Private Project

Kolkata Diaries

Three friends who have grown apart meet in the middle of the night. Memories pour out. We go on a musical journey from the age of landlines to that of smart phones. Sharif explores how disconnected we have become in an overly connected world.

  • Sadhu
    Director
  • Sadhu
    Writer
  • Sidhant Deb
    Key Cast
    "Sid"
  • Soumendra Bhattacharya
    Key Cast
    "Joy"
  • Arif Ahmed
    Key Cast
    "Arif"
  • Shweta Chaudhuri
    Key Cast
    "Girl"
  • Parul The Cat
    Key Cast
    "Laila"
  • Ushnak Basu
    Cinematography
  • Aditya Gupta
    Cinematography
  • Subhraneel Ghosh
    Cinematography
  • Avirup Chatterjee
    Editor
  • Aditya Gupta
    Editor
  • Sidhant Deb
    Music
  • Arif Ahmed
    Music
  • Pushpak Bhattacharya
    Sound Design
  • Ahana Chatterjee
    Hair & Make-Up
  • Suramya
    Painter
  • Saurav Sinha
    Shayari (Voiceover)
  • Subhraneel Ghosh
    Behind The Scenes
  • Team Sharif
    Producer
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Sharif
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Feature, Short, Other
  • Runtime:
    49 minutes 21 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    November 11, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    735 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    India
  • Country of Filming:
    India
  • Language:
    Bengali, English, Hindi, Urdu
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Sadhu

Sadhu is the alter-ego of actor Soumendra Bhattacharya, who is primarily known for his work in Bengali cinema. He prefers using the term exploration to direction, to rid himself of the baggage and equations that tag along with such terms.
Sharif is his first such experimentation.

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Director Statement

Sharif was conceived as a mixed media, collaborative, audio visual presentation as part of the 25x25 initiative of India Foundation for the Arts. Over time it evolved organically into a film.
The beauty of Sharif lies in its innocence and simplicity. It aims to bring out the purest version of our human selves, even if for a moment. It explores how communication technology has rapidly evolved in the last few years and with that our relationships with each other.
Coming from a theatre background, I risked incorporating elements of theatre in the film knowing fully well that cinema and theatre are different mediums. Precisely why I called it an audio visual presentation. To challenge the notions of what cinema is. Going a step further, I decided to use the term explorer instead of director for myself, that too under a pen name. For me personally, this film is pure expression. I wanted to be fearless and without baggage. The same goes for my cast and crew, most of whom came on board as collaborators.
The acting is devised. Most of the lines and situations come from personal experiences of the actors themselves. The lines between reality and fiction are often blurred in our film.
Sharif can be categorised as one of those "zero-budget" ideas that never get made. Only we did make it. For us, Sharif is an emotion. We hope it will be the same for you after you experience the film.
I truly hope our story can inspire authentic voices from different parts of the country to bring their "zero budget" ideas to life.