Private Project

In Search of Sita

‘Sitakahini’ was created based on Pratima and her traveling troupe, ‘Kalimata Yatra Co.,’ who sang and performed tales from the Ramayana. Twenty years later, they are found in a new landscape, raising their young ones to survive in an era of fakes and frustrations. Despite these challenges, they continue their age-old tradition of singing and performing tales of hope and resilience. This journey is captured in ‘In Search of Sita.’

  • Arup Midya
    Director
    Sitakahini
  • Mrinmoy Nandi
    Camera
  • Amit Debnath
    Editor
  • Sabyasachi Pal
    Sound
  • Soumya Chatterjee
    Sound
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    সীতার সন্ধানে
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    41 minutes 30 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 1, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    400,000 INR
  • Country of Origin:
    India
  • Country of Filming:
    India
  • Language:
    Bengali
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • SiGNS Film Festival (Kerala)
    Shornur, Kerala
    India
    February 8, 2026
    Indian Premier
    Documentary section
  • Bengal International Short Film Festival
    Kolkata
    India
    March 25, 2026
    Documentary Official Competitive Section
Director Biography - Arup Midya

Arup Midya is an independent filmmaker from India whose documentaries focus on rural cultural traditions and social change. His work emphasizes long-term engagement and observational storytelling. His earlier film ‘Sitakahini’ documented a Bengali folk theatre troupe performing the Ramayana; two decades later, he revisits the same subjects in ‘In Search of Sita’, exploring myth, memory and artistic survival in contemporary India.

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Director Statement

I returned not to make a political argument, but to reunite with collaborators from a film made twenty years ago. Time, however, revealed new tensions. Myth had shifted from performance space into public discourse. Meanwhile, the artists who once embodied her resilience were negotiating their own forms of exile - economic, cultural and often unseen. This film is an act of revisiting and of listening again.