World Premiere – International Film Festival Rotterdam, 2025. Best film – IFFSA, Toronto, 2025. Only Indian film selected in International Competition, KIFF,2025

• The film revolves around a ‘Slow Man’, a simple village-born who is said to move slower than a sloth, and his brief time as a performer in a rural travelling circus. The story weaves through a network of human relationships and sensations and their myriad unintended but inevitable variations. The mundane everyday lives of these circus performers are interrupted from time to time by certain unusual occurrences as well – stemming from greed, cruelty and lust. And yet a formless kind of love remains alongside. Suddenly at odds with the speed and complexity of the world around him, the Slow Man finds himself yearning for those remaining tender caring spaces, be it social or psychological, that lie hidden beyond the straight and harsh truths of life, never pausing to consider the tragic consequences. The tale of the goddess Manasa and Behula’s banana stem raft, an ancient popular ballad of Bengal, is an intrinsic part of this story that imbues ‘The Slow Man and His Raft’ with a sense of drama and tragedy.
• This show is strictly for adults only (at least 18 years of age). By proceeding, you confirm that all attendees are adults. No minors (less than 18 years of age) will not be allowed to enter the venue. No refund will be provided in such cases.
• Seating is on a first-come-first-served basis. No seat numbers are provided. Gates will be opened approximately 15 minutes before the film’s start time.
• Director Statement:
  The world is running faster every day. Everyone is running after something or the other. There seems to be no time left for us to have generous heart-to-heart conversations. Those who are not able to adapt to this very fast system are becoming obsolete. I feel intricate observation will reveal that with the advancement of technology, as the system is moving faster every minute, the human psyche is regressing.
• Human beings, apparently the most superior animal species, created a civilization riddled with elaborate systems such as law, order, governance, and finance. Capital brings with itself not merely the possibility of a luxurious lifestyle and convenience but also power. I have the feeling that the construction of civilization has always served the purpose of consolidating and securing power hierarchies, and the cause of its advent is the same. To preserve the structures of civilization people have created, categorized, and labelled ‘sustainable’ relationships. However, the clash between our natural tendencies or instincts and the sanitized superstructure of civilization is a perennial and unresolved one. The people capable of exercising power are the successful owners—the kings and queens of today.
• The central character in our film, Nadhar, is an exceptionally slow person—like a sloth. His inexplicable slowness drove people to worship him as an avatar. His mother had to deify Nadhar in order to earn a living, for mere survival, despite his refusal to comply in such a fraudulent business. Nadhar is completely powerless and incapable in almost every sense. He can only express his anger by urinating, throwing things, or blaming his mother for giving birth to him. Despite his inabilities and tantrums, his mother continues to love and serve him by taking care of his personal needs as well as making the both ends meet.
• I wanted to place this extremely vulnerable Nadhar in a nomadic, complex, and evolving family-like setting—which is the circus troupe—to see what the future holds for him. To be honest, I knew most of the story from the beginning. I knew about Nadhar’s fate, but I did not know what Nadhar would do, what his actions and reactions would be. His actions and reactions unfolded organically during the scriptwriting process and were not preplanned.
• Most of the characters interacting with Nadhar in the circus troupe face crude exploitation on a daily basis themselves. The nature of these exploitations is influenced by various factors such as gender, age, orientation, etc. These characters also have their unique struggles against power as well as for it. I wanted to explore how they react to a character like Nadhar and how his presence affects the pre-existing relationship dynamics. I also had to find out the fate of the highly unidimensional and powerful, ruthless godlike character, i.e., the circus manager, Haradhan.
• In this film, I have tried to allude deeply to the mythical stories of Padma Purana and Manasamangalpala. I also referred to the popular storytelling and myth-recital practices of Bengal. According to the myth of Manasamangalpala, a woman named Behula goes to heaven on a banana raft with her husband’s corpse and dances for the gods to save her husband. I have tried to reinvent and incorporate this very popular and often referenced Bengali myth in my narrative as smoothly as possible.
• The challenge of making the film was the low budget. As a result, the shooting had to be completed in just thirteen days. Due to the low budget, the location had to be chosen wisely. I went to my village and shot the film with a very small cast and crew—mostly with my friends, students, and relatives. The love and spontaneous participation of the people of my village, Tehatta, made it possible to shoot the film. I edited it in a home setup. In post-production, various friends and acquaintances are helping me out once again by charging as little money as possible.
• We, the entire team, are earnestly waiting to finish the film by overcoming various obstacles. We would love to show it as well as see it on the big screen here and abroad.
• How much power do we have?! But we still feel extremely hopeful this time, and the completion of this film makes us feel both grateful and elated.
• Although it is a cliché, I would nevertheless like to reiterate the age-old saying: love is always and forever more powerful than violence.