Ralang Road: Sikkim based film shortlisted for Karlovy Vary International Film Festival after 13 years

Ralang Road directed by Karma Takapa comes as a pleasant surprise in the time of a never ending supply of Bollywood masala movies. [caption id=“attachment_3764533” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Poster for Ralang Road.[/caption] Takapa’s Ralang Road has been selected for the competition section at the 52nd Karlovy Vary International Film Festival which will be held in the Czech Republic between 30 June - 8 July this year, making it the first Indian film in 13 years to get screened in that category. Ralang Road is produced by Human Trail Pictures. In this 112-minute movie, two restless teenagers fidget their way into an affair between a local woman and a non-Sikkimese teacher at the school they study in. The movie goes on to chronicle the rising tension between the locals of the Sikkimese community and the outsiders, with the narrative constantly taking unusual twists and turns. A bag of money eventually sidles its way into the plot as well, as it journeys from one owner to the next. National Award winning sound artist Christopher Burchell hailing from the Film and Technology Instititute of India (FTII) has provided the background score for Ralang Road, reports Times of India. This is the first time in his career that the sound artiste has been roped in to do a full feature length movie. According to a report by Scroll.in, director Takapa said “The film is shot at my place of origin, and is my attempt to create a narrative that is dramatic and mundane, both of which somehow define this place. There are moments where I have used humour to contextualise Sikkim, and at times I use violence and darker shades. I guess that is my way of exploring the duality of this place."