Siddharth Roy Kapur’s Roy Kapur Films is all set to bring Last Film Show (Chhello Show), Pan Nalin’s poignant ode to celluloid dreams, back home to audiences in India. The Gujarati-language coming-of-age drama has captured the hearts of critics and audiences across the world and will now release in theatres in Gujarat and on select screens across the country on 14th October 2022. The film is produced by Roy Kapur Films, Jugaad Motion Pictures, Monsoon Films, Chhello Show LLP, and Marc Duale.
Inspired by director Pan Nalin’s own memories of falling in love with movies as a child in rural Gujarat, Last Film Show (Chhello Show) is set at the cusp of the digital revolution and follows a nine-year-old boy ensnared by the magic and science of light and shadow that lies behind celluloid film projection. Manoeuvring through both social pressures and economic precarity, he pursues his passion for the “film show” with single-minded devotion, oblivious to the technological upheaval that is hurtling towards him. It is an authentic, organic, and emotionally charged drama set around films, food, and friends.
Last Film Show (Chhello Show) had its world premiere as the opening film at Robert DeNiro’s Tribeca Film Festival and has won multiple awards across various international film festivals, including the Golden Spike at the 66th Valladolid Film Festival in Spain, where it also enjoyed commercial success during its theatrical run.
Director Pan Nalin’s oeuvre includes award-winning films like Samsara, Valley of Flowers, and Angry Indian Goddesses, which have been successful with both festival and general audiences. He has recently been invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences in its prestigious Directors Branch.
Producer Siddharth Roy Kapur says, “We are incredibly excited to embark upon this exciting association with Pan Nalin and Dheer Momaya to bring Indian audiences the wonderful Last Film Show (Chhello Show), a film that celebrates the magic and wonder of cinema and the theatrical experience. There could not be a more apt time for this film to release when cinema-going around the world has been disrupted by a pandemic and audiences need to be reminded anew of the first time they fell in love with the experience of watching a movie in a darkened cinema hall. It is a matter of pride that such a powerful work of art has come out of India, and we are sure that audiences in India will fall in love with it, just as they have all around the world.”
Director Pan Nalin added, “We are thrilled to collaborate on this film with a producer I really admire, Siddharth Roy Kapur. Sid has proved his passion and penchant for producing elevated entertainment, and with his help, we are looking forward to entertaining Indian spectators with our labour of love Last Film Show (Chhello Show). Our film has been receiving a lot of love from spectators across the world, and with Roy Kapur Films’ support, we are aiming to give it a good release in my home state of Gujarat and the rest of India. I am also excited that the India release will coincide with its theatrical release in the USA, Italy, and Japan.”
Producer Dheer Momaya of Jugaad Motion Pictures says, “Over the past few months, I’ve had the privilege of observing Indian and international audiences laugh, cry, whistle, and clap in cinema halls while watching the film. The overwhelming response has further built my confidence that our local film cuts across cultures, languages, and age groups from eight to eighty. The unanimous and mouth-watering demand for Kathiawari delicacies after the screenings is always funny, so much so that our Italian and Japanese distributors have requested a recipe book which they would make available for their audiences.”
Samuel Goldwyn Films and Orange Studio serve as international distributors for the U.S. and European markets, respectively. Meanwhile, legendary Shochiku Studios serves as the Japanese distributor, while the esteemed Medusa will bring Last Film Show (Chhello Show) to Italian cinemas.
U.S.-based Samuel Goldwyn Films has previously distributed the Danish comedy-drama Another Round, which won the Oscar for Best International Feature at the 93rd Academy Awards in 2021. Their Bhutanese drama Lunana: A Yak in The Classroom also won an Oscar nomination for the Best International Feature award last year. Orange Studio, headquartered in France, produced The Artist, which won five Oscars at the 84th Academy Awards in 2012. In 2020, it also won two Oscars for the Anthony Hopkins-starrer The Father.
