GOWRI MANICKAVASAGAM
Rohena Gera’s internationally acclaimed debut feature, ‘Is Love Enough? Sir’ which was slated for a pan-India theatrical release earlier this year and got postponed due to Covid-19, which led to theatres shutdown across the world. The film is gearing up for post-pandemic theatrical release on November 13.
The film starring Tillotama Shome (Monsoon Wedding,A Death in the Gunj, Hindi Medium), Vivek Gomber (Court, A Suitable Boy, The Disciple ) and actress Geetanjali Kulkarni (Court, Taj Mahal 1989) had its World Premiere at the 71st International Cannes Film Festival, in the Critics Week competition section making Rohena Gera the first woman filmmaker to bag Gan Foundation Award for distribution.
Produced by Inkpot Films (Brice Poisson and Rohena Gera), and co-produced by Ciné-Sud Promotion, the filmis a story ofa Marathi widowed domestic worker who finds a complicated romantic spark with her recently single employer who’s just returned from the US after breaking off his engagement.
The film has travelled to nearly 45 international and Indian festivals includingAFI Fest Los Angeles, São Paulo International Film Festival, Beijing International Film Festival, Zurich Film Festival and has won 18 awards including, Best Film, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Director & Audience choice awards.
Is Love Enough? Sir is among the top 5 highest grossing Indian films released theatrically in France, including Salaam Bombay and The Lunchbox. The film has released theatrically in more than 25 countries across world and has garnered critical acclaim and popular success.
The film will be released in India by Shiladitya Bora of Platoon One Films, with PVR Pictures Limited distributing the film.
The writer-director-producer, Rohena Gera, who has been waiting to bring her film home says, “Sir is a film about hope, about resilience, about optimism against all odds. I feel that releasing the film now is a way to reach out and connect with audiences and to speak of hope. The experience of watching a film in the cinema is so different from watching it at home and India knows this better than almost any other country. Cinema is almost religion for us.”
She adds, “I hope that after so many months stuck at home people will take the opportunity to come to the cinema, while being extremely careful to observe safety guidelines, and to experience a love story that is all about empathy, understanding and dreams against all odds.”
Tillotama Shome who plays Ratna, the Marathi domestic help in the film says, “We were few days away from Sir releasing on the big screen when the pandemic happened and shifted the course of life for everyone and the question of survival took over. But then came the surreal thing, there existed an audience that wanted to know when and where the film would release, how they were waiting and wanting to watch the film. As an actor, I was and still am overwhelmed by the number of well-wishers for our film. So here we are now!!”
She adds, “I am absolutely nervous and yet excited to share that thanks to your love and the relentless efforts of our director, Rohena Gera, our film is releasing in the theatres. I understand there is no going back to the old world. But into this brave new world, our film will walk. Hope you can join us. It would be an indescribable joy for it to finally meet you, the audience at home in India. A meeting most important to all of us who are a part of Sir, is love enough?”
The actor-producer of acclaimed films, Court and The Disciple, Vivek Gomber who plays Ashwin in the film quips, “I feel so proud to have a director like Rohena, she has been dogged in her attempts to get SIR to the Indian audiences. She truly is inspiring, and I am just so happy for her and our entire team. Fingers crossed!!
Producer Brice Poisson of ‘Inkpot Films’ says, “It has been my privilege to be part of SIR’s journey. It was amazing to see French and Indian teams collaborating so well and transcending language and cultural backgrounds to produce such a film. This is more than one could dream of while producing a first feature film, from a Cannes selection to an uncontested commercial success with over 160k entries in France along with a massive international release, it has been no short of unreal.”
“The day right after the Cannes premiere, I received an email from someone at Lucas Films, their team had seen the film and were interested in meeting Rohena. I had a strong feeling that if they connected with Sir, then this film can have commercial success and is not a “festival” movie. They were right and it fills me with joy that our distribution partners around the world have seen financial reward out of this project” he adds.
He signs off saying, “I would like to thank PVR for supporting the film and Shiladitya Bora, who has believed in the film from the very beginning. I am also extremely grateful for the support of all our partners. After witnessing reactions of Germans Japanese etc… I am waiting to see the reaction in India .”
Kamal Gianchandani, President, PVR Pictures Ltd says, “PVR Pictures is truly excited to be releasing “SIR”. This is a very timely film that will pull on your heartstrings, especially since it’s releasing around Diwali. Rohena has made a compelling debut film, we are eagerly looking forward to its release.”
Shiladitya Bora, Founder, Platoon One Films who is releasing the film in India said,” SIR for me is a very special film. It is that rare film like The Lunchbox, Namesake etc that will strike a chord with both critics and audience alike. We believe in the potential of the film as the subject matter is contemporary and relevant and takes on a social issue in a very heart warming and engaging way.” He adds, “The best way to experience a film is in the theatres, and now with cinemas reopening we are extremely excited that we will be able to release it in on the big screen. It has already released in more than 25 countries and we have eagerly waiting to release it on our home ground. Hope audience will have a good time watching it during the Diwali week.”
Ratna (Tillotama Shome) works as a domestic live-in help with Ashwin (Vivek Gomber), a man from a wealthy family. Although Ashwin seems to have it all, Ratna can sense that he has given up on his dreams and is somewhat lost… On the other hand, Ratna who seems to have nothing, is full of hope and works determinedly towards her dream. As these two worlds collide and the two individuals connect, the barriers between them seem only more insurmountable.
