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Time of India
03-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
5 SRFTI alumni win National Film Awards across direction, cinematography, sound design
1 2 Kolkata: Five alumni of Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute deemed-to-be University (SRFTI DTBU) bagged the National Award this year. The winners include directors Dominic Megam Sangma and Christo Tomy , cinematographers Saravanamuthu Soundarapandi and Meenakshi Soman, and sound designer Shubharun Sengupta. Saravanamuthu Soundarapandi, who died in 2022 at the age of 32, was honoured posthumously. Soman, who received the award for her work in 'Little Wings' alongside Soundarapandi, said news of the accolade is "bittersweet" for her. "He (Soundarapandi) filmed the first schedule of the film for which I was his associate cinematographer. I shot the second schedule," Soman told TOI. The film "Little Wings" is about how an old woman trapped in a bitter marriage is pushed to the brink when her husband, suffering paralysis, sets out to consume her pet rooster. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata In the feature film section, Dominic Megam Sangma's "Rimdogittanga" received the Raj Kamal for Best Garo Film, while Christo Tomy's "Ullozhukku (Undercurrent)" received the Rajat Kamal for Best Malayalam film. Each Rajat Kamal recipient will receive Rs 2 lakh as prize money. Sangma's Garo feature had no competition since it was the only entry in the language. The challenge for him, however, was to make a film with a cast which had little exposure to good cinema or working in movies. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Hanoi: Unsold Furniture Liquidation 2024 (Prices May Surprise You) Unsold Furniture | Search Ads Learn More Undo "All my actors in the film were new. Apart from heads of departments, most of the crew was also new. It took the entire village to make this film," said Sangma, adding that he dedicated the award to the people of Garo hills. "Ullozhukku" on the other hand faced stiff competition against five features — "Jananam 1947 Pranayam Thudarunnu", "Mahal - In the name of Father", "Pookkaalam", "Aadujeevitham" and "O. Baby". "Malayalam cinema has always been known for great films. I am very happy with the award. Even the award for best supporting actor has gone to Urvashi for her performance in my film. Attending multiple screenings at the film school shaped my filmmaking style organically. I am so happy that five of us who studied at SRFTI have won the National Award this year," said director Christo Tomy. What made his film stand out was his ability to give extraordinary treatment to ordinary experiences of life involving saas-bahu friction and a track involving the daughter-in-law's extramarital affair. Added to it was the treatment of aligning a natural calamity with the internal crisis of the two characters. "I always wanted my film to be performance driven with the treatment evolving organically from the story. I wanted it to be an emotional thriller which was not limited to the niche audience," Tomy added. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Friendship Day wishes , messages and quotes !
Time of India
31-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
SRFTI signs MoU with Indian horror film festival to showcase genre's popularity
Kolkata: The horror genre in India made a huge turnaround from its early associations with films of B-grade status, made on low budgets and of poor quality, to the recent success of franchises and films like 'Khauf', 'Stree 2', 'Shaitaan', 'Chhori', and 'Munjya' on both screens and OTT platforms. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Keeping an eye on this growing interest, the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute Deemed To-Be University (SRFTI DTBU) signed an MoU with India's first horror/sci-fi/fantasy film festival to highlight the global importance of this genre. This is the first time when a govt-run film school in India is trying to course-correct the perception about Indian horror among its students, with plans for screenings, and introducing cosplay on campus. "We set up a new department called Ipop, with branches like incubation, placement, outreach, and PR. Some employees of the institute are part of Ipop. As an initiative from the incubation branch, we signed this MoU with the Wench Film Festival. We will be providing the venue for the festival and will give students a different kind of exposure," said Samiran Datta, the vice-chancellor of SRFTI DTBU. "Our collaboration with SRFTI marks a bold step in rewriting the cinematic syllabus. Together, we're building India's first genre-forward academic alliance, one that doesn't just screen films but shapes futures. No one in India is truly investing in horror, sci-fi, and fantasy even though they're the most powerful genres globally. That's what makes this collaboration electric. It shows how progressive and artist-forward SRFTI is when it comes to nurturing its students," said Sapna Moti Bhavnani, founder and festival director of Wench Film Festival. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The most unconventional plan in the MoU is to host a cosplay competition on campus that will be judged by industry professionals. Students can design the official poster for the 2026 edition of the festival as well. They will be invited to submit genre-focused blog entries for the magazine published by the festival. If funds permit, SRFTI will start a 48-hour film-making challenge, with the winning film receiving a special mention and screening at the festival. A similar plan is in the pipeline to encourage pitching. A call for feature-length genre screenplays and series will open in early Jan 2026, with a maximum of 10 selected scripts invited to pitch at the 'Pitch It Till You Make It' market during the festival. The rights to the selected films will belong to the student and not Wench or SRFTI. If the initiative draws interest, plans have been chalked out for hosting a masterclass to explore the intersection of artificial intelligence and genre storytelling. Several masterclasses for screenplay writers and prosthetics with hands-on learning experience in special effects (SFX) makeup are also on the cards.
