Photo: SAT/NN
By Neeraj Nanda
Melbourne, 1 July: The best of Bollywood mainstream and art house cinema is all set to hit the silver screen. The Indian Film Festival Melbourne – 2015 (IFFM-2015), August 14 to 27 will screen around 45 movies including ‘Unfreedom’, a film on lesbian love and terrorism, banned by the Indian censors. The celluloid feast includes mainstream hits Piku and Haider.
The festival program was released at a media conference by Indian Consul General, Manika Jain at the Indian Consulate Hall.
Addressing the gathering she said, “The festival has become a prominent brand name in Australia.”
The festival kicks off with ‘Umrika’ on 14 August followed by the raising of the tricolour at Federation Square and the Telstra Bollywood Dance Competition. The 14-day festival will screen across four Melbourne venues, has India’s biggest film stars and directors as special guests including Anil Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Rajkumar Hirani, Nagesh Kuknnor and Kangna Ranaut. Pakistan’s Fawad Khan also joins them as a festival guest.
Festival segments Hurrah, Beyond Bollywood, Films from the Subcontinent, Girl Power, Film India World and Master Stroke bring a unforgettable list of movies. The Master Stroke section showcases Satyajit Ray’s digitally remastered classics Charulata and Nayak.
Another highlight of the festival will be the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne Awards (IFFM Awards), the first Indian cinema awards of their kind in Australia. A jury panel of Indian and Australian film legends and experts featuring Simi Garewal, Rajeev Masand, Andrew Anastasios, Jill Bilcock, and Nikhil Advani will honour winners in the categories of Best Film, Best Performance, Best Director and Best Independent Film. Together with the recipient of the People’s Choice Award (Anil Kapoor gets this year’s award), the winners will be announced at a red carpet gala event on 15 August in the Great Hall of the National Gallery of Victoria with a host of Indian stars and industry leaders in attendance.
“The awards will be accompanied by a glamorous fashion show as iconic Indian designer Anamika Khanna and her Australian counterparts showcase a unique collection presented by Australian models, celebrities, Bollywood stars and guests from various walks of life. Many of the garments will be auctioned off during the evening with all proceeds going to The Royal Children’s Hospital in an exciting new partnership, “says a festival media release.
In her remarks, festival director, Mitu Bhowmick Lange said, “The film selection process was the hardest but we have tried to have something for everyone in the festival.”
The festival will wrap up on 27 August with the political thriller Phantom, an Indian counter-terrorism drama film starring Saif Ali Khan & Katrina Kaif about post-26/11 attacks in Mumbai, and global terrorism and directed by Kabir Khan.
– SAT News Service
