top of page
Turup_posterFinal.jpg

TURUP

(Checkmate)

FICTION . 72 min . Hindi . 2022 . INDIA

In the neighbourhood, chess is a popular pass time with roadside games bringing together men from different strata. Their pawns include morality and religion, causing social and political tensions to erupt when a tournament gets underway. But the men are only the most visible players.

 

Against this simmering backdrop, a domestic worker with a secret hobby, a young woman in love and a former journalist struggling with married life must make their moves with care. When caste, class, religion and gender come into play, there are boundaries to be negotiated, and the very rules of the game stand challenged.

8.2

by EKTARA COLLECTIVE

Collectively directed, Turup is set in Bhopal and tells the story of three women, in the backdrop of growing right wing fundamentalism. A chess game which is a permanent fixture in many areas of Bhopal became the metaphorical background to the playing out of the underlying simmering tensions that form a part of the film's plot.

 

This film was made with the participation of residents of different working class settlements in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. All of the cast and much of the crew are from the settlements. Taking off for a month or two, other technical and non technical people come from across the country to become a part of film. The film is a product of collective effort where each person involved has contributed her/his own unique vision, skill and perspective to it, guiding and often maneuvering it to reach its logical conclusion. Since the vision is a collective one, the directorial acknowledgements are also shared and taken as Ektara Collective. The single driving force behind making films through this process is to unite with people across diverse backgrounds to make cinema.

Turup_by_EC.tif
bottom of page