Day 06 - International Film Festival of India

Indian filmmakers use cinema to dispel
myths and misconceptions, find hope
T
he
press
conference
held yesterday at 11 am,
in the Entertainment
Society of Goa’s Press Briefing
Room, revolved around three
films — two fictional and one
documentary — playing in
IFFI’s Indian Panorama section:
The Head Hunter, Dau Huduni
Methai (Song of the Horned
Owl), and Daughters of Mother
India. The directors were present
in the room, talking about the
inspiration behind their films.
Vibha Joshi, the director of
Daughters of Mother India, a
documentary on the aftermath of
the 2012 Delhi gang rape, began
the conference: “When the cry of
conscious-protest broke after the
rape of Nirbhaya, I stood there as
India’s proud daughter, wanting
to document the moment
forever, because no country has
responded to gender crime the
way India did.” Daughters of
Mother India is “what happened
to India after that night”, said
Joshi, and “my perspective as
a filmmaker was that of hope.
Because if we don’t hope, there’s
no fight.” Getting access to police
initially, however, was difficult,
because “media, camera, and
journalists were bad words,”
but a meeting with the then
Commissioner of Delhi Police,
Neeraj Kumar, changed that.
Kumar, father of two daughters,
felt this story needed to be told,
and allowed Joshi, and her team,
access to Delhi Police’s command
room. “After that, the film’s gone
beyond me: it’s in the curriculum
of 200 schools; it’s won the
National Award; and Viacom 18,
as part of public service airing,
will screen the film in seven
regional languages.”
After Joshi, Nilanjan Datta,
The Head Hunter’s director,
briefed his filmmaking journey,
“My film is about a tribe called
Wancho,
which
practiced
headhunting until 1991. Of
course, they never used to cut
the head of enemies. In fact, we
also do head hunting; it’s just
that we use different weapons.”
The
audience
chuckled.
Datta continued, “Since it’s
an unknown tribe, there’s a
myth about them that they
practice head hunting, which is
untrue. They are warm people
with their own ethics, own
value system.” Growing up in
Arunachal Pradesh, Datta saw
that “mainland India” had a lot
of “preconceived notions about
the tribes of northeast — that
they are violent, eat almost
anything, and dress in a certain
way. These are wrong notions,
and I wanted to break them.
The Head Hunter is an attempt
to show the human side of the
region.”
Like Datta, Manju Borah,
too, Dau Huduni Methai’s
filmmaker, wanted to dispel
some misconceptions about
her state, Assam. “Everybody
thinks that Assam is Assamese,
like how Bihar is for Bihari, or
West Bengali for Bengali,” she
said. “But that’s not true. We
speak so many dialects. We have
more than 220 ethnic groups of
people, and they speak their
own language. But the problem
is, these small communities feel
that they are being deprived of
their political and social rights,
that their language, culture,
and tradition is fading away
because of the pressure from
the mainstream. I wanted to
understand their sentiments.”
Dau Huduni Methai’s female
protagonist hails from Assam’s
Kokrajhar
district
whose
“people are trying to get back
their political independence.
After independence, a lot of
rebel groups have come up.
There’s insurgency, counter
insurgency,
and
common
people are suffering,” she said.
“They don’t know their political
and social rights; they don’t
understand the independent
status,”she said. “My film tries
to focus on that situation.
Because what is our duty as a
nation — to be thoughtful and
helpful to those who are our
original people.”
How film festivals can save Indian independent cinema
I
n the recent years, several Indian
films, such as The Lunchbox, Court,
Masaan, have been screened, and
won important accolades, at different
renowned film festivals of the world.
Masaan, which premiered at the Cannes
International Film Festival’s Un Certain
Regard category, won the Prix de l’avenir
award; Court, India’s entry to the Oscars,
won the Lion of the Future prize at the
71st Venice International Film Festival;
The Lunchbox premiered at the 2013
Cannes International Film Festival, where
it bagged the Critics Week Viewers Choice
award. What further unites these films is
the fact that they were noticed at various
work in progress labs and film markets at
various global film festivals. The Lunchbox
was part of the Talent Project Market at the
Berlin International Film Festival, and was
mentored at the screenwriter’s lab at the
Torino Film Festival; Masaan was part of
the Sundance Screenwriter’s Lab, in 2014,
and was the recipient of the Sundance
Institute-Mahindra Global Filmmaking
Award that included a cash award of
$10,000; Court caught the attention of
a Venice Film Festival programmer at
NFDC’s Film Bazaar, organised annually
alongside IFFI, which eventually helped it
being screened at the festival.
The success of these films was
intricately tied to how skillfully they
navigated the film festival circuit,
which was also the topic of discussion
of a workshop by Young Woo Kim,
Programmer — Asian Cinema, Selection
Committee - Busan International Film
Festival; and Ioanna Stais, Head of
Festivals and Sales, Heretic Outreach.
“Many films are made every year,
and it’s difficult to see how indie
productions can find a place in the
tough market, where films get old very
easily. A film becomes old in less than
six months,” said Stais. “So it’s important
that filmmakers think of a strategy in
advance, even before the film is finished,
to target different film festivals. Your
film should be ready in time for big
film festivals like Busan, Cannes,
Berlin, Toronto.” Stais then emphasised
on the importance of “networking in
advance to create an expectation for the
film before it is finished”, something
that Court’s filmmaker and producer,
Chaitanya Tamhane and Vivek Gomber,
were successfully able to do for their
movie. “You should have a sales agent
way in advance; there are various
work in progress labs in international
film festivals that are very helpful. It’s
important to make a strategy and get
your films noticed in advance.”
Kim, who’s been programming Indian
films at the Busan International Film
Festival for the last two years, spoke about
how Indian films have been increasingly
making a mark at different film festivals,
including his own. “We have been
showing many Indian films every year [in
Busan]. This year, we opened the festival
with an Indian film [Zubaan] and showed
16 films in total, including documentaries
and shorts. Busan shows an outstanding
number of films from Indian cinema,
and very interesting range of cinema is
coming out of India — from Bollywood
to independent films,” he said. “India
has more than 20 languages, and each
language has its own market. I have come
to India hoping to discover new talent and
films.”
When
asked
about
whether
international co-productions are the
way forward for small Indian films,
Stais replied, “It’s true that there’s been
a big movement of Indian independent
production in the last decade, and a lot
of successful films abroad have been the
result of international co-productions
[films such as Masaan and The Lunchbox].
There are workshops in different film
festivals to develop a project. It will be
interesting to see how Indian producers
can start developing ways to adapt to the
reality of the market, and how they can
approach sales agents and film festivals for
their film.” She continued, “And it’s all the
more important now because the notion
that Indian cinema equals Bollywood
is changing.”
02
IFFI | November 25, 2015
WHAT YOU SHOULD DO TODAY
Time: 10.30 am
Event: FICCI Workshop by Subhash Ghai
Venue: Taj Vivanta
Duration: 60 minutes
Popular Indian filmmaker Subhash Ghai will
conduct a workshop organised by the Federation
of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry
(FICCI) to address a pertinent problem:
unavailability of skilled workers in the media and
entertainment industry.
Time: 2.20 pm
Movie: The Brand New Testament
Venue: INOX — Screen IV
Duration: 115 minutes
Time: 8.30 am
Movie: Land of Mine
Venue: INOX — Screen I
Duration: 100 minutes
God is not only alive but also a grumpy sadist,
living with his wife and a 10-year-old daughter in an
apartment in Brussels, in this comedy directed by
acclaimed Belgian director Jaco Van Dormael. The
Brand New Testament is Belgian’s entry for the Best
Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards.
Land of Mine, a 2015 historical drama, tells the story
of German prisoners of war sent to clear mines in
Denmark. Inspired by real events, Land of Mine was
screened in the Platform section at the 2015 Toronto
International Film Festival.
Time: 11 am
Event: In Conversation with Priyadarshan
Venue: Kala Academy
Duration: 60 minutes
Director Priyadarshan has made more than 80 films in
several Indian languages, including Hindi, Malayalam,
Tamil, and Telugu. Making movies for more than last
three decades,
Priyadarshan
will talk about
his filmmaking
journey at
length in IFFI’s
new section, In
Conversation with
Director.
Time: 7.10 pm
Movie: Tribute to Nikita Mikhalkov — screening
of Burnt by the Sun
Venue: INOX — Screen III
Duration: 147 minutes
Noted Russian director Nikita Mikhalkov, who began
his career in the movies as an actor, is being given
the Lifetime Achievement Award at this edition of
the festival. As a part of the tribute, Mikhalkov’s 1994
film, Burnt by the Sun, will be screened today, which
received the
Grand Prize at
the 1994 Cannes
International
Film Festival
and the
Academy Award
for Best Foreign
Language Film.
Time: 4.45 pm
Movie: The Danish Girl
Venue: Kala Academy
Duration: 120 minutes
Starring Academy Award-winning actor Eddie
Redmayne, The Danish Girl, revolves around the
true story of transgender pioneer Lili Elbe, who was
one of the first known recipients of sex reassignment
surgery. The Danish Girl, IFFI’s mid fest film, was
screened in the main competition section at the 72nd
Venice International Film Festival.
IFFI | November 25, 2015
46th International Film Festival of India, Goa.
05
Russian filmmaker Nikita Mikhalkov to be
honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award
O
scar-winning Russian
filmmaker
Nikita Mikhalkov,
who will be given the Lifetime Achievement Award
for his contributions to
world cinema in 46th IFFI,
has arrived at the festival.
After getting trained as
an actor at the Shchukin
first film, At Home Among
Strangers, in 1974 and garnered international recognition with his next, A
Slave of Love.
With an incomparable
body of work, Mikhalkov
has represented Soviet cinema internationally. His
1987 film, Dark Eyes, was
A still from Burnt by the Sun
Nikita Mikhalkov
School, Mikhalkov studied direction under Soviet
filmmaker Mikhail Romm
at the All Union State Institute for Cinematography (VGIK). He made his
an Italian coproduction,
while Urga, a 1991 FrenchSoviet coproduction, won
the Golden Lion at the
Venice International Film
Festival and was nominat-
ed for the Academy Award,
in 1993.
His 1994 film, Burnt by
the Sun, which is also being
screened at this year’s IFFI,
won the Grand Prix award
at the Cannes International
Film Festival and the
Academy Award for Best
Foreign Language Film.
He’s also made the most
expensive Russian film,
made on a budget of 45
million dollar, The Barber
of Siberia, which opened
the Cannes International
Film Festival in 1999 — an
honour rarely accorded to
a Russian director.
Renowned for his portrayal of the memorable
Sergei in Burnt by the Sun,
Mikhalkov has continued
his acting career, appearing in such films as The
Call, Song to Manchuk, The
Red Tent, Flights of Fancy,
among notable others, and
many of his own films, including At Home Among
Strangers, A Slave of Love,
and An Unfinished Piece for
Player Piano. He’s known
for being an actor’s director.
#IFFITalkathon with Subhash Ghai,
Jackie Shroff and Laura Dobrosi
T
he New Media
Cell of Ministry
of Information &
Broadcasting conducted
Talkathon with Subhash
Ghai, Jackie Shroff and
Laura Dobrosi that went
live on Ministry’s official
YouTube channel today.
Talking about the
relevance of social media
in today’s world, Subhash
Ghai recollected how
Tridev was the first Hindi
film to be promoted
through the Internet.
And today it has become
a world phenomenon —
to promote movies using
social media platforms.
During the course of
discussion, he said that
Indians should be more
passionate about movies
so that directors from
different parts of the
world are encouraged to
choose India as a popular
filmmaking destination.
Jackie Shroff threw
light on his journey as
an actor, and how he
started from scratch to
stardom. While answering
questions, he added that
the plot and emotions
As
a
filmmaker,
Mikhalkov improvises on
set “in the same way as
[Ingmar] Bergman does
— that’s to say during long
careful rehearsals, which
are the only way to give
the team, and particularly
the actors, the freedom
they need.” Mikhalkov had
once said that he found
it “impossible to have a
complete blueprint for a
film”, because he wasn’t
sure whether what he
intended to do would turn
out right, and because a
film is a living thing and
he needed to confirm
that constantly. “I don’t
set out to ‘make cinema’,”
he had said, “it’s rather
that something happens
between cinema and me,
and the result is a film.”
Cinephiles will be
able to savour his films at
the retrospective of his
films lined up during the
festival. The audience will
be able to see, in particular,
his masterpieces Sunstroke,
The Barber of Siberia, and
Burnt by the Sun.
MIFF Press Conference
Jackie shroff and Mukesh Sharma, DG, Films Division
Time: 11 am
Venue: IFFI Media Centre
Press Conference
Nikita Mikhalkov, Oscar Awardee, Russian filmmaker
Time: 12 pm
Venue: IFFI Media Centre
Press conference
Pablo Cesar
Time: 1 pm
Venue: IFFI Media Centre
Open Forum – 2015
(Technical Brilliance vs Creativity)
A.K. Bir (Cinematographer and Director) Milton R. Shefter (Film Preservationist)
Ketan Mehta (Filmmaker) Nandan Saxena (Cinematographer and Director) Moderator: Sudhir Bose, Vice President, FFSI
Time: 1.30 pm
Venue: AC Hall, Adjacent to INOX
Meet the Director
Kadambari (IP-F); Director: Suman Ghosh, Parambrata Chatterjee
Nanak Shah Fakir (IP-F); Director: A. K. Bir
are same, but changes in
technology have made a
difference in filmmaking.
Hungarian Actress Laura
Dabrosi expressed her
happiness about attending
IFFI in Goa.
Talkathon is an
initiative introduced by
the New Media Cell of
Ministry of Information
and Broadcasting that
connects virtual space
with the physical world.
It is a combination of
social media platforms
where questions asked
on Twitter in real-time
are answered by a panel
of guests, and the event
is live streamed on the
Ministry of Information
and Broadcasting’s official
YouTube channel. Thus,
it provides a unique
opportunity to social
media users to directly
pose questions and share
their opinions about a
particular issue with the
people directly involved
in that process.
The New Media Cell
is coming up with daily
live shows at IFFI, and
film lovers are welcome
to ask questions using
“#IFFITalkathon” on
Twitter, and they can get
answers in real-time. The
entire episode goes live
on the Ministry of I&B’s
official YouTube channel
(www.youtube.com/
inbministry).
Ore Udal (IP-NF); Director: Asha Achy Joseph
Time: 2.45 pm – 3.30 pm
Venue: IFFI Media Centre
Meet the Director
Bulgarian Rhapsody; Director: Ivan Nichev
Magallenes; DOP: Diego Jimenez
Baba Joon; Director: Yuval Delshad
Meghmallar; Director: Zahidur Rahim Anjan
My2; Director: Slobodanka Radun
Time: 4.00 pm
Venue: IFFI Media Centre
Repeat screening of Marathi film Katyar Kaljat Ghusali
Shankar Mahadevan, Sachin Pilgaonkar and Subodh Bhave
Time: 11.00 pm
Venue: Maquinez Palace - Auditorum I
06
IFFI | November 25, 2015
‘I am excited to make my debut as an actor’
Jyothi Venkatesh
M
usic director and singer
Shankar Mahadevan
has made his acting
debut with the Katyar Kaljaat
Ghusali, which is playing in IFFI’s
Indian Panorama section. In this
interview, Mahadevan opens up
about his career in movies, acting
debut, and future plans.
You have been a music
director for the last 20 years,
starting out with Dus. How
happy are you with the way your
career has progressed till date?
I can’t be happier, considering
the fact that we had started
off with Dus that was not
even released.
How did you form a team
with Ehsan and Loy as music
directors?
Ehsan and Loy were already
reputed composers in the ad
industry, and I met them when
they had called me to sing a
jingle for them. I should say
that it was destiny that made
me join them and form a trio as
composers for Mukul Anand’s
Dus. Even a conventional music director does not really do
anything solo. Someone else
arranges and programmes for
him. We three compose and
arrange music as a team. Not
many are aware that the mukhda
in Kal Ho Na Ho was Loy’s.
How tough has it been for
you to become succesful?
Initially, people tried to
brand me. First they said that
I can sing only aalaaps. When
they realised that I can sing well,
they said that my voice would
not suit heroes. It is all just
the programming of the minds.
It was a myth that was broken
only when A.R Rahman came
on scene, gave 10 voices to the
industry, and proved that it is
the song that dictates the singer,
and not the voice of the hero.
A song like Rock On could not
have been as effective had it been sung by a soft voice. Times were
different earlier when Rafi-saab,
Kishore Kumar and Mukesh
ruled the roost, and new singers
Shankar Mahadevan
could not dream of getting a
break.
You are making your debut
as an actor with the Marathi
film Katyar Kaljaat Ghusali!
When the offer came to me
from Nitin Keni [the producer],
obviously being the kind of
person that I am, I went on the
defensive thinking that he must
be joking. However, Subodh
[the director] convinced me that
I fitted the role perfectly, as it is
the role of a musician. I decided
to come on board and did not
worry whether I would be able
to succeed, as it is based on a
legendary play. I felt that I may
not get an opportunity to be part
of a film like this the second time.
What is your role?
It was quite a challenge to
play the middle-aged Pandit
Bhanushankar Shastri in the
film. I liked the character because
it is about the purity of music
and is natural and innocent to
the core; however, I was initially
scared, as I had never played a
character in a film though I have
been part of several South Indian
films as myself. I could relate to
the character a lot, especially
because I have been performing
in the original play since I was
15.
You have not only sung
but also composed music for
Marathi films though you are
Tamilian.
I am of the opinion that
music is a God-given gift. I never
say no to new Marathi music
HIGHLIGHTS OF IFFI’S FIFTH DAY
Subhash Ghai on red carpet
Nana Patekar on red carpet
Vibha Bakshi (right), director of Daughters of
Mother India, with producer Vishal Bakshi
Cast of Bengali movie Kadambari
directors when they ask me if I
can sing for their films that have
a very small budget, because
I know that it can give a boost
to their career. In fact, at times,
when new music directors ask
me to sing for them, I have
even sung free of cost, too.
Being a Tamilian did not at all
come in the way of me attaining
my goal, but there was this weird
perception that just because I am
a Tamilian, I hail from Chennai.
I was born in Mumbai and I am
a 100 percent Mumbaikar. My
wife, Sangeeta, is Maharashtrian.
It is not easy to make a mark in
mainstream especially as a singer
or composer. Because people
tend to think that your accent
and south Indian influence
will come in the way. Luckily
for me, I could wade through
that effortlessly and make my
mark.
What are you doing next as a
music director?
With Ehsan and Loy, I
have Rock On 2, Mirzziya, and
Ghayal 2.
Jackie Shroff on red carpet
American film preservationist Milt Shefter
Katyar Kaljat Ghusli and The Silence’s team addressing the press
Israeli Director Yuval
Delshad presenting
Baba Joon
Katyar Kaljat Ghusli’s team on red carpet
Bangladeshi
Director Zahidur
Rahim Anjan
presenting
Meghmallar
Actress Laura Döbrösi
Vani Tripathi in conversation with Rajkumar Hirani
Edited by: Tanul Thakur
Hindi Editor: Mihir Pandya
IFFI Daily Unit Head: Tanu Rai, Deputy Director, IFFI, Min. of I&B, Government of India.
Assisted by: Sarwat Jabin, Mohammad Usmani
Photos: Photo Division
Printed at: Impressions, Belgaum
Vivek Gomber, Court’s
actor and producer
Subhash Ghai and Nana Patekar
facilitating Subodh Bhave