living and ceasing to live are two imaginary solutions; existence is elsewhere” — based on this non-deterministic approach of the first-ever surreal manifesto by Andre Breton, the first independent feature film of Odisha Capital I was screened at the ITER, followed by interaction session.
Through fictitious scenario and characters, the film suggestively ventures into the theories of existentialism, depicting existence beyond life and death and ends in chants of immortality “Mrutyur Maam Amtrutam Gamai.”
Commenced with disappearance of a person from a room with doors locked inside, the story revolves around inner conflict of Pallavi, protagonist of the movie with her alter ego that reaches climax in self realisation. In the quest to untangle the mystery of the disappeared person through available papers with some abstract phrases and pictures with signature below reading Capital I, Pallavi makes self realisation and finally confronts her alter ego.
Eventually, other characters also find themselves in the path of psychological transformation. Capital I is a fictitious character having its root in reality. It is an expedition of mind depicted in symbolic gestures. The sub-conscious mind in every human being keeps on chasing something; that finally ends with finding the real self.
The conflict in Niloye Jakhon, another independent film of director Amartya Bhattacharya with friend Swastik Choudhary is with outer world with the question on existence and search of identity. But in Capital I, the conflict is within, with one’s alter ego. When protagonist of the film Pallavi finds answers to her questions on existence, she needs no alter ego to satisfy her existence. The film is adorned with dexterity of Amartya Bhattacharya in coding and decoding human mind with symbols. Every scene of the movie is a visual presentation of a human mind entangled with the question of its existence. From colours to animals, paintings, phrases and even characters and gestures, every element in the movie is symbolic.
Characters of Capital I represent various instincts of mind. At times these instincts try to overpower and control other instincts. At times they contradict. The conflict between internal nature and external nature is always there. When the mind signifies and compares dimensions of both the natures, in the movie Bhattacharya has used blurred images many a time as a symbolic representation of confusion and lack of clarity in source. He experiments with colours as a symbolic representation of various emotions like lust, desire and fertility.
Before Capital I, Bhattacharya’s independent films Niloye Jakhon and Boba Mukhosh with friend Swastik Choudhary created a special niche for him in the arena. Though Capital I is the debutant film for most of the actors including internationally acclaimed Director Susant Misra, all the actors did justice to the respective characters they portrayed.