I consider Kalki Koechlin, Deepti Naval as two phenomenal performers of our industry, who have carved a niche for themselves by playing off beat roles. Interestingly, the two of them are starring in Goldfish, which will be having its world premiere at the Busan International Film Festival. The English language film is part of ‘A Window on Asian Cinema’ section of the festival to be held from 5-14th October 2022.
Goldfish deals with memory and identity. Anamika, the child of a mixed marriage, returns home to her estranged mother Sadhana because she is suffering from the onset of dementia. Ana returns to a neighborhood she barely remembers, to a woman who sometimes doesn’t remember her.
On being a part of Goldfish Kalki says…
The film’s cast included Indians from all over the world and all these actors had their own accents, which is something we’ve never seen in a film – the diversity of Indian accents and therefore of the people of India. So I am both excited and humbled that Goldfish will premiere at Busan, a festival that has highlighted so many iconic films and hosted amazing talent through the last quarter of a century.”
On connecting with her character, Deepti shares…
When I first heard the story of the film in three lines, I immediately connected with the film. Something inside me said, this is for me, this is what I have been waiting for. Maybe because I saw my mother go through Alzheimer’s and Dementia. I am really excited about the selection of the film at BIFF and I am sure the audiences will take the story of Sadhana & Anamika with them in their hearts.
Apart from Deepti and Kalki, the film also stars the prolific actors Rajit Kapur, Gordon Warnecke (lead in My Beautiful Laundrette), and Bharti Patel (Featured in BBC series Doctors) in pivotal roles.
Set in London, Goldfish is a UK production and is produced by Amit Saxena’s Splendid Films (USA) and executive produced by Pooja Chauhan. The film had its market screening at Marche Du Film (2022) and was part of the First Cut Plus lab in association with Karlovy Vary Film Festival.
On getting selected for at the prestigious film festival, Director Pushan Kripalani says…
Goldfish explores the ideas of identity through two women. One is unsure of who she is because she lives between two cultures, neither completely her own, and the other, stuck in a land not her own, now because of her disease, with her identity ephemeral. It seeks to address the ideas of duty, love and painful history. We are delighted and honoured to be part of the Busan International Film Festival. We hope people relate to the themes explored and we look forward to presenting our film. We are eager to meet our hosts and form new friendships.”
The catchy concept is making me crave for more. I am sure, the film will be treat to watch.