Not only the adults, but the lives of the toddlers stuck at home during the pandemic were equally troublesome. The toddlers got stuck at home, and could not go outside. Director Indira Dhar Mukkherjee who is a mother of a four-year-old child saw her child and understood what toddlers of his age were going through. She even interacted with the mothers of the toddlers to understand what they went through. It is these experiences that she will be presenting in her new short film Stars.

The film will show the children and their activities during the lockdown and post-lockdown.

The film is written, directed, and produced by Indira Dhar Mukkherjee.

She had earlier made films like The Green Window, Soch, and Swadeshini Bideshini. The director had received numerous accolades for Soch and The Green Window.

The actors for the film were handpicked and trained by Indira herself from Cubes activity center, Kolkata. Her son Kabir Mukkherjee aged 4, is also acting in this film. The workshop was for 15 days.

The actors comprise Ayank Banerjee, Kabir Mukherjee, Swara Mittal, Dityaa Pachisia, Sumeera, Harshiv, and Nitara Chamria. All the kids in the film are less than five years of age.

Sharmila Sen who worked with Indira in films like Soch and The Green window is also a part of this film.

“Stars” is backed by Good Earth Medical Care Center, Dr. Anjali Banerjee, and Dr. Writtika Chattoraj.

The Director of Photography is Uttaran De, and the editing will be done by Shuvro Roy.

The music will be composed by Shamil Guha Roy.

Indira had always wanted to make a children’s film since her visit to the Mumbai International Film Festival. According to the director, preparing for this film was the most difficult one that she had done to date.

Stars will be screened at various film festivals before it is digitally released.

Priyanka Dutta