The social thriller short film, Every 68 Minutes, directed by Anindita Sarbadhicari, conceptualised by Lal Bhatia and Imran Zaki, and produced by David and Goliath Films, in association with Adil Hussain, was premiered at the J W Mariott Hotel, Kolkata on 3rd March, 2020. Richa Sharma, Adil Hussain, and Tota Roy Choudhury are the leading actors of the movie. The film screening was a private event with selected guests, invitees and friends from the media houses.
The event began with a brief introduction, followed by the screening of the film, press conference and lunch. Every 68 Minutes is a transformative short film that explores the dark avenues of Indian marriages and the traditions associated with it and the fight of justice versus social malaise. Dealing with the harsh realities of dowry & domestic violence that reportedly takes the life of one woman every sixty-eight minutes, the film hopes to take the audience to new realizations and bring about a positive change in our society. This film showcases the reality of the tormented times a woman goes through because of dowry. David and Goliath Films presents “Every 68 Minutes”, a hard hitting short-film that is sure to rile up your conscience as you witness the dark patriarchal underbelly of Indian society. The film has been conceptualised by Lal Bhatia and Imran Zaki of David & Goliath Films in denunciation of the social evils that women are being put through even today. The music by Bickram Ghosh weaves an ambience of suspense and tension throughout the movie. The cinematography of Manas Ganguly & the crisp editing of Arghyakamal Mitra are other highlights of the film. The film also features Bharat Kaul, Arup Ratan Roy, Laboni Sarkar, Chandan Sen & Titas Dutta.
The event was graced by the presence of eminent personalities like Mrs. Richa Sharma, Actress; Ms. Anindita Sarbadhicari, Director;Mr. Lal Bhatia, Producer; Mr. Imran Zaki, Producer and many other dignitaries.
This film has also inaugurated the Global Cinema Festival 2020 in Sikkim as one of its achievement. This festival is an initiative of Film Federation of India (FFI) to take good cinema to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities; especially where there aren’t enough movie theatres and where no film festivals of national or international standing have gone before. The festival was opened with the film ‘Every 68 Minutes’. Over three days, 20 feature films (national and international) were screened along with documentaries, shorts, animation and experimental videos.
On this occasion, Mr. Lal Bhatia and Mr. Imran Zaki, Producers of the film said, “David & Goliath Films is a professional Media Studio and Media Production House based in Kolkata. We, at D&G Films pledge to contribute to the field of film and media through our dynamic and ever-evolving approach to film production. Run by a team of professionals and visionaries, we hope to produce engaging and hard-hitting documentaries, short films, and web series that will touch hearts and bring light on our society’s most relevant issues.”
Sharing her views about the film Mrs. Richa Sharma, Actress of the film said, “The silent scars of domestic violence are sometimes the longest to fade. The visible ones are the brutal testimony to what she faces behind closed doors. Every cry of despair from a victim of domestic abuse is a tight slap on the face of humanity. Mothers, daughters and wives are tormented day in and day out due to dowry demands and many a time their closest family turns their back on their pleas and a blind eye to their misery, often ignoring the very real signs of death or suicide. If you are a friend, a neighbour, a colleague, or a bystander of this inhuman crime, please don’t hesitate in reporting it and supporting the woman in whatever way you can. Sometimes a little support can give her the strength to fight back.”
Speaking about the film, Bickram Ghosh, Music Director of the film said, “Every 68 Minutes is not just a film, it is a war cry against dowry and domestic violence.” He has composed a beautiful soundtrack that resonates the mood of the film and it amplifies each scene giving the audience a spine chilling experience.
