Cat Sticks (2019)

On a rainy night in Calcutta a group of desperate addicts chase brown sugar, but the permanent intoxication they seek proves elusive. Cat Sticks weaves their stories into a chiaroscuro, ... See full summary »

Director:

Ronny Sen

Writers:

Ronny Sen (original story), Ronny Sen (screenplay)

Stars:

Tanmay Dhanania, Joyraj Bhattacharya, Sumeet Thakur

2 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Tanmay Dhanania	...	Byang
Joyraj Bhattacharya	...	Tamanna Bhai
Sumeet Thakur	...	Ronnie
Rahul Dutta	...	Pablo
Saurabh Saraswat	...	Deshik
Kalpan Mitra	...	Toto
Soumyajit Majumdar	...	Gere Bappa
Sreejita Mitra	...	Orna
Sounak Kundu	...	Potol
Raja Chakravorty	...	Biplab
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Soumyak Kanti DeBiswas	...	Director

Storyline

On a rainy night in Calcutta a group of desperate addicts chase brown sugar, but the permanent intoxication they seek proves elusive. Cat Sticks weaves their stories into a chiaroscuro, traverses with them through states high and low, spaces real and unreal. A relentless downpour plays backdrop to lives balanced on a precarious high. Some of them seek a release, while others do not seem to want the night to end.

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Plot Keywords:

drug | male frontal nudity | male nudity | male rear nudity | addiction | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The second part of the film is based on Bibhutibhuson Bandopadhya's short story "Maya" aka Enchanted.

User Reviews

A film abour heroin addicts in Kolkata, India

Cat Sticks by director Ronnie Sen is a black and white film based in contemporary Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal. The film doesn't have a storyline in the sort of way like requiem for a dream, but is a more candid look in the lives of who are drug addicts. There are scenes which are stark cold and ironic like the father who does dope in front of their son, while the TV is singing some old bollywood song. He later after having put his son to bed, goes our trafficking and looking for money. Next we have the middle aged heroin dealer who is part of the narcotics and customs but sells them to college students. They have an almost satirical conversation, with many insider jokes and topics including the brutality of the police on suspects. And we have protagonist figure two friends who settle in an abandoned flight to smoke heroin. There story has a wider prtion that the other two.

I felt the characters lacked depth and were in essence following one scene to the other in apt repetition of their drug abuse. The camera had better coverage on the whereabouts and obfuscates certain alleys trying to capture a noirish atmosphere.

Though uncertain with their lives they live on the edges of drug abuse and poverty, struggling with losses. The film somehow doesn't make the audience engage to their inner feelings, so it is hard to feel any sympathy for them. Overall an honest effort.

Details

Country:

India

Language:

Bengali

Release Date:

7 October 2019 (Germany)

Filming Locations:

Calcutta, West Bengal, India

Company Credits

Production Co:

Craigmore Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

16 : 9