India Masala
Bollywood and culture in an emerging India
IFFI 2009: INTERVIEW – Sonali Kulkarni
Actress Sonali Kulkarni, best known for her roles in “Daayraa” and “Dil Chahta Hai“, spoke to Reuters on the sidelines of the 40th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in the tourist haven of Goa.
Kulkarni is in Goa to promote her critically acclaimed Marathi film “Gabhricha Paus” which takes a hard-hitting look at the issue of farmer suicides in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region.
The actress, who has also acted in a few international projects, said she will soon publish a book — a collection of her articles and writings.
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(Flip cam video by Tony Tharakan)
MORE VIDEOS FROM IFFI 2009 INTERVIEW – Actress Sarita Choudhury
IFFI 2009: INTERVIEW – Tannishtha Chatterjee
Chatterjee, who was in Goa to present two of her films “Bombay Summer” and “The White Elephant“, has done a number of international projects. Her next film — Dev Benegal’s “Road, Movie” — is slated for a February 2010 release in India.
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(Flip cam video by Tony Tharakan)
MORE VIDEOS FROM IFFI 2009 INTERVIEW – Actress Sarita Choudhury
IFFI 2009: INTERVIEW – Actress Sarita Choudhury
Sarita Choudhury, known for her roles in Mira Nair’s “Mississippi Masala” (1992) and “Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love” (1996), spoke to Reuters on the sidelines of the 40th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in the tourist haven of Goa.
Choudhury’s latest film “For Real“, an English film set in New Delhi, premiered in Goa.
(Click below to watch video)
(Flip cam video by Tony Tharakan)
IFFI 2009: Sona Jain on ‘For Real’
Jain’s first feature film is the story of a six-year-old who witnesses a moment of discord within her family.
The ensuing depression evident in her parents causes a chain reaction in the child’s mind, making her withdraw into a fantasy world where she believes her real mother has been sent to the Orion Galaxy and “mother” at home is really an alien. No one believes her story till the lonely child runs away in search of her real mother.
(PHOTO: Actress Sarita Choudhury is seen in a still from the film)
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(Flip cam video: Tony Tharakan)
IFFI 2009: Rituparno Ghosh on ‘Sab Charitro Kalponik’
The Bengali film, starring Bipasha Basu and Prosenjit, explores the relationship between a poet and his wife.
Ghosh, who won a National Award for the English film “The Last Lear“, said he was unhappy that his Bengali projects did not get as much publicity as mainstream movies.
outstanding film in which poem recited/portrayed by Bipasha was one of the most memorable moment. The path traced by the pieces of poem is a wonderful imagery
IFFI 2009: Makrand Deshpande on “Shahrukh Bola Khoobsurat Hai Tu”
Filmmaker Makrand Deshpande’s new film “Shahrukh Bola Khoobsurat Hai Tu” is about a flower girl in Mumbai whose life changes after a chance meeting with actor Shah Rukh Khan who tells her that she is beautiful.
Khan plays himself in a two-minute cameo in the film, which is a sort of tribute to the Bollywood superstar.
Deshpande spoke to Reuters about “Shahrukh Bola Khoobsurat Hai Tu” on the sidelines of the 40th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in the tourist haven of Goa.
(Click below to watch video)
(Flip cam video by Tony Tharakan)
It’s the right time for a film about Shahrukh Khan. Unfortunately, in Shahrukh Bola Khoobsurat Hai Tu, he plays just a cameo role. We want a whole film over the extraordinare, magnific, mysterious and very funny KING KHAN.
IFFI 2009: Aijaz Khan on ‘The White Elephant’
Aijaz Khan‘s debut feature film, about Shabri the drunkard and a ‘holy’ elephant which chooses him as its keeper, is set in a village in Kerala.
The Hindi film, starring Tannishtha Chatterjee, Prroshanth Narayannan and Neena Gupta, is being screened at the 40th International Film Festival of India in Goa.
Khan spoke to Reuters about ‘The White Elephant’, where he got the idea for the film and how the mahout controlling the elephant was the “real hero”.
IFFI 2009: Joseph Mathew Varghese on ‘Bombay Summer’
Director Joseph Mathew Varghese speaks to Reuters about his debut feature film ‘Bombay Summer‘ which is being screened at the 40th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Panaji, Goa.
(Flip cam video by Tony Tharakan)
I have seen the trailer. Seems to be a masterpiece film rare to come by. Lots of places are captured which might never again exist in Bombay .The sound, the timing all are perfect.
Congrats to Joseph Mathew for such a rare masterpiece, awaiting more and more of such genres for Indian cinema.
Can festivals escape popular cinema?
When Goa first hosted the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in 2004, it seemed there was no escaping Bollywood and its glamour.
Vidya Balan, Salman Khan, and a host of Bollywood stars were part of the event.
It led to vehement protests from delegates and guests at the festival who felt “unnecessary importance” was being given to popular cinema.
Over the years, organisers have tried to reduce the influence of Bollywood on the festival, saying they wanted to concentrate on “serious cinema”.
Yet we unfailingly see a Bollywood star inaugurating the festival, its premieres taking place and references being made to India’s most popular export at every stage.
Festival organisers admit that there is no escaping Bollywood, but say they have to maintain a balance. Where that balance lies, is something that most film lovers still struggle to answer.
As someone who has attended the festival for the last five years, I know that a lot of people who want to see “serious” cinema are the first ones to complain when there are no stars or red carpets taking place.
I think not. Unlike European cine fans who converge on popular festivals to solely sample cinema that are made for an exclusive and premium audience, Bollywood and its influence on Indian fans is a different ball game alltogether.Bollywood reflects the multi-cultural, multi-lingual complexities of the people it portrays and I sincerely hope I don’t see a day when it is divorced from parallel cinema.”Popular Cinema” is really a paradox as I am sure art/non-commercial filmmakers do not make cinema for the sole purpose of rendering them extremely “unpopular” among the masses. So they will co-exist. Some will weep at poverty and child abuse, while some laugh at improbably cohesive families living in palacial houses.
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The Wall
