Kamar Ahmed Simon to release ‘Neel Mukut’ on August 8

Filmmaker Kamar Ahmad Simon’s Neel Mukut was slated for release on March 27, 2020. However, the film had to be indefinitely postponed amidst the coronavirus scare.  

One year has passed since the last announcement. The wait is finally over as “Neel Mukut” is set to premiere on streaming platform Chorki on August 8. 

Film-maker Kamar, the official invitee at Cannes-Berlin-Locarno, surprised everyone last year by promising to release his film locally before participating in any international festival. “I believe, festivals are definitely important for a director but films shouldn’t be made only for festivals. It’s high time we raise this discussion, hence I decided to release “Neel Mukut” without submitting it to any festival,” he said.

The Coronavirus outbreak foiled his plans after the theaters had shut down to prevent the spread of the virus. 

Simon said in a press release, “Even though OTT platform was of course always an option, I was determined to release the film in theatres. But now, in the face of another strict lockdown and the rising cases of Covid-19 around the country, we have had to rethink our plans.” 

Kamar, whose debut film “Are You Listening!” received a National Film Award and several prestigious international awards including Du Reel’s Grand Prix and Mumbai International Film Festival’s Golden Conch, announced that Neel Mukut would be available to stream on Chorki on his birthday, August 8.  

“I was on a flight to Europe either for “Anyadin”... or “Shikolbaha.” I heard a cry and kept thinking. I followed the cry and most of the time spent writing some sequences about the cry. Then I started shooting in an unplanned way in between “Anyadin”... or “Shikolbaha”. But what happened next in the editing panel was overwhelming; it was like love-at-first-sight with the footage. Then a yearlong work with the project in between the two other projects, and now you have the unplanned film... Neel Mukut,” Simon said. 

After months of waiting, the streaming platform Chorki was be launched on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha.  

The streaming platform made headlines when it announced that it would release one original film every month.  Amitabh Reza’s “Munshigiri’ will also debut on Chorki.