Director Suman Maitra and his team of the film A2 were present at the press conference of the film at the 31^st KIFF.

The film is about Apu, who is a struggling writer. He pours his unfulfilled dreams into a novel that is inspired by his own life. He hopes that the novel will be published one day. His world intertwines with that of Durga. Her inner turmoil mirrors that of Neeta. Together, their stories unfold as a great tribute to the master director Ritwik Ghatak.

Some of Suman Maitra’s earlier films were Doshomi in 2012, 71 Broken Lines in 2019, and Aami O Apu in 2022.

Speaking at the press conference, the director said, “Through this film, I have tried to bring together the maestros, namely Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, and Ritwik Ghatak. I wanted a simple name for the film. Hence, I came up with A2”.

This is the first time that Suman Maitra has sent this film to the Kolkata International Film Festival, and his film was selected by the committee.

“I have learnt from watching the films of Ritwik Ghatak. His films are an institution to me. I did not get a chance to meet him in real life, and hence, his films inspire me and educate me. Like he said to practice thinking, I do the same. I took my time in making this film A2 as it captured the different seasons. Hence, I had to wait to shoot the Pujas or the winter season and so on”.

A2 is a reinterpretation of Megha Dhaka Tara, revealed the director. This is the sequel to his earlier film Aami O Apu. He has used Magic Realism, Surrealism, Illusion, Metaphor, and Neo-Realism in the film.

The producer of the film is Suman Maitra. He has also edited the film.

The music of the film has been composed by Chandrima.

The cast of the film consists of Raunak Bhattacharya (Apu), Ankita Brahma (Durga), Mehuli Sarkar (Neeta), and Shreyasi Roy Banerjee (Aparna).

Director Suman Maitra’s film A2 was part of the Bengali Panorama at the 31^st Kolkata International Film Festival.

The film is 117 minutes long.

Priyanka Dutta