National Award-winning filmmaker Vinod Kapri’s new film, PYRE, featuring an Academy Award-winning crew, will have its world premiere in the 28th edition of the prestigious Tallinn Black Nights International Film Festival. It is the only Indian film in the Official Competition category this year.
Set against the backdrop of the Himalayas in Uttarakhand, PYRE tells the unique, heart-wrenching love story of an ageing couple, in their 80’s. What’s intriguing is that Vinod Kapri cast two elderly locals, Padam Singh and Hira Devi, as the lead actors, neither of whom had ever seen a camera or a film before. Both Padam Singh and Hira Devi hail from Berinag Tehsil in Pithoragarh district, Uttarakhand. Padam Singh is a retired Indian Army Soldier who now works as a farmer, while Hira Devi looks after buffaloes and collects wood and grass from the forest.
A noteworthy aspect is that after looking at the rough cut, Academy Award-winning music composer Mychael Danna instantly agreed to do the music for the film. Mychael won an Oscar in 2012 for Life of Pi. Another stellar collaborator who felt strongly for the film after looking at the rough cut is multi award-winning German editor Patricia Rommel, she edited the film in Berlin. Patricia edited films like The Tourist, The Lives of Others, which won the Academy Award for Best International Film in 2006. Indian legend Gulzar Saab collaborated with Mychael for the first time and has penned a heartwarming song for PYRE.
According to Vinod Kapri, it is his utmost privilege that these three greats of world cinema have contributed to PYRE. Mychael and Patricia worked on an honorarium without any commercial benefits while Gulzar Saab refused to take any fee. He even said, “How can I take a fee for a cinema that reflects glimpses of Satyajit Ray’s work?”
The film PYRE is inspired by a true story about an elderly couple Vinod met in Munsyari, a village in 2017. Against the backdrop of ghost villages—abandoned due to continuous migration from Uttarakhand—the couple was waiting for death, but the love they had for each other left such a deep mark on Vinod’s heart that he decided to make this film. Since no producer was willing to back this film featuring an ageing couple that too non-actors, Vinod and his wife, Sakshi Joshi, backing their conviction on the story decided to produce the film.
Bhagirathi Films Private Limited’s director Sakshi Joshi, said, “I have always trusted Vinod’s conviction when it comes to stories and characters. Making an independent film in India is tough, but not impossible.”
After its world premiere at the Tallinn Black Nights, PYRE will be on its festival run for before releasing in India towards the end of next year.