An urban metaphor

Having given up a cushy government job in the investigations department of India?s stockmarkets regulator, Securities & Exchange Board of India and, subsequently, a stable job at a media company, Dasgupta went about single-mindedly chasing his dream: that of becoming a film-maker. His debut film, The Great Indian Butterfly (TNGB), soon to hit the screens, will mark the culmination of seven years of effort. TGIB is, simply put, a metaphorical film about contemporary urban Indian life. The underlying theme is about a young, upwardly mobile urban Indian couple?s search for the mythical great Indian butterfly, which is said to bring love, luck, peace and happiness. What happens to the couple as they embark on the search for the butterfly forms the crux of the film.

Says writer-director Dasgupta: ?When I started to write TGIB, there was no butterfly in it. I was going to call it ?The Burnout?. The idea dealt with the urban ambition epidemic and its sad outcomes. I realised I was only willing to observe and document just one side of the issue. A friend pointed out to me this legend of the butterfly and I immediately found the ground on the other side of the issue that I needed to explore.?

Shot almost entirely on location en route to and in Goa, TGIB, produced by White Feather Arthouse Films and Eros, explores the emotions the couple Krish and Meera ? played by Aamir Bashir and Sandhya Mridul ? undergo as they battle burnout and are desperately in need of the metaphorical butterfly. All through their journey ? and with the help of some deftly handled flashbacks ? the story of Krish and Meera unfolds, complete with the trauma and turmoil they go through. Despite much of TGIB being a ?road movie? and having a modest budget of Rs 35 lakh (the film was shot in 20 days), Dasgupta?s unit does manage to keep the quality of the film intact.

Shot hand-held in most parts, TGIB?s photography (Shanker Raman) adds to the texture of the film, capturing trauma and tranquility in equal measure as the couple makes their way to their destination. Vivek Philip?s background score successfully captures the entire gamut of emotions. Bashir and Mridul form the backbone of the film and deliver stellar performances as the stressed-out couple searching for love and a return to peace and happiness.

Despite the lack of drama, the 110-minute film does manage to keep the viewer engaged, and culminates in a rather interesting twist of events. Barry John and Koel Purie add to the cast with cameos which, despite their limited roles, do justice to their reputations as actors. Dasgupta?s

direction is simple, and he prefers to let the script and the performances do the talking.

TGIB talks to you, not at you. This English-language film is clearly not aimed at setting the box office on fire. But in this dog-eat-dog

professional world, urban couples should find enough in the film to identify with. That, in itself, would have made Dasgupta?s maiden cinematic

effort worthwhile…