New Delhi, National Award-winning filmmaker Vinod Kapri’s Hindi film “Pyre” is set to release in theatres on October 23.
Both hail from Berinag Tehsil in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district.
Kapri cast two local residents for the film, Padam Singh, a retired Indian Army soldier, and Hira Devi, a farmer, neither of whom had ever acted earlier.
The film has won 18 international awards, including 15 Best Film Awards, with Best Film honours across Washington, D C, Chicago, Canada, Spain, Boston, Stuttgart, London and Birmingham. The Uttarakhand-set film chronicles the poignant love story of an ageing couple whose lives revolve around their home, their memories and each other, as they quietly wait for their children, who have moved away in search of better opportunities. “‘Pyre’ is ultimately a film about love between two people who have spent their lives together, and between parents and their children. It has also received Best Director awards in Serbia and Boston, along with major recognitions for Music, Cinematography and Sound. Legendary Indian lyricist Gulzar also contributed to the film by penning a song The film is produced by Kapri, Suresh Joshi and Arindra Rai Chaudhuri under the banners Bhagirathi Films and Mashakbeen Studios.
Kapri said his aim was to tell the story through those people who have lived that life themselves. I wanted to tell this story through two people who had lived that life themselves,” he said in a statement. Composer Mychael Danna, who won an Academy Award for Ang Lee’s “Life of Pi” in 2012, has scored the music for “Pyre”. German editor Patricia Rommel, known for her work on “The Lives of Others” and “The Tourist”, is also involved in the project. It is distributed theatrically by Cinepolis, which has previously distributed “Hanuman Ansh”.
