Rigor Mortis - A Short Film

Film lovers of town are in for a treat as the Hyderabad Film Club, in association with the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, is holding the Lensight Film Festival (Diploma Films) on 14th and 15th April, at the Prasad Labs Preview Theatre. 16 short films shot by the students of the 2004-05 batch will be screened.

Today, the second and last day, Rigor Mortis will be the 1st film to be screened. This English/Hindi short film is scripted and directed by Rupak Das. The film is an exploration of the socio-political situation in the country, the rampant corruption in the echelons of power, the disgruntled youth population, and the strong arm of the law, which seeks to maintain a sense of patriotism in its citizenry inspite of large-scale disillusionment.

When poverty in the country is reaching new nadirs as against the development that is taking place all around, human and moral, political and geographical values have acquired new meanings, and are sought to be redefined in all states of society. Cinema, like all other arts, stands mute witness to this juggernaut of overwhelming change in the men and manners of a nation called India.

The film is an adaptation of the Assamese one act play, Jatri, written by Dr. Dipak Chandra Das in 1985.

Lensight is the name of the journal published by FTII. The festival has been held in Delhi and Mumbai before this. A diploma film is a final year project that brings together students of all the disciplines and calls upon them to put their best foot forward in terms of demonstrating the learning they have acquired.

Diploma films celebrate the spirit of cinema. These films, many of which have been acclaimed as being amongst the finest works in the medium, reflect the composite learning acquired by the students at the institute, as also their professional potential. These films, in a way, are points of departure for discourse amongst the next generation of film professionals.

FTTI is based in Pune and boasts of some renowned personalities of cine world as its alumni, like Jaya Bachchan, Shabana Azmi, Subhash Ghai, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Saeed Mirza, Vinod Chopra, Kundan Shan, Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Anil Mehta and David Dhawan amongst others. From our state, in addition to Devadas Kanakala, Suresh Oberoi and Talluri Rameshwari, there are G Krishna Rao who has edited a number of films directed by K Vishwanath, and K Ramachandra Rao who has been the professor of editing at the FTII since 1960.

The DVDs of these films are available at the venue for sale on the 15th of April. The entry for all the films is free. For further details, please contact Bh S S Prakash Reddy of the Hyderabad Film Club at 2373-0841/93910-20243.