Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], February 9: Matchbox Shots’ next ‘All India Rank’ wowed the world with its world premiere at The International Film Festival Of Rotterdam (IFFR). After producing critically acclaimed and immensely successful ‘Monica Oh My Darling’ (2022) and ‘Three Of Us’ (2022), the well-known production house won the hearts of people across the globe with its world premiere at the prestigious film festival. ‘All India Rank’ has been directed by Varun Grover who is also a national award-winning lyricist, screenplay writer and a popular stand-up comedian.
‘All India Rank’ is a coming-of-age drama that stars Bodhisattva Sharma, Samta Sudiksha, Shashi Bhushan, Geeta Agrawal and Sheeba Chaddha in the prominent roles. The film has been co-produced by Clock Tower Pictures. Produced by MatchBox Shots and directed by Varun Grover, ‘All India Rank’ was shown at IFFR as the closing film of the festival. The film premiered on 5th February and was attended by director Varun Grover, producer Sanjay Routray, DOP Archana Ghangrekar along with the lead actors of the film. Producer Sanjay Routray said, “The audience response to AIR at IFFR 2023 was overwhelming. At Matchbox we believe in backing the filmmaker’s vision & Varun has made us proud with AIR” Notably, the film is set in the late 90s, the pre-mobile era where 17-year-old Vivek is sent away from home to a coaching center to prepare for the highly competitive Indian Institute of Technology entrance exams.
Talking about his directorial debut as a feature film director with ‘All India Rank’ Varun Grover says, “We all struggle when we are 17. The hormonal desires called love, the constant swinging between ‘ambition’ and ‘mediocrity’, the generational trauma of parents – all create a minor-key horror-comedy around us. With ‘All India Rank’, I want to capture exactly that phase of our lives, the phase of joy and confusion, love and doubt, hope and cynicism.”
He further adds, “The film is a semi-autobiographical slice-of-life dramedy as well as a time capsule of life in the India of the 1990s – a time of American-style capitalism entering India – giving rise to a new consumerist middle-class that valued STEM over liberal arts because of market compulsions. Vivek, the protagonist, like struggles with these new concepts that place personal joy beneath the ‘value you bring to the society.”
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