Film based on serial killer who terrorized poor people in then Bombay.
By Dileep Thekkethil
A day after Nawazuddin Siddiqui criticized the recently announced national awards for neglecting his contribution to the movie industry, it seems like the actor has received one of the most deserving recognition: a standing ovation at Cannes for his performance in Raman Raghav 2.0.
Siddique, who appears as a psychopathic serial killer in Anurag Kashyap’s upcoming dark drama Raman Raghav 2.0, which is based on the real-life serial killer, received thunderous applause and standing ovation after the movie premiered at the 69th Cannes Film Festival.
Raman Raghav 2.0 is based on the life of a Mumbai serial killer named Raman Raghav, who went on a killing spree during the 1960s. Nawazuddin plays the role of the notorious psycho killer along with Vicky Kaushal, who is on a mission to track down the elusive killer.
After the screening of the movie, when Nawazuddin made his way to the centre stage for the question answer session, the audience gave him a standing ovation.
Soon before the first screening of the movie, director Anurag Kashyap tweeted, “First screening has begun. House is packed .. Hmmmmm”.
https://twitter.com/anuragkashyap72/status/732105492143742976
The movie has been a topic of discussion worldwide with the hollywoodreporter.com stating that ‘Siddiqui’s demented serial killer ups the scare ante’.
“The verve and nerve of Kashyap’s filmmaking continues to excite,” said variety.com.
It is not the first time that Nawazuddin is going to Cannes; his earlier movies that screened there are ‘The Lunchbox,’ ‘Gangs of Wasseypur,’ ‘Miss Lovely’ and ‘Liar’s Dice’. Adding to this he has also represented a short film at Cannes as its producer.
The 69th Cannes Film Festival started on Wednesday and will go on until May 22.
According to police records, real-life Raman Raghav confessed to have killed 41 people before he was finally caught in 1969. A majority of his victims were poor people who lived in the pavements or in makeshift huts in the northern suburbs of then Bombay. He did not show any discrimination as his victims included men, women and children – even infants.
The team behind Raman Raghav
Production company: Phantom Films
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Vicky Kaushal, Sobhita Dhulipala
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Screenwriters: Vasan Bala, Anurag Kashyap
Producers: Vikas Bahl, Vikramaditya Motwane
Executive producers: Tanvi Gandhi
Director of photography: Jay Oza
Production designer: Tiya Tejpaliya
Costume designer: Shruti Kapoor
Editor: Aarti Bajaj
Music: Ram Sampath
Casting director: Mukesh Chhabra
World sales: Reliance Entertainment, Stray Dogs
Venue: Cannes Film Festival (Directors Fortnight)
127 minutes.