Lucknow's love for movies is all set to get a new metaphor with Himanshu Malik's debut directorial work, Chitrakut, releasing in the cinemas today. Starring La Martiniere alumni, Vibhore Mayank, the feature film is a contemporary take on love stories and their reality through modern tropes. So if you want to be a part of the neo-movie watching experience, Chitrakut surely brings matinee time for you!

If cinema to you means sensible screenplays and crafty cinematography, Chitrakut is sure to win your hearts. Written and Directed by Himanshu Malik of fame Tum Bin, the film revolves around five protagonists and their search for love and companionship.

Describing his film Himanshu says, “It is a meditation about love and the nuances that make for the undefinable world of relationships. It is also a simple story of finding love and losing it. ‘Chitrakut’ is the place where Ram and Sita spent their initial years of banishment, in some texts they are known to have had lived in bliss, never after their stay in Chitrakut- since their bond was broken after her abduction, never before- since he was son, king, brother in Ayodhya- were they as happy as they are in Chitrakut. This metaphor of life and love became the basis of the film.

Presented by Akbar Arabiyan Mojdeh & Mojtaba Movies under the production of Akbar Arabiya, the film features Auritra Ghosh, Vibhore Mayank, Naina Trivedi, Kiran Srinivas, Shruti Bapna.

Tagged as a ‘Brilliant Debut’ by Iranian auteur Majid Majidi, Chitrakut has gained immense love from critics and movie boards across geographies. The film has had its International Festival Premiere at South Asian International Film Festival 2019, New York while the European Premiere was held in Vienna, Austria at the Reaktor Indian Film Festival. It was here that this crafted moving pictures project was awarded Best Edit amongst a slate of a wide array of films.

Chitrakut is also an official selection at India’s first online film festival the Indus Valley International Film Festival in Delhi (from 2nd Oct to 9th Oct) and at was also included in the competition section of Matera film Festival 2020 in Matera, Italy.

Resounding with this massive success on the international front, Chitrakut is now set to the win the audience's heart. So if you've got any plans to make your Friday about art, cinema and love - Chitrakut is your destination!