Chuskit only Indian film to compete for in 'Half Ticket' category at 20th Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival

Filmmaker Priya Ramasubban’s Ladakhi film Chuskit will be competing for the Golden Gateway Award for the Best Feature Film in the Half Ticket category at the 20th Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival with Star, scheduled to take place from the 25 October to 1 November, 2018. It is the only Indian feature film to be competing in this category. [caption id=“attachment_5430391” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Still from Chuskit. Image from Facebook[/caption] Chuskit was the first Indian film to be screened at the Giffoni Film Festival in Italy since Nagesh Kukunoor’s India Rainbow and Margarita, With A Straw by Shonali Bose in 2015. The film has been produced by Kaavya Films, Filmstoc, Blue Waters Motion Pictures and Victory Films in association with Wishberry Films. Now in its 20th edition, MAMI is among the popular film festivals in the country. Past attendees of the event have included Aamir Khan, Jaya Bachchan, Kalki Koechlin and Shyam Benegal. Written and directed by Ramasubban herself, Chuskit follows the story of a sprightly, young girl who has a very simple dream - going to school. Her dream is cut short when she is rendered paraplegic after an accident. She’s confined to life indoors in the company of her strict grandfather, Dorje. Chuskit continues to harbour hopes of school but Dorje tries to make her understand that school can’t handle her needs. As life at home gets harder, her battle with her grandfather intensifies. Caught between their struggle are Chuskit’s parents and her enterprising brother who want to respect the old world views that Dorje represents, but also want to keep Chuskit’s spirit alive. Chuskit will have to get her grandfather to yield or she will have to accept the reality he has chosen for her. Actor Frieda Pinto praised the film in a statement saying, “Chuskit is a story of triumph over adversity. It captures the pathos of life when lived with imposed limitations as well as the exhilaration that comes when those limitations are transcended. A moving story well told by first-time director Priya Ramasubban that is abetted by a stellar performance by first-time actor Jigmet Dewa Lhamo.” The film is inspired by real-life events witnessed by Priya’s sister - Vidya. She has worked with the differently-abled in Ladakh for almost a decade and was instrumental in sending Sonam, a nine-year-old with cerebral palsy to school despite the arduous terrain in her remote Himalayan village. Other films nominated in this category at the festival are Annency-winning Funan by Denis Do (from France) and Supa Moda by Likarion Wainaina from Kenya.