Archive of films Well / Vihir

India
2009, 120 min

Section: Another View
Year: 2010

14-year-old Samir spends the summer in the country with his older cousin Nachiket in a house full of relatives. While the latter are preparing for a wedding, the boys spend most of their time swimming and dreaming by an old well in the hills. Only here can they enjoy real freedom – far enough away from the grown-ups’ complex relationships, they are at leisure to focus their attention on "major” issues. In this partly autobiographical story the director betrays his essential joy in narration, visual sensibility and natural imagery.

Synopsis

Fourteen-year-old Samir sees his older cousin Nachiket as his example and closest friend, and spends the best summer of his life with him while staying with relations in the country. The house is preparing for a wedding, so the boys keep out of the way, mostly swimming and dreaming by an old well in the hills. Only here can they enjoy real freedom; with the stars and sunny skies above their heads, and far enough away from the grown-ups’ complex relationships, they are at leisure to focus their attention on "major” issues. After his cousin’s disappearance, Samir starts to see into Nachiket’s private world and – for the sake of his cousin and himself – tries to understand certain things. In this partly autobiographical story the director betrays his essential joy in narration, visual sensibility and natural imagery. The film was a hit at festivals in the Indian cities of Pune and Kerala, but also at the IFFs in Pusan, Rotterdam and Berlin.

About the director

Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni (b. 1976, Pune, India) graduated from the Film and Television Institute in Pune and began as a director of short features and documentaries (e.g. Satyakam, Save the Children, Darshan). He impressed audiences with the short film The Grinding Machine (Girni, 2005), about a poor family whose life is changed for the best – and worst – by technology. The film was acclaimed not only in the director’s native country, but also at a number of festivals (e.g. it won the short film competition at the Fresh Film Fest 2005). His feature debut The Wild Bull (Valu, 2008) won Best Director and Best Cinematography at the Pune IFF in 2008 and was successfully screened at the Rotterdam IFF and in the Another View section at the KVIFF in 2008. His second film The Well, a tale of adolescence marked by tragedy, has enjoyed similar success.

Contacts

Amitabh Bachchan Corp Ltd.
Janak 13th North South Road Johu, 400 049, Mumbai
India
Tel: +91 222 615 445 0
Fax: +91 222 615 445 4
E-mail: [email protected]

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About the film

Color, 35 mm

Section:	Another View

Director:	Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni
Screenplay:	Girish Pandurang Kulkarni, Sati Bhav
Dir. of Photography:	Sudheer Palsane
Music:	Mangesh Dhakde
Editor:	Niraj Voralia
Producer:	Ramesh Pulapaka
Production:	Amitabh Bachchan Corp Ltd.
Cast:	Madan Deodhar, Alok Rajwade, Renuka Daftardar, Mohan Agashe, Jyoti Subhash, Sulbha Deshpande
Contact:	Amitabh Bachchan Corp Ltd.

www:	www.vihir.com

Guests

Anthony Bernidine Jayaruban

Producer

Nitin Prakash Vaidya

Film Crew