The 44th International Film Festival of India on Wednesday got off to a glittering start with yesteryear Bollywood queen Waheeda Rehman and Academy Award winning actor-crusader Susan Sarandon lighting the ceremonial lamp at the Goa Kala Mandal here, with renowned Czech director Jiri Menzel’s Don Juans being screened as the opening film.
Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari, acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi, actors Rekha, Rani Mukherjee, Jackie Shroff, Venkatesh Duggubati, Rana Duggubati, Nana Patekar, director Rakeysh OmPrakash Mehra and playback legend Asha Bhosle were also present on the occasion.
Addressing the gathering, Sarandon expressed her regret at not having watched enough Indian films and said she was “unfortunate and ashamed” at not having been exposed to the cinema the country had produced.
And as many as 328 films- 171 foreign and 157 from India- including those from Haiti, Latvia, Estonia, Bhutan, Paraguay, East Timor, Chad and other countries will be screened along with 15 Oscar-nominated ones, with Japan being the focus country at this year’s fete. While Waheeda was honoured with the First Centenary Award for Indian Film Personality, the Lifetime achievement award went to Menzel .
The star-studded function witnessed the unfolding of duality’s charm- in surprising combinations of modernism and classicism; celebrations and politics; old and new; regional and Hindi. The august gathering was transfixed by a dance recital by Kathak exponent and master choreographer Pandit Birju Maharaj, who depicted the contributions made by his gurus and himself to music and dance in Hindi cinema.
Maharaj’s duet with sitar maestro Ustad Nishat Khan was a fitting tribute to (one of the many elements of) Indian classicism and in a broader sense, it was a gesture of gratitude to the artists (other than the stars and actors) who had helped India earn the sobriquet of ‘Cannes of the East’. And a piece by Maharaj’s disciples, set to the background and soundtrack from Vishwaroopam starring Kamal Haasan, managed to ensure some momentary spotlight on the ‘regional element’ at the ceremony, which was dominated by Bollywood.
The Nelson Mandela biopic 'Long Walk To Freedom' will be the festival’s closing film and two Indian films from among the 15 will be competing for the coveted Golden Peacock Award. In the Indian section, the late Rituparno Ghosh’s last film Satyanwesi will be shown.
Film buffs are eagerly awaiting the screening of Baga Beach, a Konkani film highlighting the Goan peoples’ struggle in the wake of the growing tourism industry, and The Coffin Maker starring Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah .
Against the backdrop of an impressive 80 per cent participation of digital platform coinciding with the spotlight on North- East, Tewari told Express that filmmakers from the North-East will be given the necessary encouragement and imparted training in filmmaking, besides being provided the opportunity to screen their films.“We have also requested Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma to open the North-East Segment,” he said.
At the IFFI, the jugalbandi between the Centre and BJP Government in Goa has been fairly harmonious so far. The chorus for signing a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to make Goa the permanent venue for the premier event has grown louder.
Earlier on Wednesday Tewari said, “It’s the beginning of the new century in Indian Cinema. We in the UPA Government are doubly committed to make the end of the centenary of Indian movie industry very special indeed . We have successfully staged IFFI in Goa for 10 years. What more a sign of ‘permanence’ could one give?”
The Minister poetically vowed the UPA Government’s commitment to make the festival a success and even drew puns on the word “haath” (also the symbol of the Congress) to evince interest in a future partnership with the Goa government for the IFFI. Tewari also announced the completion of the first phase of the National Film Heritage Mission and the setting up of the National Museum for Indian Cinema in Pune.
When this correspondent pointed out to the minister that the heritage component of films on politics and democracy was missing from the screenings at IFFI 2013,Tewari said he regretted the fact it had been overlooked. “Politics and art are about perception. The festival director however has noted the point.” he said, apparently half in jest.
However, Tewari did not miss out on the opportunity to take a dig at “a certain gentleman who is trying to brand the celebration of Indian cinema”. He made references to BJP’s “prime ministerial candidate” (without naming him) and said, “they don’t have people’s blessings”. He said, “Decades ago, like this particular “certain gentleman, another certain gentleman tried to brand the Berlin Olympics...”
This edition of the IFFI marks the 101st anniversary of Indian cinema.
