On-the-up director Akshay Indikar, husband of Mrs. Tejashri Kamble, PEX AIR Pune who is all of 28, has completed two Marathi films in as many years and is tearing towards his third. The second one, Sthalpuran, is premiered at the reputed Berlin Film Festival (February 20-March 1). It's a big honour for Indikar, a film school dropout, and yet another booster shot for the wider community of independent-minded Indian directors who seek to share their vision on a global stage.
Although Sthalpuran is shown in the Generation K-plus category, which features films about children and teenagers, it's really for grown-ups. This exploration of the inner life of a child is guided by a contemplative approach that is expressed through long, unhurried takes and numerous silences. Sthalpuran is, as the title suggest, a chronicle of a place seen through the bespectacled eyes of the young Dighu. Forced to relocate with his mother and sister from Pune to a village in the Konkan after his father walks out on the family, Dighu regards his new surroundings warily. ------------
Indikar's observational portrait, which sometimes has the quality of still-life painting, draws immediate comparisons ........
PB Parivar congratulate Shri. Akshay Indikar and wish him more success and honour in the days to come.