Chatrak

{{Infobox film

| name = Chatrak

| caption =

| image = Chatrak_film_poster.png

| director = Vimukthi Jayasundara

| producer = Vinod Lahoti

| writer =

| starring = {{ubl|Paoli Dam|Sudip Mukherjee|Tómas Lemarquis}}

| music = Roman Dymmy

| cinematography = Channa Deshapriya

| editing = Julie Beziau

| distributor =

| released = {{Film date|df=yes|2011|05|18|Cannes}}

| runtime = 90 minutes

| country = India

| language = Bengali

| budget =

}}

Chatrak ({{langx|en|Mushrooms}}) is a 2011 Indian Bengali erotic drama film directed by Sri Lankan director Vimukthi Jayasundara.{{cite news|title=Women on top|url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120624/jsp/graphiti/story_15648283.jsp#.UBs9ROJ5MxA|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120628003505/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120624/jsp/graphiti/story_15648283.jsp#.UBs9ROJ5MxA|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 June 2012|accessdate=3 August 2012|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=24 June 2012}} It was screened at several film festivals worldwide, including the Directors' Fortnight at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.

Plot

Rahul (Sudeep Mukherjee) is a Bengali architect working at construction sites in Dubai. He returns home to Kolkata after several years. His girlfriend, Paoli (Paoli Dam), has been waiting for his return.

Rahul's seemingly successful life is overshadowed by the search for his brother (Sumeet Thakur), said to now be mad and living in the forest, where he sleeps in the trees and subsists on vegetation. This brother befriends a French soldier in the jungle. Rahul and Paoli journey in search of his lost brother.{{cite web|url=http://www.quinzaine-realisateurs.com/chatrak-f14273.html|title=Chatrak|last=Mirguet|first=Benjami|work=quinzaine-realisateurs.com|publisher=Société des Réalisateurs de Films|accessdate=3 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121120000110/http://www.quinzaine-realisateurs.com/chatrak-f14273.html|archive-date=20 November 2012|url-status=dead}}

The story involves people who are expropriated for construction projects.

Cast

Paoli Dam as Paoli
Sudip Mukherjee as Rahul
Tómas Lemarquis as French soldier
Sumeet Thakur as Rahul's brother
Anubrata Basu as Anubrata

Production

Paoli Dam admitted that the scene in which she receives unsimulated cunnilingus by Anubrata Basu was difficult for her. "Well, the fact that nobody from Tollywood or Bollywood has ever done something like this and I had no reference point. I didn’t know how to prepare for the scene," she said.{{cite web |title='Yes, I was completely nude' |work=www.telegraphindia.com |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/entertainment/yes-i-was-completely-nude/cid/345530 |access-date=4 August 2022}}

Release and screenings

Chatrak was screened at film festivals like the prestigious Directors' Fortnight in the 2011 Cannes Film Festival,{{cite web|url=http://www.screendaily.com/festivals/cannes/cannes-2011-film-profiles-directors-fortnight-and-critics-week/5027035.article|title=Cannes 2011 film profiles: Directors Fortnight & Critics Week|date=6 May 2011|accessdate=2 August 2012|work= Screen International}}{{cite news|title=Paoli Cannes do it|url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110917/jsp/entertainment/story_14515875.jsp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202224118/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110917/jsp/entertainment/story_14515875.jsp|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 December 2013|accessdate=3 August 2012|newspaper=The Telegraph |date=17 September 2011}} the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival and the Pacific Meridian film festival in Vladivostok, Russia.{{cite web|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-08-18/news-interviews/29900195_1_chatrak-paoli-toronto-international-film-festival|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203023104/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-08-18/news-interviews/29900195_1_chatrak-paoli-toronto-international-film-festival|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 December 2013|title=Paoli at Toronto International Film Fest|last=Dasgupta|first=Priyanka|date=18 August 2011|work=The Times of India|accessdate=3 August 2012}}

It has not received a theatrical release.

Reception

The Hollywood Reporter commented on Mushrooms that, "The film's abstract naturalism does create an austere portrait of a crass and careless human society but any larger meaning gets lost amid the film's many non-events and preening nihilism."{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/mushrooms-chatrak-cannes-2011-review-190234|title=Mushrooms (Chatrak): Cannes 2011 Review|last=Honeycutt |first=Kirk|date=19 May 2011|accessdate=3 August 2012|work=The Hollywood Reporter}} The Variety review noted the "extremely slow-burning story", saying, "... the main element uniting Jayasundara's plot strands is a sense of torpor..."{{cite web|url=https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117945364?refcatid=2531|title=Cannes Reviews: Chatrak|work=Variety|date=31 May 2011|accessdate=3 August 2012|last= van Houij|first=Boyd }} A review in the online film magazine Notebook praised the film, noting that it artistically portrays "...Cinematic dreams and nightmares, visible intuitions of the world around, visual understanding of what corruption of the society and corruption of the soul can do."{{cite web|url=http://mubi.com/notebook/posts/cannes-2011-snapshots-vimukthi-jayasundaras-chatrak|title=Cannes 2011. Snapshots: Vimukthi Jayasundara's "Chatrak"|last=Duhamel|first=Marie-Pierre|work=Notebook|publisher=MUBI|date=19 May 2011|accessdate=3 August 2012}} Sight & Sound of the British Film Institute praised it, stating "Disconcerting though the plot may at least initially be, the film has its wild as well as some comic moments that soon win the viewer over."{{cite web|url=http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/newsandviews/festivals/blog/cannes-2011-05-20-moon-in-may.php|title=Cannes 2011: The S&S blog|accessdate=3 August 2012|work=Sight & Sound|publisher=British Film Institute|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211155256/http://old.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/newsandviews/festivals/blog/cannes-2011-05-20-moon-in-may.php|archive-date=11 February 2017|url-status=dead}}

Controversy

A scene in Chatrak with explicit frontal nudity caused uproar in India, especially in Kolkata, where the film was mainly shot.{{cite web|url=http://ibnlive.in.com/news/is-chatrak-the-boldest-film-ever-made-in-india/184437-8-73.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110923144728/http://ibnlive.in.com/news/is-chatrak-the-boldest-film-ever-made-in-india/184437-8-73.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 September 2011|title=Is 'Chatrak' the boldest film ever made in India?|last=Vats|first=Rohit|date=12 October 2011|work=The Times of India|accessdate=3 August 2012}}{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/regional/news-interviews/Paoli-axed-from-movie-promos/articleshow/9989892.cms|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140118063149/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-09-15/news-interviews/30159319_1_paoli-vimukthi-kolkata-film-festival|url-status=live|archive-date=18 January 2014|title=Paoli axed from movie promos|last=Dasgupta|first=Priyanka|date=15 September 2011|work=The Times of India|access-date=3 August 2012}}{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/regional/news-interviews/Ill-cast-Paoli-in-my-next-Vimukti-Jayasundara-/articleshow/10026970.cms|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205103753/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-09-18/news-interviews/30171879_1_nude-scene-cannes-chatrak|url-status=live|archive-date=5 December 2013|title=I'll cast Paoli in my next: Vimukti Jayasundara|date=18 September 2011|access-date=3 August 2012|last=Dasgupta|work=The Times of India|first=Priyanka}} A version without the sexually explicit scene was arranged to be shown in the 2011 Kolkata Film Festival.{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/regional/news-interviews/Kolkata-spared-Chatrak-blushes/articleshow/10167055.cms|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201180056/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-09-29/news-interviews/30217512_1_kolkata-film-festival-chatrak-paoli|url-status=live|archive-date=1 February 2014|title=Kolkata spared Chatrak blushes|last=Dasgupta|first=Priyanka|date=29 September 2011|work=The Times of India|access-date=3 August 2012}}

Director Jayasundara admitted that there are several versions of Chatrak, and some do not contain the sex scene. He also admitted that he was surprised to witness negative feedback due to the inclusion of such sex scene in his film.