PODCAST | Matt Micucci interviews Sanal Kumar Sasidharan, director of SEXY DURGA, winner of the top prize at the 46th International Film Festival Rotterdam.

To listen to the interview, click on the ► icon on the right, just above the picture

Sanal Kumar Sasidharan’s concept, a blunt observation of the Indian male society, is a filmmaker’s response of outraged and shame to such horrific events as gang rapes and the irony of a country that praises female goddesses but treats real women like junk. In his film, SEXY DURGA, he wanted to avoid using the concept for the benefit of a traditional storyline. In many ways, there is not story in SEXY DURGA, and certainly, there was no narrative planning, as he explains in our interview. He also tells us about his choice of incorporating real footage from the Durga Festival, and the technical challenges of undertaking this kind of project.

SEXY DURGA won the Hivos Tiger Award at the 46th International Film Festival Rotterdam.

SEXY DURGA: Goddess or whore? Two extreme views of women intermingle in this largely improvised spine-chiller. During a nocturnal ride, a young woman and her lover encounter a cross-section of Indian male society. What starts out as an attempt to escape descends into a journey through hell – from which no escape is possible.