NANDITA DAS DELIVERS WITH HER LATEST FILM

Zwigato, presented by Applause Entertainment and Nandita Das Initiatives, makes its world premiere at the 47th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

An official selection, the film will be screened under the Contemporary World Cinema section. Written and Directed by Nandita Das, the film features Kapil Sharma, who is a new food delivery rider, exploring the world of gig economy. Shahana Goswani plays his wife, a homemaker, who to support his income, starts to work for the very first time. Set in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, the film captures what an ‘ordinary’ family faces in the post-pandemic world. It is the story of relentless struggle of life, but not without shared moments of joy. It is life like – bitter-sweet.

Sameer Nair, CEO of Applause Entertainment, said, “Zwigato depicts the lives of the often unseen people who are the heart and soul of this nation and its economy. Whilst the film is set in urban India, we believe that the themes of this film transcend geographical boundaries and will resonate with the global audience. It has been a pleasure to collaborate with Nandita, and we are delighted that Zwigato will have its world premiere at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival.”

“Zwigato is finally ready!” says Das. “A story about new urban India that is not just about the gig economy, but also about everything that we normalise around us. I found the perfect producing partner in Sameer Nair to tell this simple yet complex slice-of-life film. I am thrilled that it will premiere at TIFF. This means a lot to me personally as I have debuted there both as an actor and director, with Fire and Firaaq, respectively. Over the years, several other films have taken me to TIFF. I hope the universality of the theme of the film will resonate with the amazing audiences that the festival attracts from all over the world.”

Actor, writer, filmmaker and producer, Das set up Nandita Das Initiatives (NDI) in 2016. It is a platform for art and cinema, with a conscience. Its aim is to tell compelling stories that are authentically local in their context but have a universal resonance.

NDI’s first venture was Manto, a film about the life and works of the Urdu writer of the 40s, Saadat Hasan Manto. It premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2018 and is streaming on Netflix. In 2019, NDI produced a short music video called India’s Got Colour to celebrate diversity in skin tones. It features actors such as Radhika Apte, Swara Bhasker, Ratna Pathak Shah, Divya Dutta, Tillotoma Shome, Ali Fazal, Vikrant Massey and many others, furthering the conversation about colorism among the youth. In 2020, during the pandemic, NDI made a seven-minute film, Listen to Her, that dealt with the rise in domestic violence and workload that women suffered during the lockdown, supported by UNESCO, UN Women, UNICEF and the South Asia Foundation.

Applause Entertainment is a leading content and IP creation studio with a focus on premium drama series, movies, documentaries and animation content. A venture of the Aditya Birla Group, led by media veteran Sameer Nair, the studio has produced and released popular series across genres and languages which includes shows like Rudra: The Edge of Darkness, Mithya, Criminal Justice, Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story, Undekhi, Bhaukaal and others that have gone on to win acclaim and applause. Currently in production is also a robust slate of theatrical and direct-to-streaming movies including Sharmajee Ki Beti, Jab Khuli Kitab and more. Applause’s first feature, The Rapist, directed by Aparna Sen, recently won the prestigious Kim Jiseok Award at the Busan International Film Festival, 2021.

Applause has partnered with leading platforms like Netflix, Disney+Hotstar, Amazon Prime Video, Sony LIV, MX Player, ZEE5 and Voot Select for its creative output.