Rajesh TouchRiver’s ‘Dahini – The Witch’ wins best feature film in Australia

It is another feather in Rajesh TouchRiver’s hat with his film ‘Dahini – The Witch’ winning the ‘Best Feature Film’ at the Titan International Film Festival, Australia. The award ceremony will be at a glittering function on January 21, 2023, at Palace Chauvel Cinema, Sydney, Australia. Earlier this year, the film was adjudged the Best […]

It is another feather in Rajesh TouchRiver’s hat with his film ‘Dahini – The Witch’ winning the ‘Best Feature Film’ at the Titan International Film Festival, Australia. The award ceremony will be at a glittering function on January 21, 2023, at Palace Chauvel Cinema, Sydney, Australia. Earlier this year, the film was adjudged the Best International Feature Film at Pacific Beach International Festival and nominated at Swedish International Film Festival.

‘Dahini – The Witch’ is a compelling social thriller that exposes the crude reality of witch-hunting, which is still practised in more than 17 States in India.

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Touching a very bold subject of witch-hunting, the internationally-acclaimed director once again brings forth a human rights concern that plagues many nations, including India. As one of the worst forms of gender-based violence, witch-hunting has been used to slaughter thousands of women who do not conform to normal gender norms or to settle inter-personal disputes.

Shot completely in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha where witch-hunting is rampant, the feature film is the first of its kind focusing on this taboo subject. National Award-winning actor Tannishtha Chatterjee plays the lead in this gripping story. JD Chakravarthy of the ‘Satya’ fame will be seen in a never-before-seen role. The film also boasts a talented ensemble cast, including Ashique Hussain, Badrul Islam, Angana Roy, Riju Bajaj, Jagannath Seth, Sruthy Jayan, and Dilip Das.

An award-winning technical crew, including cinematographer Noushad Shereef, production designer Sunil Babu, sound designer Ajith Abraham George, background scorer George Joseph, editing Sasi Kumar, makeup designer NG Roshan, and lyricist Dr. Gopal Shankar provide the technical support. Padma Shri awardee and humanitarian leader Sunitha Krishnan has produced the film with film producer Pradeep Narayanan, under the banners of Orion Pictures International Pvt Ltd and SunTouch Productions.