Celebration of Indian cinema at DIFF

The Indian film selection at the eighth Dubai International Film Festival, the leading film festival of the Middle East, Asia and Africa, to be held from December 7 to 14, 2011, captures the inimitable diversity of the country’s cinema – right from the colourful joviality of Bollywood to the intense dramas, often inspired from real life, by filmmakers who challenge mainstream conventions.

Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President & Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, DIFF 2011’s ‘Celebration of Indian Cinema’ programme will feature three world premieres, two international premieres and several first-ever regional screenings of films in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam and Bengali.

The ‘Celebration of Indian Cinema’ flags off with the brand-new Hindi romantic comedy Ladies vs Ricky Bahl, an eagerly anticipated Bollywood film that will make its world premiere with a red carpet gala on Thursday, December 8, 2011. The film, directed by Maneesh Sharma and with chart-topping music by Salim-Sulaiman, depicts the story of suave and charismatic conman Ricky Bahl (Ranveer Singh), who makes a living by deceiving women until he meets his match in the form of Anushka Sharma’s character. The cast and crew of the film will walk the red carpet prior to the gala screening at the Madinat Arena, the centerpiece of the Festival’s Madinat Jumeirah headquarters.

Also making its world premiere is Prague PCFE Film School alumna and former assistant to over 27 Indian and international directors, Shalini Usha Nair’s Palas In Bloom (Akam), based on renowned author Malayattoor Ramakrishnan’s celebrated Malayalam novel Yakshi. Starring

up-and-coming actor Fahad Fazil and debutante Anumol, the Malayalam film retells the classic novel in contemporary settings. Young architect Srini (Fahad Fadel) suspects that his wife Ragini (Anumol) is not what she appears to be. He begins to wonder if she is a ‘yakshi,’ or a female demon, who in the guise of a beautiful woman, seduces men and drinks their blood.

 Debutant director Muthusamy Sakthivel’s Life is a Game (Maithanam), making its international premiere at DIFF, is the story of four friends from a small village in Tamil Nadu, who will do anything for each other. The Tamil film opened to rave reviews in India, and features Suresh Guru, Jyothi Raj, Sekhar and Kennedy, four assistant film directors, on the lead roles.

 Srijit Mukherji’s 7^th August (Baishe Srabon), also making its international premiere, explores the dark underberlly of Kolkata, and the genteel ‘Bhadraloks’ of this city who have been raised on literature, music, fine arts, politics, and sports, linking the violence in the city’s dark alleys with one of the most controversial chapters in the history of Bengali Poetry – the Hungrealist Movement of the 1960s.

 Karan Gour’s Corrode (Kshay), which makes its Middle East premiere, is a psychodrama based on the story of a woman’s need for an unfinished sculpture, which blossoms into an obsession.

 Competing in DIFF’s Muhr AsiaAfrica Awards for feature films is Kaushik Ganguly’s Laptop, which narrates how a single commodity – a laptop – connects several lives and narratives as it changes hands to change lives. The film will make its international premiere at DIFF.

 Making its world premiere and contending in the Muhr AsiaAfrica Awards for short films is Rohit Pandey’s Safe (Mehfuz), which depicts the

story of a city shaken by violence, a man who looks after its dead, and a woman wandering its empty streets.

Vying for honours in DIFF’s Muhr AsiaAfrica Awards for documentary films is Sandeep Ray’s Sound of Old Rooms (Kokkho-Poth), chronicling the coming of age of Sarthak, a poet living in Kolkata; and Anand Patwardhan’s Jai Bhim Comrade, filmed over 14 years, which follows the music and the tradition of Vilas Ghogre, a leftist poet and singer, who hung himself in protest. Both films will be screened in the Middle East for the first time at DIFF.

Dorothee Wenner, Consultant for the Subcontinent Programme, Dubai International Film Festival, said: “With our selection this year, we wanted to bring the true diversity of Indian cinema to DIFF. While Bollywood dominates the international media when it comes to cinema from India, the country has an amazing wealth of talent, with several powerfully executed films made in vernacular languages having a huge audience base all over the world.”

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