qissa ( film )
the trinidad + tobago film festival is a division of new world film centre .
irrfan khan and tisca chopra starrer punjabi feature film ‘qissa’ will release in select indian theatres on february 20 .
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qissa is a 2013 indian - german drama film written and directed by anup singh. it was screened in the contemporary world cinema section at the 2013 toronto international film festival where it won the netpac award for world or international asian film. nfdc confirmed the film is slated for a release later in 2014. the independent film website dear cinema announced the film is scheduled to be released in theaters in germany on 10 july 2014 and in india sometime in september of the same year .
punjabi film qissa panjab by annu bains revolves around six protagonists and the circumstances that shape their lives. the film progresses to a point where the six characters cross paths and the twists and turns lead to an unpredictable ending .
tisca chopra is an indian film actress. her debut film in 1993 was platform. she has acted in other films like loknayak ,
qissa has hit the theatres today, but a special screening was held last night which was attended by the star cast. check out the pictures right here! irrfan khan and tisca chopra attended a screening of the film qissa in mumbai today. the qissa team also had a special guest in veteran actor waheeda rahman, who [ … ]
click to subscribe: urltoken show - ptc showcase guest - annu bains (producer), jatinder mauhar (director) and kul sidhu (actress) interview with annu bains, jatinder mauhar and kul sidhu in regards to the upcoming film “qissa punjab”. annu bains (producer), jatinder mauhar (director) and kul sidhu (actress) is talking about their experience during film shooting, about film music. jatinder mauhar is talking about film direction, film script n dialogues and different film subject in punjabi cinema and talking about co - stars in film .
irrfan khan and tisca chopra starrer punjabi feature film ‘qissa’ will release in select indian theatres, as well as on dvd and video on demand (vod) formats, feb 20 .
qissa takes family drama to a whole new level. it is a a deep, serious film about idiosyncratic relationships and its melancholic repercussions. there are times when the plot is perplexing, yet it enables the audience to appreciate the underlying profound message in the film .
bollywood’s top personalities touched by qissanfdc’s internationally acclaimed film, qissa, was screened for friends from the film fraternity last evening. present at the event were eminent film personalities like waheeda rehman, shabana azmi, tigmanshu dhulia, anand gandhi, ashim ahluwalia, goldie behl and swara bhaskar, all of whom were excited to see the critically acclaimed movie .
reviewed at abu dhabi film festival (new horizons), oct. 26, 2013. (also in toronto film festival — contemporary world cinema; busan film festival — a window on asian cinema .) running time: 109 min .
decent film and very relevant today – wrecked by an incompetent, boring last third .
the trinidad + tobago film festival would like to acknowledge the generous support of our sponsors .
the film premiered in tiff in 2013, at iffr in 2014, iffla in 2014 .
we’re happy to announce that our film lamb by director yared zeleke will celebrate its world premiere in official selection un certain regard of the 68. cannes film festival 2015. read more…
writer - director anup singh’s qissa: the tale of a lonely ghost tells a qissa in the true tradition of the persian original which fathered the punjabi variety. it’s a qissa that straddles two worlds the earthly and the spectral; two lands this land on this side of the border and that one across; two eras the present and the past; and two genders .
qissa is ‘dastaangoi’, and much more than that. one of the best films in recent times, it’s an experience not to be forgotten easily. your experiences in life will decide your views towards the film and vice - versa. we are going with 4. 5 for anup singh’s idiosyncratic drama qissa: the tale of a lonely ghost .
chiwetel ejiofor stars in 12 years a slave. the film took top prize at tiff 2013 .
tillotama shome (sometimes credited as tilotama shome) is an award - winning indian film actress .
' friedenspreis des deutschen films - die bruecke - 2018' award - munich film ...
today qissa has been released in india on 11 screens across chandigarh, mumbai, delhi, gurgaon, noida, kolkata and chennai. beside that little cinema release the film is simultaneously available across the vod platform urltoken and dvd today .
here are some b - town hunks who have played a sardaar with aplomb before ikthe sardaar look has been in use since time immemorial. in today’s release qissa, irrfan khan is seen playing a sardaar with aplomb. the film has won numerous awards across the globe at various film festivals and irrfan too has won the [ … ]
venue: busan international film festival (a window on asian cinema), oct. 9, 2013
. the jury awarded the film ���for its sensitive portrayal of the issues of identity and displacement .
qissa: the tale of a lonely ghost plays tiff on sunday, september 8th; monday, september 9th; and saturday, september 14th .
born in 1961 in dar - es - salaam, tanzania, anup singh grew up in a sikh family of punjabi origin. his first feature was the name of the river (2002). he has also directed series for indian television and consulted for bbc2. qissa, his most recent film, premiered at the toronto international film festival in 2013 .
qissa is far less dense and a simpler narrative. despite losing its way in parts, it' s a thought - provoking film that looks beautiful and has some superb acting performances by dugal, shome, khan and chopra. that isn' t enough to make qissa satisfying, but it does leave you haunted by the questions that riddle kanwar, neeli, mehar and umber' s stories .
‘qissa’ is set in the post - partition era. the first film to be shot under the indian - german co - production treaty, it is an international co - production between india, germany, netherlands and france with funding from the nfdc, the dutch film fund, eurimage and german funds medienboard berlin - brandenburg and north rhine westphalia (nrw) .
still, the film' s topicality and remarkable performances have generated much buzz, with director anup singh and his cast given stellar treatment on the festival circuit since qissa premiered at toronto in september. having since traveled to many an asian festival, including busan and then mumbai, qissa has now finally landed in europe with a curtain - raiser slot at the international film festival rotterdam on jan. 22 – another homecoming of sorts, as the production was a beneficiary of the festival' s hubert bals fund .
bollywood celebrities were spotted at the special screening held for internationally - acclaimed punjabi film,' qissa', that stars irrfan khan, tisca chopra, tilottama shome, rasika duggal and others. the film has been appreciated by one and all for its riveting concept - driven drama. based on the pre and post - partition era,' qissa' tells the story of a family headed by irrfan khan, who desires to father a son but is always gifted with a daughter.' badlapur' actors divya dutta and vinay pathak felt the film is a great watch and egged everyone to go and watch it as well. tisca chopra looked radiant and lovely dressed in a traditional outfit and was happy with the success of her film .
and its screenplay, direction, camerawork, art direction, dialogue, music, costumes and, above all, sharp and stunning performances come together to ensure that this qissa gets told with the “peculiar vagrancy of the imagination” intrinsic to qissas. singh’s film an indian - german production in punjabi with english subtitles achieves exactly what a good qissa aims to: it leaves you haunted feeling a bit hallucinatory, uneasy, even disturbed .
a long time after the film is over, qissa will lurk behind you, murmuring. and you’ll find yourself grappling with the stuff it’s whispering, the questions it’s asking of you. you’ll find yourself seeking some answers. last year india recognised the third gender transgenders. it acknowledged their existence and gave them sanction to exist. singh’s qissa acknowledges another being the transgender in spirit, made so by a father’s obsession for a son .
directed by anup singh, the film will be shown in select theatres across mumbai, delhi, chandigarh, chennai and kolkata. the vod will be available on national film development corporation (nfdc) vod website, read a statement .
this year, ritesh batra' s debut film, the lunchbox, will hope to receive a similar reception. its performances at prior international festivals certainly give it a shot. the film has already won two audience awards: the grand rail d' or award at the cannes film festival and the world cinema amsterdam film festival. the lunchbox is a sweet romance between a soon - to - retire government official (irrfan khan) and a melancholic housewife (nimrat kaur). what makes batra' s film a treat is that it unfolds through food and letters exchanged in a lunchbox .
diana iljine, irrfan khan and director anup singh attend the' qissa' premiere as part of filmfest muenchen 2014 on june 30, 2014 in munich, germany .
the third opening film siddhant is a marathi feature film. it is directed by vivek wagh, founder of choice film & television institute, pune. he has produced a number of marathi films and siddhant is his debut film as a director. the story focuses on a man who lived his life following the principle ‘if you cannot nurture honesty in your home, you have no right to preach to society’. he is shattered when he finds out the truth behind his grandson’s success .
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all of us have grown up with various kinds of stories that were told to us. some of them will be forgotten and some of them will die with us. and the story of qissa is here to stay. qissa - the tale of a lonely ghost is the first movie shot under indo - german co - production .
i don’t see why you should not. qissa is a brilliant, heavy - on - the - mind drama that is full of metaphorical punches. it is a dark film with powerful performances that must not be missed! a pat on the back to director anup singh for this audacious endeavor !
directed by anup singh, the film will be shown in select theatres across mumbai, delhi, chandigarh, chennai and kolkata .
until this point, qissa holds your attention with both its technical sophistication and its storytelling. the cinematography is gorgeous, the background score is rich and the acting is superb. all this remains largely constant for the duration of the film, but the story flounders and starts pushing the boundaries of credibility .
qissa is technically brilliant as the frames take you to an inward journey which is more claustrophobic than the room where umber singh decides to forcefully transform his girl into a boy .
initially, you feel the tag line of the film ‘the tale of a lonely ghost’ refers to the actual ghost in the film (irrfan khan), but as the second half progresses, you realize it’s kanwar who is the ‘lonely ghost’ in this tale .
it feels a little weird calling qissa arthouse cinema because the film is against any sort of reductionist classification. anup singh’s qissa is a powerful, haunting, well - crafted film about the fluidity of identity and sexuality. does identity stem from a culture or country you were born in, your gender, sexuality or simply the environment you were raised in and experiences that shaped you? the film packs these deep questions into a rather simple story. umber singh (irrfan khan is utterly despicable and scarily real in this role), a patriarch dealing with the scars of the india - pakistan separation, raises his third girl child as a boy, unwilling to accept her as a girl. does the girl then grow up as a girl or a boy or both ?
also, watch out for siddharth, a film by an indo - canadian director richie mehta. the film centres on a traumatized couple' s desperate search for their 12 - year - old son who goes missing from his workplace in ludhiana. starring rajesh tailang, tannishtha chatterjee, anurag arora, shobha sharma jassi, geeta agarwal sharma and naseeruddin shah, the film had its premiere at venice days programme .
anup singh chooses to tell you upfront that this is the story of a ghost (the film is called qissa: the tale of a lonely ghost) so that you don’t question its supernatural tone and this is a film best watched if you know beforehand that this is a ghost story. not very often do we make sensitive films on lgbt issues; every beautifully lit haunting frame crafted with passion is testimony to anup singh’s uncompromising vision and decade - long commitment to bringing his script alive on celluloid. qissa is a fascinating tale, full of surprises, and one of the very best films you will see this year. or any year .
msg: the messenger box office report: saint gurmeet ram rahim singh ji insan’s film earns rs 89. 29 crore in six days !
the film releases alongside varun dhawan’s badlapur…. set aside the badla that beckons at the boxoffice this week. qissa is a killer. all our lives we try to be what we are not. some of us lie about our sexual orientation to ourselves or to others. in one way or another every life is layered in lies .
i had a chance to see the film
qissa
while it screened at the south asian film festival in new york. not knowing the premise of the film, what struck me most was the depth of the different characters portrayed in the story. actors irfan khan and tillotama shome displayed a beautiful and sensitive chemistry playing the father - daughter duo, replete with complex emotional struggles and seemingly unsurmountable conflicts. the interpersonal relationships between the characters were touching and real despite the darkness that surrounded them. tillotama' s gender - transcending portrayal of a complex and conflicted
kanwar
was seamless and simply blew me away !
sometimes, however, dress - up isn' t quite so innocent. qissa: the tale of a lonely ghost is the story of how far - reaching the consequences can be of playacting .
it' s when neeli (rasika dugal), a gypsy girl, enters the story and umber decides to marry kanwar to her that things start getting seriously complicated and qissa loses its footing .
“the festival is happy to premiere another yash raj film, my big fat bride starring ayushmann khurrana. this film has a great story that is relateable to the common man. it is a must watch for everyone”, stated sunny gill, founder | president of bmo iffsa | piff | toronto .
qissa’s superb dialogue, again by singh and madan gopal singh are in old - world punjabi, a language that grew up playing with urdu. it’s gentle and sweet, gur like. qissa will be watched, rewatched and cherished for many things, especially career - defining performances by its entire ensemble. that all the actors get punjabi diction right doesn’t even begin to tell of their brilliant, measured, nuanced performances .
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verdict: a light - hearted film that is also thought - provoking. director binu s. embarks on a different trip after ithihasa and style with ...
all three ladies in qissa, tisca chopra (the mother), tillotama (the ‘son’) and rasika dugal (the ‘son’s’ friend / lover) have pulled off these complex roles with a great amount of grace and sensitivity .
the two will feature in qissa director anup singh’s nexthe’s worked with stunners — indian and international, everyone from tabu to natalie portman — and now, it’s iranian beauty golshifteh farahani, who fits into irrfan khan’s scheme of things .
toronto, ontario – may 10, 2015 – the biggest south asian film festival in north america, bmo iffsa | piff announced an exciting line up of 70 + films in 11 different languages and 40 + events. opening the festival week on may 14th is the worldwide premiere of qissa panjab, presented by annu bains. yash raj film’s my big fat bride, and siddhant directed by vivek wagh premiere the same day at cineplex odeon orion gate cinemas in brampton. the excitement continues into the weekend with various glamorous and fun filled events for everyone to enjoy !
12 years a slave, based on an 1853 memoir of a free black man sold into slavery, won the top prize at the toronto international film festival on sunday .
varun dhawan and irrfan khan are going to clash this week at the box office. while one has been making a lot of news with its outlook, the other has won numerous awards at various film festivals across the globe. which film should you watch? which one should you skip? read on to find out…badlapurdirector: [ … ]
cinematographer sabastian edschmid’s light and color palette for the film seems to adapt the “storaro principle” that light makes sculptures in space out of the objects, characters, and bodies. crafted in meticulous frames, with objects lit on surfaces and contours, with darker tones in depths of spaces of frames, qissa is filmed to create a lasting impression of color and figures. cinematographer’s scrupulous control over light gives life to objects on the screen, while also painting the film with depth and time. singh’s vision and edschmid’s eyes make qissa into a treasured cinematographic document. the script, written on silent but deeper wounds of an unspeakable but living injustice is committed to its economy and its focus. there is no wasted line, and no wasted scene in its unraveling. voiced in euphonious punjabi, the script layers the image for cinephile’s admiration .
the last third of the film modifies the genre decisively. the somewhat dreamy opening shots of the film return with a vengeance and the film becomes increasingly fantastic. and yet singh keeps the spectator both deliciously and disquietingly on edge by refusing to come down firmly on the side of the gothic until the very end. thanks to fragmentation and the breaking of such classic cinematic rules as cause and effect, the spectator is left guessing right up to the final image. the ending is tragically poignant but also thrillingly open to interpretation .
a graduate of the film and television institute of india, anup singh is known for his earlier film, a tribute to the great indian director, ritwik ghatak. this documentary, ekti nadir naam / the name of a river, appears to be available online. constructed imaginatively on a central conflict of the partition that preoccupied “ritwickda, ” it is a rare breed of a fictional documentary that allows singh to traverse between the films of ghatak and the literary, mythological and cultures figures of india. the film positions a crucial motif in ghatak’s work, the river that witnessed the partition as a spatial and allegorical device to understand the traumas of history. in his nod to the events of the partition and in the image that speaks well beyond its narrative logic, qissa acknowledges singh’s debt to ghatak .
the film, by shame director steve mcqueen and starring chiwetel ejiofor, took home the blackberry people’s choice award, while the top documentary award went to the square, by jehane noujaim .
a film - maker who is having an extra - marital affair with an actress decides to leave his wife. arth is the story of this women' s search for her identity .
across four different programs — galas, special presentations, contemporary world cinema and tiff kids — the festival brought its overall film count to just over 200 (see the full list here) .
five years ago, a film about a young boy brought up in the slums of dharavi who wins who wants to be a millionaire took the toronto international film festival by storm. it won the people' s choice award and would later set the competition aside with eight oscars. it was at tiff that danny boyle' s uplifting and engaging slumdog millionaire made its first big impression .
abruptly, the film abandons the realism that had grounded it and turns into a surreal story that involves elements like a ghost and a seemingly lunatic woman roaming around burnt - down haveli. perhaps it' s meant to be magic realism but the shift in tone is jarring and most importantly, it distracts us from kanwar' s identity crisis and the relationship with neeli. also, even the realistic becomes improbable as the film builds up to a decidedly forced climax. some of qissa' s most powerful moments are between shome and dugal. dugal sparkles as the feisty neeli who is confused between her fondness for kanwar and rage at being conned into marrying a woman .
anup singh’s qissa is one of the most challenging and eloquent films i have seen from india in recent years. it defies taboos and shocks the spectator. it leaves you uneasy, shaken and displaced from comfort. at times, it leaves you confused. it is a mature film framed in complex narrative motifs, perhaps difficult for an audience who struggles with cinematic abstraction. but it is a formidable cinematic treat. as the reviews so far make it evident, the film is dismissed as an artistic indulgence with little consequences either for cinema or for the rigidity of mores that it challenges. but the film comes from a different world, from new thresholds of image and narrative, from a time of qisse and storytelling defined by nimble and potent narratives that draw their own limits and expand their own horizons. in this process, qisse kept the cultures alive, breathing and ready for change .
based on his own insights growing up in a village in the indian state of punjab, anup singh has accorded qissa with a historical and social framework that sets out to highlight how fault lines in india lie beyond merely religious denominations. in a story revolving around how umber khan (irrfan khan, the life of pi) is obsessed with having a son to continue his clan' s near - vanquished bloodline, qissa brings to the fore how the violent fallout of the deadly indo - pakistan partition in 1947 can be more sex - based than just sectarian .
those moments are not allowed to intrude. only a few telling milestones are allowed, events that don’t just take the story forward but shape characters, change them. that’s the writer, director’s conceit and it demands, if a qissa is to be enjoyed, suspension of disbelief .
kanwar is married off to neeli (rashika duggal), a gypsy (naqal), and umber desires a grandson. the story now coils and doesn’t so much as move but skulk forward, to a cursed man who is forced to stand witness to the heart - rendering howls of his own daughter and have no answers. qissa: the tale of a lonely ghost is a complicated film based on a complicated idea. its screenplay, by singh and madhuja mukherjee, is woven with powerful motifs and themes that we are constantly in dialogue with. it’s that kind of film where inanimate objects come to life, acquire meaning, a haunting story of their own. there’s a reech (bear), revenge, partition, gender, gender identity, homosexuality, and patriarchy pivoting on the all - encompassing conspiracy required to keep it intact. it’s the kind of film that we hardly get to see on our screens. don’t miss it .
the film is about a mismatched couple who try to find themselves and each other while facing challenges in their dysfunctional families and lives. it presents its own take on society’s objectification of women and tries to break stereotypes .
as umber' s obsession with getting kanwar to reproduce go into a manic overdrive, bloodshed and death becomes nearly inevitable - - and qissa retains its drive as it continues to track its protagonist' s sexual schisms. but it' s when the couple finally are forced to meet their fate, however, that singh brazen transition into the supernatural derails any possibility of allowing a glimpse into the seemingly irresolvable issue of female emancipation in a heavily misogynist world. with qissa' s polished production values, it' s a shame the drive of singh' s argument is not sustained to the end .
from the lyricism of this scene, the narrative of qissa takes a turn. the film moves to a meditative realm not found in the narrative of umber’s life. the troubled daughter raised as a son, now discovering herself with a woman meant to be her wife, must now confront the forces that brought her here. singh adapts the device of a ghost that works simultaneously as a narrative element firm in the beliefs of the community, and a cinematic screen that brings contrition and reflection to the cultural and family crises .
similarly, when neeli’s admiration changes into love and then to a caring attitude within 30 seconds is another example of fantastic acting skills. she is the cohesive force of the film despite it being someone else’s point of view .
given the uproar in india about the sexual oppression faced by the country' s female population, qissa could have been a timely addition to the debate, as the film tells the story of a young woman' s twisted coming of age as she is raised as a boy by her tyrant of a father. but early promise of a poised and substantial piece gets undermined by a final, inexplicable leap into the paranormal - - an odd denouement for a narrative centered on the very real and corporeal issue of gender - based violence .
qissa: the tale of a lonely ghost is one of those films which unfolds on the screen with multiple meanings for different people. that it is open to many interpretations does not take away anything from its cinematic brilliance. it is also a first - of - its - kind indian cinema, what with a tanzania - born director and an almost all - foreign crew. interestingly, anup singh had to struggle even to get this punjabi film off the starting block, till foreign producers and nfdc came along to bail him out .
irrfan controls the proceedings as one of the most difficult characters he has ever played. he had to justify his ‘brutal’ existence and yet had to generate sympathy for his deeds. he rises to the occasion and owns the film .
india has a part to play even in the film that kicks off the popular festival, the fifth estate. anil ambani' s reliance entertainment is one of the producers of the film. directed by bill condon, the drama - thriller looks at how julian assange (benedict cumberbatch) and his german friend daniel domscheit - berg (daniel bruhl) founded the website wikileaks, which became popular for making public secret information and classified data from anonymous sources .
shome is credible but not entirely convincing as kanwar in his teenaged boy avatar. however, later in the film, when she plays a kanwar trying to figure out whether masculinity or femininity comes naturally to her, shome is superb .
unfortunately for both these actors, the script seems unsure about their relationship. at one point, they giggle about having fallen in love with a woman. but the film seems to shy away from walking the boys don' t cry path .
( germany - india - netherlands - france) a camino filmverleih (in germany) release of a match factory presentation of a heimatfilm, national film development corporation, augustus film, cine - sud promotion, zdf / das kleine fernsehspiel production, in collaboration with arte. (international sales: the match factory, cologne, germany .) produced by johannes rexin, bettina brokemper. co - producers, nina lath gupta, bero beyer, thierry lenouvel. executive producer, vikramjit roy .
the idea of the film was inspired by anup singh’s own childhood in that sikh boys are not allowed to cut their hair. this gave singh an interesting perspective on the thin boundary between male and female, despite the patriarchal power structure behind it. umber singh’s character is based on the director’s grandfather who had to leave his home during the partition of 1947. the film makes for riveting and sometimes somewhat harrowing viewing. while it does leave you with a bit of a strain in your heart, it’s an essential film for women’s rights in india. it’s also a relief to see how far brilliant filmmakers like anup singh have departed from the pre - packaged bollywood formula. it’s a credit to zootrope films formidable art house list .
qissa is only running in three theatres in delhi, but is a strongly recommended watch. this is like one of those few movies that will let you take away interpretations and much more. all the major edits have been left free to be interpreted by the audience. you might enter the hall with some set notions, but you may come out either blown away by it or with a lot of throbbing unanswered questions. but that' s the beauty of this film - it has no clear - cut ending; it has no beginning - it just has a flawless flow .
the actor is playing a pivotal role in the fourth instalment of the jurassic park franchise…irrfan khan, who is seen receiving rave reviews for his latest release, qissa has added yet another feather to his cap. the versatile actor will be seen featuring in the first ever jurassic park franchise game. yes! irrfan’s onscreen character, [ … ]
before dancing arabs starts its run to the german cinema screens on may 21st, distributor nfp presents the film on 2 premieres in hamburg (11. 5. abaton - kino) and berlin (12. 5. hackesche höfe). read more…
in the more lighter territory is yash raj films' romantic comedy shuddh desi romance. set in jaipur, the film is centred on the changing notion of romance and relationship amongst the youth of india. it does so by focussing on three characters: a tourist guide (sushant singh rajput), an english - language tutor (parineeti chopra) and debutant vaani kapoor. also starring rishi kapoor, the film marks the return of chak de! india screenwriter jaideep sahni after a break of four years .
aesthetica short film festival is a trading name of aesthetica magazine ltd. © 2018 aesthetica magazine ltd. all rights reserved. registered in england & wales. registered number: 06025418. registered address: 10 toft green, york, yo1 6jt, uk .
though it’s an odd hybrid of gender parable, displacement meta - text, ghost tale and unlikely romance, “qissa” packs enough punch to make up for its thematic disparity. at its best, this idiosyncratic drama on india’s partition and a father’s obsession with having a son delivers such distinctive storytelling that open - minded audiences are likely to accept a [ … ]
set in the post - partition riot torn era, the film traces the journey of umber singh, who tries to eek out a living for himself and his family, all the while keeping their true identities of belonging to the sikh community, a secret .
there will be times when your heart will shrivel up. but the film’s most poignant moment occurs when kanwar undresses herself by the window, revealing her true physical identity to her ghost father, as the villagers gather around gawking at the tragic and appalling spectacle .
the 2013 toronto international film festival added over 75 titles to its lineup this morning, including new films from guillaume canet, hayao miyazaki, sean durkin, clio barnard, james franco, johnnie to, alex gibney, john turturro, kevin macdonald and fred schepisi .
neeraj pandey and akki’s second collaboration has turned out to be a huge crowd puller…akshay kumar, anupam kher, rana daggubati, taapsee pannu, kay kay menon, madhurima tuli and danny danzongpa starrer baby becomes the first film in 2015 to enter the rs 100 crore club .
bmo iffsa | piff 2015 opening gala will be held at mississauga convention center. it is a red carpet affair expecting dignitaries and international film makers supporting their critically acclaimed films. the red carpet will be followed by a cocktail reception, opening gala, and after party .
the film starring the dera sacha sauda chief is sailing high to reach the rs 100 crore mark…2015 has gone off to a brilliant start with akshay kumar’s baby crossing the rs 100 crore mark and now msg: the messenger racing fast towards the coveted mark. yes you read that right !
indian animation will also be in the spotlight with the world premiere of the world of goopi and bagha (goopi gawaiiya, bagha bajaiiya). based on the classic children' s story goopi gyne, bagha byne, the film is directed by shilpa ranade, an illustrator of children' s books, a short filmmaker and a lecturer at industrial design centre at indian institute of technology, mumbai. produced by the children' s film society of india, it follows the misadventures of two musically - inclined fools goopy, who loves to sing, and bagha, who plays the drums .
the notion of displacement and how it impacts the nurturing of a young mind is very much visible in the entire film. be it kanwar, neeli or umber, everybody is trying to cope up with the fast winds of change, and thus giving birth to more doubts about their own existence .
anup singh’s qissa is draped simultaneously in a tale of a punjabi man, the social realities of gender issues, and in the figure of a ghost that moves the narrative to a realm of new thoughts. he forges the spirits of benjamin’s faith in storytelling, the dynamic traditions of qisse, the cinematic powers of imagination, and the necessity of social critique of the struggle between orthodoxy of tradition and gender issues .
director anup singh' s last film was the name of a river, a stylised tribute to the films and life of filmmaker ritwik ghatak. it was lyrical, neatly tangled in its own internal logic and not particularly easy to access if you weren' t a fan of ghatak' s work .
in the past, not many indian storytellers would have attempted such a plot. that is what makes makes qissa an important film in terms of its thematic representation. it’s a secluded world which is hugely imprinted with umber’s idea of masculinity, and how his choices affect the lives of people around him. in a way, it’s about partition within the partition. women and children were the most gullible victims of the indo - pak division, but they suffered way beyond it. mehar, for example, suffered in pakistan as well as inside her family in india. umber’s inbuilt masochism haunted her in the new life even more. however, mehar was not alone in her fight for survival, her adolescent daughters joined her .
rarely do we get to watch films where we are constantly reading faces minutely, searching for answers, for clues. we do so here and they all remain dazzlingly ambiguous. none more so than the ever fabulous irrfan khan who inhabits the persona of a sikh, a father, a husband, a soul with incredibly lyrical sagacity. traumatised and desperate, he possesses and exudes spookiness that’s fundamental to connecting with this qissa .
umber’s contrition - tinged soliloquy is addressed to neeli and not to kanwar. his superstition for preferring a son to a daughter brought injuries to a woman, abusing her in a forced marriage, in the violent transgression on her body, and for suffocating her only relationship in a marriage. he could have been contrite to his own daughter who was made into a son. but his contrition to neeli is addressed to the gender of women against whom the injustice of gender preference is directed. it includes contrition to kanwar, his wife, and his three daughters. by placing the qissa of a punjabi man caught in the pain of partition; by his abilities to inflict harm in displacing others from their zones of comfort; and by using the figure of the ghost to bring together the threads of the past and the present, anup singh’s film holds a mirror to a culture that still suffers from the trauma, though the mirror is held at a distance. the trajectory of this qissa remains open to its narrators. it is either to think of a distant tale from a forgotten and ghost - ridden past or as an allegory that speaks to the present .
from here qissa grows increasingly darker as tension ratchets up to an unbearable level because we know how intolerable this society will be once the truth of kanwar’s sex is revealed. the dynamic between he and neeli strains quickly as the secret becomes hers to bear and the violent conclusion to this second act is actually a welcome turn of events despite its tragic end. the aforementioned spiritual magic then takes the final third into a realm masked by changing façades i couldn’t help but compare to the idea of hindu gods adopting avatars to walk the earth. the idea of who we are manifests itself through a physical transformation simultaneously unsettling and understandable. the film’s subtitle the tale of a lonely ghost takes meaning and umber’s wish for immortality results in immense sacrifice .
“online and social media, with no traditional television spots or billboards, is primarily driving our marketing strategy, as we believe that the audiences for nfdc’s portfolio of films are socially networked and digitally wired. this is the first time that a punjabi feature film will get such a scale of exposure, ” she added .
i honestly have no words to help gain my footing because this film exists on a level beyond my comprehension. i don’t know if that is good or bad—probably alternatingly both—but the result is definitely something uniquely its own. a tale of rebirth, honor, fidelity to family, and the loss of identity, anup singh ‘s qissa tackles an insane subject matter so realistically tragic that its head - scratching shift to fantastical and spiritual allegory can’t help but take you aback. right when you’ve maybe wrapped your head around the central conceit, singh blindsides you once more with a revelation that simply isn’t feasible in the context of verisimilitude. the title is arabic for “folk tale, ” however, so i guess i shouldn’t have been surprised there would be enchanted liberties taken with reality .
irrfan khan takes centre stage again with qissa. directed by anup singh, the punjabi - language drama is set during the turbulent and bloody period of india' s partition. khan essays the role of umber singh, a sikh, who attempts
to forge a new life for his family while keeping their true identities a secret from their community
. the actor will also be seen discussing his cinematic journey from the warrior to life of pi .
a few scenes later, neeli says they are like sisters. kanwar can kill for neeli, but there doesn' t seem to be any sexual attraction. considering the circumstances, that the characters would be confused makes complete sense, but the problem with qissa is that the intent of the story seems confused. as a result, neither the characters nor the audience really knows whether neeli and kanwar are in love or friends or forced together by circumstance .
set in post - colonial india, qissa tells the story of umber singh, a sikh, who is forced to flee his village due to ethnic cleansing at the time of partition in 1947. umber decides to fight fate and builds a new home for his family. when umber marries his youngest child kanwar to neeli, a girl of lower caste, the family is faced with the truth of their identities; where individual ambi - tions and destinies collide in a struggle with eternity .
back home kanwar' s mother and two sisters die in a fire. only the elder sister survives the fire but she has lost her sanity. kanwar is haunted by his father' s ghost. ultimately neeli too who cannot handle the complexity of the situation jumps to her death. and the film ends with the ghost of umber seeking neeli' s forgiveness .
i, personally, was looking forward to the punjabi language these contemporary actors had used in the film. but i was a little disappointed. although they all did a great job, the movie could have been better, language wise. i was actually expecting to hear thet (raw) punjabi, which used to be spoken in the pre - independence era. the language sounds really sweet to the ears, but when it is used, especially by sardarnis, the language runs at the speed of light. that raw and crispy flavour of punjabi doesn' t come across noticeably in the film. however, talking about the language in front of their a - class acting is just placing a candle in front of the sun .
director, anup singh, develops this original premise to great avail, showing how this decision affects relationships between kanwar, the little girl - boy, and her / his sisters. most of the action in the first half of the film, however, focuses on the relentless power of the father’s monomania. singh’s film is also a masterpiece of ambiguity from start to finish. the spectator is never quite sure to what extent the sisters and even the mother is aware that kanwar is actually a girl. the story is so adroitly narrated that you’re not even sure if kanwar himself knows his own real gender. and when he has his first menstrual period, he goes to see his father who comforts him by telling him that he has finally reached manhood !
“qissa” is the first picture to take advantage of the relatively new india - germany co - production treaty, apparent from the large (some may gripe, overwhelming) presence of western crew members in the tech credits. singh first attempted to raise funds in india alone, but pressure to shoot the pic in hindi rather than punjabi made him look for alternative income sources. the title, punjabi for “fable” or “legend, ” is occasionally being appended in press notes with “the tale of a lonely ghost, ” though it’s an inaccurate reflection of the story and should be ditched .
i don’t want to kill your suspense by revealing the deal about the ghost, but i am tempted to say that the paraphernalia around kanwar changes drastically with this cinematic masterstroke. there is a scene in the film where kanwar breaks free of the shackles and rejects all the social norms by baring her heart and body. tilottama has made this sequence so soulful and penetrating that you will be dumbfounded in the absence of the right reaction .
this nature - versus - nurture conflict plays out through shocking twists and turns, intended not to shock but explore the question of identity, layer by layer. tillotama shome as kanwar singh is the absolute triumph of qissa playing a gender - bending, stereotype - defying character trapped in between labels and separatist tendencies. between india and pakistan. between man and woman. between gay and straight. between the living and dead. and the actress nails every complex conflicted emotion, embracing the traits of both the masculine and the feminine, and emerges as the performer to beat for best actress this year .
beginning in pakistan and returning there in the end, qissa is the story of umber singh (irrfan khan), a husband, a father, a man rendered homeless by marauding hordes during partition. displaced, hurting, angry, umber decides to twist life according to his wish, even if that means living with some self - loathing. he replies in kind to what fate throws at him and plots revenge. first on the muslims who’ll take over his house and, later, on his destiny, his child. he dodged fate once, cocked a snook at it. and he’ll do it again .
though it’s an odd hybrid of gender parable, displacement meta - text, ghost tale and unlikely romance, “qissa” packs enough punch to make up for its thematic disparity. at its best, this idiosyncratic drama on india’s partition and a father’s obsession with having a son delivers such distinctive storytelling that open - minded audiences are likely to accept a certain degree of perplexity while appreciating the ways sophomore helmer anup singh conveys his potent message. modest wins in toronto (netpac), mumbai and abu dhabi foreshadow a healthy fest career, though theatrical play will remain limited even in home territories, notwithstanding the draw of star irrfan khan .
edits in the movie are nicely done, which actually make the movie look earthy and organic. qissa transcends all the mental barriers with which one views sexuality. it' s saddening to see how women' s breasts are perceived in the society. kanwar was asked to tie a tight cloth around his chest, and later, the marks on her back, too, are shown on screen. but there are many females like kanwar who actually follow this practice because apparently breasts or big breasts are still considered a taboo in this country. in india, the rate of your freedom is determined by the flatness of your chest. sad, but true !
although qissa is set during the india - pakistan partition in 1947, it is not like any drama you’ve seen before. it is intensely somber through the whole of the two hours. umber singh (irrfan khan) is a sikh who has no choice but to flee his village along with his family. umber is relentlessly consumed by the desire of begetting a son, so much so that he raises his fourth daughter, kanwar, as the family’s sole male heir (played to perfection by tillotama shome). everyone including the child grows up believing she’s a male. and if that sounds messed up to you, wait till you have watched all of it!
qissa is a 2013 indian-german drama film in punjabi written and directed by anup singh . the film was released in indian theaters on 20 february 2015 nationwide and simultaneously on dvd and vod as well . the film was screened in the contemporary world cinema section at the 2013 toronto international film festival where it won the netpac award for world or international asian film . the theme of the film focuses on desire of a sikh man towards having a son to continue the family lineage . 
qissa is a 2013 indian-german drama film in punjabi written and directed by anup singh. the film was released in indian theaters on 20 february 2015 nationwide and simultaneously on dvd and vod as well. the film was screened in the contemporary world cinema section at the 2013 toronto international film festival where it won the netpac award for world or international asian film. the theme of the film focuses on desire of a sikh man towards having a son to continue the family lineage.
qissa is a 2013 indian-german drama film in punjabi written and directed by anup singh. the film was released in indian theaters on 20 february 2015 nationwide and simultaneously on dvd and vod as well. the film was screened in the contemporary world cinema section at the 2013 toronto international film festival where it won the netpac award for world or international asian film. the theme of the film focuses on desire of a sikh man towards having a son to continue the family lineage.