INDIA: Having garnered accolades at prestigious international film festivals, cinephiles in the country are set to witness the directorial debut of Michelin Star Indian Chef Vikas Khanna, The Last Color, starring Neena Gupta on the big screen. Produced by House of Omkar, Jitendra Mishra, Poonam Kaul and Bindu Khanna, it promises to be a December to remember as the film comes home to India on December 11, exclusively at PVR Cinemas. The motion poster for the movie was launched earlier today.
The film, based in Benaras, traces the story of a nine-year-old flower seller and tightrope walker Chhoti who befriends Noor, a 70-year-old widow living a colorless life of abstinence. As Chhoti promises hope to Noor in this story of friendship, commitment and victory of the human spirit, Noor encourages the brave little girl to face life by “flying high” with courage, education, and dignity. Twenty-four years later, Chhoti becomes an advocate and fights for the societal reforms that will bring about the rehabilitation of both street children and widows. The film is a story of promises kept and broken, a friendship that knows no bounds and the freedom and victory of the human spirit.
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With cinemas having recently opened up for movie lovers, audiences are set to see a story that showcases the indomitable spirit of the two lead protagonists looking to find hope and promise in their colourless lives. In what is certainly going to make for an enlightening watch, the announcement of the film was made via a newly-launched motion poster piquing the interest of the viewers and cinephiles. With the uplifting message of hope being a core element of the film, the motion poster communicates the same as one sees a blurred black and white picture of Neena Gupta turn into a clear and coloured picture as a splash of pink is smeared on it.
Director Vikas Khanna excitedly states, “The journey of The Last Color has indeed been a long and eventful one. The love and appreciation and acclaim showered onto us over the past one year is extremely humbling. Having travelled the whole world and taken the film onto the global stage, it indeed feels overwhelming to bring the film to its roots – India and have a theatrical release for audiences back home. This cinematic narrative is very close to my heart and after years of passionate effort and perseverance, I am humbled to share it with you”.
Lead protagonist Neena Gupta shares, “The Last Color has a silver lining of light and hope. It’s been an incredible journey right from the very beginning. The film has truly left an indelible mark on me and it feels wonderful to have the film finally releasing in India. While it has been humbling to witness the love and appreciation from our international audience, we hope to receive the same appreciation from our Indian viewers too”.
The first look of the film was unveiled at Cannes International Film Festival while the world premiere of The Last Color was at the prestigious Palm Springs International Film Festival. Since then the film has travelled to various film festivals – Dallas International Film Festival, Woodstock International Film Festival, Hawaii International Film Festival, New York India International Film Festival, River To River Festival, Florence and many more, finally, we had the India premiere at the 21st MAMI Mumbai International Film Festival in Oct 2019. Special screening at United Nations Headquarters in New York was another big feather in the cap and was closely followed by a theatrical release in Los Angeles, finally, the film making it to the Eligibility List for Oscars 2020.
The film has won awards and received raving reviews from audiences and critics alike having done exceptionally well at prestigious international film festivals and winning numerous awards such as Best Feature Film Awards, Audience Choice & Director Vision Award also bagging the Best Film award at Echo Brics FF 2020.
