Considered among the most cinematically-rewarding film festivals for viewers, not just in India but across Asia, the annual International Film Festival of India (IFFI) is all set to lay the red carpet out to its most prized participants, its delegates, on November 20. This will be the 13th occasion the festival is held in Goa and 46th overall.
Coming just a few weeks after the heavily-publicised MAMI and despite the proliferation of film festivals in recent, the annual event at Goa enjoys a quiet dignity. Having started at the peak of Nehruvian idealism, in 1952 with Awara , it has travelled a long distance in promoting the spirit of Vasudaiva Kutumbakam , an inherent face of India’s diversity. The unobtrusive charm of the festival is reflected in the diverse choice of its films.
The most intriguing element in the Indian Panorama section this year is its opening film, Vinod Mankara’s Priyamanasam , a movie made in the language of the Gods, Sanskrit. The film, based on 17th century Malayalam poet Unnayi Variyar’s life and his Kathakali play Nalacharitam , is only the third movie made in the tongue and comes 23 years after G.V. Iyer’s Bhagvad Gita , the last one.
The documentary that is to mark the opening is Goonga Pahalwan , on Virender Singh — among India’s most accomplished disabled athletes — and his quest for a place at the Rio Olympics next year
This apart, the first day will also see the screening of national award-winning Malayalam film Ain and the Partition tale from the Bengal side of the Radcliffe Line, Rajkahini .
One injustice that has been done for the people from the Seven Sister States, whose diverse cultures is what make their places vibrant, is grouping them all under the monolithic monicker ‘Northeast’. Though for purposes of geography, it may be convenient, it does little to highlight the 220 languages spoken by people in the region.
The festival promises to offer some fascinating insights into the culture of the region -- both of the hills and the plains. The section ‘New Horizons from the Northeast’ is set to open with the Assamese film Khondhikhyan and to include films in languages as distinct as Nagamese, Mizo, Garo, Bodo and Rabha. Two films to watch out for here seem to be the Bodo film Dau Huduni Methai , on the Bodo people’s struggle against the militants and the state; and the Arunachali film The Head Hunter, the first film made in Wancho.
After Elizabeth Ekadashi and Killa last year and the Oscar-nominated Court this year, Marathi films — at times sidelined because of the excessive attention given to their Hindi counterparts — have been getting positive responses from cinephiles. Katyar Kaljat Ghusali , which looks to be based on musical rivalry between two singers and a cursory look at whose synopsis takes one’s memories back to the Manna Dey-Bhimsen Joshi duel in Basant Bahar ( Ketki Gulab Juhi ), marks the acting debut of singer-music composer Shankar Mahadevan. Another film to watch out for here is Sadabahar Brass Band , where a court notice brings five estranged band members together to take a recap into their past.
Daughters of Mother India, a documentary on the 2012 Delhi gang-rape and murder, which focuses more on the crime of rape and the possible official responses to deal with it, reads more promising than the controversial India’s daughter, which was released earlier in the year and looked oriented more towards the shock quotient.
The documentary section also has the PSBT-promoted documentary on art film legend Shyam Benegal, directed by Iram Ghuffran; and the Bhojpuri-film Gunja, based on a young girl’s struggle for school education in Bihar.
Amit Dutta’s Even Red Can Be Said , based on the life and art of litterateur and abstract painter. Raj Kumar, promises to offer an insight into his writing, seen through his eyes. Along similar lines, Roohi Dixit’s Spaces Between documents the process that goes into artist Nikhil Chopra’s creation as he goes ahead with his 52-hour drawing performance, creating La Perle Noire II.
The retrospective section disappoints a bit. I wonder if less-known Guru Dutt films like Baaz and Sailaab would have been better ways to pay tribute to the master than Pyaasa. Two interesting exceptions here are – New Delhi Times , a treat for anyone who has worked in a newsroom; and Ketan Mehta’s folk-tale Bhavani Bhavai . Here, I feel one film-maker who has done been done enough justice is V. Shantaram. This being the 25th anniversary of his death, inclusion of his films would have revived the memories of the pioneer.
Amid the ongoing culture wars at the national and regional levels and the politically charged atmosphere where ‘intolerance’ is the buzzword, it will be interesting to observe how the battles of creative expression are played out on the screen in the festival.
