The movie did moderately well at the box office, but it failed to create a significant impact on the audience.
The film is a co-production between India and France, featuring a blend of Indian and European talent. : Vimukthi Jayasundara
The director used non-professional actors alongside veterans to maintain raw, documentary-like realism. The film’s sound design is minimalist, often using silence and ambient construction noise (drills, hammers) as a rhythmic backdrop. The mushroom growth effects were achieved using practical props and time-lapse photography of real fungi.
Chatrak presents a bleak, almost dystopian vision of Calcutta—a "city of mushrooms" that grows quickly, unevenly, and unnaturally, bringing both beauty and horror to its inhabitants. 3. Cast and Crew Vimukthi Jayasundara Paoli Dam as Paoli (The protagonist's girlfriend) Anubrata Basu as the man returning from Dubai Sudip Mukherjee 4. Controversy: The Leaked Scene Chatrak 2011 Bengali Movie Wiki
Chatrak premiered at the prestigious Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival on May 18, making it the only Indian entry at the festival that year. It was later screened at several other festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), where the most graphic scenes were reportedly omitted, resulting in an 87-minute cut of the film.
: Premiered in the Directors' Fortnight section in May 2011.
as the European Soldier: A foreign presence traversing the rural borderlands. The movie did moderately well at the box
In 2021, the National Film Archive of India (NFAI) undertook a 2K restoration of Chatrak for academic circulation.
as Paoli: Rahul’s independent, patient, yet emotionally isolated girlfriend.
(internationally known as ) is a landmark 2011 Bengali film directed by Sri Lankan filmmaker Vimukthi Jayasundara The film’s sound design is minimalist, often using
Produced by Vinod Lahoti, "Chatrak" was an international effort, bringing together production companies from India and France. The film's technical crew was led by cinematographer Channa Deshapriya, editor Julie Béziau, and composer Roman Dymmy. This collaboration resulted in a film that, while distinctly Bengali in its setting and language, was crafted with a global cinematic sensibility.
The film was selected and screened in the prestigious Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) section, earning praise from international critics.
The narrative shifts between the rapidly developing "urban jungle" of Kolkata and a literal forest near the border. Rahul and Paoli embark on a journey to find Rahul's brother, who is rumored to have gone mad and lives in the trees. In the forest, the brother befriends a lost European soldier, creating a surreal parallel to the industrial chaos of the city. 2. Primary Cast and Crew
The movie did moderately well at the box office, but it failed to create a significant impact on the audience.
The film is a co-production between India and France, featuring a blend of Indian and European talent. : Vimukthi Jayasundara
The director used non-professional actors alongside veterans to maintain raw, documentary-like realism. The film’s sound design is minimalist, often using silence and ambient construction noise (drills, hammers) as a rhythmic backdrop. The mushroom growth effects were achieved using practical props and time-lapse photography of real fungi.
Chatrak presents a bleak, almost dystopian vision of Calcutta—a "city of mushrooms" that grows quickly, unevenly, and unnaturally, bringing both beauty and horror to its inhabitants. 3. Cast and Crew Vimukthi Jayasundara Paoli Dam as Paoli (The protagonist's girlfriend) Anubrata Basu as the man returning from Dubai Sudip Mukherjee 4. Controversy: The Leaked Scene
Chatrak premiered at the prestigious Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival on May 18, making it the only Indian entry at the festival that year. It was later screened at several other festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), where the most graphic scenes were reportedly omitted, resulting in an 87-minute cut of the film.
: Premiered in the Directors' Fortnight section in May 2011.
as the European Soldier: A foreign presence traversing the rural borderlands.
In 2021, the National Film Archive of India (NFAI) undertook a 2K restoration of Chatrak for academic circulation.
as Paoli: Rahul’s independent, patient, yet emotionally isolated girlfriend.
(internationally known as ) is a landmark 2011 Bengali film directed by Sri Lankan filmmaker Vimukthi Jayasundara
Produced by Vinod Lahoti, "Chatrak" was an international effort, bringing together production companies from India and France. The film's technical crew was led by cinematographer Channa Deshapriya, editor Julie Béziau, and composer Roman Dymmy. This collaboration resulted in a film that, while distinctly Bengali in its setting and language, was crafted with a global cinematic sensibility.
The film was selected and screened in the prestigious Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) section, earning praise from international critics.
The narrative shifts between the rapidly developing "urban jungle" of Kolkata and a literal forest near the border. Rahul and Paoli embark on a journey to find Rahul's brother, who is rumored to have gone mad and lives in the trees. In the forest, the brother befriends a lost European soldier, creating a surreal parallel to the industrial chaos of the city. 2. Primary Cast and Crew