‘Pupa’ wins Best Feature Film award at Hyderabad film festival

Indrasis Acharya’s ‘Pupa’ focusing on a out-of-the-box subject like ‘euthanasia’ or ‘right to die’ has created waves all around while travelling a number of prestigious film festivals. Now the ‘Pupa’ team has yet another reason to celebrate. The emotional family drama has won the Best Feature Film award in International Competition category at the Hyderabad All Lights International Film Festival.

‘Pupa’, starring Kamaleshwar Mukherjee, Rahul Banerjee, Sudiptaa Chakraborty and Pradip Mukherjee in the lead, narrates the mental and emotional turbulences of a confused son struck between his lucrative job in the US and his father- who suffers a brain stroke after his wife’s demise and eventually slips into coma.
Interestingly, Indrasis Acharya had to fight for a long time to get his film released as the Central Board of Film Certification initially didn’t give certification to ‘Pupa’ because of its controversial subject. However, on March 9, a 5-member Supreme Court constitution bench headed by chief justice Dipak Mishra ruled that passive euthanasia is permissible in our country.
Finally, the CBFC Mumbai office gave a U/A certificate (parental guidance for children aged 12 or below), and suggested to attach a disclaimer, mentioning that it doesn’t speak for mercy killing. It also recommended blurring the manufacturer’s label on a vial and syringe shown in’Pupa’.