Paris -based sales organization MPM Premium Has acquired international rightsCactus pear“(Sabar Bonda), India’s first film directed by Rohan Parashuram Kanavade, before its world premiere Sundance Film FestivalWhere this world cinema is in dramatic competition.
The Marathi language film is based on Anand (Bhushan Manoj), a 30 -year -old city, who is forced to mourn 10 days for his father in the rugged rural areas of western India, where he is a local farmer childhood (Suraj Suman) is tied to love. ) To struggle to stay unmarried.
The film originated from Kanawade’s personal experience. Kanavade said, “My father died in 2016 and before that, for about a decade, I was escaping from going to my village because everyone there was constantly talking about marriage.” Diversity“When my father passed away, my mother decided that we should go to the village so that all the relatives living there could come and meet us and they could also be a part of the 10 -day ritual.”
The director found himself considering running away during this period. He said, “I started thinking, if I had a friend who had known about my sexuality, I could have quietly out for some time and could stay away from this pressure.” “That idea remained in my mind and I started thinking more about it. When I was doing this, I thought this is an interesting basis of a story where I can also weave grief and love, and how love can help this person recover from sorrow.
Producer Neeraj Churi said, “For once, it was moving away from all the trops we see in traditional LGBT films.” “The way the whole story comes out, I felt it was very biological, and it was very close to some experiences that I grew up in India.”
Kanavade said, “We want to present these two persons in general like any other person.” “Sexuality can never be identified. This is just a part of your life. That is why we never use it as a romance between two gay men in our logline, this is just a romance between two men.
The film faced significant financial challenges. Kanavade said, “It is difficult to make independent films anyway, and then when sexuality is added, in India, in a regional language, it becomes even more difficult.” A major financer, which agreed to provide 60–70% of the budget, exited after production started. The project received significant initial support from the gay community. Kanavade said, “At the end of the day, friends of the gay community in the early days actually came on the board to fund the project to actually shoot the film.”
The film is produced by Churi, Mohammad Khaki, Kaushik Ray, Harish Reddypalli, Naren Chandavarkar and Siddharth Mir, with Ilan Girrd and Kishore Vasant Sawant executive producers.
In relation to the possibilities of distribution in India, Churi expressed optimism about the changing trend of the audience. He said, “Based on the success that Indian films have achieved internationally, there is a slightly more openness for such stories that have been appreciated internationally.” “It’s not necessarily a strange film – it is also a film about re -establishing connections in the light of connection, family, loss, which are quite universal subjects.”
MPM Premium praised the film’s “gentleness and warmth”, in which “a gentle romance between two men was sent for forcible marriage with women whom they would never love.” The company noted the film’s ability to pursue the recent success of contemporary Indian cinema after titles like “All We Imagine Aase Light” and “Santosh”.
French romantic comedies “Vanishing Gots,” This Charming Girl “(presented in RDV de Paris), Latin thriller” Fine Young Main “and” A Yard of Jails “as well as festivals” ” Are included. , “Something old something new has borrowed something new” and “Ancient.”
