Hindi
Indian documentaries to screen at IDFA filmfest in Amsterdam
NEW DELHI: Three Indian documentaries will be screened at the International Documentary Film Festival that will be held in Amsterdam from 20 November to 1 December.
Menstrual Man by Amit Virmani and Powerless or Katiyabaaz by Fahad Mustafa and Deepti Kakkar will screen under the Reflecting Images: Best of Fests section; and My Name is Salt by Farida Pacha will compete in the IDFA Competition for First Appearance section.
Amit Virmani’s Menstrual Man is a Singapore – India production. Arunachalam Muruganantham is considered a madman in his village for he has achieved a feat that is considered to be pervert by his community. He has devised a manually operated machine to make low-cost sanitary pads. The napkins are made by and for rural Indian women. The film made its Canadian Premiere at the HotDocs, the Canadian International Documentary Film Festival in Toronto this year.
Powerless or Katiyabaaz traces the city of Kanpur that has 15-hour power cuts. Hundreds of people steal electricity, amidst high risks, to meet their needs. The real trouble starts with the entry of the first female chief of the electricity company who vows to wipe out all illegal connections. Powerless has been one of the most talked about documentaries of the year. The film premiered at Berlinale Forum and competed at the Tribeca Film Festival 2013.
My Name is Salt is a documentary on the salt families of India. Every year the monsoon turns the desert into sea, washing away the salt fields. Thousands of families move to the desert for eight months to extract salt from the earth. Farida Pacha’s The Women in Blue Berets was screened at Open Frame 2012, organised by the Public Service Broadcasting Trust (PSBT) in collaboration with the India International Centre, New Delhi.
Hindi
Zee5 and Applause Entertainment team up for whodunnit ‘Everybody Loves Sohrab Handa’
Rajat Kapoor directs star-studded murder mystery streaming from 10 April.
MUMBAI: Zee5 is serving up another killer collaboration and this time, the murder mystery comes with a generous side of dark humour and family dysfunction. The streaming platform has partnered with Applause Entertainment and Mithya Talkies to bring Everybody Loves Sohrab Handa, a fresh, twisted whodunnit written and directed by acclaimed filmmaker and actor Rajat Kapoor. The film will stream exclusively on Hindi Zee5 from 10 April.
The movie reimagines the classic murder mystery genre with a contemporary, darkly comic edge. It revolves around a group of friends and family who smile, drink, and celebrate together until the silence snaps and long-buried secrets spill out. The stellar ensemble cast includes Vinay Pathak, Ranvir Shorey, Waluscha De Sousa, Saurabh Shukla, Chandrachoor Rai, Neil Bhoopalam, Koel Purie, Palomi Ghosh, and Rajat Kapoor himself.
This latest offering continues the successful partnership between Zee5 and Applause Entertainment, which has previously delivered diverse hits such as Mithya, Bloody Brothers, and Jab Khuli Kitaab.
&TV Business Head of hindi Zee5 and chief channel officer Kaveri Das said, “Our collaboration with Applause Entertainment has consistently delivered distinct, high-impact storytelling. Everybody Loves Sohrab Handa is a natural progression, reinforcing our focus on genre-led content with a compelling whodunnit premise and a strong ensemble cast.”
Applause Entertainment business head for movies Sunil Chainani added, “This film adds yet another compelling layer to our slate with Rajat Kapoor’s unmistakable voice.”
Rajat Kapoor shared, “What interested me was not just the mechanics of a whodunnit, but the emotional violence that precedes physical violence. These are people who smile at each other, but there’s so much that is not said.”
The film promises razor-sharp writing, layered performances, and simmering tension, inviting viewers not just to solve the crime but to unravel the complex relationships at its heart.
If you love a good murder mystery served with wit and emotional depth, Everybody Loves Sohrab Handa looks set to be your next addictive watch. Mark your calendars, the whodunnit drops on Hindi Zee5 from 10 April.
