anasarovar, a debut film by Anup Kurian, has been selected for the renowned London Film Festival to be held between October 20 and November 5, 2004. Manasarovar, an Indian English film, will also have its world premiere at the same event. The London Film Festival is organised by the British Film Institute and considered among the top five film festivals in the world.
Manasarovar was selected for the prestigious “Aravindan Puraskaram” for the “best debut director” in May 2004 by a jury headed by renowned filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan. In August 2004, a jury headed by noted actor, director and producer Kamalhassan selected the film for the annual Gollapudi Srinivas award. The film won over the year’s mega debutant hits like Kal Ho Na Ho, Haasil and Munnabhai MBBS, among others.
Starring National Award-winning actor Atul Kulkarni, Neha Dubey and Zafar Karachiwala, Manasarovar is about coincidences that hurt people. It is a love story that ends before it begins.
Ravi Roy (Atul Kulkarni) meets Malathy Chandran (Neha Dubey) in Pune on a short visit and falls in love with her. She, however, rejects his eccentric advances. A few years later, Ravi’s brother, George (Zafar Karachiwala) happens to meet Malathy. She learns from him that Ravi had disappeared and her past comes back through the letters they wrote to each other. She realises that her predicament was one of no choices.
Shot extensively in Maharashtra, Kerala and Himachal Pradesh, Manasarovar takes you across the rugged landscapes of the Deccan Plateau, greenery of Kerala and the serenity of Dharamsala. The 90-minute film is produced by Visual Possibility Inc, an emerging movie production house based in Chicago, US.
The film’s music is the outcome of the efforts of several foreign artists, and promises a new musical experience for Indian filmgoers. The theme song of the film, ‘Falling through the clouds...’, is composed and rendered by Irish group Random. This is the first time that an Indian feature film has used Irish musicians and music.
The background score, entirely put together in the US, was conceived by David Prahl with Lisa Stanislawski and Craig Leiniger. Lisa Stanislawski shot into prominence in the US music circuit with her hit single ‘I believe the rain...’ from her album Feign in 1995.
Manasarovar is the first feature film for most of its crew, many of them batch-mates from FTII. These include:
Writer and director Anup Kurian, a diploma holder (1998) from FTII (Film and TV Institute of India, Pune) and a postgraduate in computer applications.
Cinematographer Viswamangal Kitsu, a 1998 diploma holder in cinematography from FTII who works in Mumbai on documentaries.
Sound designer Gissy Michael, a diploma holder in sound engineering from the 1998 FTII batch who works in Mumbai on documentaries and short films.
Editor Unni Vijayan, 1998 FTII diploma holder in editing, who works in Mumbai on television. He has won the national award for best editing for his diploma film.
Art director Mathewkutty J Mattam, one of the producers, is a 1994 bachelor of fine arts from Thiruvananthapuram Fine Arts College and a graphic designer.
K V Kurien, producer, recently retired as the production head of FTII and is associated with the Indian film industry as executive producer and co-producer on a variety of projects.
Arun Kurian, producer, works as an Engineer and handles the internet promotions of Manasarovar.