Short Film: Calcutta Taxi

Saturday, September 28th, 2013 @ 6:30

“CALCUTTA TAXI”
Directed and Written by Vikram Dasgupta

Length: 20 Minutes

Country: Canada/India

Year: 2013

Cast: Anand Rajaram, Vipin Sharma, Sunnie D’souza

Calcutta Taxi is set in the grimy backdrop of a city going
through a political crisis, unraveling the story of three
lives that coincide and affect each other. Each one having
lost and found some things in this chance encounter of
life.

AWARDS

Aspen Winner/Best Drama “Oscar Qualifier”

Winner Rhode Island International Film Festival
Official Selection Clermont Ferrand
Winner Audience Choice Award River to River Florence
Winner Best Short/Runner Up Anchorage Internation Film Festival
Offical Selection Austin Film Festival

Synopsis:
A young Art College student Aditya Chaterji finds his
backpack and belongings stolen on the day of a political
strike called by the infamous political party of Calcutta.
Meanwhile Bakul Bihari faces the opportunity of a lifetime
to win big for his glorious though covetous efforts to help
a poor boy in distress.
Cab driver Rasul Ahmed discovers a bomb in his backseat at
a congested traffic signal in an extremely unpredictable
and sensitive slum area of Calcutta.
Set in the grimy backdrop of a city going through a
political crisis, Calcutta Taxi unravels the story of three
lives that coincide and affect each other. Each one having
lost and found some things in this chance encounter of
life.

Director’s Biography: Vikram Dasgupta was born in New Delhi, India in 1977 into a
family of artists and musicians. After finishing his high school in New Delhi, he got
accepted into one of the oldest and most prestigious colleges of it’s kind-The
Government College of Arts, Calcutta (est.1864). He graduated from his five year Fine
Arts Degree with honors scholarship and was awarded the Gold Medal for outstanding
achievement in the field of art and design. While still in Art School he made a short
docudrama ‘inSANITY’ about a homeless artist on the streets of Calcutta. Submitting this
short film as a portfolio enabled him to get accepted into The Advanced Film and
Television program at Sheridan College, Canada in 2001. He has been living in Canada
ever since and has been working in Film and TV at various creative capacities, including
having worked for Indian musical genius AR Rahman of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ fame on
multiple occasions