Kolkata: As the Venice International Film Festival begins on Sept 2, writer-director Anuparna Roy returns to the Orizzonti competition following her historic best director win last year. Her feature, ‘Lovers in the Blue Night’, centres on a doubly displaced Bangladeshi couple. The Sylheti-speaking duo’s complex survival in Mumbai anchors Roy’s exploration of identity, forbidden desire, and the realities of a community frequently under the scanner in Bengal.Set in Mumbai, the film follows four migrants — a closeted husband, his lonely wife who works in a bar, a small-time thief and a pimp — whose lives intersect through unexpected love, survival and forbidden desire. The uniqueness of Roy’s entry this year is her choice to centre the film on the lives and longings of this doubly displaced Bangladeshi couple.Migrant lives have always fascinated Roy. “They have forever been around me. Exploring those lives in my film brings realism to the table. As a corporate migrant, I know how it feels to leave the village behind, the reasons for leaving it and the desperate search for identity in a city where one is forced to settle down. My subjects will always be the third world and the reality of migrants without a voice,” she said.To ensure authenticity, language coach Jina Vaishya – well-versed in Sylheti Bengali – taught Neelima Sharma and Pritam Pilania for three to four months. Roy is impressed with their dedication and highlights it as a demonstration of “their capability to learn new things”.Roy is aware that Bangladeshi migrants are often under the scanner, particularly in Bengal. “My film talks about that issue too but not directly,” she said, refusing to divulge anything further now. This backstory for the protagonists gives the film a unique dimension to how Indian cinema portrays the experiences of migrants, with Roy stating, “These two characters – the closeted husband and his lonely wife who works in a bar – have already been displaced when they reach Bengal. Subsequently, they shift to Mumbai and are searching for their identity there. They get lost in the illusion of love and stuck inside a societal loop called marriage”.Because of the aftermath of a flood, these two characters became climate refugees on an island in the Bay of Bengal. “I have not given any particular year when the floods affected them. It is a common feature for monsoons wrecking havoc in the islands of the Bay of Bengal. If I have to give a reference, it would be 2017. But that is not very direct,” she said.The place where they migrate to is left unnamed as well. Roy said, “I didn’t want to limit myself to one particular place. I wanted them to be relatable with other migrants from countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan. But since they speak a certain language, it is very obvious that they are coming from an island like Ghoramara before migrating to Mumbai.”On her own journey to Venice a second time, Roy said, “I hope it encourages more honest, fearless, and deeply human stories to find their audience.”
