (Jury Award), 10th Toulouse Indian Film Festival, 41st Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, 11th Mammoth Lakes Film Festival, 16th KASHISH Pride Film Festival, and the 8th South Asian Short Film Festival.

Amar Comrade is a 25-minute short film shot entirely in the Jungle Mahal against its picturesque backdrop forming a disquieting veil for the rebellion simmering behind the rich visuals. The film, based on Ghosh’s script and story, is fascinating. Its cinematography, by Tuhin, captures the ambience with magnetic charm, with its rich greenery dotted by the ramshackle hut, the shelter of the young, tribal couple who are tragic victims of the Indian Forests Act while the young rebel, Bikash Mahato, a member of the rebels against the Indian Forests Act 2006 is running away from the armed forces and the local police who are chasing him to capture and/or kill him. He finds shelter with a very young local couple reduced to penury because they are victims, they believe, of both of the Indian Forests Act and the rebels fighting against it. The husband understands the mindset of the rebel but his young wife does not. The sound design, the music, the editing, carry subtle underpinnings of creativity and cinematic aesthetics which do not overshadow the narrative but enrich it.

Within its brief span, Tathagata Ghosh has filled the narrative with a scary nightmare of the young man (Sounak Kundu) in Jungle Mahal in whose shanty Bikash Mahato takes shelter after he is saved. There is also a scene where Bikash Mahato........

© Mathrubhumi English