INDIA FOCUSED MIPCOM ISSUE
Country Head Technicolor India
A FILM BY
GURVINDER SINGH Muddled with his own desires and his family’s desires for him, Kishan, a lad of 17, has
Architect of
to make a choice: whether to live a predictable life around his remote Himalayan village
or migrate to the city. Working in a cafe in a nearby town, he has disturbed sleep and bad
AMAZEMENT
dreams at nights. And at times has visions while awake—flashes of fleeting but strong images. Khanaur is the vernacular word for a Himalayan variety of bitter chestnut, which
the villagers believe is made edible by washing regularly for seven straight days. The
film looks at the aspirations, fears and insecurities of living in the present times, through
FOR A DECADE NOW, BIREN GHOSE HAS BEEN THE FACE OF TECHNICOLOR INDIA. HERE’S HOW THE GLOBAL M&E SERVICES GIANT HAS TRANSFORMED INDIA INTO ONE OF ITS MOST PROLIFIC GLOBAL HUBS FOR THE ANIMATION, VFX, GAMING INDUSTRY
the eyes of a young Kishan, as he yearns for the bitterness to eventually fade away from
the fruit. It is about the inner beauty and charm of people who live in harmony with
nature—till now free of the constant pressure of conformity, of embracing consumerism and fruits of globalization. True, Kishan will want to leave one day, wanting to indulge in these temptations.
Khanaur (Bitter Chestnut) is the third feature from Indian director Gurvinder Singh,
whose earlier two films, Alms for the Blind Horse and Fourth Direction, have premiered
at Venice and Cannes film festivals respectively and won numerous international awards.
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www.pickle.co.in DECEMBER 2019
Special Issue
THE SOUTH INDIAN FILM CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CONGRATULATES
IFFI ON ITS
Reflections on the First International Film Festival of India (1952)
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GOLDEN JUBILEE
“If the quality of films were the sole criterion, surely one of the best film festivals ever held anywhere was the first international film festival in India in 1952... Few festivals before or since have provided such a feast of outstanding films.” Satyajit Ray Renowned Filmmaker
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INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF INDIA THE WORLD’S MOST FILM-LOVING NATION CELEBRATES THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF IFFI BRINGING THE BEST OF SUBCONTINENTAL AND GLOBAL CINEMA TOGETHER
www.pickle.co.in DECEMBER 2019
Special Issue
When an Italian Movie Inspired Bimal Roy
THE SOUTH INDIAN FILM CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CONGRATULATES
IFFI ON ITS TH GOLDEN JUBILEE
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INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF INDIA THE WORLD’S MOST FILM-LOVING NATION CELEBRATES THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF IFFI BRINGING THE BEST OF SUBCONTINENTAL AND GLOBAL CINEMA TOGETHER
Touched by the Italian film ‘Bicycle Thieves’ directed by Vittorio De Sica, screened at the first International Film Festival of India at Bombay in 1952, Bimal Roy, the acclaimed Indian film director, decided to make ‘Do Beegha Zameen’ after music director Salil Chaudhary narrated to him Rabindra Nath Tagore’s story ‘Dui Beegha Jomi’ while returning home. Roy founded Bimal Roy Productions in 1952 which went on to produce 13 of the 21 films the director made throughout his career.” Bimal ROy Renowned Filmmaker
No Compromise With My Art “No producer has come to me a second time and that is a testimony to my attitude towards art. I make films for the minority audience and I will go on making films in the same way. In serving this medium, I serve my conscience.” mrInal sen Renowned Film Director, during the Third IFFI 1969. His film ‘Bhuvan Shome’ was the official entry in IFFI 1969. ‘Bhuvan Shome’ will be shown in the homage section of IFFI 2019 6
pickle special IFFI edition
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www.pickle.co.in DECEMBER 2019
Special Issue
THE SOUTH INDIAN FILM CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CONGRATULATES
IFFI ON ITS TH GOLDEN JUBILEE
Best Run Festival Kazan has Seen “I take this opportunity to compliment you for how well this festival has been organised and managed. I’ve been to several gatherings of this kind in the past but never seen one better run.” Elia Kazan -Oscar winning American Director on his experience at the Sixth edition of IFFI In a letter to Mr AK Verma, Director, DFF
Humanism and Films Films are an expression of human behaviour. Humanism could be interpreted differently but the human mind is the same. Although people all over the world live in different societies and culture, humanism is the same. Akira Kurosawa Noted Japanese Director
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INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF INDIA THE WORLD’S MOST FILM-LOVING NATION CELEBRATES THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF IFFI BRINGING THE BEST OF SUBCONTINENTAL AND GLOBAL CINEMA TOGETHER
www.pickle.co.in DECEMBER 2019
Special Issue
commendations for a job done well!
THE SOUTH INDIAN FILM CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CONGRATULATES
IFFI ON ITS TH
SHRI RAM NATH KOVIND
SHRI Narendra Modi
President Republic of India
Prime Minister of India
On this occasion, it is important to recollect the contribution of IFFI towards promoting the culture of community viewing of quality cinema in India. As we celebrate the popularity of cinema and its ability to create an audience around it, it must be mentioned that IFFI has nurtured this community for the last 50 years‌ In these 50 years, cinema has evolved to express a wider range of social issues. With technological developments, it has become more sensitive to capture our imagination effectively.
Films are a crucial vehicle of mass communication and are a reflection of the society. The entertainment industry and films, in particular, have immense potential to shape the imagination of the masses. Cinema as a soft power can influence the perception of societies and nations. Even while entertaining the common people, the industry must make an endeavour to bring about a positive change and transformation in the lives of citizens and the youth, in particular. The International Film Festival of India has carved out a niche for itself on the global entertainment map. The 50th edition of IFFI is an ideal platform for a two-way exchange and fusion between the cinematic culture of India and different parts of the world. May the large gathering from the film fraternity share the latest innovations and enrich each other in the pursuit of cinematic brilliance.
Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu
SHRI Prakash Javadekar
Vice-President of India
Minister of Information & Broadcasting and Environment, Forest & Climate Change
IFFI has contributed immensely in establishing the roots of global cinema in Indian society. As the cinematic treatment of social issue often finds its origin in the culture of that society, international film festivals facilitate this cultural cross-talk, through their vivid bouquet of global cinema. The increasing participation from global film fraternity in IFFI reinforces the belief that such interaction among cultures is beneficial in understanding of the world in which we co-exist.
IFFI as a festival has always strived to achieve excellence in showcasing content creators and cinematic brilliance. It has been a journey of innovation and excellence and continues to provide a perfect platform to link people, communities and ideas together. Its 50th edition will further perpetuate the idea of celebrating creativity and diversity of cinema.
GOLDEN JUBILEE
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INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF INDIA THE WORLD’S MOST FILM-LOVING NATION CELEBRATES THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF IFFI BRINGING THE BEST OF SUBCONTINENTAL AND GLOBAL CINEMA TOGETHER
www.pickle.co.in DECEMBER 2019
Special Issue
commendations for a job done well!
THE SOUTH INDIAN FILM CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CONGRATULATES
IFFI ON ITS TH
SHRI Dr. Pramod Sawant
Amit Khare
Chief Minister Goa
Secretary Ministry of Information & Broadcasting Government of India
Goa has gone a long way in creating a niche for itself and to achieve a milestone in the film world to host the prestigious 50th edition. The festival has seen tremendous growth with every passing year. Cinema has helped India build a national identity and national character, promoting unity, solidarity and cohesion despite socio cultural, regional, religious, linguistic and cultural diversity in our country.
Continuing its journey towards excellence, this year’s festival intends to revisit the glorious journey of Asia’s oldest and one of the most prestigious Film Festivals… It has always been IFFI’s endeavor to promote the cinematic medium through various platforms, encouraging exchange of ideas through masterclasses, seminars and informal chat sessions, encouraging filmmakers and practitioners of this art from world over to connect with film.
Chaitanya Prasad
Chandrajit Banerjee
Festival Director Directorate of Film Festivals & IFFI Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
Director General Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)
The 50th edition is a milestone in the journey of the Directorate of Film Festivals. For each of the previous 49 editions, IFFI established new benchmarks, which helped the festival to be acknowledged worldwide. The bouquet of films for the Golden Jubilee edition reiterates the importance of cinema in the lives of people across the world.
GOLDEN JUBILEE
International Film Festival of India (IFFI) is one of the finest and prominent film festivals in the world bringing together the best of international and Indian cinema on one platform. Establishing an identity of its own, IFFI over decades has inspired many Indian filmmakers and actors who are now icons in the industry. Congratulations and best wishes for a grand IFFI Golden Jubilee celebration as the Festival continues its journey to expand Indian cinema’s global footprint.
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INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF INDIA THE WORLD’S MOST FILM-LOVING NATION CELEBRATES THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF IFFI BRINGING THE BEST OF SUBCONTINENTAL AND GLOBAL CINEMA TOGETHER
www.pickle.co.in DECEMBER 2019
Special Issue
commendations for a job done well!
THE SOUTH INDIAN FILM CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CONGRATULATES
IFFI ON ITS
Dilip Chenoy
Ravi Kottarakara
Secretary General, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)
Veteran Film Industry Leader
TH GOLDEN JUBILEE
IFFI is a place where you will see only festivities. Everyone being honoured, everyone enjoying. People have visual treat by watching films and this travel from 1952 was a dream conceived because festivals were taking place in Cannes and Locarno. Now IFFI ranks amongst top 10 festivals. On the 50th edition of IFFI, I extend my warm wishes to each and every stakeholder and hope the festival will continue to serve its purpose for many more years.
International Film Festival of India has remained steadfast in its emphasis on showcasing the diversity of Indian cinema as well as in its commitment to the celebration of excellence across moviemaking genres. IFFI not only provides a glimpse of the sheer range and dynamism of Indian cinema, it also puts together a slate of brand new world cinema titles. IFFI integrates Global and Indian Cinema. IFFI’s influence on Indian cinemas soft power is remarkable. Hearty congratulations to IFFI on its Golden Jubilee celebration.
Firdausul Hasan
GIRISH KASARAVALLI
President Film Federation of India
Filmmaker
It is a proud moment for us at the Film Industry to be part of the celebrations of 50 years of IFFI because it has played a remarkable role in the journey and growth of the rich heritage of cinema. We wish it many more years of beautiful journey!
IFFI serves a crucial purpose - it brings together cinema from every corner of India. In the normal course, it would be difficult to grasp the complexity of Indian films because there is so much variety on show. Kannada cinema is distinct from Manipuri cinema. Similarly, Marathi cinema has little in common with Malayalam cinema. Only at IFFI can one savour the entire range and make some sense of what is going on in the different cinemas of India.
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INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF INDIA THE WORLD’S MOST FILM-LOVING NATION CELEBRATES THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF IFFI BRINGING THE BEST OF SUBCONTINENTAL AND GLOBAL CINEMA TOGETHER
www.pickle.co.in DECEMBER 2019
Special Issue
A Home For Cinema
IFFI, since debuting in 1952, has served the dual purpose of bringing the world of cinema to India and paving the way for films from the country to travel beyond geographies By Saibal Chatterjee
T
he first International Film Festival of India, a brainchild of Mohan Bhavnani, chief producer of the then Films Division, was held in 1952. It was Asia’s first-ever film festival and it exposed Indian movie industry professionals to some of the greatest films made around the world, including Bicycle Thieves, Miracle in Milan, both directed by Vittorio De Sica, and Roberto Rossellini’s Rome, Open City. Under the influence of Italian neo-realism, a cinematic efflorescence took place. The movement was led by the likes of Satyajit Ray, Ritwik Ghatak and Bimal Roy, who took their cameras out of their studios
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and crafted films that followed uncompromisingly realist traditions. A year earlier, Jean Renoir had shot an American film, The River, in and around Kolkata. During the shoot, Ray, who was then working in an advertising firm, met Renoir as well as his future cameraman Subrata Mitra, who was a production assistant on the film. Ray and Mitra formed a formidable combine that catapulted Indian cinema into the global arena. Once Bhavnani got the go-ahead from the then information and broadcasting minister R.R. Diwaker and then from Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, he went about LIKE PICKLE IN FACEBOOK
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putting the logistics for a film festival in place. A committee under the chairmanship of Clifford Manmohan Agarwala, chairman of the Central Board of Film Censors, was formed. Among its members were filmmakers V. Shantaram, B.N. Sircar, Chandulal Shah, S.S. Vasan and J.B.H. Wadia, besides Nargis. That apart, regional committees were constituted in Delhi, Calcutta and Madras. The most celebrated international name on the invitees’ list in 1952 was the Hollywood director Frank Capra, who headed the American delegation. Capra was to return to IFFI as a member of the jury of the fifth IFFI (1975) headed by Satyajit Ray. Among the films that were brought in from the US in 1952 was Vincente Minnelli’s An American in Paris. Significantly, most of the international films screened in the festival were fresh productions and the event gave Indian cineastes an opportunity to savourthe best and latest of world cinema. The impact began to be felt almost immediately. Ray’s first film, PatherPanchali, was already in the works. There is reason to believe that the festival films that he may have caught strengthened his resolve to soldier on. Bimal Roy’s seminal Do Bigha Zameen, was released in 1953. Ghatak, who was only 27 years old when IFFI came into existence, had already made his entry into the industry as an actor and assistant director on Nimai Ghosh’s Chinnamul. His first independent film was Nagarik, made in the year of the birth of IFFI. Even as Ray and Ghatak continued to create masterpieces during the rest of the 1950s, as well as through the 1960s, IFFI, the second edition of which was held only in 1961, followed by the next three in 1965, 1969 and 1975, continued to have a bearing on the creative processes of other filmmakers around the country. Thereafter the festival became an annual affair: India’s window on world cinema. In the eight-year interregnum between the inaugural IFFI and the second one, Ray completed his Apu trilogy with Aparajito and ApurSansar, besides making Jalsaghar. Ghatak, during the same period, delivered Ajantrik and his most acclaimed film, Meghe Dhaka Tara. Indian cinema was never the same again. Though not directly influenced by Italian neo-realism, P.K. Atre’s Marathi film ShyamchiAai was released in 1953. It won the Best Film Prize at India’s first National Awards in 1954. In the 1950s, in the aftermath of the first IFFI, Hindi cinema delivered such timeless classics as Mehboob Khan’s Mother India and Guru Dutt’sPyaasa, films that are regarded as benchmarks of cinematic excellence to this day. The conduct of IFFI and the setting up of the Film and Television of Institute of India (FTII), where Ghatak was a teacher in the early years. in 1960 opened the sluicegates
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THE SOUTH INDIAN FILM CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CONGRATULATES
IFFI ON ITS
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TH GOLDEN JUBILEE
INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF INDIA THE WORLD’S MOST FILM-LOVING NATION CELEBRATES THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF IFFI BRINGING THE BEST OF SUBCONTINENTAL AND GLOBAL CINEMA TOGETHER
for a whole generation of path-breakers like Mani Kaul, Kumar Shahani and Adoor Gopalakrishnan, who altered the Indian cinema landscape in significant ways. From the 1970s onwards, once IFFI/ Filmotsav became a yearly event, these filmmakers and those that came after them notably in Mumbai, Kolkata and the filmmaking centres of Kerala took Indian cinema to new heights. They used the festival not only as a stepping stone for a concerted leap into the global scene but also as a platform where they could access high-quality international cinema and keep themselves abreast of trends around the world. An all-new creative universe opened up for them thanks to the screening of films by cinema greats like Ingmar Bergman, Andrei Tarkovsky, Tomas GuttierezAlea (who, incidentally, served on the IFFI jury in 1983 under the chairmanship of British filmmaker Lindsay Anderson), Andrzej Wajda and Istvan Szabo, among numerous others who left behind their footprints. It was not until the 8th IFFI in 1981 that an Indian film – Govind Nihalani’sAakrosh -- won the Golden Peacock. The hard-hitting drama written by legendary Marathi playwright Vijay Tendulkar shared the honourwith the Bulgarian film, An Unknown Soldier’s Patent Leather Shoes. The world has changed beyond recognition since IFFI was first mounted, but the annual event continues to help aspiring filmmakers and technicians to engage with cinema from around the world to either learn the ropes or draw inspiration for honing their skills. Many other avenues have become available for accessing the works of the finest filmmakers, but IFFI’s relevance hasn’t diminished.
Saibal Chatterjee is an independent New Delhibased film critic and writer who has worked on the staff of several leading publications, served on the editorial board of Encyclopaedia Britannica’s volume on Hindi cinema and authored a biography of poet-filmmaker Gulzar.
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T
he international film festival of India (IFFI) is one of the most-awaited events for film fanatics, theatre artists, aspiring actors and industry professionals. The film extravaganza brings the best of craft and cinema from across the world, under one roof. Needless to say, besides a chance to witness great cinema, the event is a reservoir of knowledge. Organised by the government of India, the event is planned and executed by a Steering Committee which consists of industry leaders and big wigs who can be credited with the event’s success. This year, the Steering Committee includes members like Union Minister Prakash Javadekar; Chief Minister of Goa Pramod Sawant; I&B Secretary Amit Khare; Chief Secretary, Goa, Parimal Rai; Vice Chairman, Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG), Subhash Phal Dessai; representatives of the film community including Shaji N Karun, Shri AK Bir, Rahul Rawail, Manju Borah, Ravi Kottarakara and Madhur Bhandarkar; senior officials of Directorate of Film Festivals, Entertainment Society of Goa, I&B Ministry and Goa Government. Besides, Bollywood leaders like Karan Johar, Siddharth Roy Kapoor, Feroze Abbas Khan and Subhash Ghai will also be part of the Steering Committee.
Fantastic IFFI is back, this time in a much bigger and better way. For, this year marks its golden jubilee. A lot of interesting things are in store, from special screening for the visually impaired to screening films that have turned 50 and best of Oscar winning movies. Here’s a trailer of IFFI that kickstarts on November 20 in Goa. 18
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This year, IFFI, slated to happen In Goa from November 20 to 28, 2019, is marking its golden jubilee. The event has got bigger and better this year as it enters its 50th edition. Internationally acclaimed French actor Isabelle Huppert would be conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award. Huppert, who has worked in films like The Lacemaker, Violette Nozière, La Cérémonie, among others, has appeared in more than 120 films since making her debut in 1971. She is the most nominated actress for the César Award, the national film award of France, with 16 nominations, and has won it twice. She was a regular with some of the most acclaimed filmmakers of the French New Wave, including Claude Chabrol and Bertrand Tavernier. Like stated earlier, IFFI not just gives you a chance to experience unforgettable cinematic treat, but also provides you a platform to network, learn and enhance your knowledge about the nuances of film making. This year, the event will have multiple masterclasses, In-Conversation sessions and workshops from the industry people from all across the globe. For instance, ace Indian filmmakers Madhur Bhandarkar and Priyadarshan will share their experiences and teach nitty-gritties of film direction, actors like Rishi Kapoor, Anil Kapoor TaapseePannu, Rakulpreet Singh will talk about their career highlights and industry experiences, along with Meghna Gulzar, Imtiaz Ali, Rahul Rawail and others talking about the art of filmmaking. Besides, there’s lots more into these masterclasses. Besides showcasing 200 landmark films that have been lauded all across the world, the event also has an impressive line-up of previous movies, including the ones that have bagged the Golden Peacock Award. There is also a section that will showcase incredible Oscar winning movies like the Godfather, Forest Gump, Gone with the Wind, among others. That apart, special arrangements will be made for the visually impaired to let them also enjoy cinema, along with sections like World Panorama and Kaleidoscope, that will leave cine buffs asking for more.
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Indian Panorama is a flagship section of IFFI, which showcases the best of contemporary Indian Feature and Non-Feature Films of the years. This year, the Feature Film Jury is headed by acclaimed filmmaker and screenwriter Priyadarshan. The Jury has chosen the film HELLARO (Gujarati) directed by Abhishek Shah as the Opening Feature Film of Indian Panorama 2019 So, while you have been waiting for the event to begin, with a bated breath, here’s a sneak peek of what this year’s edition has in store for you. Best fiction films from around the globe Under the section ‘World Panorama’, the event will showcase 64 award-winning feature-length fiction films, that are produced between 1st September 2018 to 31st August 2019, from around the globe. Adam, A First Farewell, far From Us, Give Me Liberty, among others, are some of the films under the section. The best of Indian cinema IFFI 2019 will be a golden chance for you if you want to witness the best of contemporary Indian Feature and Non-Feature Films of the years. The jury, including industry bigwigs like ace
French actor Isabelle Huppert to be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Golden Jubilee edition of IFFI
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filmmaker Priyadarshan and well-known documentary filmmakerShri Rajendra Janglay, have chosen films like Hellaro (Gujarati), Pareeksha (Hindi), Ek Je Chhilo Raja (Bengali), Uri : The Surgical Strike (Hindi), Gully Boy (Hindi), Super 30 (Hindi), to name a few, which will be displayed under the section. Impressive lineup for the ‘Golden Peacock’ The section consists of line-up of extra ordinary work from all across the world, in the run up for the much coveted ‘Golden Peacock’ award. The trophy, that will come along with a cash prize of Rs 40 lakh this time, will be given to one out of 15 movies have been produced and coproduced by 22 countries. Movies that will fight against each other include names like Balloon (China), Antigone (Canada), Jallikattu (India), among others. Missed Mumbai International Film Festival? IFFI is here to help! IFFI works hard to showcase the best of cinema to its audience. This year, it will showcase 17 award-winning films, from Mumbai International Film Festival, made in the last 10 years which includes documentaries, short fiction and animation films across the globe including Germany, Russia, Romania, United Kingdom and South Korea apart from India. Treat for the visually impaired IFFI aims to reach out as many as people as it can to let them explore and experience the kind of cinema that it offers. And considering movie watching is not easy for the visually impaired, the event has done its bit so that this section of audience doesn’t feel left out. It will organise special screenings of 3 brilliant films; Lage RahoMunna Bhai (Hindi), M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story (Hindi), and Questao De Confusa (Konkani); along with audio description that translates images, visual information or non-dialogue portions of film into spoken words so that visually impaired people can access, and enjoy the films.
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Legendary actor Rajinikanth to be conferred with ‘Icon of Golden Jubilee of IFFI’
Honouring living legend Amitabh Bachchan The 50th edition will honour megastar Amitabh Bachchan with the prestigious DadasahebPhalke Award, for his stupendous work and immense contribution to the Indian cinema. Highlighting his work, the event will showcase 6 of his films; Deewaar, Badla, Paa, Piku, Sholey and Black; that made a mark in the world. Films that have turned 50! As IFFI marks its Golden jubilee, it has crafted a special section ‘The Golden Lining’ as part of which it will screen best films that have completed 50 years, from across the world. The package includes Films in Odiya, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, Assamese and Malayalam. Some of the iconic movies to be shown are Aradhana by Shakti Samanta, Satyakam
IFFI also hosts many retrospectives, tributes, master classes and special sections, which enhance the variety and depth of the event. The master classes have emerged as a highlight of the festival, especially for film school students who converge in Goa during the eight-day event
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by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Stree by Siddharth and Nanak Nam Jahaz Hai by Ram Maheshwary, among others. Iconic work by 18 National awards winner Mrinal Sen This year, a new section‘Indian New Wave Cinema’ is dedicated to 12 films produced in India from the late 1950s to the late 1970s that were distinct in the narrative, style and budget, compared to those being produced in the mainstream cinema. This includes work of filmmaker Mrinal Sen, who has won 18 National Film Awards 18 times, the Padma Bhushan (2008) and the DadasahebPhalke Award.
Brothers, Costa Gavras, Wernor Herzog, HirokazuKoreeda, Fatih Akin and more. Finest work by Ken Loach The event will showcase some of the finest works by two-time Palme d’Or winner Ken Loach is widely acclaimed across international cinema as an independent filmmaker and documentarian. Some of the landmarks films that will be shows as part of Ken Loach: Retrospective section are Kes, sweet Sixteen, Fatherland, Sorry We Missed You, and more. You missed Oscarwinning movies? IFFI is here for you! This year, it is Oscar raining at the IFFI. The event has shortlisted the best of Oscar-winning movies to be showcased at the do. These include names like Monos (Columbia), Stupid Young Heart (Finland), Adam (Morocco), Beanpole (Russia), System Crasher (Germany), and many more. Get set to witness the best of world cinema and some of the stellar performances. Golden Peacock Films of last 49 years! Golden Peacock award has been a coveted title conferred by IFFI, to the world class cinema. In an effort to let cine aficionados enjoy and witness the stupendous award moving movies, in case they missed any one, the event will showcase all the Golden Peacock movies of the last 49 years under the section Golden Peacock retrospective.
Date with master filmmakers Like every year, this year too, the event will bring to you work by master filmmakers, under its section Master frames. The section has the section has 17 films, like By The Grace Of God, Adults in the Room, The Golden Glove, to name a few it by filmmakers of international repute like Pedro Almodovar, Lav Diaz, Xavier Dolan, Dardenne
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Restoring Indian Classics IFFI aims to cherish rich cinematic heritage and sharing it with new set of audience and introducing to them the glories of the past. The “Restored Indian Classics’ sections aims the same with showcasing two of the finest Indian films, Kalpana by Uday Shankar and TitasEkti Nadir Naam. The best from Asia This year, IFFI has curated films that have made their mark from across various Asian countries and filmmakers. Titled as ‘Soul of Asia’, the section includes movies like Chinese films FeelLIKE PICKLE IN FACEBOOK
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ings to Tell by Wen LI, Taiwanese film Ten Years Taiwan, Japanese film Ten Years Japan, Wet Season directed by Anthony Chen coproduced by Singapore and Taiwan, and more. The ‘Gandhian’ film IFFI, in association, with the International Council for Film, and Television and Audio-Visual Communication Paris (ICFT) will present a UNESCO Medal to a selected film which upholds the values exhibited by Mahatma Gandhi for his immense contribution to the society for preserving peace & non-violence. Indian film BahattarHoorain, along with other movies like Oray, Rwanda and Sanctorum, among others, are in the running for the title. The power of silence! Before movies were made with dialogues, films at their nascent stage were released without any dialogues. They still left an impact, solely because of superb acting and emoting skills of the actors, background skills and excellent direction. This year, IFFI will bring back the lost era and mark the stupendous art of filmmaking by showcasing classic silent movies, played with live music. The charismatic experience with be a part of the section ‘Silent Film with Live Music’.
ter, the event will this time focus on Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike by dedicating an entire section ‘filmmaker In Focus’ to him. This will include showcasing five of his finest films like First Love, Ichi the Killer, Audition, Dead or Alive, 13 Assassins. Miike is often considered as one of the most outstanding filmmakers from Asia and around the world with a cult status due to his films often mixing distinctly different genres and creating movies which stand out due to their mind-bending nature. Debutants like never before IFFI has always been a platform for budding filmmakers. This year too, it will see the best of debutants showcasing their work and fighting it out to be on the top under the Debutant Competition Section. 20 handpicked worldrenowned films Festival Kaleidoscope, one of the most loved and important sections of the festival, brings hand
The Syria massacre Immigration is one of the major problems that we face today. The Syrian immigrant crisis has found cinematic voice through master filmmakers over the last few years as an acknowledgement to this ongoing crisis. IFFI, in its own way, is working to solve the menace. This edition will see the special screening of the film ‘I’m Gonna Tell God Everything’ that narrates the heart wrenching story of Syria between 2011 and 2018. French Homages IFFI will pay homage to filmmakers Bernardo Bertolucci and Agnes Varda, who passed away in November 2018 and march 2019. The Dreams and Varda are the two French films that will be screened under this section. Focus on Takashi Miike With IFFI going bigger and bet-
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Celebration time at IFFI
picked films that have already made a mark in the world. This year 20 such films have been curated from all across the world. So, in case you have missed the ‘not be missed’ cinematic experience, you have a reason to cheer. The best from Russia Every year IFFI features ‘Country of Focus’ by picking up the best cinematic work and contribution of a particular country. This year, the country in focus is Russia. You will get to witness some of the best Russian films like Abigail by Aleksandr Boguslavskiy, Acid by Alexander Gorchilin, Great poetry by AleksandrLungin, to name a few. The Goan story! Held in Goa, IFFI, every year, dedicates a section that displays the best work from the Konkan film industry, that has been grow-
ing fast in the past few years. This year too, the festival has picked the best Konkani films that have made a mark across the globe. the list includes names like A rainy day, Amori, Digant, and more.
The awards that the competitive festival offers are significant in money terms. IFFI hands out prize money to the tune of US$ 200,000. The winner of the Golden Peacock for the best film takes home $80,000. That apart, the best director and the Special Jury Prize winner bag $30,000 each, while the two acting prizes come with a cash component of $20,000 each
The Best IFFI Jury of this Century
IFFI has moved up a few notches since coastal Goa became its permanent venue in 2004. IFFI now has a far more settled feel than ever before, with each improvement in terms of infrastructure and programming initiatives adding value to both the event and the location
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The jury is an integral part of any film festival. And IFFI takes care that it ropes in the best from the industry to judge and select the movies it wants to show. This year John Bailey, Cinematographer and Ex. President of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences will chair the International Jury of 50th International Film Festival of India (IFFI). French filmmaker Robin Campillo who was also a member of the Cannes International Jury 2019, renowned Chinese filmmakerZhang Yang and Lynne Ramsay, who is one of the leading lights of young British cinema will be the co-jurors. Eminent Filmmaker, Ramesh Sippy is the Indian member in the International Jury.
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INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF INDIA THE WORLD’S MOST FILM-LOVING NATION CELEBRATES THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF IFFI BRINGING THE BEST OF SUBCONTINENTAL AND GLOBAL CINEMA TOGETHER
Starting its life as a launchpad for nonmainstream Indian filmmakers who sought global breakthroughs, the Indian Panorama section of the International Film Festival of India has come a long way, as the art-commerce divide became more apparent with every passing decade. Here is how the Indian Panorama section story has evolved when looked through the prism of time and relevance By Saibal Chatterjee
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he Indian Panorama, in many ways the flagship segment of the International Film Festival of India, served a specific larger purpose that went beyond its stated goal of assembling the best films made around the country in the course of a year. Since its formal introduction in 1978, the section aided international festival curators in identifying the films that they wanted to pick for their programmes. Until the 1990s, the Indian Panorama served as a launchpad for non-mainstream Indian filmamakers who sought global breakthroughs. Many a director, from Satyajit Ray and Adoor Gopalakrishnan to the present generation of independent filmmakers, have benefitted from the exposure it has facilitated. However, in the last 15 years or so, the overt Bollywoodiza-
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tion of Indian cinema has altered the parameters of both the Panorama and the way that curators from across the world approach films made in the world’s most prolific movie-producing nation. In the early years of the Panorama, the art-commerce divide wasn’t so visible. Even before the birth of the section, in 1961, the second edition of IFFI, the selection of Indian films saw Satyajit Ray (Devi) and Rajen Tarafdar (Ganga) rub shoulders with K. Asif (Mughal-e-Azam) and Raj Kapoor (who produced and starred in Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai, directed by the showman’s cinematographer Radhu Karmakar). Also among the Indian films that were screened in 1961 was Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s Anuradha, that year’s winner of the National Award for Best Film. LIKE PICKLE IN FACEBOOK
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By the 1970s, however, the distinction between commercially-oriented movies and artistically inclined films became sharper in the light of the emergence of the parallel cinema movement. In Filmotsav 1984, held in Mumbai from January 3 to 16, the films that made the Panorama cut belonged to only one side of the creative divide. Gems like K.G. George’s powerfully feminist Adaminte Variyellu (Malayalam), K. Balachander’s political satire
Panorama, for festival spotters, quickly became the go-to source of great Indian films. Until the midnineties the segment kept throwing up films that attracted curators from the world over
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Achamillai Achamillai (Tamil), Kumar Shahani’s Tarang (Hindi), Govind Nihalani’s Party (Hindi), Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s Mukhamukham (Malayalam), Saeeed Akhtar Mirza’s Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho!, and Goutam Ghose’s Paar (Hindi) dominated the selection. This was a particularly fecund phase for the newfangled New Indian Cinema. The composition of the Panorama made it worthwhile, therefore, for programmers representing the major film festivals of the world to make the trip to India to handpick the latest and the best. To take the 1984 Indian Panorama as a case in point, Party, Mukhamukham and Paar cemented the reputation of the respective filmmakers. Paar was selected by the Venice Film Festival, where it won the Unesco Award and fetched the lead actor Naseeruddin Shah the Volpi Cup. Interestingly, the same year saw a trio of strikingly original films from the mainstream Hindi film industry make the Panorama grade – Amol Palekar’s Ankahee, Mahesh Bhatt’s Saaransh and Prakash Jha’s Hip Hip Hurray. It was an outstand LIKE PICKLE IN FACEBOOK
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IFFI is doing a great job of providing a platform especially to Indian filmmakers who need support to get their films seen by a wider audience. In the climate that non-Bollywood directors operate today, IFFI’s contribution to the cause of cinema that isn’t produced only to make profits cannot be overestimated
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INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF INDIA THE WORLD’S MOST FILM-LOVING NATION CELEBRATES THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF IFFI BRINGING THE BEST OF SUBCONTINENTAL AND GLOBAL CINEMA TOGETHER
Buddhadeb Dasgupta, Filmmaker
ing selection of 25 films – probably one of the best in living memory, not the least because even the Mumbai industry seemed to have moved to a space in which filmmakers were beginning to bridge the gap between what was commercially viable and what was artistically valuable. The trend continued through the 1980s. The next few years saw the induction into the Panorama hall of fame of films such as Bhabendra Nath Saikia’s Agnisnan (Assamese), Prakash Jha’s Damul (Hindi), Ramesh Sharma’s New Delhi Times (Hindi), Aparna Sen’s Paroma (Bengali), Govind Nihalani’s Aghaat (Hindi), Kumar Shahani’s Khayal Gatha (Hindi), Bharathi Raaja’s Mudhal Mariyadhai (Tamil), John Abraham’s Amma Ariyan (Malayalam), Mani Kaul’s Mati Manas (Hindi), G. Aravindan’s Oridathu and Chidambaram (Malayalam), Saeed Akhtar Mirza’s Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro, Shyam Benegal’s Susman (Hindi), Nabyendu Chatterji’s Chopper and Parashuramer Kuthar (Bengali), Jahnu, Barua’s Papori and Banani (Assamese), Mrinal Sen’s Ek Din Achanak (Hindi) and Satyajit Ray’s Ganashatru (Bengali). Several of these films began their journeys from the Panorama and successfully travelled around the world, enhancing the global profile of Indian cinema. The 1990s, too, were exceptionally productive in terms of quality. The year
The Indian Panorama, a section that is made up of both features and non-features, opens global avenues for films made by veterans and newcomers alike
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1992 had Goutam Ghose’s Padma Nadir Majhi, Buddhadeb Dasgupta’s Tahader Katha, Sudhir Mishra’s Dharavi and Jabbar Patel’s Ek Hota Vidushak. All these four filmmakers had already emerged as mainstays of India’s parallel cinema movement and their films continued to surface repeatedly in the Panorama in subsequent years. In 1995, among the films that were part of the Indian Panorama were Shekhar Kapur’s Bandit Queen, which enjoyed unprecedented success on the international festival circuit after premiering in Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes the previous year, and Rituparno Ghosh’s Unishe April, a National Award-winning film that heralded the advent of a remarkable new directorial talent. They represented two sides of the spectrum – one was a gritty, disturbing drama set in the Indian hinterland, the other a sharply chiselled, expertly scripted mother-daughter tale buoyed up brilliant lead performances. No wonder the Panorama, for festival spotters, quickly became the go-to source of great Indian films. Until the mid-nineties, the segment kept throwing up films that attracted curators from the world over. Few went back empty-handed such were the riches on show. However, the game has since changed drastically and the major festivals are now given to employing their own methods to select films. On many occasions in the recent past, new Indian films have been discovered by Cannes, Venice, Berlin or Toronto before making their way into the Indian Panorama and imprinting themselves on the minds of the domestic audience. One notable example of this is Gurvinder Singh’s critically acclaimed Punjabi-language film Anhe Ghore Da Daan (Alms for a Blind Horse). It premiered in the Orizzonti section of the 68th Venice Film Festival (2011) and then travelled to the BFI London Film Festival, the New York Film Festival and the Busan InternaLIKE PICKLE IN FACEBOOK
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It may be time for the Indian Panorama to reinvent itself and regain the position of pre-eminence it once had. It certainly hasn’t lost its relevance because despite the growing dominance of star power it still manages to yield slots to small films that address important issues and themes tional Film Festival. Leading festivals on three major continents embraced the film with great enthusiasm. Anhe Ghore Da Daan played in IFFI (as part of the Panorama) only at the end of 2012, picking up the festival’s Golden Peacock for the Best Film – one of only three Indian entries to bag the prize (the other two: Govind Nihalani’s Aakrosh and Goutam Ghose’s Moner Manush). Or consider the two Indian titles that played in the 2015 Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard – Gurvinder Singh’s sophomore Chauthi Koot and Neeraj Ghaywan’s debut Masaan. Both films won National Awards in 2016 – the former for Best Punjabi Film, the latter for Best First Film of a Director. But neither of the two was found worthy of being part of the Indian Panorama. The cycle of major film festivals – Cannes, Toronto, Venice, Berlin, Busan, Rotterdam – now impacts how Indian films travel around the world. Each of these festivals has its own prism to watch films through. So, what is likely to ap-
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peal to the Venice selectors may not make quite the same impact on the curators in Cannes or Toronto. So, the younger Indian filmmakers, the smarter ones among them at any rate, know exactly which festivals are likely to warm up to their films and therefore they take a route that bypasses the Panorama. It may be time for the Indian Panorama to reinvent itself and regain the position of pre-eminence it once had. It certainly hasn’t lost its relevance because despite the growing dominance of star power it still manages to yield slots to small films that address important issues and themes. All it now needs to do is reactivate its international connections. The way the Panorama can do it is by plugging into the global scene without losing its local essence. There has got to be a greater inclination towards artistically adventurous films with the power to travel beyond the confines of the culture they are rooted in. A tough ask, yes. But eminently within the realms of reality.
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THE SOUTH INDIAN FILM CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CONGRATULATES
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INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF INDIA THE WORLD’S MOST FILM-LOVING NATION CELEBRATES THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF IFFI BRINGING THE BEST OF SUBCONTINENTAL AND GLOBAL CINEMA TOGETHER
R A T S R E P U S L ETERNA
Rajinikanth
Rajinikanth, thalaiva (leader) to millions of fans, is an enigma that can’t be decoded. With the 50th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) getting ready to honour the superstar with a special ‘Icon of Golden Jubilee’ award, Pickle explains what makes Rajini the icon that he is The amazing Rajinikanth story
is no less fascinating than a movie script. There are multiple strands to the narrative, and each one of them can yield enough by way of drama to sustain a full-length feature. What sets Rajinikanth apart is the fact that he is more than just another movie star idolized in a populous nation that loves its filmed entertainment. He is a trueblue phenomenon whose clout transcends boundaries of both land and language like a few things can in contemporary Indian pop culture. One of the strands of the Rajinikanth saga pertains to the rags-to-riches tale of a Bangalore bus conductor who went on to become one of the greatest luminaries that Indian cinema has ever produced, a transformation that borders on the fantastical. The other thread of the story relates to the emergence of the larger-than-life myth of a towering showbiz personality who commands unquestioning loyalty from a fan base that keeps growing steadily and spawning ever-new crops of Rajini-isms on the social media and elsewhere. Rajini does not have Greek God good looks, nor does he have the height or physique to tower over everything else in a movie frame. Yet his screen presence is
extraordinary. His flashy mannerisms, his flamboyant swagger, and his punchy oneliners add up to a totality that is beyond analysis. It is next to impossible to put a finger on the exact reasons that make him such a peerless icon. Part of the difficulty stems from the fact that Rajini himself has never made calculated career moves. He has merely gone
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IFFI ON ITS
along with the flow and ended up in a place where a few ever have. For a man who has achieved the kind of sustained success that he has, he has his feet firmly planted to the ground – an attribute that immeasurably enhances his stature. Unlike other Indian movie stars, Rajinikanth keeps his on-screen persona well removed from his real-life identity as a husband, father and grandfather. He rarely appears at public events, but exercises great influence on Dravidian culture and politics. But his appeal is certainly not limited to the confines of Tamil Nadu and its cinema. His is a recognizable face across the country and in parts of the world where Tamil cinema has made inroads in recent years. Who else but Rajinikanth could be at the receiving end of a musical tribute of the kind that Bollywood megastar Shahrukh Khan paid him in Chennai Express. The song, Lungi Dance, aimed at “all the Rajini fans”, became a chart-topper and continues to be a favourite with DJs around the country? So confident is he of his fan following that when Rajinikanth appears in public, he does nothing at all to hide the tell-tale signs of age that a 69-year-old grandfather must necessarily live with. At an event organized to launch the music of the science fiction epic Enthiran/Ro-
movie actor after Jackie Chan has no starry airs whatever. Is he for real? Awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2000, Rajinikanth was named the recipient of the ‘Centenary Award’ for the ‘Indian Film Personality of the Year’ at the 45th International Film Festival of India in Goa. The well-deserved honour was bestowed on the megastar at the opening ceremony of the film festival on November 20. Five years on, at the 50th edition of IFFI, he receives another award to add to the trophies in his collection. Rajinikanth’s acting career began nearly 40 years ago, with K Balachander’s National Award-winning but controversial film Apoorva Raagangal (1975), in which the budding star played a small role as the abusive and long-lost husband of the film’s heroine. Kamal Haasan was the lead actor of Apoorva Raagangal. Rajini’s next film was the Kannada-language Katha Sangama (1976), an offbeat omnibus film directed by Puttanna Kanagal. It was not until his mentor Balachander made Anthuleni Katha in Telugu “In recognition of his outstanding that Rajini landed a pivcontribution to Indian cinema, during otal role in a film. An the past several decades, the award even more prominent character came his way for the Icon of Golden Jubilee of in Balachander’s MoonIFFI 2019 is being conferred on cine dru Mudichu (1976). star Rajnikanth.” In the early years of his career, Rajini played Prakash Javadekar Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting largely negative roles, especially as a womanizer or a perfidious friend, in bot, he got up on the podium and narrated several Tamil and Telugu films. He graduhow he was mistaken for just another man ated to essaying lead roles and appearing in in the crowd by onlookers in a Rajasthan village, where the film was being shot. He was hard pressed, he admitted in public, to convince fans who were milling around lead actress Aishwarya Rai that he was the hero of the film. Nothing says more about Rajinikanth the man and the movie star than the kind of unassuming candour that he resorts to when talking about himself and his achievements. At times it is difficult to believe that a superstar who, with the fee that he got for Sivaji (2007), became the highest paid Asian
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FESTIVAL OF INDIA a large number of films in the late 1970s, but superstar Mammootty. GOLDEN JUBILEE his screen image as a dashing leading man In the wake of the success of Thalapathi, began to crystallize only in the 1980s. films such as Annamalai, Mannan, Valli (for Who could have ever imagined that an which the actor wrote his first screenplay), actor who early in his career played, among Muthu, Yejaman, Veera and Baasha, hit the other things, a village ruffian who rapes a screens in quick succession, catapulting blind girl, a man who nonchalantly lets his Rajinikanth to a zone that nobody in Indian friend drowns so that he can marry the forcinema history had ever penetrated. mer’s girlfriend, and a pornographer who His career experienced somewhat of a secretly films his wife in the act without her slump at the turn of the millennium when knowledge would turn into a screen superhero endowed with bionic powers? I thank the Government of Rajinikanth had 15 reIndia for this prestigious leases in 1977 and 20 in 1978. honour bestowed upon These films were made in me on the Golden Jubilee Tamil, Telugu and Kannada. He not only starred in many of the International Film remakes of Mumbai hits of Festival of India the 1970s and 1980s on the way to becoming the pivot of Rajinikanth Renowned Actor the Tamil cinema business, he also acted in several Hindi films without quite replicating his southern success. Baba, scripted by him, failed to deliver the This was a crazily frenetic period for goods at the box office. The distributors the star. MGR had just bowed out of the were left in the red as a result and, in an unmovie industry to concentrate on politics. precedented move, Rajini decided to make Rajini and his contemporary Kamal Haasgood the losses. After a brief hiatus, Rajini an (he had 33 releases in 1978-79) moved bounced back with Chandramukhi in 2005 into the breach. Rajinikanth, generous to and Sivaji in 2007. a fault, has always praised Kamal Haasan The first time that Rajinikanth was for inspiring him with his professionalism. labelled a ‘Superstar’ was in mid-1978, the His characteristic humility notwithyear of Bairavi. Distributor S Dhanu put standing, there can be no denying that the up a 40-foot cutout of Rajini at Plaza thebox office clout that Rajini wields is unparalatre in Madras. leled. While Kamal Haasan sought to experiThe civic authorities ordered the cutout ment with his screen roles, taking on a wide to be pulled down on the grounds it could array of characters in the 1980s and 1990s pose a safety hazard on the road. Dhanu and earning the reputation of a thinking reinforced the cutout and so it stood right man’s movie star, Rajini focused on developthere, staring down on one of the city’s busiing a screen persona with wide mass appeal. est thoroughfares. Both succeeded in their chosen endeavours. The man in the cutout quickly seared In the 1990s, Rajini became such a himself into the collective consciousness of commercial force that nobody in the Tamil movie fans. And that is where he conTamil movie industry could do without tinues to be to this day. him. In 1991, Mani Ratnam cast him in At the fag-end of 2014, on December Thalapathi, who co-starred Malayalam 12, his 64 th birthday, the Rajini starrer Lingaa, co-starring Sonakshi Sinha and Anushka Shetty, went head to head with Aamir Khan’s PK. Rajinikanth, a year shy of 70, continues to be a box-office gale force. Between 2016 and 2019, the megastar delivered a string of hits – Pa. Ranjith’s Kabali and Kaala, S. Shankar’s 2.0 and Kartik Subbaraj’s Petta, which, until Bigil came along, was the highest grossing Tamil film ever. The latest Rajinikanth starrer Darbar, directed by A.R. Murugadoss, is slated for release on January 10, 2020. THE WORLD’S MOST FILM-LOVING NATION CELEBRATES THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF IFFI BRINGING THE BEST OF SUBCONTINENTAL AND GLOBAL CINEMA TOGETHER
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INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF INDIA THE WORLD’S MOST FILM-LOVING NATION CELEBRATES THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF IFFI BRINGING THE BEST OF SUBCONTINENTAL AND GLOBAL CINEMA TOGETHER
The big bachchan of bollywood The name Amitabh Bachchan is synonymous to Indian cinema. From acting, anchoring, singing to even lending his voice to various shows, the actor’s contribution to cinema has been immense in numerous ways. And even after 50 glorious years in the industry, the megastar continues to rule the roost. The Indian government will acknowledge Amitabh’s achievements and contribution to Bollywood at the upcoming international Film Festival in Goa by honouring him with the most coveted Dada Saheb Phalke Award “Basically I am just another actor
who loves his work and this thing about age exits only in media,” Amitabh Bachchan once shared in one of his interviews. Well, we can’t agree more as Amitabh is the only actor who is perhaps giving new age actors, a run for their money, even after spending so many years in this industry. Big B started his film career in 1969 with the film Saat Hindustani, his only Black and White movie. The film was well received by the critics, who were bowled over by young Amitabh’s performance and declared him as the upcoming superstar on the block. Cut to 2019, Big B is today a living legend and is busy doing equally good work. His recent films like Pink and Badla are testimony of his award-winning performances till date. Besides conquering the film industry, Big B is the only actor who has been ruling the small screen too for almost two decades now. “Ayiyedeviyonaursajjanon! hum auraapkheltehainKaunbanegacrorepati” has been resonating in every household at night, since 3rd July 2000, till today. From 13 million followers on Twitter to a separate Wikipedia page devoted only to the awards he has won, there are enough reasons why it has been suggested that Bollywood can certainly be called ‘Bachchan’!
The International Film Festival of India, slated to happen in Goa from November 20-28 this year, will be acknowledging all these glorious years of Amitabh Bachchan and his incredible contribution to the Indian cinema. The mega star will be hounoured with the Dada Saheb Phalke Award at the do that will also screen six films of the actor. So, while, the entire industry and his ardent fans are looking forward to the special occasion where Amitabh Bachchan will add another feather to his cap, here’s a look at what his colleagues from the industry, have to say about him.
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Shah Rukh Khan Actor Movies with Big B Mohabbatein, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, Veer-Zaara, Om Shanti Om and more “I remember doing a scene with him in Mohabbatein where he says, “Tum kyasamajhtey ho Raj Aryan! Yahaan pe aakar tum pyaar...” I thought it was not how ‘Amitabh Bachchan’ should be doing it. I was looking at him as a fanboy... not as a co-actor. Because I was so excited to work with him and without realising my place, I went up to him and suggested if we could do it another way. He heard me out and tried it my way. Ultimately, of course, he did it his way and it was the best way. But he gave me an ear, he didn’t dismiss me. That’s what a good actor is. He’ll take in your thoughts and not just put across his.”
Hema Malini Actor Movies with Big B Baabul, Veer-Zaara, Baghban, Satte Pe Satta, Sholay and more “I can’t think of a more appropriate person to be nominated for the prestigious Phalke award than our multifaceted, multi-talented actor par excellence-Shri Amitabh Bachchan. Heis a whole institution by himself given the multiple roles he has played with great ease.”
Karan Johar Film maker Movies with Big B Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, Mohabbatein and more “He will remain the most inspiring story in the world of entertainment! Words alone cannot describe his achievements...we are all honoured to be able to watch his genius unravel in front of our eyes!
Amitabh Bachchan had already arrived. With hits like Zanjeer, Abhimaan and Nama Haram to his credit, the actor got an incredible push in his career when Ramesh Sippy casted him for his movie Sholay. The 1975 film is till date the biggest movie of Amitabh’s career and of the Indian cinema too. It was destined for Amitabh to be a part of such an iconic film as Sippy shared how he first thought of casting Shatrugan Sinha in the film. But since, he was already busy with other films, the role landed in Big B’s kitty. And rest, they say, is history! Big B and Sippy ruled again in 1980 with another blockbuster Shaan.
Shilpa Shetty Actor Movies with Big B Lal Baadshah, Om Shanti Om My relationship with Amitji goes back to the Lal Badshah days. I did the film because I was getting an opportunity to work with Amitji. Our relationship just grew. Besides being an icon he’s so humble. He never forgets my birthday. He’ll either call or text me a message and send me flowers. It’s been a tradition since we worked together.”
SonuSood Actor Movies with Big B Bbuddah - Hoga Terra Baap, Jodhaa Akbar
Chiranjeevi Actor Movies with Big B Syeraa Narasimha Reddy “I’m a fan of Amitji’s inimitable voice, his fighting style and his trademark comic acts, especially his ‘drunken’ scenes. I also admire his capacity to fight adversity. Only he could have endured all the difficulties in his career and health. He is the one and only king of Indian cinema.”
R Balki Film maker Movies with Big B CheeniKum, Paa “He is once in a lifetime actor. The best way to respect and love him will be to continue adoring him. Besides his talent, the hardwork, the personality and his acting skills is a different combination to get all together. He is the heritage monument of India.”
Anil Kapoor Actor Movies with Big B Biwi No. 1, Shakti, Armaan and more “No one can ever be compared with Amitabh Bachchan. He is the ultimate superstar.”
“During my struggling days, my mother once said, “Beta, don’t worry. One day you’ll work with Amitabh Bachchan.” Her words rang true. Mr Bachchan produced BbuddahHoga Terra Baap and roped me in. He was amused to find someone taller than him in the industry. He also remarked that we looked like father and son. That was a great moment.”
BappiLahri Music Director Movies with Big B Sharaabi, NamakHalaal and Aaj Ka Arjun and more “I have composed music for Amitji’s films like Giraftaar, Sharaabi, NamakHalaal and Aaj Ka Arjun. When he was to sing a duet, Jahan chaaryaar, with Kishore Kumar for Sharaabi, he was as excited as a child. He came to the studio at 9:30 am and started rehearsing with my assistants. He confessed he didn’t want to go wrong in front of Kishore Kumar. His dedication is inspiring.”
Another man that has a big role in shaping Amitabh’s career is Manmohan Desai. The whimsical filmmaker gave him blockbusters like Coolie and Amar Akbar Anthony, of all times. “My show is in my business. When my business speaks that will be my greatest celebration”, have been his words as shared by Amitabh himself.
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‘I was in Moscow in 1984 during Saraansh. Amitabh Bachchan was there too as part of a high-powered delegation from the Rajiv Gandhi government. We were staying at the same hotel and happened to travel in the same car. Just as we pulled the car to the side to drop off someone, a Russian girl walking on the street caught a glimpse of Amitabh in the car and cried out, ‘Amitabh Bachchan’ and fainted. We looked at each other stunned. The way people responded to him was bizarre. It proved the kind of impact he has and the admiration he enjoys not just in India but even in other countries.”
Vidya Balan Actor Movies with Big B Paa, Eklavya - The Royal Guard, Badla and more As a kid I was his fan. When he was hospitalised due to the accident on the set of Coolie, I used to beg my mother to take me to the hospital to see him. Of course, that didn’t happen. So, when I was to work with Amitji in Paa, I was naturally ecstatic. Once we had to shoot a scene, which had Amitji and me in one frame. He finished his take. I feared he would soon leave. But Balki (director) assured me that he would stay on. He was there till I completed my shot. Amitji thinks about his co-stars and not only about himself.’
Farah Khan ChoreographerFilm maker Movies with Big B Om Shanti Om, Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, Baabul and more “Before the shoot of Shawashawa (Kabhi Khushi KabhieGham), my team and I were petrified of choreographing Mr Bachchan. We thought it’d be a task to make a veteran of his stature dance. But he not only surprised us but also tired us out. He just wouldn’t stop rehearsing. Even after I told him that he was doing great he insisted, “No no, I must practice!” by Poornima Bajwa Sharma
An Obsessionist’s take on IFFI’s Evolution Brij Bhushan Chaturvedi, popularly known as ‘BBC’, was a permanent fixture at 47 of the 49 past editions of the International Film Festival of India. No edition of IFFI could be called complete without him in attendance. Now 82, he continues to eat, sleep and live cinema as excitedly as he did decades ago when IFFI was first conceived. As a person, who has been there and seen it all, he talks about how India’s premier film festival has evolved over the years
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hat started as an engagement to satiate the teenage curiosity and amusement has turned into the passion of a life time for Brij Bhushan Chaturvedi, who was rechristened as ‘BBC’ by none other than Dr Ramanand Sagar around 66 years ago in Chennai for his immense dedication to cinema. Chaturvedi, now 82, who went on to make a name for himself as a noted film critic, recalls how his first fascinating encounter with the world of cinema, the first International Film Festival of India held in Mumbai in 1952.
Photo credit: Garv Lalwani
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There is hardly any person who can boast of watching at least 5,000 movies at various film festivals in India. Out of 49 editions of IFFI, Chaturvedi has attended as many as 47. Till date, he has participated in 62 film festivals and attending the 50th edition of IFFI will be his 63rd one
“I was just a beginner in film industry. There were two film distributors in my native city of Indore at that time -- Kali Film Exchange and Jain Film Exchange. It was these people who brought me to Bombay with them for the film festival. I was basically working for them like a coolie. I attended the festival and watched about 22 to 24 films. The Festival in Bombay was organised by the Film Division. I was amazed by the international films that were showcased there.” The life story of Chaturvedi itself is nothing less dramatic than a movie. He started off as a newspaper hawker in Indore at the age of 10 and would often be seen doing odd jobs like cleaning and distributing books at the Mahesh Public Reading Room and Library at Bada Sarafa in Indore. At 13, he took up a job at Jyoti
Some people complained that Goa is far away, is costly and lacks film culture. But Parrikar insisted on having it in Goa, and today some 2000-3000 entries come to IFFI in Goa out of which some 500 are selected for screening. Goa has truly developed as a Film Festival destination 40
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Talkies in the city, which required him to do multitasking as a gatekeeper, booking clerk, supervisor and assistant manager. He also recalls his brief stint as a manager at Neelkamal Cinema (earlier known as Diamond Talkies) in Indore. Though Chaturvedi started writing on cinema way back in 1951 and it always remained his first passion, he went on to successfully pursue a teaching carrier from 1960 onwards retiring as a vice-principal in 1997. But what remained a constant in his life was the love for attending Film Festivals. No matter where the Film Festival was organised, he would always make sure to attend it. “After Bombay, IFFI was organised in Delhi in 1961 and then subsequently in 1965, 1969, 1974, 1976 and 1978. Then the Festival came to Chennai, Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, Calcutta and Hyderabad. The PIB people came into picture in 1965. Before that only limited people were given invitation card to attend the Festival. So, more and more people started to attend IFFI. Earlier, only 22-24 movies were shown at the Festival but subsequently the number of participating countries was increased considerably,” says Chaturvedi, who has seen who’s who from the cinema world from many countries--all thanks to IFFI. On how IFFI has evolved over the year, the veteran film critic says that in 1965 it was a 15-day Festival, which was subsequently reduced to 11 days. “But from 2004 onwards the Festival duration came down LIKE PICKLE IN FACEBOOK
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to nine days in Goa. Manohar Parrikar and Sushma Swaraj took the decision that the Festival should not be rotated and Goa was fixed as a permanent venue. The first festival was organised so well that its memories are still fresh in my mind. Some people complained that Goa is far away, is costly and lacks film culture. But Parrikar insisted on having it in Goa, and today some 2000-3000 entries come to IFFI in Goa out of which some 500 are selected for screening. Goa has truly developed as a Film Festival destination.” Chaturvedi says that Film Festival culture came from South Indian Film industry. “People like Ram Krishna Hegde, NT
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Rama Rao and MGR -- they all showed interest in Film Festivals. So, journalists also started coming from all over the world. Indian journalists like Baccha Srivastava, Gautam Kaul, Mira Aiyer and Khalid Mohammed also started taking interest in the Festival.” Chaturvedi, fondly known as the ‘Man of Festivals’, used to write for newspapers like Indore Samachar, the first published newspaper from Indore; Agni Ban, Bhaskar, Nai Duniya, Jagran and Rajasthan Patrika, among others. There is hardly any one person who can boast of watching at least 5,000 movies at various Film Festivals in India. Out of 49 editions of IFFI, Chaturvedi has attended as many as 47. Till date, he has participated in 62 film festivals and attending the 50th edition of IFFI will be his 63rd one, he says. Covering Film Festivals, Chaturvedi has met and interviewed many luminaries from the world of cinema including Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Raj Kapoor, Arun Gopal Krishnan, Prahlad Nihlani, etc. One change that has happed lately, and which Chaturvedi regrets, is that many prominent personalities from the film industry now prefer to stay away from the Festival. “When it used to happen at Vigyan Bhawan in Delhi, actors like Om Puri, Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil, Shyam Benegal, and Naseeruddin Shah were part of the Festival. But now due to lack of facilities for them they are staying away from it. Also, Presidents and Prime Ministers used to address the film fraternity at the Festival, which has all changed.” He also recalls that even during the 1965 Indo-China war, the Festival did not lose its shine and was as glamorous as it was in the previous editions. “When Bandit Queen was screened at Siri Fort Auditorium, the show was house full even though it was raining heavily outside. Another film titled Mika was screened in Vigyan Bhawan and people broke the doors to watch that film,” says Chaturvedi emphasizing on the popularity of film festivals in India. IFFI has also played a crucial part in inspiring Indian Film talent to learn from International Cinema. “Now we have come to a stage where we are getting inspired by the stories coming from our own regional cinema.” At the ripe age of 82, Chaturvedi still carries the same zeal to attend every Film Festival. He says he even dreams films when he is asleep. For him, “life is cinema and cinema is life.”
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IFFI is not just a festival, but festivities Ravi Kottarakara, a film industry veteran of 40-years and a key IFFI member who has been associated with the event since the 80s, shares his journey, highlighting how the film extravaganza has grown by leaps and bounds since 1952, when the idea was conceived Your best memories and nostalgia of IFFI
I have been attending IFFI since 80s. You know that IFFI started in 1952. Frank Capra was invited and a small controversy took place when Pataal Bhairavi was screened. People asked why Pataal Bhairavi was screened. With humility they said, it represents the ethos and culture of Indian cinema. It has been screened not for any artistic representation. It was a big argument but then it still went on continuing, then every year we had IFFI. I still remember watching film Taxi Driver. That was a Robert De Niro film and first of its kind in that genre. I found it slightly bold. I learnt the art of filmmaking from that movie. Next year, we had a Kannada film called Ondanondu Kaladalli which was directed by Girish Karnad and starred Sunder Krishna, Shankar Nag and Sundar Raj, screening at the event which took place at Delhi. Since then, I started attending the festival every year. In 1980 we had Shatranj Ke Khilari and in 1981 we had Aakrosh. To my knowledge Aakrosh is the first film which was shot on 16mm and then blown upto 35mm screen. That movie won the first Golden Peacock Award. In 1980 there was Bhumika which was Smita Patil’s film directed by Shyam Bengal. Thanneer Thanneer was also screened the same
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year. Similarly in 1982, 1983 the festival went well. In 1984 the festival took place at Mumbai where I saw a fantastic film Koyaanisqatsi. The hero of the film was photography and the heroine was music. It took nearly 14 years to get the film made. The film represented the culture change. It stated that even if the culture will be replaced by globalisation and computerization, you will come back to the roots, to the nature, from where you started. The film was based on this and it is one of the finest movies ever made. Earlier the film festival was of 14 days. First week 70 shows, second week 70 shows, every day 5 shows. One day N T Rama Rao chief minister of Andra Pradesh on his regular visit to the Ramakrishna theater where festival films were screened found that all the delegates had to go out to have lunch in between the short gaps. He immediately arranged Chicken and Vegetable biryani for all the 1000 odd delegates and told thier duty was
Today we can proudly say we make some of the best films in the world. Not only art films, but commercial movies too. We should thank IFFI for making us stand at this position today Ravi Kottarakara, Producer and veteran film industry leader LIKE PICKLE IN FACEBOOK
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to watch films and learn about cinema and gain technical skills. The advantage of the festival is that it increased my knowledge and learning because you watch so many films. Slowly the government realized that we should have a permanent venue. By 2002, it was decided that the film festival should be given a permanent venue, like Cannes film festival has. They decided for Goa. The late Goan CM Manohar Parikar invited us to hold the festival in his state. And since 2004, there has been no looking back. Our festival is growing every year. Today it has come to a stage where we are having roughly 13,000 visitors and the number and the quality of films has increased. In fact, in 2005-06 we started the master classes which was a big success. Lot of people started coming in, number of foreign delegates also started increasing. They started doubling year by year. Since this is the 50th year, we are going to have a whole team of foreign delegates.
I still remember watching film Taxi Driver. That was a ROBERT DE NIRO film and first of its kind in that genre. I learnt the art of film making from that movie I am also thankful to the government for putting me in the steering committee every year. This year too, I am part of the committee and we are honouring around 12 stalwarts plus we will be screening around 24 films. We will have Oscar section separately, then best of Indian films. For the first time, we are trying to make a film for the visually impaired being screened there. The most important is the selection for this time for the festival is fantastic. It will be in fact the better selection than Cannes. In Cannes they have gone little bit EU oriented. But, we have not gone EU oriented, we are only deciding the best films. Thanks to our government under the great leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji, our I&B Minister Shri Prakash Javadekar has taken lot of efforts and his entire team, Directorate of Film Festival, ESG they had many meetings to ensure that this festival becomes a big success. There is going to be a big opening ceremony where Shankar Mahadevan is performing with a silent
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movie being screened along with FESTIVAL the liveOF INDIA GOLDEN JUBILEE recording. The most important thing is honouring and respecting legends. We are honouring the Great Amitabh Bachchan ji and Shri Rajnikanth. This festival is a place where you will see only festivities. Everyone being honoured, everyone enjoying. People have visual treat as they get so many films to watch. It is a journey since 1952, when this dream was conceived, on the footsteps of festivals like Cannes and Locarno. Today IFFI ranks amongst top 10 festivals. THE WORLD’S MOST FILM-LOVING NATION CELEBRATES THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF IFFI BRINGING THE BEST OF SUBCONTINENTAL AND GLOBAL CINEMA TOGETHER
How has IFFI Influenced Film Makers?
Today we can proudly say we make some of the best films in the world. Not only art films, but commercial movies too. We should thank IFFI for making us stand at this position today. If IFFI wasn’t there, many of us wouldn’t have the awards, recognition that what we have today.
Finally talk about your father K.P Kottarakara’s association with festivals?
My father never attended 1952 festival but after that he attended all the festivals. His film Pasamalar was also screened in the festival. People surrounding him, friends, all his subordinates like Rishikesh Mukherjee, Tapan Sinha, Basu Da, B R Chopra, Shakti Samant, C. V. Sridhar and all those stalwarts, they all watch films. Their intention is not just see the film but learning the art of filmmaking. My father always used to say, if you want to make good films, watch films and the right place to watch films was IFFI. That time we never had any place, we never had DVDs, there was no internet. Only place where you got access to foreign films was IFFI.
Do you think festivals will continue to run in future despite the fact that new screens are emerging and technology is growing?
Till the time there are passionate filmmakers, the festivals will survive. It will only grow day by day and remain in the hearts of people because it’s a place where you watch the best films, speak to the great people who are involved with films, be a part of master class, learn things, learn from friends, fellow filmmakers, meet them and greet them. It’s a storehouse and like a huge library where you can watch lot of films, enjoy and build your career upwards. LIKE PICKLE IN FACEBOOK
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INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF INDIA THE WORLD’S MOST FILM-LOVING NATION CELEBRATES THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF IFFI BRINGING THE BEST OF SUBCONTINENTAL AND GLOBAL CINEMA TOGETHER
IFFI immensely
contributed to Indian cinema IFFI has significantly contributed to the Indian cinema’s reach in markets around the world, says 82-year-old documentary and television filmmaker Dr S Krishnaswamy, who shared close rapport with legends like Satyajit Ray The International Film Festival of India has a tremendous influence on India’s soft power and has significantly contributed to the Indian cinema’s reach in markets around the world, says 82-year old Dr S Krishnaswamy, well-known documentary and television filmmaker who has made over 500 films in a career spanning 55 years. He was the Secretary to the Jury of the 4th IFFI 1969 under the chairmanship of actor-director Raj Kapoor. He coauthored the book Indian Film with Erik Barnouw. The other Jury members included Argentina’s Leopoldo Terre Niesson, noted writer R.K. Narayan, South Korea’s Han Chul Ryn (Critic), Poland’s Han Chul Ryn (Critic), Prof. Jerzy Toeplitiz (Critic from Sweden), actress and director Mai Zctterling from the UK, John Russet Taylor (Critic from USA), and Albert Johnson from the erstwhile USSR, among others. “The 4th IFFI took place in the Convention Hall of the Ashoka Hotel,” re-
members Dr Krishnaswamy during the time when cinema as an art form was taking shape. In addition to assisting the Jury, Dr Krishnaswamy also covered and wrote about the festival in The Hindu. Dr Krishnaswamy is the son of legendary filmmaker late K Subrahmanyam, who was known for producing and directing the pathbreaking film Thyagabhoomi in 1937. He remembers his father attending IFFI in the beginning years. Dr Krishnaswamy was active in the festival circuit for three decades and was instrumental in creation of festival for documentaries in India. During those days he was given the responsibility of creating market for Indian films in IFFI. “The focus was to get in touch with any potential importer abroad. The primary objective was to get together to match the film with the market. Art films had markets in USA and Europe. Art films could be sold in Indonesia. Some countries preferred only commercial films. The concept to promote Indian films was born out of IFFI”. Besides the PadIFFI has immensely contributed to the mashri Award, he promotion and growth of Indian cinema. has received four naThe concept to promote Indian films was tional awards for his documentaries, the born out of IFFI Lifetime AchieveDr S Krishnaswamy, Documentary ment Award of the and Television Filmmaker US International
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1969 IFFI Jury Members with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
Film & Video Festival, Los Angeles, the Honor Summus Award of the Watamul Foundation, Hawaai, and so on. Dr Krishnaswamy was a close friend of filmmaker Satyajit Ray. “He never visited Madras (now Chennai) without visiting me. Satyajit Ray was the biggest influence of Indian cinema to the world.” “IFFI has immensely contributed to the promotion and growth of Indian cinema. IFFI has done a great contribution over the years. It has had a chequered career – sometimes it has been extraordinary important, sometimes insipid, but overall excellent years,” says Dr Krishnaswamy. “My film ‘Through a Different Lens’, that depicted contributions made by Indian cinema to Indian freedom struggle, and how some films reflected the spirit of the freedom struggle, was picked up and shown in festivals worldwide. It was originally screened in the non-competitive section of IFFI,” remembers Dr Krishnaswamy. Dr Krishnaswamy says that cinema is a “very complex art form” and film festivals should accommodate all kind of films and genres. “IFFI has accomplished this aspect very well. From highly artistic films to successful commercial films a film festival should reflect everything. It cannot isolate itself.” The globalisation of Indian cinema had its origin in the IFFI in two senses: the influence of important global filmmakers on India; and the impact it had on directors like Balraj Sahni and Satyajit Ray. That was the beginning of the rise of Indian cinema and India’s soft power. Dr Krishnaswamy is revered for his
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documentary ‘Indus Valley to Indira Gandhi’. “Very nobly conceived and most ably executed; but the miracle is that the producer survived it,” said Prof. James Beverige of UNESCO about Dr. Krishnaswamy’s four-hour documentary in 1976. It was the first Indian film distributed under a Hollywood banner - Warner Brothers, who acquired the film from Krishnaswamy Associates who had taken a huge risk by producing this marathon film on borrowed capital. The film was not only critically acclaimed, but was a fabulous commercial success. It traces Indian history of 5,000 years. There is also an interesting fact about this film. “Sov Export Film bought my film and never released it. Because, although the film was commercial success in India and had been released elsewhere when Soviet Union had scheduled it for release, Morarji Bhai became Prime Minister. But when they bought the film Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister. They thought it was politically incorrect to release this film. I told them it is not a political film. But they said, they thought that it was a political film and bought it thinking it was a political film. Eventually, they liked the film and released it changing the title to ‘Where Centuries Co-Exist’. It was released in several countries in this title -- except where Warner Brothers had the rights. Dr Krishanswamy is happy that the idea of shifting to IFFI to Goa to create an independent identity is accomplished. “I wish the golden jubilee of IFFI a great success.”
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Make IFFI Window to
World Cinema for Younger People Having a long-term association with IFFI and being part of the core team that played a crucial role in moving the festival to Goa in 2004, Indian film industry veteran Amit Khanna is well-versed with the transformation of the Festival over the years. In a chat with Pickle, Amit Khanna pours his heart out on the subject that is very close to his heart
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ndian film industry veteran Amit Khanna’s association with International Film Festival of India (IFFI) goes back to 50 years when he was a student in a Delhi College. However, he was drawn into the industry when he came in close contact with noted Hindi film actor Dev Anand in 1969 while assisting him with the organisation of an inaugural IFFI dinner party the late actor threw in Delhi that was attended by who’s who of the national and international film fraternity. This association, Amit Khanna recalls, continued unabated for many years and after “I was in Navketan Films, (production company launched by Dev Anand) we continued that tradition and he would always throw a party”. Amit Khanna was part of IFFI organizing committee for many years. “I was part of the industry organization and our endeavour was to involve everybody from the industry by ironing out any differences whatsoever between different stakeholders,” he says. He was part of the team that played a crucial role in moving the festival to a permanent location in Goa in 2004. However before it could be done, a lot of ground work was done with the support of some visionary people in the government. “In 2003, Sushma Swaraj went to Cannes
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Film festival as part of the FICCI delegation. There she saw the sheer grandeur of the festival and said ‘let’s do it like this’. She was the first person who accepted the idea (to move IFFI to a permanent location) and set the ball rolling. Ravi Shankar Prasad and Arun Jaitley later followed it up. There was a committee set up later and then I think Congress had come into power.” The committee that was set up included Khanna, Yash Chopra, noted director Shekhar Kapoor and Bobby Bedi, Manmohan Shetty apart from one or two more people. “Despite best of our efforts, any decision on the matter did not seem to be forthcoming. So, we decided to meet Mr Manohar Parikar,” Amit Khanna says. After some prodding, the late Goa Chief Minister left the matter to be decided by the committee. “Finally, a conference was convened and I announced it. Though we had gone ahead with the announcement independently, the government at the Centre understood our stance and IFFI got a permanent venue. I am happy that IFFI will be celebrating its 50th anniversary this year in Goa,” he adds. On the question of how the film festival has evolved over year, the industry veteran says that it has opened up a new chapter in Indian cinema. “In 1952, I think the first film festival was held in Bombay with new realism as its most powerful theme. New reLIKE PICKLE IN FACEBOOK
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alistic films deeply impacted people like Bimal Roy, Guru Dutt and others. This led to progressive cinema like ‘Do Beegha Zamin’ emerging out of India for the first time,” he observes. He feels that this trend is here to stay in India “because no other country in the world has got such as strong local domestic industry”. But for that to happen, the emphasis should be on “good filmmakers getting ample exposure”. “There should be lot of facilities for film students, for film technicians and younger filmmakers who need to travel to Goa to see films,” he suggests. According to Amit Khanna, making it cheaper budding filmmakers and film students to travel to Goa can go a long way in helping them develop better understanding of global cinema. “Provisions should be made for the people to travel, whether through railways or any other means of transport, from major film centres in India like Guwahati, Bhubaneswar, Trivandrum, Hyderabad, Bangalore, etc. If you want to expose Indian film technicians, film markets and film students to global cinema at least this facility should be provided,” he opines. Having a permanent auditorium for IFFI with a good number of screens, is another wish of Amit Khanna, who wants to see a world-class infrastructure for the festival to be developed sooner rather than later. “We are not buying independent films from the world and showing it here because there are not enough screens for our own films. We have only 9,000 screens and we make 2,000 films in a year. Half of our films are not released. If you are unable to release foreign films there is no need to hold a market for them,” he says. One of the many achievements of IFFI has been that it has been able to showcase Indian films to directors and programmers from other film industries, whether it is through Indian panorama or other sections, Amit Khanna admits. “These kinds of bridges should be built. That is the main role of a film festival in India.” “I am proud of IFFI. It is good to see that India has a festival of international repute” he says, adding that had it not been for IFFI, I could have not seen films of masters like Luchino Visconti, Júlio Bressane, Jean-Luc Godard and had exposure to
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“We should make IFFI the window to world cinema for the younger people, film students, film fraternity and film enthusiasts.” Amit Khanna, Writer, Filmmaker, Media Guru
THE WORLD’S MOST FILM-LOVING NATION CELEBRATES THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF IFFI BRINGING THE BEST OF SUBCONTINENTAL AND GLOBAL CINEMA TOGETHER
Latin American cinema or African cinema. “It happened because of IFFI. That is the area which we need to emphasize and focus on,” Amit Khanna says. He is also upbeat about emergence of other film festivals in India. Khanna adds that he wishes to see India becoming a country where the younger generation attends film festivals in large numbers. “That’s the whole idea of organising state festivals.” While Amit Khanna backs promotion of films at regional level, he is also of the opinion that having big international names or upping the glamour quotient of film festivals simply won’t serve the desired purpose. “If you invite big stars what will happen? You are wasting time, money and energy and the paraphernalia to organize the festival is so large.,” Amit Khanna says. The film industry veteran also suggests making “IFFI the window to world cinema for the younger people, film students, film fraternity, film enthusiasts and let’s call the programming guys from other festivals and showcase Indian cinema. Celebrate more cinema; parties and glamour is a side part”. To ensure glamour at festivals like IFFI, efforts should be made to call only those stars whose films are to be featured at the festival. One of the biggest achievements of India in recent years has been the initiative of opening a Film Facilitation Office, Amit Khanna adds. “I must compliment the Prime Minister who took the initiative and ordered setting up of the Film Facilitation Office.” “The festival should be run by a small group of experts selected for a minimum period of 5 years. The Government should appoint juries for selecting films. Instead of having people who are no longer active, there is a need to involve younger people. The twin objective of IFFI in the coming decade should be ample exposure to young professionals and students to the world cinema and showcase Indian cinema to top festival programmers and critics from abroad,” sums up Amit Khanna. LIKE PICKLE IN FACEBOOK
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IFFI ON ITS
IFFI
In 2004,
The Adventure of a Lifetime As IFFI celebrates its Golden Jubilee year, we need to look back at the Festival’s five-decade-long exciting journey to assess where it has succeeded or failed so that our learning about world cinema and different cultures could be deepened further By B B Nagpal
Cinema has
a deeper cultural root in India than in any other country, since it has played the role of the best media for spreading information and education in a country which has a huge number of uneducated people. The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), which was started in 1952, has played a major unifying role as it has helped greater understanding of different cultures and traditions within and outside the country. Even as one approaches the Golden Jubilee of IFFI from 20 to 28 November, it is necessary to understand the history of the Festival and make an assessment of where it has succeeded or failed. The Festival has become the prime festival of the entire developing world as it features not merely Asian but also African and Latin American directors in its competition.
India has
led the world in terms of the number of feature films produced every year, and it was therefore natural that the Government of the day under India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru started the first IFFI 67 years earlier in 1952, though it became an annual event only in 1975. The first Festival in 1952 -- which was non-competitive -- was expectedly held in Bombay which was the largest film production centre in the country. The second festival was held in 1961 and this was also non-com-
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petitive. But the Festival became competitive with the third edition in Delhi in 1965. That year was also the first time that the Indian festival was graded ‘A’ category by the Paris-based Federation International De Producers De Films (FIAPF) coming on par with Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Karlovy Vary and Moscow festivals. The fourth IFFI in Delhi in 1969 was also competitive.
India adopted
at its f ifth festival in 1975 a permanent insignia comprising a representation of the peacock, India’s national bird, with a permanent motto - ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakum’ (The whole world is a family). It was also decided that a competitive IFFI would be held every alternative year in Delhi alternating with a non-competitive Filmotsav which would be held in different film producing centres each time. Consequently, Delhi hosted a competitive IFFI from 1977 to 1987 every odd year and the non-competitive Filmotsav moved from one place to another in the even years. While the Indian Panorama had been introduced in the Festivals in 1978, the 1987 Festival was the first to feature commercial cinema with the introduction of the Mainstream Section. After that, the competition section was stopped but revived in 1996 and ultimately devoted to Asian cinema. The Festival had thus been held in Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad apart from Delhi until 2003. LIKE PICKLE IN FACEBOOK
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the Festival moved for the first time to a non-film producing centre when it came to Panaji in Goa which has since become its permanent venue. The duration of the Festival has also been reduced to nine days. I have personally reported every IFFI from 1977 to 2012 as a journalist. In 2007, I became the first editor of the festival daily when it was outsourced, and even renamed it as IFFI Daily, and held this post five times. Expectedly, this led to my meeting a large number of film personalities from India and abroad – with many of whom I still maintain close contact. I also served as a member of the preview committee for some years around ten years earlier. The committee which met in Delhi shortlisted the films from the large number of entries received. But the best memories I have is of the period when it was a travelling festival. I recall that in 1982 during the non-competitive IFFI in Kolkata (then Calcutta), I had the opportunity to meet the master cine craftsman of India, Satyajit Ray. In fact, this was soon after his lone Hindi film for Doordarshan, ‘Sadgati’ and he candidly spoke about how some film critics reacted to the film and how they virtually invented interpretations about the film. I also remember his boisterous laugh over a remark made in Parliament by nominated member Nargis Dutt who had criticised the then Film Finance Corporation (now NFDC) for funding only art films of the kind Ray made. I feel that the most lavish festival I have attended was the IFFI at Hyderabad in 1986 when the Chief Minister and actor N T Ramarao put the entire state machinery in the service of the Festival. I recall how a Bollywood actress who broke her sandals, she was given a bus just to go to a showroom to buy new sandals!
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FESTIVAL OF INDIA member veteran music director Anandji GOLDEN JUBILEE – who had come to Panaji as a section had been organised on films on music – telling me that music had lost its charm after the golden era of the fifties to seventies because music was being made not for the mind or the heart, but for dancing feet. The beat had taken over from lyricism. It was a truism which I will never forget. THE WORLD’S MOST FILM-LOVING NATION CELEBRATES THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF IFFI BRINGING THE BEST OF SUBCONTINENTAL AND GLOBAL CINEMA TOGETHER
And while
talking about Goa, I am reminded of a festival for which I arrived just hours before the inauguration and had no time to register. The actor Suresh Oberoi who had flown in with me from Mumbai gave me his Silver VIP card, saying that he would in any case not be denied entry at the inauguration since he was a star. I will always be grateful to him for that gesture.
For me, IFFI has been an adventure where I have learnt so much about the cinema and the culture of so many countries even as I enjoyed the films Unfortunately, I am reminded of a sad incident that occurred during a year when there was a section on films about football. We were attending an Open Forum when a director from a Latin American country whose film had been screened just collapsed on the dais and passed away moments after he had finished answering a question from the audience. It was a scary moment that refuses to go away. For me, IFFI has been an adventure where I have learnt so much about the cinema and the culture of so many countries even as I enjoyed the films. I only wish the Festival would last a little longer and give us more opportunities for interaction with film delegates from India and abroad.
Years later
in Trivandrum (now Thiruvananthapuram), I recall visiting the famed filmmaker G Aravindan in 1988 during the Festival there, when he showed me sketches of some film ideas he had in mind. Unfortunately, he died a few years later and could not bring those ideas to fruition. During the IFFI in 1992, I recall with gratitude the sumptuous home-cooked food I ate almost every day which the then Festival Director shared with me. The food came to her from the house of Kamal Haasan, and I am sure he still does not know that I partook of the food. After the Festival moved to Goa, I re-
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In his profession of over 50 years, Mr B. B. Nagpal has acquired a reputation as a news journalist and film critic of eminence. Joining the profession in July 1969 in the national news agency United News of India, Mr Nagpal gradually rose to become Chief of Bureau till he retired in November 2005 after a service of more than 36 years. Since the early seventies, Mr Nagpal has been writing on Indian and international cinema. In fact, he has the credit of having reported every International Film Festival of India held from 1976 to 2013.
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IFFI ON ITS
IFFI
The Story of India’s Tryst with Cinema Started as part of the Government of India’s efforts to institutionalize the film industry, the International Film Festival of India is also the story of Indian cinema’s evolution since 1952. Here is how the story unfolded By Manoj Srivastava
The first
edition of the Film Festival was headed by Mohan Dayaram Bhavnani, Chief Producer, Films Division and organized with a budget of Rs. One Lakh only in five cities of India. The Festival began in Mumbai on January 24, 1952. To a country that was heavily feeding on Hollywood ever since the WW-II, the arrival of European cinema was a revelation. In the words of Film Historian, B.D. Garga, “Of the 50 Feature Films screened from 25 countries, the largest number came from Italy, among them Roberto Rossellini’s Open City and Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycle Thieves and Miracle in Milan, which came closest to the Indian socio-economic situation.” The second edition of the Festival could not be organized till 1961 and then again, the third one in 1965, the fourth in 1969 and the fifth in 1974-75 because of various factors like wars, lack of funds and other multiple factors. From the third edition onwards, in 1965, the International Film Festival of India became competitive and therefore graded as ‘A’ category festival by the Paris-based Federation International de Producers de Films (FIAFP). With this recognition, the festival in India came on par with Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Karlovy Vary and Moscow festivals.
The current
logo and tagline of IFFI ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ (The World is One Family) and the Peacock were adopted during this edition. This was also
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the year after which the Government of India decided to take the initiative of ‘Filmotsav’, which was to be a non-competitive version of IFFI. The Festival hereafter was to be called IFFI (Competitive) and Filmotsav (Non-Competitive) and organized in alternative years. While IFFI was to be organized in New Delhi, the Filmotsavs were to be organized at major Indian film production centers like Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Trivandrum by rotation. The pattern continued till 1989 after which the word’ Filmotsav’ was discarded and all Festival editions were named IFFI.
The Indian
New Wave movement was gaining momentum in the 1970s and these films were finding spaces in international film festivals. However, these were costly times with no free flow of information about Festival participation. The Government of India introduced the Indian Panorama, a collection of 21 Best Indian Feature and Non-Feature films, which were to be converted into a package of films and sent for participation in foreign film festivals during the 6th edition of IFFI. Films and filmmakers under this umbrella were now promoted and sponsored by the government to sustain the movement. This edition also witnessed the emergence of the first regular Film Market set up by Indian Motion Picture Export Corporation. Filmotsav’s Madras and Bangalore editions of 1978 and 1980 were visited by legends like Istvan Szabo, Sumitra Lester Peries, Emile de Antonio, Shyam Benegal,
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Girish Karnad. Since then, each city got to host Filmotsav after a gap of almost 12 years. The local enthusiasm was tremendous. This enthusiasm further created space for art-house cinema and a fan following which led to setting up of other international Film Festivals like Kerala, Kolkata, Chennai, and Bangalore almost 20 years later.
THE WORLD’S MOST FILM-LOVING NATION CELEBRATES THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF IFFI BRINGING THE BEST OF SUBCONTINENTAL AND GLOBAL CINEMA TOGETHER
From 43rd IFFI onwards the Festival shifted its inaugural ceremony to Bambolim Stadium to accommodate a crowd of over 9,000 in the Year 2016.
In early
1990s, the complexion of Indian Cinema began to change again due to several factors like arrival of satellite television, Doordarshan, the state television, slowly losing its monopoly and control over Indian masses made a dent in the fan following of the Festival which till now had enjoyed complete madness and monopoly over the Indian masses supported by State-funded bodies like Directorate of Film Festivals, National Film Development Corporation, Doordarshan and others.
The 32nd
edition of IFFI in Delhi ushered in the new century. Earlier, not many Hindi commercial films had been able to find space in any edition of IFFI except for ‘Parinda’ by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, but this edition had ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ of Sanjay Leela Bhansali, a supposedly commercial film with smattering of minimalism of art-house cinema-style sporadically. The 33rd edition of IFFI at Bangalore could not take place due the flood situation in the State. This was the time when the Government of India began contemplating
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FESTIVAL on an alternate venue and do away with theOF INDIA GOLDEN JUBILEE concept of a traveling film festival. Many places to root the Festival were suggested like New Delhi, Kochi, Pondicherry and Goa, and finally Goa was chosen. The 33rd edition of IFFI took place in New Delhi pending a decision on Goa. The highlight of the Festival was 10 versions of ‘Devdas’ produced in various Indian languages. The competition was now restricted to Asian Films. The ‘Film Bazaar’, as seen today, took shape at this edition in Delhi’s Siri Fort Auditorium Complex. Goa was the new high for the 35th IFFI. There was enthusiasm all around, hope, expectations and the film industry participated in full force. New venues like Inox Auditoria, a promenade was developed, roads were improved, special intersections created, existing buildings like Old Goa Medical
The French
New Wave took almost 10 years to reach India but when it did, it ignited the young minds. Films like ‘Bhuvan Shome’ by Mrinal Sen (1969), ‘Us Ki Roti’ by Mani Kaul (1970), ‘Maya Darpan’ by Kumar Shahani (1972), ‘Swayamwaram’ by Adoor Gopalakrishnan (1972) found a ready domestic platform in IFFI to create an audience for Indian New Wave. Roman Polanski, then 44-year-old, attended the Filmotsav, Bangalore in the Year 1980 as the Festival presented a retrospective of his films. Michael Cacoyannis, the noted Greek Filmmaker, too, attended the Festival which had Devika Rani Roerich as the Chief Guest. Filmotsav 1982 began in Kolkata at the Rabindra Sadan. The Festival had a retrospective of Jean Luc Godard films and the tickets for all his films were sold in two hours.
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College and Kala Academy were modified and restored. Thespian Dilip Kumar inaugurated the Festival along with the Governor and Chief Minister of Goa. The 39th IFFI in 2008 launched a business platform for International Short films by the name Short Film Center. The Film Bazaar began to gain prominence with the Co-Production Market and the Film Lab. Actor Ben Kingsley attend the 40th edition of IFFI in 2009 in Goa and delivered a Master Class. The Red Carpet was instituted at the Festival. Online ticketing was introduced. Inaugurated by Shah Rukh Khan, the popular Indian actor, the Festival added a new venue in Margao, Rabindra Bhavan during the 42nd IFFI in Year 2011. The concept of Film Village was experimented with to accommodate the low budget Festival delegates.
Manoj Srivastava is a Producer Director, a Film Historian who now heads Diorama International Film Festival & Film Bazaar. He is the former CEO, Entertainment Society of Goa.
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ON ITS
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THE FUTURE IS IN THE PAST The International Film Festival of India gained a status that was on par with Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Karlovi Vary and Moscow because of the quality of its programming and freedom from bureaucratic hurdles. Even though the Festival has failed to live up to our expectations in the recent past, there is still hope that it can be restored to its past glory By Bobby Bedi
A
s a student in Delhi in the 70’s I have vivid memories of the Film Festival. It was a big event and all of us hungered for tickets. Films like Federico Fellini’s “Amarcord, Milos Foreman’s “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, Coppola’s “Godfather”, and Conrad Rooks’ “Siddhartha” were the class of films screened. The premiere was at Vigyan Bhawan and the festival spread over many cinemas in Connaught Place and even Archana in Greater Kailash. Special guests included Frank Capra and Satyajit Ray, who chaired the third edition. It was recognized by FIAPF, it was considered at par with Cannes, Venice, Berlin, Karlovi Vary and Moscow International Film Festivals. It was run by an autonomous body funded by the Government of India. Tickets were
Cinema is integral to Indians and I would even stretch to say that it is one of India’s binding forces. This cannot happen without State support 52
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IFFI I have been attending the Cannes Film festival every year since 1994. Their quality is unmatched, and it is State supported. The difference is that it is not run by the Government. So if need want to see IFFI of the future that is as glorious or more than the past we should adapt and adopt what the best in class are doing
priceless and we used all our connections to get even one. THAT WAS THE PAST. Today, the Festival is run by the Directorate of Film Festivals and the Director, for many years, has been a bureaucrat. Administrative skills are naturally high, but domain knowledge is negligible. This has resulted in the festival becoming a very middling event and the quality of international cinema has declined. A nascent Bollywood that should have been a key part of the Festival has stayed away from the Festival; a loss to both. The potential of cross influence has reduced. Somewhere around early 2002, there was a change in thinking and it was felt that the Festival no longer gained from being in Delhi or itinerant in nature. The Festival should be anchored in a single destination like Cannes, Venice, and Berlin, etc. Yash Chopra, Manmohan Shetty, Amit Khanna and I were part of a committee that explored the possibility of Goa as a location and with an unstinting and dedicated support from the then Chief Minister, Manohar Parrikar, the Festival shifted to Goa. The LIKE PICKLE IN FACEBOOK
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first edition was easily of the calibre of Cannes and Venice. There was a brandnew multiplex, The Kala Academy had been restored by Mario Miranda, the promenade was full of festivity and there were party boats on the river and motorboats to ferry delegates from the Fort Aguada Hotel to the venue. Many companies hosted private events around and Hyundai gave brand-new sedans branded with the Festival logo for delegate transportation. The attendance was fantastic and the films a cut above the previous years. The world attended it as Goa was a great holiday destination. AGAIN, THAT WAS THE PAST. It took two years for the event to lose its lustre. The enthusiasm of a start-up, driven by a very dynamic CM, gave in to the powers of routine bureaucracy. But this time there were two bureaucracies, the Centre and the State, and often different parties in the two positions. The result was predictable. BUT AGAIN, THAT WAS THE PAST. Let’s now look at the future. There have often been suggestions that the festival should be privatized, that the Industry should take over. This is barking up the wrong tree. There is absolutely no doubt that art and culture needs State support. Festivals all over the world run with state support and yet retain their excellence. A festival in India needs to be world class. After all we are a gigantic film industry. Cinema is integral to Indians and I would even stretch to say that it is one of India’s binding forces. This cannot happen without State support. The method has to change. And we do not need to invent this process. It is there all over the world. We need to study the different models of successful festivals, Cannes, Toronto, Venice, Berlin or even Busan and see what works for us.
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INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF INDIA THE WORLD’S MOST FILM-LOVING NATION CELEBRATES THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF IFFI BRINGING THE BEST OF SUBCONTINENTAL AND GLOBAL CINEMA TOGETHER
I have been attending the Cannes Film festival every year since 1994. Their quality is unmatched, and it is State supported. The difference is that it is not run by the Government. So if need want to see IFFI of the future that is as glorious or more than the past we should adapt and adopt what the best in class are doing. My broad suggestions are: •
•
•
•
Get a separate body along the lines of a FICCI or CII for the entertainment sector. Let it run independently of the Government. The Central Government specify its objectives clearly. This could include Trade objectives, Cultural Objectives, language promotion, local cinema promotion, etc. Let the Goa Government clearly specify its own objectives, be it tourism or the local entertainment industry, etc. Let these objectives be very clearly articulated in measurable terms. Let the new body draw up budgets and propose to fund the process through grants from the Centre, State, Sponsors and Industry.
Give them a bit of time to set this up and then let their performance be measured against the clearly set objectives. If they are close to fulfilling them, let them be. Do not interfere at all and we will have a great Film Festival. THE FUTURE WILL BE AS GLORIOUS AS THE PAST. BOBBY BEDI has produced award winning cinema including Bandit Queen, Fire and Maqbool and is now producing web series for all the major domestic and international platforms
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IFFI: A TRIP DOWN THE MEMORY LANE From a humble beginning in 1952 to a global event now, the journey of IFFI is not just incredible, but also indispensable in the history of cinema. The 49 editions of IFFI provided a common platform for the cinemas of the world to project the excellence of the film art; contributing to the understanding and appreciation of film cultures of different nations in the context of their social and cultural ethos; and promoting friendship and cooperation among people of the world. A capsule of interesting things and trivia of IFFI editions, year by year
I
1952
The first International Film Festival of India was organized in 1952 (January 24 to February 1) in Bombay’s New Empire Cinema. It was a non-competitive event. Films from 21 nations were screened. A special feature of the festival’s inaugural function was the screening of the first film screened in Bombay by the Lumiere Brothers in 1896. After running over a fortnight in Bombay, the festival moved to Calcutta, Madras and Delhi as well. The construction of open-air theatres for screening the films was another special feature of the festival. The festival was organized by Films Division.
1961
2nd IFFI: The venue for the second festival held in 1961 (October 27 to November 2), also non-competitive, was New Delhi’s Vigyan Bhavan. The festival was inaugurated by the then President Dr S Radhakrishnan. Ninety films – 40 features and 50 shorts – from 38 countries participated. The Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting organized the festival in collaboration with the Film Federation of India.
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THE WORLD’S MOST FILM-LOVING NATION CELEBRATES THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF IFFI BRINGING THE BEST OF SUBCONTINENTAL AND GLOBAL CINEMA TOGETHER
1969
4th IFFI: December 5 to 18, 1969. Venue: Ashoka Hotel Convention Hall, New Delhi. A total of 151 films were screened. The nine-member jury was chaired by Raj Kapoor and included writer R K Narayan and Swedish filmmaker Mai Zetterling. The Golden Peacock was won by Luchino Visconti’s The Damned. Mrinal Sen’s Bhuvan Shome and Lester James Peries’ Golu Hadawatha bagged jury prizes.
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1965
3rd IFFI: The third festival, the first competitive event, was in 1965 (January 8 to 21) in Delhi. It was graded ‘A’ category by the Paris-based Federation International De Producers De Films (FIAFP). With this recognition, the Indian film festival came on par with the Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Karlovy Vary and Moscow festivals. The jury was headed by Satyajit Ray and included Khwaja Ahmed Abbas, Andrzej Wajda and Lindsay Anderson. Sri Lankan director Lester James Peries’ Gemperaliya (Changes in the Village) won the Golden Peacock. The best actress award went collectively to Sharmila Tagore, Rama Guha Thakurta, Chhaya Debi, Bharati Debi and Renuka Roy for their ensemble performance in the Bengali film Nirjan Saikatey.
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5th IFFI: At the Fifth International Film Festival of India (December 30, 1974 to January 12, 1975), a permanent insignia was adopted. It comprises a representation of the peacock, India’s national bird, with a permanent motto of the festival ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakum’ (The whole world is a family). The same year, it was decided to hold a noncompetitive festival of films (Filmotsav) alternating with IFFI. While the Filmotsavs were organized at major film producing centres of India, the competitive IFFI was held in New Delhi. A total of 211 films from 46 countries were entered. The jury was presided over by Satyajit Ray. The other members were Aparna Sen, Bert Haanstra, Frank Capra, Krzysztof Zanussi and Nagisa Oshima.
“If you want the new cinema that is providing so much food for thought in Europe to India, you will have to think in terms of low budget films away from the unrealistic world of the studio.” Mrinal Sen, Renowned Indian Film Director
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become a major forum of Third World cinema. Fifty-two countries entered 415 films. The chairman of the jury was the British director Lindsay Anderson. Tomas Guiterrez Alea, Lino Brocka, Sergei Bondarchuk, Vyjayanthimala and Adoor Gopalakrishnan were the other jury members. No film was awarded the Golden Peocock. The Russian film Open Heart, directed by Aleksei Pollikov, won the Silver Peacock. The Indian film Chokh, directed by Utpalendu Chakraborty, won a Special Jury Prize.
1984 1985
1977
6th IFFI: From the sixth festival onwards, the period as well as the dates for the festival were fixed as 3-17 January every alternate year. The festival was held in 1977 under the aegis of the newly-constituted Directorate of Film Festivals. A film market was also set up for the first time by IMPEC (Indian Motion Pictures Export Corporation). A Panorama of recent Indian feature films was organized. Fifty-four countries entered as many as 424 films. The jury was once again headed by Satyajit Ray. It included Girish Karnad and Hungarian filmmaker Peter Bacso.
1979
7th IFFI: The seventh festival, held in Delhi in 1979, was of special significance as it was the only competitive and exclusive International Film Festival organized in the entire Third World during 1978-79. (The 1978 Tehran Festival could not be held). For the first time in the history of the Indian competitive Film Festivals, the jury was headed by
a foreigner, Qusmane Sembene of Senegal. Another significant aspect was the participation of women. There were two women on the jury – Chantal Akerman (Belgium) and Marta Meszaros (Hungary). The jury included B K Karanjia, Lester James Peries and Mrinal Sen. The Golden Peacock was won by Zoltan Fabri’s Magyarok (Hungarians).
1981
8th IFFI: January 3 to 17, 1981. Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi. Sixty-one countries entered 419 films. Russian director Grigory Chukhrai presided over a jury made up of G Aravindan, Shyam Benegal and Bertrand Tavernier, among others. Swedish director Marianne Ahrne was the only woman member of the jury. The Golden Peacock was shared by Rangel Vulchanov’s Bulgarian film The Unknown Soldier’s Patent Leather Shoes and Govind Nihalani’s Aakrosh, making it the first Indian film to bag the honour.
Films are about loving, about an idea transformed into reality by hundreds of people working together. The story tellers and story listeners are like a family and stories have the power to bind each and every one together Shah Rukh Khan, Actor
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1983
9th IFFI: At the ninth festival in 1983, held in the Siri Fort complex in New Delhi, a new section for screening of 16mm films was added. An important landmark, during the festival was the participation of 22 Third World countries. The International Film Festival of India (IFFI) had
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1986
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When the Filmotsav was held in Hyderabad, the Festival’s duration as well as the dates were changed from 3-17 January to 10-24 January. Feature films selected for Indian Panorama were Aadmi Aur Aurat (Hindi), Accident (Kannada), Aghaat (Hindi), Agnisaan (Assamese), Anant Yatra (Hindi), New Delhi Times (Hindi), Muthal Mariyadai (Tamil), Shart (Hindi) among others. The foreign section included retrospectives of Hungarian director Istean Zaabo and German modernist Fassbinder, besides a set of “American western cowboy” films. The main focus of the festival was women filmmakers in third world cinema, with
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FESTIVAL Aparna Sen and Sai Paranjpye as the inclu-OF INDIA GOLDEN JUBILEE sions from India. THE WORLD’S MOST FILM-LOVING NATION CELEBRATES THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF IFFI BRINGING THE BEST OF SUBCONTINENTAL AND GLOBAL CINEMA TOGETHER
1987
The 11th IFFI, held in New Delhi , represented a breakthrough for commercial cinema, through the introduction of the Mainstream section. The competition section had 60 entries from 34 countries. Roland Jaffe’s The Mission (brilliant performance by Robert de Niro) which got the Palmed’Or, Andrei Tarkovsky’s masterpiece, The Sacrifice, with Erland Josephson; the Brazilian film, Love Forever or Never, which won Fernanda Torres the best actress award were part of the festival. Roman Polanski’s Pirate was screened in the festival.
Filmotsav, Bombay (January 3-16, 1984)
For the first time, the festival held in 1985, the tenth in the series, had an International Panorama of select short films and documentaries in an effort to create an identity for short films.
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Filmotsav ‘88 in Thiruvananthapuram began with much fanfare. Twenty-six short films made by students of the Film Training Institute of India (FTII) were shown. The film selected for the opening of the Indian Panorama was Girish Kasarvalli’s much-acclaimed Tabarana Kathe (Story of Tabarana).
1989
The significant change in the 12th IFFI, held in 1989, was that it was made non-competitive. Also, a decision was taken that festivals in future would be non-competitive and all festivals would be called International Film Festival of India (IFFI). Hence the festival held in Calcutta was called the 21st IFFI instead of Filmotsav 90. Another important decision taken in June 1989 was that the IFFI would be of only 10 days’ duration. The festival, henceforth would now be held from January 10 to 20. Hence the number of films in the ‘Cinema of the World’ section, which was changed from ‘Information section’ from the 12th IFFI, was reduced though the other sections of the festival remained unaffected.
1990
The 21st IFFI was held in Calcutta.
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Elvis Presley were organised. A section was devoted to the works of the Asian women directors and a special retrospective of Marathi cinema was also organized.
1991
The 22nd IFFI was held in Madras in 1991. It had a focus on South Korean cinema. Tributes were paid to the American director Robert Altman. Homage was paid to V Shantaram, S Mukherjee, Shankar Nag, Arundhati Devi and Manmohan Krishna. Diamond Jubilee of Indian cinema and Platinum jubilee of Tamil cinema were celebrated during the festival.
1996
The 27the IFFI was again held in New Delhi. After many years the competition was revived on a limited scale. The section on ‘Asian Women Directors’ was made competitive. Retrospectives of Denys Arcaud, Gene Kelly; Marta Meszaros and Nanni Moretti were held. Tributes were paid to Rainer Werner Fassbinder; Zhang Yimou and Louis Malle. The festival also had a focus on ‘Films from Iran’.
1992
The 23rd IFFI was held in Bangalore. It had a special focus on films from Iran. Retrospectives of Italian director Francesco Rosi and Cahiers du Cinema were organised. Tributes were paid to Anne Wheeler and King Ampaw. In the Indian section, a retrospective of Kannada cinema was organised and homage was paid to R R Panthulu, G Aravindan and Balraj Sahni.
At the 6th IFFI the film lineup included Alfred Hitchcock’s latest work “The Family Plot”; the first British feature film with synchronous sound “Blackmail”, “Juno and the Paycock”, “Murder”, “Skin Game” and “Rich and the Strange”.
1993
The 24th IFFI was held in New Delhi. The festival focussed on the Vietnamese cinema. Retrospectives of Ingrid Bergman, Vittorio De Sica, the Kau-
rismaki brothers and Argos Films were organised. Homage was paid to Kanan Devi and Bhalji Pendharkar.
1994
The 25th IFFI dedicated to Satyajit Ray was held in Calcutta. The festival had a focus on ‘Films from Mongolia’. Homage was paid to Uptal Dutt and Vijay Bhatt. Tributes were paid to Federico Fellini and Michelangelo Antonioni. Retrospectives of Liti and Fons Rademakers, Ingmar Bergman and Greta Garbo were also organized.
1995
The 26th IFFI was organized in Bombay, the birthplace of Indian cinema. The event marked the centenary of cinema. A special section was devoted to the film heritage. An exhibition on hundred years of cinema was also organized as part of the festival. Retrospectives of Federico Fellini, Zoltan Fabri, Amos Gitai, Miguel Littin, Krzyzstof Kielowski and
Filmmakers should abstain from exercises in abstractions and make the film serve its purpose as an organ of mass media. However, experimentation in cinema should be encouraged. Film festivals help to show the latest trends in world cinema and the new experiments in content and style. Dilip Kumar, Noted Hindi film actor
1997
The 28th IFFI was held in Thiruvananthapuram. The festival had a focus on South Africa. Retrospectives of the polish director Krzysztof Kielowski and the Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf were organised. Homage was paid to the Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni and tribute was paid to the Chilean director Miguel Littin. In the Indian Section, homage was paid to P A Backer and Smita Patil and a special package of Tapan Sinha’s films. A special retrospective was devoted to the Malayalam cinema giving a panoramic view of the 70 years of Malayalam cinema. To mark the 50 years of India’s independence, a photo exhibition on the theme of ‘National Integration and Indian Cinema’ was also organised.
2000
The 31st IFFI was held in New Delhi. The opening and closing ceremonies reflected on the spirit of new millennium. A special logo was cre
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In Ghatashraddha there was stylisation in its very structure, in the ritualistic pattern I developed in all aspects of its form... my sole concern was how I could convey the total mood of the scene with a single gesture which is only a pointer to the thematic concern of the film and nothing more G Kasaravalli, Filmmaker
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The 29th IFFI was held in New Delhi. The festival focused on recent African cinema, films from Sarajevo and Iran. Retrospectives of Polish filmmaker Andrzej Wajda and Carlos Saura were organised. Homage was paid to the Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune. In the Indian section homage was paid to Chetan Anand and Basu Bhattacharya. A cinematic tribute was also paid to fifty years of Indian Independence by screening 10 nationalist classics. Another highlight of the festival was that competition, which had been restricted to Asian women directors only, was broadened this year to include male directors as well.
1999
The 30th IFFI was held in Hyderabad from January 10-20, 1999. The festival was non-competitive. Oscar nominee Shekhar Kapur’s Elizabeth was the opening film of the festival. In the foreign retrospective and tributes section, the films of Hou HsiaoHsien (Taiwan), Theo Angelopoulos (Greece) and Zsolt Kezdi-Kovacs (Hungary) were screened as a tribute to the legendary filmmakers. A highlight of the festival was ‘Visions of India’, which provided a glimpse of our country through the eyes of non-Indian filmmakers. Sixteen features and twenty non-feature films were showcased in the Indian Panorama section. The festival focused on ‘films from Argentina.’
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The film ‘Shatranj Ke Khilari’ opens with hands moving the chess pieces on a shatranj cloth according to the native setIFFI of rules and ends with a freeze – the game now has to be played according to the rules dictated by the colonising power... The colours are gorgeous and so is the lighting – like a splendid son-et-lumiere show.
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The 33rd IFFI saw the presenting of awards by Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani. Russian film Letters to Elza by Igor Maslemikov bagged the Golden Peacock Award. In his address, Advani said that Indian film industry has made tremendous progress and achieved great capabilities of world standard. Information and Broadcasting Minister, Sushma Swaraj, said that Indian film industry and politics had great connections. Chairman of the Jury, Budhadeb Dasgupta, requested the Government to continue its support to the film festival.
2003
The 34th IFFI was inaugurated by Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani. While Kamal Haasan was the guest of honour, Kareena Kapoor acted as the Thali Girl. Information and Broadcasting Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad was present. In his address, Advani assured the film industry that the Government would take all possible steps to check the menace of piracy, which is eating into the vitals of the industry. In all 212 films were screened in the Indian Panorama, Cinema of the World, Retrospectives, Country Focus and Competitive Sections. Actress Live Ullmann was selected for the Lifetime Achievement Award, while retrospectives of B R Chopra and K S Sethumadhavan’s films were organized.
2004
Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Culture Jaipal Reddy inaugurated the 35th International Film Festival of India, which was held in Goa for the first time. The inaugural function included a concert by A R Rahman and his troupe, with an introduc-
Cinema is truly to me everything. It’s really where the big zone of entertainment began. There are so many options available to the cinegoer or the consumer, be it digital, television and mobile handset Karan Johar, Producer & Filmmaker tion by noted filmmaker Subhash Ghai. The inaugural film was Mira Nair’s Vanity Fair. Chief Minister of Goa Manohar Parrikar was the Guest of Honour. Thespian actor Dilip Kumar and renowned actor Aamir Khan participated in the inaugural ceremony. The Film Festival featured seven major sections. This included Asian competition, Cinema of the World, Indian and Foreign Retrospectives, Tributes and Homages, Indian Panorama and Mainstream Indian Cinema. There were 400 screening of more than 200 films during the 10 days of the Festival.
THE WORLD’S MOST FILM-LOVING NATION CELEBRATES THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF IFFI BRINGING THE BEST OF SUBCONTINENTAL AND GLOBAL CINEMA TOGETHER
a film Cutting Edge followed by a Presentation by the famous Editor Steven Cohen. Beach Screenings, Open Fora and special entertainment events on a daily basis were the other highlights of IFFI- 2006.
The 36th IFFI came to a close with the screening of Belgium-France film L’Enfant, directed by Jean Pierre & Luc Dardene. Iranian film Iron Island, directed by Mohammad Rasoulof bagged the best film award and won the Golden Peacock. The most promising Director award went to Vera Eugina Fogwill and Martin Desalvo for the Argentinean film Kept & Dreamless. Special Jury award went to Tom Hooper for Red Dust.
2010
The 41st edition of IFFI-2010 During saw the participation of several eminent film personalities. During the Festival, 300 films were featured from 61 countries. The Indian Section of the Festival featured Centenaries of five unforgettable cinema talents- Ashok Kumar, B R Panthulu, Motilal, Nadia and Raja Paranjpe. Apart from this, the Platinum Jubilee celebrations of Odiya cinema was also observed. Amongst the retrospectives scheduled for prominent filmmakers, the list included Jan Jakub Kolski Retrospective, Jim Jarmusch Restrospective, Michael Cacoyannis Retrospective and Mira Nair Retrospective. The country focus during the festival was Mexico, Georgia and Sri Lanka.
2006
At the 37th IFFI, The Old Barber from China directed by Hasi Chaolu bagged the best film award with the Golden Peacock and a cash award of Rs 10 lakh for a beautifully realized story. The most promising director award went to Kyung Lee, AN for the Korean film A Short Life. Addressing the gathering, the Chief Guest Aparna Sen described IFFI as a special event, which brought together a galaxy of film fraternity united by a common love for films. She said that the USP of IFFI, as the only festival which celebrates the ‘many cinemas of India’ was reflected this year as well. S K Arora, Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, observed that IFFI showcased the latest art that people from all over the world presented. In a new initiative this year, a Technical Retrospective was started. This section covered topics on Digital Editing including
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The 38th International Film Festival of India was inaugurated by noted actor Shahrukh Khan. In his remarks, Shahrukh Khan said, this premier event is a pride of the nation. Recognizing the contribution of the ordinary man in raising the popularity of cinema, he said ‘let us dedicate 38th IFFI to ordinary people.’ The Government’s decision to confer life time achievement award on veteran actor Dilip Kumar was announced at the event. Lata Mangeshkar was conferred with the Lifetime Achievement Award for film songs. Romanian film 4 months, 3 weeks & 2 days was screened as the opening film. Around 200 films were screened during the 11-day Festival.
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The 39th International Film Festival of India was inaugurated by actress Rekha. There were three Country Focuses this year- Russia, Switzerland and Iran. Director Sergei Dvortsevoy bagged the best film award with the Golden Peacock and a cash award of 40 lakh for the Kazakhstan film Tulpan. The filmmaker also got the Most Promising Director Award for the film. The Special Jury Award went to Sri Lankan actress Malini Fonseka whose film Akasa Kusum featured in the Competition Section. The closing ceremony started with a minute of silence in memory of victims of terrorist attacks in Mumbai.
2009
The 40th IFFI was inaugurated by actress Waheeda Rehman. The International Jury headed by Brazilian Director Joao Batista de Andrade along with other members of the jury - Vic Sarin (Canada), Kenichi Okubu (Tokyo), Sarika (India) and Jean-Michel Frodon (France) were felicitated at the opening ceremony. Taiwanese Film I can’t live without you bagged Golden Peacoc. A Brand New Life won Silver Peacock. The Festival concluded with the screening of the Spanish film The Broken Embraces, directed by Pedro Almodovar. 77 Indian movies including 44 in the Indian Panorama with 26 Feature and 18 Non Feature films were screened during the Festival. There was a section to commemorate 75 years of Assamese Cinema.
2011
The Columbian film Porfirio directed by Alejandro Landes and produced by Franciso Aljure bagged the coveted Golden Peacock Award for the Best Film at the 42nd International Film Festival of India, while the Silver Peacock Award for the Best Director went to Asghar Farhadi for his film Nader and Simin-A Seperation. The Indian film Adaminte Makan Abu won the Special Jury Award. Director of the film Salim Ahamed received the award which consists of a Silver Peacock, Certificate and a Cash Prize of Rs 15 Lakh. Famous Tamil actor Suriya was the Chief Guest of the closing function. The Best Actor award of Rs 10 lakh went to the Israeli actor Sasson Gabay for his role in the film Restoration whereas the Best Actress Award was won by Nadezhda Markina for her role in Elena.
2012
Curtains came down on the 43rd International Film Festival of India with the screening of Meera Nair’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist. Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, Bollywood stars Jackie Shroff, Shreyas Talpade and Payal Rohtagi, among others were present at the closing ceremony. The Chief Guest was Telugu actor Nandamuri Balakrishna. The Guest of Honour was award winning Australian Director Paul Cox. The festival started with the screening of Oscar Award winner Ang Lee’s Life of Pi. Gurvinder Singh’s Punjabi film Anhey Ghorhey Da Daan bagged Golden Peacock. Best Director’s award went to Kyu-hwan Jeon for his film The Weight. Anjali Patil’s heartwarming performance in Prasanna Vithan-
When I make a film I am inspired by the subject, which refers to matters concerned with the heart and mind of the Assamese people, as I have this audience in mind. But on the general level, whatever film I make is created with the attempt to universalise a specific problem. I see my audience as a universal concept Jahnu Barua, Renowned Filmmaker
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nance, Corporate Affairs, and Information & Broadcasting, in his address at the event, said that the Indian Film industry had come of age in view of the diversity it offered as regards the number of films produced in different languages and themes. “Cinema today acted as the alternate religion as it entertained, educated, gave a social perspective to issues, offered young growing minds the vision to learn and If cinema could borrow from litera- nurture talent,” he said. also highlighted ture then literature too could gain Jaitley the importance of Goa bethrough such interactions cinema’s ing made the permanent brevity, economy of image, picto- venue of the International rial realism and its sense of realism Film Festival of India in the context of its hospitality, growth, natural beauty and R K Narayan, Noted Indian writer cultural diversity. In his address, the Chief Guest for the function, Amitabh Bachchan traced the evolution of Indian Cinema through ag’s Sinhala-Tamil movie With You, Withits various facets touching upon the iconic out You won her the Best Actor (Female) films in different periods and the dominant award. Special Jury Award went to Lucy themes. Bachchan highlighted the role and Mulloy for her Spanish movie Una Noche. relevance of Indian Cinema in the context of The IFFI this year celebrated the centenary India’s diversity and plurality. year of Indian Cinema by bestowing the ‘Centenary Film Award’ to Meera Nair’s Internationally co-produced The Reluctant Fundamentalist. adventure drama film Embrace of the Serpent (Al Abrazo de la One of the best known repreSerpiente) bagged the Best Film Award sentatives of the ‘New Wave at the 46th IFFI. The film was produced Czech Cinema’, Jiri Menzel received the by Christina Gallego and directed by Ciro Lifetime Achievement Award at the 44th ediGuerra. The Best Director award went to tion of IFFI. Jiri Menzel made his mark on Peter Greenaway for the film Eisenstein in the cultural history of his native Czech ReGuanajuato. The Best Actor (Male) went to public as a film auteur, theatre director and Vincent Lindon for his portrayal of a laid actor. The festival saw the participation of off factory worker Thierry Taogourdeau legendary singer, Asha Bhonsle, noted Irain the film The Measure of a Man. The nian film director, Majid Majidi, chief guest Best Actor (Female) award was shared by Susan Sarandon and the icon of Bollywood, Gunes Sensoy, Doga Doguslu, Tugba SunWaheeda Rehman. Susan Sarandon said, guroglu, Elit Iscan and Ilyada Akdogan for “India has a rich history of film-making and portrayal of role of five young orphaned is always eager to make films which broaden sisters in the Turkish film Mustang. The our horizon.” The multi-dimentional film personality, Kamal Hassan said he owed his success as an artist to the fraternity of the world cinema. Describing her association with the world of cinema, Asha Bhonsle acknowledged that seventy years in Indian film industry gave her immense love and affection.
2013
2014
At the 45th International Film Festival of India, superstar Rajinikanth was conferred Centenary Award for the Indian Film Personality of the Year. Arun Jaitley, Union Minister of Fi-
2015
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Films are my lifeblood. As a director I felt I knew who fit the roles I had etched for my stories and I never compromised on certain issues which were vital for me to get my story through the medium of cinema K Viswanath, Noted Film Director
Russian film maker, actor and head of Russian Cinematographers Union Nikita Mikhalkov was conferred upon the Lifetime Achievement Award.
2016
At the Closing Ceremony of IFFI 2016, Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore, Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting has said that Government was taking all efforts to digitalise whole spectrum of services available to the citizens. Convergence of array of services to empower citizens through Mobile technology is happening. The Film Facilitation Office (FFO) set up by the government was a step towards facilitating single window clearance for filmmakers, promote India as a filming destination and provide the platform for film tourism in the country, he said. Chief Guest was filmmaker S S Rajamouli. Best Film award was bagged by the Movie Daughter. The award came with the Golden Peacock Trophy, certificate and a cash prize amount of Rs 40,00,000, shared between the Director and the Producer equally. Iranian actor Farhad Aslani won the Best Actor award for his portrayal of the strict father in the same film Daughter,
Each movie is outstanding and it is difficult to say which one is better. I am a great admirer of V Shantaram’s work and I have learnt from him how one can combine commercial success with artistic expression. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Noted Film Director picking up the Silver Peacock and Rs 10 lakh in cash prize. The Best Director award was given to Baris Kaya for the film Rauf. The ICFT-UNESCO Gandhi Medal was awarded to Turkish film maker Mustafa Kara’s Cold of Kalandar.
2017
Actress Sridevi, who celebrated 50 years in the Indian film industry this year, inaugurated the Indian Panorama Section of the 48th International Film Festival of India. The inaugural ceremony introduced audiences to IFFI’s official selection of 26 Feature & 16 Non-Feature films under the Indian Panorama 2017 category. Sridevi, who made her presence felt at the opening ceremony
Shekar Kapur’s Bandit Queen is the most merciless of movies. Almost anyone who sees it, registers two gut-wrenching shocks: the first, about caste and gender exploitation in rural India; the second, that Indian cinema could have mounted so scathing an attack on these through a living icon. Shyam Benegal and Pritish Nandy have said it is possibly the greatest film ever made in India. 64
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of the festival, felicitated the renowned and upcoming filmmakers and presented to them certificates of participation at the Indian Panorama 2017. Morocco born French Director Robin Campillo’s drama film 120 BPM won the coveted Golden Peacock Award. Chinese director Vivian Qu won the Best Director Award for her 2017 film Angels Wear White. The Best Actor (Male) Award went to Nahuel Perez Biscaryat. The Best Actor (Female) went to Parvathy T K. Both Best Actor Male and Female are honoured with the Silver Peacock Trophy and a cash prize of Rs 1 million. Mahesh Narayan also walked away with the Special Jury Award for his directorial debut Take Off. Manouj Kadaam’s Marathi film Kshitij won the ICFT-UNESCO Gandhi Medal. The Indian Film Personality of the Year Award was presented to Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan.
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2018
The 49th edition of IFFI opened amidst the presence of film stars, filmmakers and cine-lovers from across the world amid pomp and gaiety. The opening ceremony of IFFI 2018 also saw the launch of the Web Portal of Film Facilitation Office (FFO) by Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore. The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting set up the Film Facilitation Office in NFDC in 2015 with a view to promote and facilitate film shootings by foreign filmmakers in India, the services of which have now been extended to Indian filmmakers as well. Israeli master craftsman Dan Wolman was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Speaking at the occasion, Wolman said, “Thank you for honoring me with the Lifetime Achievement Award which is the highest award that I have ever received. It is sweeter because I am receiving it in India, a country whose people, culture and phenomenal cinema I truly admire.”
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The 50th International Film Festival of India, 2019 will witness over 200 best films from 76 countries, 26 feature films and 15 non feature films in Indian panorama section and around 12,000 people and film lovers are expected to participate in the golden jubilee edition. Indian Panorama is a flagship section of IFFI, which showcases the best of contemporary Indian Feature and Non-Feature Films. This year, the Feature Film Jury was headed by acclaimed filmmaker and screenwriter Priyadarshan. The Jury has chosen the film HELLARO (Gujarati) directed by Abhishek Shah as the Opening Feature Film of Indian Panorama 2019. The Non–Feature Jury was headed by well-known documentary Filmmaker, Rajendra Janglay. The NonFeature film Jury selected the film Nooreh directed by Ashish Pandey as the Opening Non-Feature Film of Indian Panorama 2019.
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iFFI 1977
The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), in its 49 editions since 1952, has made a huge impact on Indian and international cinema. In the process, it has also created evergreen memories in the hearts and minds of filmmakers and other stakeholders. Pickle presents you handpicked photos from the albums of IFFI, chronicling the best moments and nostalgia
Veteran Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray sharing a moment with his Japanese counterpart Akira Kurosawa
I have been attending every IFFI since 1977. I joined IMPA in 1976 and began my IFFI journey in 1977. It is one of the finest festivals. A Film Market used to be there during 70s and it was very active. I wish IFFI a great success for another 50 years Supran Sen, Director General, Film Federation of India 2013 Legendary singer Asha Bhosle
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1987 Actor Gemini Ganesan presenting special Jury prize for the Silver Peocock Award to the Chinese film The Outcast directed by Yao Shougang
2017 Union Minister Smriti Irani presenting the Indian Film Personality of the Year Award to Amitabh Bachchan in the presence of Akshay Kumar
1977 Italian filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni enjoying Taj Mahal
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Ambience of Inox at Goa during an IFFI screening
Year after Year IFFI provides a glimpse of the sheer range and dynamism of Indian cinema
1991 A cultural programme at IFFI, Madras
2017 A cultural programme at a recent edition of IFFI
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Malayalam film director Adoor Gopalakrishnan and Jahnu Barua at open forum in 31st IFFI, New Delhi
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INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF INDIA
2007
IFFI has moved up a few notches since coastal Goa became its permanent venue in 2004. It now has a far more settled feel than ever before
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Adoor Gopalakrishnan at open forum in 38th IFFI
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1993 Director Ram Mohan and Yugo Sako of the film Ramayana at IFFI press conference
2007 Inaugrual address by Shah Rukh Khan during 38th IFFI
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1982 Jury members at Filmotsav Calcutta
THE WORLD’S MOST FILM-LOVING NATION CELEBRATES THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF IFFI BRINGING THE BEST OF SUBCONTINENTAL AND GLOBAL CINEMA TOGETHER
Address by Kamal Haasan at 39th IFFI
IFFI has been graced by Hugh Welchman, Luc Besson, Phil Noyce, Krzysztof Zanussi, Kim Ki Duk, Paul Cox, Michael Winterbottom, Susan Sarandon, Michelle Yeoh, Atiq Rahimi, Jiri Menzel and Majid Majidi
1981 Saeed Mirza, director Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyoon Ata Hai at press conferece
Author, journalist Burjor Khurshedji Karanjia at IFFI at press conferece
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INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF INDIA
2008
IFFI is India’s number one film festival. Cinema events of this kind are also hosted by Kolkata, Mumbai and Kerala. But none can match IFFI for size, scope and vintage
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2010 Veteran Film Maker Yash Chopra inaugural address during 41st IFFI
Airshow, one of the attractions at IFFI.
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Amitabh Bachchan sharing a lighter moment.
2016 Ramesh Sippy at IFFI THE SOUTH INDIAN FILM CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CONGRATULATES
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1986 Filmotsav 86, Director Shyam Benegal and actress Sushma Prakash at press confrence at Jubliee Hall, Hyderabad
THE WORLD’S MOST FILM-LOVING NATION CELEBRATES THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF IFFI BRINGING THE BEST OF SUBCONTINENTAL AND GLOBAL CINEMA TOGETHER
Shyam Benegal at 36th IFFI
The first international film festival of India is rightfully credited with triggering a burst of creativity in Indian cinema by exposing young Indian filmmakers to the best from around the world, especially to Italian neorealism
Evergreen actor Dev Anand at IFFI
K P Kottarakara, President of South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce at IFFI
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INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF INDIA
2005
Each year, IFFI is setting new parameters with regard to its technical standards of sound and projection and the entire experience of watching a movie
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2006 Garam Hawa director M S Sathyu at IFFI
2009 Sharmila Tagore at an interaction during 40th IFFI.
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2005 A brainstorming session at IFFI.
Superstar Rajesh Khanna at 36th IFFI
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Bappi Lahiri and director Buddhadeb Dasgupta at IFFI.
THE WORLD’S MOST FILM-LOVING NATION CELEBRATES THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF IFFI BRINGING THE BEST OF SUBCONTINENTAL AND GLOBAL CINEMA TOGETHER
Tamil actor Suriya at 42nd IFFI
IFFI 2019 will showcase 200odd films from 76 countries, which will offer cineastes a wide sampling of this year’s most lauded works, besides a slew of landmark films of historical worth from across the world
1993 Kalpana Lajami, Bhupen Hazarika, Dimple Kapadia of Rudali at a press conference
Actress-filmmaker Suhasini Mani Ratnam at IFFI
pickle special IFFI edition
INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF INDIA
2011
Seven decades on, IFFI continues to provide a useful platform to young Indian filmmakers who work outside the mainstream distribution and exhibition system and in all languages
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2012 Irfan Khan and Tabu at press conference during 43rd IFFI
2009 Malayalam megastar Mammootty during 40th IFFI
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www.pickle.co.in DECEMBER 2019
Special Issue
1993 Press Conference by Jabbar Patel director of Ek Hota Vidhusak
2018 Keerthy Suresh at the 48th IFFI THE SOUTH INDIAN FILM CHAMBER OF COMMERCE CONGRATULATES
IFFI ON ITS TH GOLDEN JUBILEE
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INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF INDIA THE WORLD’S MOST FILM-LOVING NATION CELEBRATES THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF IFFI BRINGING THE BEST OF SUBCONTINENTAL AND GLOBAL CINEMA TOGETHER
1987 Renowned director G V Iyer addressing press conference of his film Madhavacharya
Akshay Kumar and Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar at Inaugural
Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF) was set up by the Government of India in 1973 to organize International and National Film Festivals within the country. DFF facilitates India’s participation in Festivals abroad, arranges programmes of foreign films in India and Indian films abroad and holds the National Film Awards function
As a vehicle of Cultural Exchange, DFF promotes International friendship, provides access to new trends in world Cinema, generates healthy competition and, in the process, helps to improve the standards of Indian Films.
1993 Director Goutam Ghose at a press conference
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2013
Ramesh Sharma, director of New Delhi Times, addressing press conference
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2009 Asha Parek during 40th IFFI
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Actor Pavan Kalyan at IFFI
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e are very happy to present the special edition of Pickle for delegates at the Golden Jubilee of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI). It is a proud moment for the Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF), set up by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India to have put Indian cinema on global spotlight and expand its footprint decade after decade since its creation in mid-1970s. A hearty congratulations to the entire IFFI Team for putting together a grand 50th anniversary edition. No doubt, IFFI 2019, has got the some of the finest films -- both Indian and world cinema and this nine-day film feast will never come back and it is time to celebrate the joy of cinema at IFFI. We are glad that IFFI is being organized at a time when India’s vibrant media and entertainment industry is opening up to new exciting growth opportunities under the leadership of Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India and Shri Prakash Javadekar, the Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting.
Congrats Team IFFI, led by festival director Chaitanya Prasad
exchange of ideas, the incubation of new projects and for co-production opportunities. The ambience of the main IFFI venue at Goa is also a delight for those that love great architecture amid sylvan surroundings. The promenade running along the Mandovi River adds to the impressive beauty of the location, making IFFI one of the world’s more attractive festivals locale. Our sincere thanks to veteran film industry leader Shri Ravi Kottarakara for the encouragement and support in bringing this special edition of Pickle. We also thank Brij Bhushan Chaturvedii for sharing memorable photos which we have used in this special edition. Feel free to email your thoughts and suggestions.
One of the biggest draws at IFFI is the Indian Panorama, which provides an array of wonderful films made in different parts of the country in multiple languages. A glimpse of the photographs in Down The Memory Lane transports us to the glory of IFFI from past to the present in our special section. We have also captured some of the best moments in tracing the history of IFFI.
n vidyasagar pickle media nat@pickle.co.in, www.pickle.co.in
On the sidelines of IFFI, the NFDC organizes Film Bazaar, which has over the years become a dynamic space for the
Pickle Volume XIII 5th edition Published by Pickle Media Private Limited Email: natvid@gmail.com l Mumbai l Chennai No.2, Habib Complex Dr Durgabhai Deshmukh Road RA Puram CHENNAI 600 028
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Pickle Business Guide 2019 Copyright 2019 by Pickle Media Pvt Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Pickle is an ad supported business guide tracking the filmed entertainment business in India.
pickle special IFFI edition
Photo research and processing: Garv Lalwani
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