A Non-fiction documentary to release in multiplexes

By Bollywood Hungama -

September 27, 2006 - 12:00 AM IST

Madhushree Duttas Seven Islands and a Metro will be the first of its kind, to bag multiplex release by Sringar Films on 6th Oct. 2006. This non-fiction documentary is structured around imaginary debates between Ismat Chugtai and Saadat Hasan Manto, the two legendary writers who lived in this metropolis, played by Harish Khanna & Vibha Chibbar. Seven Islands and a Metro: a city that came into existence by weaving 7 isles. This documentary is a tale of the cities of Bom Bahia / Bombay / Mumbai, through a tapestry of fiction, cinema vrit, art objects, found footage, sound installation and literary texts. The multilingual Bombay, the Bombay of intolerance, the Bombay of closed mills, of popular culture, sprawling slums and real estate onslaughts, the metropolis of numerous ghettos, the El Dorado. On her unique achievement, director Madhushree attributed, Though this is my first release I have been making documentaries for a long time. Seven Islands has been my most ambitious and expensive effort so far. And it gives me immense pleasure to receive such a warm response by reviewers, press and industry. Generally these so called arty movies get a very specific and class consumption and never mass consumption; Im glad that my documentary is reaching its subjects and right audiences. Documentaries are boring, but non-fiction is liberating-you can use visual art, music and literature. Mr. Shyam Shroff of Sringar Films added, I was highly touched by this piece of art and felt it deserved a wider audience. Hence we decided to make available our platform for this creative effort. Im sure it will receive a very good response and will narrate a new tale to the citizens of this city about their city.