Aparna Sen's The Rapist to be screened at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2022 today

Applause Entertainment’s maiden feature film, The Rapist, will be screened at the prestigious Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2022 on August 20. For this gritty movie, Aparna had won "Best Director" honours. After being celebrated across festivals including the Busan International Film Festival, London Indian Film Festival, Kolkata International Film festival, and International Film festival of Kerala, The Rapist was screened at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne in August.

The Rapist is a thought-provoking examination of the anatomy of rape, the psyche of its perpetrators and the trauma experienced in its aftermath. The drama also marks the reunion of the mother-daughter duo of Aparna Sen-Konkona Sen Sharma after several acclaimed films including the National Award-winning Mr And Mrs Iyer.

Applause Entertainment focuses on premium drama series, movies, documentaries and animation content. A venture of the Aditya Birla Group, led by media veteran Sameer Nair, the studio has produced and released popular series across genres and languages including shows like Undekhi, Bhaukaal, Rudra: The Edge of Darkness, Mithya, Criminal Justice, Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story, and others that have gone on to win acclaim and applause.

According to the makers, the film aims to look beyond the obvious crime, to "explore not only how it affects the survivors and perpetrators of the crime, but also delves into how one's idealistic views are drastically altered when the truth hits uncomfortably close to home."

"The Rapist is a reflection of the fault lines in society and it raises a few pertinent questions. We are grateful that Applause Entertainment trusted us and chose to come on board. We are delighted that our film is premiering at the IFFM 2022 for the world to watch," the statement read.