At the current Cannes Film Festival (May 17-28), Serbia is represented by a French-Senegalese-Serbian film Dam, and actress Branka Petrić in the Indian-Serbian blockbuster Rocketry: The Numbi Effect.
World premiere of the film Rocketry: The Numbi Effect was on Thursday evening, as part of the "Honored Land of the 75th Cannes Festival" program. The film is the directorial debut of the extremely famous Indian actor R. Madhav, and was shot in 2019 in Serbia with our producer "Clockwork Film". It is a biopic about Namba Narayan, in the world of a famous scientist and rocket engineer who is accused of espionage.
Branka Petrić tells "Vreme" that in that film she plays "a small role, a mother who lives with the problems of her age and the problems of her son" and that is why she is surprised that there is so much talk about her role. "It's all because of Bollywood, and because of the Cannes festival," he says.
She didn't watch the movie. "I filmed it three years ago, and until now, when I read in the newspaper that I will be on the screen at the Cannes Festival, I had no news about that film," says this great actress.
She doesn't think it's unusual that she found herself in an Indian film, because "a lot of foreign films have been shot in Serbia in recent years." Their productions work very well with our producers who know all our actors, and our actors can meet all criteria and casting requirements. An Indian producer needed an actress for the character of the mother, and he chose me. I received the text, and we easily agreed," remembers Branka Petrić.
Photo: TanjugBranka Petric
It is said that it was filmed in Senjak "in a house with a divine garden". The young director R. Madhavam (he is also a screenwriter, producer and lead actor), says Branka Petrić, "didn't behave like a movie star, even though he is a very popular and respected actor in India." He was open, direct and we cooperated very well". Branka Petrić says that the task was not complicated, that it was filmed in only a few takes and that she acted in English.
"They had an excellent organization. I remember, at the time of filming, I was working on another film, but it was not difficult for them to harmonize everything and do it without tension," says the great actress.
He remembers shooting an Indian film for several new experiences, which, given his "great career, is unexpected," he says, citing two.
"When you put on the costume, they place a bug, a microphone, the cord of which goes around the waist and is stuck somewhere around chest level on the inside of the costume. In an Indian film, a woman puts the bug on actresses! It's a sign of great respect for both the woman and the actress because even though a man putting the bug on you before you're supposed to go on set is one of the easier conditions our industry can handle, I think it's very important if someone is trying to work for you with as little stress as possible."
Another unexpected experience is the food. "On the set, there was catering with an Indian menu. Wonderful new tastes, spices that I only knew by name until then, dishes whose names I couldn't pronounce, and above all, a respect for food that I had not seen in other nations."
Theatrical distribution of the film Rocketry: The Numbi Effect in the world, will start on July 1. It is expected in Serbia in the fall.
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