City girl’s date with Berlin film fest

Kolkata: Every year, the Berlin International Film Festival selects 300-odd outstanding minds from the fields of films and drama to be part of their annual summit. For the first time since the initiation of Berlinale Talents in 2003, an Indian composer, AlokanandaDasgupta from Kolkata, was selected for the event held between February 11 and 16.
For Alokananda, to be part of the global summit for creative minds, was a “rare honour”.“I was reminded of my music college days. It was pure joy discussing cinema and our work without any pressure or ego. Everyone was nice, friendly and eager to collaborate,” she said. But she can’t fathom why Indian composers have never made it to Berlinale Talents though directors, such as Chaitanya Tamhane, RiteshBatra, KanuBehl and Supriyo Sen, have been there. “Perhaps, our composers never applied or didn’t know about it,” she reasoned.
One of the most exciting experiences at the summit was her interaction with co-music composer of Leonardo Di Caprio-starrer ‘The Revenant’. “I was selected for the sound studio and attended several workshops with established composers. We had a session with the music composer of ‘The Revenant’, CarstenNicolai (popularly known as Alva Noto). Along with RyuichiSakamoto, he composed the music for the film,” she said. Describing the session “educational”, Alokananda was also overwhelmed by the presentation by Dolby Atmos and the opportunity she got to speak to experts. “We had a session with the cinematographers of the epic drama series ‘Game of Thrones’. That was brilliant. Basically, it was an amalgamation of all that is exciting about cinema in the present times,” she added.
Alokananda’s only regret is having missed out on a session with none other than Hollywood star MerylStreep. “I really wanted to go for Meryl’s session but the event clashed with my sound studio workshop, called ‘Nature of Relations’,” she rued.
Daughter of veteran film-maker BuddhadebDasgupta, Alokananda is not new to an international film festival. “I have been exposed to the festival scene since I was a child. I have travelled with my father to Locarno Film Festival and Fribourg Film Festival among others. Berlinale seemed to strike a balance between the red carpet glamour and real cinema lovers,” she said.
Alokananda is now gearing up to compose music for the next film by VikramadityaMotwane of ‘Udaan’-fame. “I am working on Motwane’s next film, starring RajkumarRao, titled ‘Trapped’. It’s a story about a man, his love and his flat. I’m also doing another movie, produced by Drishyam Films and directed by AtanuMukherjee. It will star ManojBajpayee,” she said.
But before that, she is waiting to show the world her work in her father’s ‘Tope’. “I had finished with the music before leaving for Berlinale. Thefilm has turned out to be larger than life. The post-production work is going on and I can’t wait for it to hit the theatres. My sister, RajeshwariDasgupta, with Mary Ann Dasgupta did the subtitles,” she said.