Venice Prizewinner Aditya Vikram Sengupta Explores Class Dynamics in Mumbai-Set ‘The Employer’ – Film Bazaar

Venice Fedeora award winner Aditya Vikram Sengupta (“Labour of Love”) brings his new Hindi-language project “The Employer” to India’s Film Bazaar co-production market.

The film follows Michael, a recently widowed chauffeur in Mumbai working for a veteran actress with political aspirations, whose life becomes entangled in both a missing diamond earring case and his maid’s personal crisis.

Sengupta’s previous films include “Labour of Love,” which won the Fedeora award for Best Debut Film at Venice, “Jonaki,” which premiered at Rotterdam, and “Once Upon a Time in Calcutta,” which debuted at Venice in 2021.

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Sengupta drew inspiration from his own experiences in Mumbai. “I’ve been fascinated by the warmth of the people and this constant ambition and drive that people have,” Sengupta told Variety. “Everyone’s helping each other to move up in life.”

The director recounts how a real incident with his domestic worker, whose claimed that her son was seriously ill, sparked the initial story. This personal experience expanded to encompass broader societal themes after several incidents in Mumbai, including a high-profile caste-related crime and political manoeuvering, caught his attention.

“I was really fascinated with all of this happening together at the same time, in one bubble. Everyone was interrelated, everyone was dependent on each other. It was like a cyclical thing happening,” says Sengupta.

Producer Priyankar Patra of For Films highlights the project’s examination of class dynamics. “There’s three very distinctly different classes explored through the story, where one is dependent on the other in a very symbiotic and cyclical way,” says Patra. “The story is a very thrilling and human story.”

At Film Bazaar, the team seeks international co-producers and private equity. “Making independent films is becoming more and more difficult every day,” Patra says. “Places like Film Bazaar become the meeting ground for both the creative side and the studios.”

Film Bazaar (Nov. 20-24) is the project market component of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI, Nov. 20-28) in Goa.