Lump the Lampoon

“Thirty-eight and non-vegetarian,” (his words),Banerjee was born and raised in Kolkata. He was bright and Bengali,but hardly chartered accountant material. Overdose Films,his banner that now produces films by young filmmakers,began to make noises in his head then. “Documentary films also have a baggage because growing up,we would see a black-and-white film with Indira Gandhi in it before a popular Rajesh Khanna movie,” he quips,adding that expectations should not be lowered from documentaries.

To strike an equal music inside independent filmmaking,he is now working on two projects,one a documentary,the other a feature film— both on Delhi.

You Don’t Belong is a palpably moving journey of a folk song,that grows out of music as well as the mental music of those who live by it. It provokes ideas around nostalgia,belonging,authorship and influences of migration on art. The song sings itself,it also sings for lost and found identities of people and musical instruments. “I have pushed the norms of the form,starting with the subject itself which seldom gets recognition,” he explains,talking about expectant global audiences that now wait for such films. Banerjee’s former film Beware Dogs on Indian Ocean,the band,too,won critical reviews and applause.

Music and mindspace return to interrupt. As does black coffee. If music is Banerjee’s inspiration,mindspace is the cauldron of his creativity. In You Do Not Belong,he attempts to bridge the two.

The film will be shown at Alliance Française auditorium,New Marine Lines,at 6.30 pm