A Hindi movie based on communal riots ‘Mrs and Mr Iyer’ would be part of the weekly film screenings held at Bharat Bhavan on November 16. The weekly film screening is organised by Chhavi series of classical cinema every Sunday at Abhirang Auditorium, Bharat Bhavan. Usually, the movie is all about a blend of humanity portraying a serious issue. It is a 2002 Indian drama film written and directed by Aparna Sen and produced by N. Venkatesan.
The film features Konkona Sen Sharma as Meenakshi Iyer, a Tamil Iyer Brahmin who is a Hindu. Rahul Bose portrays the character of Raja Chowdhury, a Bengali Muslim wildlife photographer. The story revolves around these two lead characters during a fateful bus journey amidst the carnages of a communal strife in India.
Zakir Hussain, an Indian tabla maestro, composed the background score and music for the film, Goutam Ghose, a film director himself, was the cinematographer.
Mr. and Mrs. Iyer premiered at the locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland and also it was showcased at other prominent film festivals.
It won several national and international awards, including the Golden Maile award at the Hawaii International Film Festival and the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration in India.
While talking to The Pioneer, in-charge of film screenings, Prem Shankar Shukla said, “We endevour to screen the movies which are not well treated by the filmmaker but also well received by the audience in terms of message and concept. Mr and Mrs Iyer is a serious movie but is a classical one. It would be a treat for the film lovers of the city to watch it once again on a big screen,” he added.
While telling more about the movie, Shukla said, “It is a serious issue with a blend of humanity. The film is all about that how during a bus journey from Calcutta to Chennai, a Hindu Brahmin married woman saved a Muslim man, when communal riots break out.”