Aparna Sen’s The Rapist is nominated for Kim Jiseok Award at 26th Busan International Film Festival
National Award-winning filmmaker Aparna Sen’s The Rapist, to have its World Premiere at the prestigious 26th Busan International Film Festival
~The film features as part of the ‘A Window on Asian Cinema’ section and is nominated for the prestigious Kim Jiseok Award~
~ Applause Entertainment and Quest Films Pvt. Ltd. present this gut-wrenching, provocative drama, starring Konkona Sen Sharma, Arjun Rampal and Tanmay Dhanania in the lead roles~
Mumbai, September 6, 2021: Aparna Sen’s The Rapist which marks Applause Entertainment’s foray into feature films will have its World Premiere at the 26th edition of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF). The film has been produced by Applause Entertainment in association with Quest Films Pvt. Ltd.
Premiering in the ‘A Window on Asian Cinema’ section, the film is one of the 7 films nominated for the prestigious Kim Jiseok Award, which will be announced during the closing ceremony.
Marking the reunion of the talented mother-daughter duo of Aparna Sen-Konkona Sen Sharma after several acclaimed films including the National Award-winning, Mr. And Mrs. Iyer, The Rapist also boasts of splendid actors like Arjun Rampal and Tanmay Dhanania in key roles. After the stunning success of its premium drama series’ like Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors and Scam 1992, Applause Entertainment’s entry into the world of movies is off to a wonderful start with this nomination.
The Rapist chronicles the journey of three protagonists and how their lives get entwined because of one horrific incident. The film looks beyond the obvious crime, to explore not only how it affects the survivors and perpetrators of the crime, but also delves into how one’s idealistic views are drastically altered when the truth hits uncomfortably close to home.
Sameer Nair, CEO of Applause Entertainment and the producer of Criminal Justice and Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta story says, “Collaborating with Aparna Sen for our first feature has been something we’ve been excited about since we heard this powerful story. The enthusiasm has only doubled up with a nomination for the Kim Jiseok Award, and a world premiere at the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), the most celebrated film festival in all of Asia. We’re happy to have partnered with Quest Films and are confident that Aparna’s unique brand of storytelling, especially of complex themes plaguing our society, will resonate with the world audience at large.”
Says the eminent director-actor-writer Aparna Sen, “Apart from trying to explore the reasons why our society turns out rapists in such numbers, and looking into the inequalities in our social system that are responsible for giving rise to criminals, what drew me to this story, was the psychology of the three protagonists. Stripping off the layers and the carefully built up facades to get at the person underneath was a fascinating process. Fascinating too was getting the two Indias to come face to face - the India that lives in urban slums with its age-old beliefs, and educated urbane India with its 'progressive' value systems.
Suchhanda Chatterjee and Shubha Shetty of Quest Films Pvt. Ltd. say, “Aparna Sen is someone we have always admired and that’s the reason why we feel so honoured to be producing a film directed by her. Soon as we heard this deeply impactful story written by her, we knew that we had to be part of this film. The Rapist is a reflection of the fault lines in society and it raises a few pertinent questions. We are grateful that Applause Entertainment trusted us and chose to come on board. We are delighted that our film is premiering at the Busan International Film Festival for the world to watch. “
Widely acknowledged as the largest film festival in Asia, the Busan International Film Festival will be held from 6-15 October this year.
About Applause Entertainment
Applause Entertainment is a leading Content & IP Creation Studio with a focus on premium drama series, movies, documentaries and animation content. A venture of the Aditya Birla Group, led by media veteran Sameer Nair, the studio has produced and released popular series across genres and languages which includes shows like Criminal Justice, Scam 1992, Hostages, Mind The Malhotras, Hasmukh, Hello Mini, etc. that have gone on to set new benchmarks. Applause has partnered with leading platforms like Netflix, Disney+Hotstar, Amazon Prime Video, Sony LIV and MX Player for its creative output.
About Quest Films Pvt. Ltd.
Quest Films Pvt Ltd is founded by Suchhanda Chatterjee and Shubha Shetty. Their first film, Bittersweet won many laurels, including the official premiere at the Busan International film festival. With diverse projects on board, Quest Film’s mission is to have an extensive association with sensitive filmmakers, along with visionary talent behind the camera. Quest Films is looking to make content-driven cinema that can evoke the audience on a personal level as well as try to make an impact on society.
Aparna Sen BIO
Aparna Sen is one of India’s most celebrated writer-directors. She is the daughter of the renowned film historian, critic and filmmaker Chidananda Dasgupta.
Her directorial debut in the year 1981 was an English film, 36 Chowringhee Lane, which was also written by her. The film won the Golden Eagle – the Grand Prix – at the Manila International Film Festival and the Golden Lotus for best Direction at the National Awards in India. Her directorial work includes memorable films like Sati, Paroma, Picnic, Yugant, Paromita’r Ek Din and Mr. and Mrs. Iyer, The Japanese Wife and Ghawre Bairey Aaj.
Mr. and Mrs. Iyer, which stars her daughter Konkona Sen Sharma and Rahul Bose, won several national and international awards and has been showcased in innumerable film festivals all over the world.
Aparna is also one of India’s finest actors. The celebrated Satayjit Ray introduced her in his film Samapti. She has since acted in several films and won several awards and accolades.
Aparna has been honored with some of India’s most prestigious awards, including the Padmashree Award for Contribution to Cinema by the President of India and the Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award.
In recent years, she has he has made several films – Arshinagar, which is a musical adaptation in Bengali of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Saari Raat, which is a film version in Hindi of Badal Sarkar’s play Saara Rattir, Sonata, a chamber piece based on Mahesh Elkunchwar’s celebrated play of the same name. Her last film was Ghawre Bairey Aaj (Home and the World Today) inspired by Tagore’s famous novel Ghawre Bairey (Home and the World). However, as the name suggests, Aparna’s film is set against the political backdrop of present-day India while Tagore’s novel was set against the freedom struggle of India before Independence.Aparna is currently in the process of completing her latest film The Rapist.
Busan announcement:
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