Part-1 of the first Animal Lover Vigilante universe (“Lakadbaggha-1”) is the only action movie to be selected for the 20th Stuttgart Film Festival in Germany. The Oscar-nominated Indian documentary “All That Breathes” by Shaunak Sen is one of the highlights of the festival. Anshuman Jha, Ridhi Dogra, and Milind Soman star in Lakadbaggha film (Hyena), an action film about protecting independent dogs and animals in general that is set in Kolkata. It made waves earlier this year with its theatrical release after premiering at the Kolkata International Film Festival in December of last year and winning the Best Actor Award for Jha at the HBO South Asian Film Festival in New York.
The film’s action has received universal acclaim for its realism and for its convincing hand-to-hand combat sequences. Jha received Krav-Maga instruction from Tsahi Shemesh in New York (who has also coached the Avengers cast in the past), while Kecha Kamphakdee, the cult action master of “Ong-Bak,” provided the film’s action. At the end of this year, production on the film’s sequel, which is being scripted by Sourav Ghosh, will begin.
Lakadbaggha film:
A prominent OTT platform (Zee5) will shortly hold its digital premiere, and the platform and Anshuman shared the announcement video with Jha on June 5th in honour of World Environment Day on their social media accounts. For the festival, Anshuman & Ridhi are expected to travel to Germany. Jha stated, “We are pleased and thrilled that our love letter to dogs is conquering the language barrier and will find an audience in Germany. I’m glad that the festival is giving a voice to those who have no voice because animal trafficking and cruelty are serious environmental issues. This is a boost as we get ready for a huge Part 2. We are grateful to the Stuttgart selection committee and thrilled to be attending our European Premiere there.”
For the unversed, Lakadbaggha is directed by ace filmmaker Victor Mukherjee. The movie had its international premiere at the HBO South Asian International Film Festival in New York on December 28, 2022, and its world premiere on December 21, 2022, at the prestigious Kolkata International Film Festival. Anshuman Jha’s sympathetic portrayal of the animal lover vigilante earned him the Best Actor Award at the HBO South Asian International Film Festival for the movie.
