IFFI 51 GOA: A Dog and his man is an off-beat tale of unconditional love

A man Shoukie and his dog Kheru are being displaced from their village due to coal mining, but Shoukie’s unconditional love for Kheru makes him adamant on staying on with him. This story of the oft-celebrated bond between man and his canine pet is at the heart of a Chhattisgarhi language film, showcased at the 51^st International Film Festival of India (IFFI) being held in Goa. The Indian Panorama Feature Film has also been selected in the International Competition section. - Jyothi Venkatesh

“I did not think twice about making a film on an offbeat story”, said Director Siddharth Tripathy, while addressing a press conference in Panaji, Goa today, January 23, 2021, following the screening of the film.

As the entire villages is about to be displaced due to coal mining, Shoukie is served the final eviction notice by a mining company. It is then that an illogical thought stems within him: Kheru would die that night. Shoukie passes the night with this notion of the dog’s death, hunger and nostalgia.

“I had to spend all my savings for making this movie.  I faced problems during distribution of the film as well.”

It has been easy to portray the locality shown as he is well-acquainted with the place, its people and culture, said the Director.

On being asked about the script-writing process, he said: “A story evolves on its own and turns out very different from what you initially write on paper. It changes at the stage of practical production.”

Tripathy graduated in cinematography from SRFTI, Kolkata in 2000. ‘A Dog and His Man’ is his first feature narrative.