Cargo (2019 film)

Last updated

Cargo
Cargo 2019 poster.jpg
Poster
Directed byArati Kadav
Written byArati Kadav
Produced byNavin Shetty
Shlok Sharma
Arati Kadav
Zain Matcheswalla
Anurag Kashyap
Starring Vikrant Massey
Shweta Tripathi
CinematographyKaushal Shah
Edited byParamita Ghosh
Music byShezan Shaikh
Production
companies
Fundamental Pictures
Electric Films
Distributed by Netflix
Release dates
  • 19 October 2019 (2019-10-19)(MAMI)
  • 9 September 2020 (2020-09-09)(Netflix)
Running time
113 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi

Cargo is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language philosophical science fiction black comedy film written and directed by Arati Kadav. [1] [2] The film is produced by Kadav, Shlok Sharma, Navin Shetty, Zain Matcheswalla, and Anurag Kashyap. [3] Starring Vikrant Massey and Shweta Tripathi in the lead roles, the story is set on a spaceship named Pushpak 634A where a scientist Prahastha, works for the Post Death Transition services with the help of a female astronaut, where dead people are recycled for rebirth. [4] [5] Cargo premiered at the 2019 MAMI Film Festival under the spotlight section. [6] [7] The film premiered on Netflix on 9 September 2020. [8]

Contents

Cast

Production

Development

The idea of Cargo came to director Arati Kadav in 2017 after she worked on pre-production for a film for six years before it got shelved. After getting angry at the situation, Kadav started writing another script and after 2–3 months, she developed an idea. [9] A friend of her Rahul Puri had told her that film school Whistling Woods International was going to be free for a month and its studio space, camera and some lights will be available for shoot. [10] She started thinking about what could be made in a single location and pictured a spaceship. Kadav wrote a "complicated massive intergalactic superhero story" for the next three months but later realised it was too expensive to shoot. [10]

She then wrote a new screenplay based on a one liner, "an immigration office in space for dead people." [10] Cargo is the sixth screenplay written by Kadav who has earlier made short films like Time Machine. In order to manage the budget of the film, Kadav decided to make a film with minimum location. [11] She wrote a science fiction story set in a spaceship that also tapped into Indian mythology and issues like life and death. Kadav decided to showcase the technology in the film from the 1980s and not very advanced. She said, "I didn't want the tech to be intimidating but more endearing." [11] For references, her team looked at Gravity (2013) to real NASA visuals "to figure out what we could use from those films that wouldn’t cost us much." [10]

Kadav was planning to make a film with Phantom Films, but the production house dissolved and the project was shelved. However, its founders Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane decided to back Cargo. [12] Kadav cited Argentine short-story writer Jorge Luis Borges and sci-fi writer Ted Chiang as her inspirations for the story. [9] She stated: "Eastern sci-fi is more relatable as it matches with Indian culture in its milieu and values." [9] Massey felt the story "abstract and gorgeous", further mentioning: "I had to read the script in detail to [decipher] what she was saying. It stunned me, and that's when I knew I had to do this film." [13]

Filming and post-production

Several spaces from the set of spaceship were reused during the shoot. Discarded automated teller machines were used as palm reading machines in the film. [10] The film was shot in a spaceship set for 27 days. Kadav felt that a single-location film could be visually boring so decided to use a lot of different colours and lights to make it look interesting. [10] There were two spaceship sets for both interior and exterior shoots. It was also shot outdoors for nearly 10 days. [11] The entire shoot took 30 days and was finished in November 2018. [14] [15]

Kadav got permission to use a shooting floor at Whistling Woods International for a couple of weeks. She used the space to create the Pushpak 634A, a futuristic space station, and other domains in the film. [16] She said that she was "very aware of its graphics requirements while writing the script itself, and a VFX person was always involved in the making, right from the pre-production stage." [16]

Kadav consciously decided to keep the VFX to a minimum to cut costs and mostly use it to visualize the exterior of the jellyfish-like spaceship. Kadav decided to keep a retro feel to the visual design of the spaceship. The healing machine in the film was designed to look like an old vacuum cleaner. [16] She believed that there is "always [a] need to have a strong philosophy" at the core of the sci-fi genre" to "talk about things that continue to affect us and matter in our lives." [16]

Due to the low budget, motorcycle helmets were used for astronaut helmets in the film that were enhanced with paper and cardboard. [10] Konkana Sen Sharma plays a cameo appearance in the film for which Kadav wrote a long backstory which is not shown. [10] The visual effects work took a year to complete. Green screens were used while shooting at a specific angle and pages were printed and pasted pages on the backgrounds to trick people into thinking it was created in post-production. [10] The music is composed by Shezan Shaikh, the cinematography is done by Kaushal Shah while Paramita Ghosh has served as the editor. [17] [18]

Reception

The film received mixed reviews. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes rated it 64%, based on 11 reviews, and an average rating of 6.5/10. [19]

Pradeep Menon of Firstpost wrote: "A philosophical tale, a dark comedy, and a tight budget space film all rolled into one, Cargo is one of those oddball movies that will undoubtedly go on to develop a bit of a cult following over time." [20] Tipu Sultan of HuffPost said that Kadav's "true success lies in how she wraps all this up under the garb of a comedy and serves up a film that is devilishly hilarious and ceaselessly entertaining." [9] Eric Kohn of IndieWire noted, "While Cargo stumbles on plot, it excels at vision, and bodes well for the potential of a filmmaker capable of innovating within familiar restraint." [21] Peter Debruge of Variety said that Kadav "shows creativity and a gift for world-building in this unlikely sci-fi fable, which playfully reimagines reincarnation." [22] Rahul Desai, a film critic from Film Companion says: "It’s both real and unreal at once, and the visual dissonance adds to the way Cargo – and its playful marriage of the past and future – hopes to be perceived." [23]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Konkona Sen Sharma</span> Indian actress

Konkona Sen Sharma is an Indian actress and filmmaker who works primarily in Hindi and Bengali films and a few English films. She has received several awards including two National Film Awards, three Filmfare Awards, a Filmfare Award East and a Filmfare OTT Award. The daughter of filmmaker–actress Aparna Sen, she appears primarily in arthouse independent films, and her achievements in the genre have established her as one of the leading actresses of contemporary parallel cinema.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vikrant Massey</span> Indian actor (b. 1987)

Vikrant Massey is an Indian actor who primarily appears in Hindi films and television. Massey has received several awards including two Indian Television Academy Awards, along with nominations for two Filmfare Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shweta Tripathi</span> Indian actress (b. 1985)

Shweta Tripathi Sharma is an Indian actress popularly known for the character of Golu Gupta in Mirzapur. She began her film career as a production assistant and associate director and gained wider recognition and accolades for her acting performances in the Hindi film industry and web series. Notable films include Masaan (2015) and Haraamkhor (2017).

<i>Ugly</i> (film) 2013 film by Anurag Kashyap

Ugly is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language thriller film written, co-produced and directed by Anurag Kashyap. Jointly produced by Phantom Films and DAR Motion Pictures, the film stars Rahul Bhat, Ronit Roy, Tejaswini Kolhapure, Vineet Kumar Singh, Girish Kulkarni, Surveen Chawla and Anshika Shrivastava in the lead roles. It also features TV actor Abir Goswami in his last film appearance before his death in 2013. Told in the course of a week, Ugly follows the story of a struggling actor Rahul Varshney (Bhat), whose daughter Kali (Shrivastava) disappears, and the events that follow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sobhita Dhulipala</span> Indian actress and model (born 1992)

Sobhita Dhulipala is an Indian actress. She won the Femina Miss India Earth 2013 title at Femina Miss India 2013 pageant and represented India at Miss Earth 2013. Dhulipala made her acting debut in Anurag Kashyap's Hindi film Raman Raghav 2.0 (2016) and rose to fame playing a leading role in the Amazon Prime Video drama series Made in Heaven.

<i>Shorts</i> (2013 film) 2013 Indian film

Shorts is a compilation of five short films directed by Neeraj Ghaywan, Vasan Bala, Anubhuti Kashyap, Shlok Sharma and Gitanjali Rao. The five short films titled Sujata, Mehfuz, Audacity, Epilogue, and Shor were released on 12 July 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anurag Kashyap filmography</span>

Anurag Kashyap is an Indian filmmaker and actor, known for his work in Hindi cinema. After writing a television series Kabhie Kabhie (1997), Kashyap co-wrote Ram Gopal Varma's crime drama Satya (1998). He later wrote and directed a short television film, Last Train to Mahakali (1999), and made his feature film debut with the yet-unreleased film Paanch. He next directed Black Friday (2007), a film on the 1993 Bombay bombings. Its release was barred by India's Censor Board for two years, but was eventually released in 2007 to positive reviews. The same year, he directed the critical and commercial failure No Smoking. Return of Hanuman (2007), an animated film, was Kashyap's next directorial venture. In 2009, he directed Dev.D, a modern-day take on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's Bengali novel Devdas, along with the political drama Gulaal. Despite positive reviews, the latter was a box-office failure.

<i>Raman Raghav 2.0</i> 2017 film by Anurag Kashyap

Raman Raghav 2.0 is a 2016 Indian neo-noir psychological thriller film directed by Anurag Kashyap. Produced by Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane, Vikas Bahl, and Madhu Mantena, the film stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Vicky Kaushal, and debutante Sobhita Dhulipala. It depicts in eight chapters the cat and mouse chase of serial killer Ramanna (Siddiqui) by corrupt cop Raghavan (Kaushal). Real-life killer Raman Raghav, who operated in Mumbai during the 1960s, inspired the film.

Sheetal Thakur Massey is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi films and web shows. She made her acting debut with the Punjabi film Bambukat in 2016, for which she received Filmfare Awards Punjabi Best Supporting Actress nomination. She made her Hindi film debut with Brij Mohan Amar Rahe in 2018.

<i>Sacred Games</i> (TV series) Indian crime thriller television series

Sacred Games is an Indian neo-noir crime thriller streaming television series based on Vikram Chandra's 2006 novel of the same name. India's first Netflix original series, it was produced and directed by Vikramaditya Motwane and Anurag Kashyap as Phantom Films. The novel was adapted by Varun Grover, Smita Singh, and Vasant Nath. Kelly Luegenbiehl, Erik Barmack and Motwane were the series' executive producers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avantika Khattri</span>

Avantika Khattri is an Indian Bollywood actress, producer, and director who debuted with the movie War Chhod Na Yaar in which she played the parallel lead with Soha Ali Khan along with co-stars Sharman Joshi and Javed Jaffrey.

Mirzapur is an Indian action crime thriller streaming television series created for Amazon Prime Video, by Karan Anshuman, who wrote the script along with Puneet Krishna & Vineet Krishna. Anshuman directed the first season of the series, along with Gurmmeet Singh and Mihit Desai,the latter of whom directed the second season. The series is produced by Rithesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar of Excel Entertainment. The story follows Akhandanand Tripathi, also known as Kaleen Bhaiya, the mafia don and proverbial ruler of Mirzapur in the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh. In the first season,the main cast features Pankaj Tripathi, Shweta Tripathi, Divyendu Sharma, Ali Fazal, Vikrant Massey, Shriya Pilgaonkar, Rasika Dugal, Harshita Gaur and Kulbhushan Kharbanda. The second season retains the principal cast from the first season, excluding Massey and Pilgaonkar, with new cast consisting of Vijay Varma, Isha Talwar, Lilliput, Anjum Sharma, Priyanshu Painyuli, Anangsha Biswas and Neha Sargam.

<i>Criminal Justice</i> (Indian TV series) Indian web series

Criminal Justice is an Indian Hindi-language crime thriller legal drama web series for Hotstar Specials, based on the 2008 British television series of the same name, written by Shridhar Raghavan and was directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia and Vishal Furia. Starring Pankaj Tripathi, Vikrant Massey, Jackie Shroff, Anupriya Goenka and Mita Vashisht in lead roles, the storyline follows the life of individuals on a gut-wrenching journey through the criminal justice system.

<i>Haseen Dillruba</i> 2021 romantic thriller film directed by Vinil Mathew

Haseen Dillruba is a 2021 Indian Hindi-language romantic thriller film directed by Vinil Mathew and written by Kanika Dhillon. It stars Aditya Srivastava,Taapsee Pannu, Vikrant Massey and Harshvardhan Rane.

Shlok Sharma is an Indian director, screenwriter and producer known for his works in Hindi cinema. His notable works include the 2013 anthology film Shorts, the 2017 feature film Haraamkhor and the 2018 feature film Zoo.

<i>Mismatched</i> Indian coming-of-age web series

Mismatched is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age romantic drama web series on Netflix, based on Sandhya Menon's 2017 novel When Dimple Met Rishi. It was adapted by Gazal Dhaliwal and directed by Akarsh Khurana and Nipun Dharmadhikari. It is produced by Ronnie Screwvala's RSVP Movies. Starring Prajakta Koli, Rohit Saraf, Rannvijay Singha and Vidya Malvade in prominent roles, the series is about Rishi, a die-hard romantic who believes in traditional ways of dating, who falls for Dimple, a gamer, and eventually wants to marry her.

<i>AK vs AK</i> 2020 film by Vikramaditya Motwane

AK vs AK is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language black comedy thriller film directed by Vikramaditya Motwane and is the first release under his banner Andolan Films. Anurag Kashyap, the executive producer and dialogue writer, also stars alongside Anil Kapoor as the title characters with Harshvardhan Kapoor and Yogita Bihani in pivotal roles. It marks the film debut of Bihani.

Mrinal Dutt is an Indian actor and model who primarily works in Hindi films and Hindi television along with web shows. He made his acting debut with Roomies in 2009 and had his breakthrough with Private Investigator. He made his film debut with Tuneega Tuneega in 2012. Dutt hosted Yeh Hai Aashiqui in 2016.

<i>Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein</i> Romantic crime-mystery, thriller series

Yeh Kaali kaali Ankhein is an Indian Hindi-language romantic crime thriller streaming television series on Netflix created and directed by Sidharth Sengupta. The series stars Tahir Raj Bhasin, Shweta Tripathi and Anchal Singh in the lead roles with Saurabh Shukla, Surya Sharma, Arunoday Singh and Brijendra Kala playing supporting roles. The title of the series is derived from a song from the 1993 film Baazigar.

References

  1. ↑ Sharma, Priyanka (18 October 2019). "MAMI 2019: Five new female voices to watch out for". The Indian Express. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  2. ↑ "Vikrant Massey Plays Scientist in Anurag Kashyap's Cargo, India's First-ever Spaceship Sci-fi Film". CNN-News18. 15 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  3. ↑ "Cargo teaser: Vikrant Massey plays Prahastha, a scientist, in sci-fi film produced by Anurag Kashyap". Firstpost. 15 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  4. ↑ "Vikrant Massey, Shweta Tripathi's science fiction film 'Cargo' to be screened at Jio MAMI in Mumbai". The Free Press Journal. 9 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  5. ↑ "Cargo: India's first-ever sci-fi spaceship film teaser released". Wion. 17 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  6. ↑ "Vikrant Massey and Shweta Tripathi starrer sci-fi film 'Cargo' teaser unveiled". The Times of India. 15 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  7. ↑ "Vikrant Massey, Shweta Tripathis Cargo at Jio MAMI film fest". Outlook. 9 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  8. ↑ "Cargo: Netflix Acquires Indian Sci-Fi Movie, Sets September Release Date". Gadgets 360. 25 August 2020. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Sultan, Tipu (22 October 2019). "How Director Arati Kadav Made 'Cargo', A Wildly Original Indian Sci-Fi Drama". HuffPost. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Sequeira, Gayle (11 September 2020). "How To Shoot A Science-Fiction Film On A Low Budget". Film Companion.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  11. 1 2 3 Sahani, Alaka (17 October 2019). "Sci-fi acts as a prism to help look at reality: Cargo director Arati Kadav". The Indian Express. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  12. ↑ Sinha, Seema (7 March 2020). "Cargo director Arati Kadav on challenges of making an indie sci-fi film, and perks of a screening at SXSW". Firstpost. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  13. ↑ Basu, Mohar (19 October 2019). "Vikrant Massey: Film is abstract and gorgeous". Mid Day. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  14. ↑ "Shweta Tripathi and Vikrant Massey to play Astronauts in 'Cargo'". The Times of India. 19 November 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  15. ↑ "Each shot planned to the last detail, says Cargo director Arati Kadav". Mid Day. 8 October 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  16. 1 2 3 4 B.H., Harsh (16 September 2022). "Fantasy on a Budget: How 'Tumbbad', 'Cargo' and 'Bulbbul' Created their Richly-Imagined Worlds". Film Companion.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  17. ↑ Bhatt, Neha (14 September 2020). "Into the afterlife: Arati Kadav and Shweta Tripathi on their latest sci-fi film, 'Cargo'". The Hindu. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  18. ↑ Tagat, Anurag (26 October 2019). "Guitarist Shezan Shaikh on Going From Metal to Movies as Producer-Composer". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  19. ↑ "Cargo (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango . Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  20. ↑ "Jio MAMI 21st Mumbai Film Festival: Arati Kadav's Cargo will undoubtedly develop cult following over time". Firstpost. 21 October 2019. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  21. ↑ Kohn, Eric (15 March 2020). "'Cargo' Review: The Afterlife Reimagined as a Low-Budget, Indian Sci-Fi Space Epic". IndieWire. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  22. ↑ "'Cargo': Film Review". Variety. 1 April 2020. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  23. ↑ "Cargo On Netflix Is A Creative Cocktail Of Spirituality And Science Fiction". Film Companion. 9 September 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.