Panaji :: Goa, 24th November 2018: I think I am a gangster at heart: Vishal Bhardwaj (Filmmaker) … If you are looking for unique locations that exist in isolation, then Lakshadweep is the place: Vikash Sivaraman (Advisor, Film Tourism, UT of Lakshadweep) …. If I was a filmmaker today, I would make a pilot for a web show and pitch to an OTT platform: Suri Gopalan (Founder, Vista India Digital Media) … 24 exciting projects of the Film Bazaar Recommends section pitch their films to industry participants … You have to live amongst the people and hear their stories to be able to tell them honestly: Sange Dorjee (Filmmaker  …

 The second day of the Film Bazaar 2018 carried forward the excitement of Day 1 with film pitches, exciting panel discussions and informative sessions on the potential of filming in different parts of the country. The Viewing Room and Industry Screenings also saw intense action with sales agents, distributors, financiers and festival programmers shuttling between films in an attempt to watch as many of the brilliant films on offer as possible.

 The first and the last were the most interesting sessions of the day. The last session in the evening had the acclaimed filmmaker and music composer, Vishal Bhardwaj talk about his films, his love for language and the many powerful female roles in his films in a session titled ‘Badlands and the ‘Gender’.When asked about the powerful female roles he’s written over the years he said, “I’ve seen that whenever a crisis comes, women come to the forefront. Men look physically strong but women are inherently stronger”.

 The audience – largely filmmakers – latched on to every word of his and enjoyed the bits from his films that were played in between. They peppered him with questions on his approach to filmmaking and directing actors. In response to one of these questions he said, “When I go to the set, I don’t tell my actors too much. I don’t open my cards, I give them the space. Sometimes they come up with really good ideas and when they don’t, I make suggestions, but in the process they start thinking for the character and caring for it”.

 He also spoke about how blessed he felt to be a filmmaker because it allowed him to live the lives of so many people as well as travel the world while doing what he loves. When asked where all the violence in his films comes from, he responded by saying that, ‘I feel like a gangster at heart’, drawing much applause and laughter from the audience.

 The day started with the 24 projects under the Film Bazaar Recommends pitching their films to a roomful of eager industry participants. Like the films in the Co-Production Market yesterday, these 24 films reflected the amazing diversity of stories that the South Asian region is home to.

 Across the Ocean, an interest project conceived online after the two female filmmakers met on Facebook, was a one of its kind project that had the two filmmakers making the two separate halves of the film in their home territories without ever having met face to face. While there were films in Malayalam, Bengali and Hindi as usual the slate also included three films from the North-East and two from Chhattisgarh and Nepal each, clearly a sign of the growing confidence of filmmakers from the hinterland.

 The Knowledge Series continued to enthrall and enlighten the audience with insightful views and opinions on matters of interest to the filmmaking community.

 The first session in the morning saw the team from Lakshadweep present their territory as a destination for filming. Vikash Sivaraman (Advisor, Film Tourism, UT of Lakshadweep) said, “If you are looking for unique locations that exist in isolation, both on land and under water, then Lakshadweep is the place to come to. It has everything from remote islands to shipwrecks to mindboggling seascapes to visually exciting landscapes.”

 To ease the pressure on film producers to carry their own equipment to and from the islands, Lakshadweep is planning to park state-of-the-art equipment in the UT. Balram Meena (Director Tourism, UT of Lakshadweep) promised to learn from the best state policies that exist across the country and come up with a policy framework that will enable quick turnarounds. 

 A panel of filmmakers from the North-East alongside Anshulika Dubey (Co-Founder & COO, Wishberry) discussed the unexplored potential of cinema coming from the region. The panel that included Pradip Kurbah, Napolean RZ Thanga and Sange Dorjee discussed the challenges of raising financing for their films.

All the three filmmakers are based in their home states and stressed on the need to maintain their roots in the region to be able to share stories from there. They stressed on the need to create awareness about platforms like the Film Bazaar amongst the filmmakers from the North East.

 “You have to live amongst the people, hear them and their stories to be able to tell those. That can’t happen if you live in the big city”, said Sange Dorjee, the filmmaker from Arunachal Pradesh.

 Another insightful panel that saw a huge turnout was the one that discussed the future of the OTT market. Moderated by Orly Ravid (Founder, The Film Collaborative) the panel had Ajay Chacko (Co-founder & CEO, Arre), Rasika Dugal (Actor), Rohan Sippy (Filmmaker) and Suri Gopalan (Founder, Vista India Digital Media).

 “I don’t think the challenges for indie filmmakers will be resolved with the emergence of these OTT’s because there’s a lot of demand for longer format storytelling by the OTT’s” said Mr. Gopalan starting off the discussion. Mr. Sippy however was excited by the potential for filmmakers that the online platforms offered. “The rules keep changing. People are playing with the medium. It’s an unbelievably powerful way of showcasing content”.

 Mr. Chacko however warned against getting carried away. “While a lot of things will change, the structure of consumption will probably not change. It’s still going to be the same as TV. We are seeing that already.”

 Ms. Dugal was happy with the emergence of these OTT platforms. “I’ve been lucky to do roles that would otherwise have been difficult to come across. I hope there will be interesting roles for women on these shows where women will have something to do rather than just be. It doesn’t really matter to me who makes the content as long as the roles are exciting enough.”

 Encouraging independent filmmakers in the audience, Mr. Suri signed off saying, “If I was a filmmaker today, I would make a pilot for a show. That would allow me to pitch my story to the OTT’s who would then find it easy to assess the quality of my work and idea.”

 Alongside these sessions the Producers’ Workshop also continued with the young producers getting a chance to interact with some of the most experienced professionals from across the producing landscape.

Panaji : 23rd Nov 2018 ::: Directors of five feature films in the Indian Panorama Section of IFFI- 2018 interacted with the media today. Jayraj, Director of Malayalam film Bhayanakam; Kamakhya Narayan Singh, Director of Bhor; Nipun Dharmadhikari, Director of Marathi film Dhappa; Srijit Mukherji, director of Bengali film Uma and Priya Krisnaswamy, Director of Tamil movie ‘Baram’ were of the opinion that alternate cinema has great social transformative potential and that it is really a good thing that alternate cinema is getting good OTT platforms.

Bhayanakam is an adaptation of two chapters from Takazhy Sivasankara Pillai’s epic Malayalam novel called ‘Coir’ and has won three awards for Best Direction, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Cinematography at the 2017 National Film Awards.

In 1999, Jayaraj started his Navarasa film series with Karunam, followed by Shantham (2001). Shantham won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film. Bhayanakam released in 2017 is Part 6 of Navarasa series. Navarasa series is nine-film series project. The story is set in Kuttanad and its backwaters in central Kerala during the World War II and revolves around a war-injured postman, who delivers money orders at homes of those who have joined the army. Though Kuttanadu lost lot of soldiers in the war, yet it is not part of the history. Bhayanakam tries to narrate those events from telegram and money-orders delivered by one postman.

Jayaraj said “Without showing any war sequences, gun fight or soldiers, the story of world war is depicted here through the mental trauma of a handicapped Postman. It was very difficult to re-create Kuttanadu of that era but we worked hard for it. I have been trying to do this movie for the last 30 years, and I am happy that I got the opportunity to do this now”. He also added that nowadays, there is no market for panorama cinema. “If we have a digital platform like Netflix and support from DFF for such panorama films, it would help”.

Main protagonist of the movie lead actor Renji Panicker said that his transformation from script writer/director to actor was by sheer accident.

‘Bhor is a film about Bihar’s Mushahar community and revolves around the plight of a poor girl Budhni, struggling to get her basic right for education and sanitation. The film was also watched by Goa’s Hon’ble Governor Smt. Mrudal Sinha yesterday at IFFI-2018. 

Director Kamakhya Narayan Singh said “Since childhood, I was fascinated by Musahar community, who live in planes near the cities, are simple, poor people but do not cry about their poverty. They are happy and honest people. We wanted to make a honest story on them. The condition of Musahars has improved a bit now. But I wanted to show how these people lived when I was a child. Since Bollywood actors could not spare 2 months from their schedule, we chose to take new faces who lived, worked with them for two months to understand their situation. We used real settings by using clothes actually used by local Musahars. The recording of the music was also done live after performing in the villages”.

Marathi film Dhappa portrays how children come to terms with the stark contrast between the idealistic lessons taught in school and the harsh realities of the world outside.

The Direction & screenplay of ‘Dhappa’, a Marathi film is done by Nipun Dharmadhikari. In the movie, a children’s play during Ganesh Chaturthi Festival on environment using messages of Jesus Christ and Sant Tukaram turns into a flash-point between elders & children. Dhappa has won the National Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration this year. The film is going to be screened in theatres today. Throwing light on his movie’s idea of national integration, Nipun Dharmadhikri said, Pune which has great tradition of Ganesh festival is of late witnessing emergence of gated communities which have become separate worlds in themselves.

I would rather celebrate kindness of one percent people than talking about cynicism of ninety nine percent, said Srijit Mukherji, Director of Bengali film Uma, which is story of a young girl  fighting a terminal disease and her father struggling to make his daughter’s dreams come true helped by a director whose past is haunting him. Srijit Mukherji is a popular actor, screenwriter and Director. His fifth film Jaatishwar won 4 national awards at India’s 61st National Film Awards (2014). He has won the National Film Award for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for his sixth film Chotushkone at India’s 62nd National Film Awards.

Sharing his experience about the film, Srijit said his inspiration came from a news report called “The Boy Who Moved Christmas” where the townsfolk orchestrated a Christmas for the terminally ill boy. He decided it to adapt the story to the realities of his hometown Bengal, replacing Christmas with Durga Puja.

Baaram which means burden, is a Tamil film directed & produced by Priya Krisnaswamy, which revolves around a widowed night watchman, Karuppaswamy and his sons during his last days, when he is subjected to the practice of Thalaikoothal. A veteran film-editor ,Priya Krishnaswamy made her directorial debut with Gangoobai produced by NFDC in 2013.

“When I read news about elderly infirm parents being despatched with a cold head-bath (‘Thalaikoothal’) and getting killed, and heard this had social sanction, I could not believe it; until I saw Satyameva Jayate by Aamir Khan who foregrounded the issue.”

Krishnaswamy said she then decided to do a documentary on this. She found out there were 26 documented ways to kill the elderly and that this practice is prevalent not only in south India but also in north India as well as in other countries.

“Baaram is based on true events; I find it incredible, it is all about humanity. As a mother, daughter and grand-daughter, I cannot believe that we have lost out on our humanity. When we lose out on these values, we lose out on kindness, gentleness. It had social sanction, there were traditional killers and it was being done for free. What began as tradition and was for free is now a business with brokers and commissions.”

When we talk about cultural messaging, this is the country that wants sons, yet the ones who murder the elderly are the sons themselves. We don’t have social infrastructure to take care of the elderly. This systemic failure has infiltrated the family as well. The breakdown of the joint family is a problem that I want to showcase through this movie. When we lose out on a generation before us, we lose out on kindness, wisdom, culture, cuisine. Hence I wanted to tell a story about this, said Krishnaswamy.

Panaji : 23rd Nov 2018 ::: The inspiration for ‘To the Desert’ came from a true news story I had read, about kidnapping in Patagonia. The film uses real-life settings of abandoned houses, employing thereby a documentary approach to film-making. It was an opportunity for me to get involved in the exotic landscape of Patagonia.

– Ulises Rosell, Director

The shooting for the movie was quite difficult as the weather conditions were hard; I always wanted to show Patagonia on the cinema and my wish is fulfilled through this film

– Valentina Bassi, actress

Rosell and Bassi were addressing a joint press conference at the 49^th International Film Festival of India, Goa today, November 23, 2018. Their film To the Desert is being screened under the World Panorama section of IFFI 2018.

“I was very happy when I heard that my film got selected in World Panorama section of IFFI which was like an opportunity to take my film to the other side of the world and we are really grateful for this opportunity”, Rosell said.

Narrating her character, Bassi said “Julia wants to escape in the beginning of the movie but she cannot as she is trapped in a vast open space; the emotions she feels are contradictory as she is dependent on the captor for her survival and she starts to admire the captor’s survival skills in the middle of nothing but at the same time she is very afraid of the harm he can inflict on her. Julia ends up believing that she would not tell anyone about the incidence.”

The film is thus also a story of a secret that should not be shared, added Rosell.

Backgrounder

Rosell is an award-winning Argentinian filmmaker with 12 feature films to his credit. Cast of the film & Rossel’s wife, Valentina Bassi is an Argentine film and television actress.

The film To the Desert revolves around Julia, a casino employee & Gwynfor, a Welsh descendent, who promises her an administrative position at the oil company where he works. Later on, what starts out as a morning appointment, résumé in hand, becomes a nightmarish journey in the middle of the arid landscape of Patagonia.

***

Panaji : Goa, 23rd November 2018: I remember watching films of Satyajit Ray and it’s the legacy of India that has brought me here: Chin Han, Singaporean-American actor … The word Regional films should not be used anymore. These are films that need a platform and we must provide them with one: Rahul Rawail

 Day 2 of the 49th edition of the International Film Festival of India witnessed mingling of international actors and filmmakers who interacted with the media and shared their thoughts about being in the festival and their movies that made it to the festival this year.

 As much elated he was to be in Goa, Chin Han shared his delight to meet Akshay Kumar and Karan Johar at the opening ceremony with the media. “It was indeed great to meet Akshay Kumar and Karan Johar because for me if I think Bollywood, I think SRK.” Chin Han is a Singaporean-American actor who is known for his role in Master of the Sea, Singapore television’s first foray into English language. He has also been named as one of the Asia’s 25 greatest actors. He expressed his joy to see Asian faces in Hollywood even when Hollywood is not ‘the ultimate destination’ for him. “Hollywood is obviously significant but not the ultimate destination. It’s important that the whole industry moves ahead at the same time – right from the actors, to directors, designers and artists. I’m always happy to see Asian faces in Hollywood. It was good to see Priyanka Chopra in Baywatch and Deepika Padukone in XXX. India has a wealth of talent with a rich and acclaimed history of Indian cinema.”, said Chin Han who also turns 49  like the festival, in next couple of days.  Chin sounded ecstatic to be in Goa and told that being in coastal city, IFFI reminded him of Cannes.

 In other press conference here at IFFI, Deepti Sivan and Prabal Chakraborty talked about their respective films selected in the Indian Panorama section.

Decoding Shankar– a biopic on the famous singer Shankar Mahadevan is a documentary made by Deepti Sivan. “This biopic is a story that had to be told to the younger generation. It’s all about following your heart, talent and passion which I believe is personified best by Shankar Mahadevan. He is a plethora of talent and music is everything for him. Apart from AR Rahman, Shankar is the only Indian musician who has pan India presence. Not only can he sing in all genres but can compose in all styles.” According to Deepti, the biopic doesn’t tell its story chronologically. It’s told in a different pattern-through his words and his colleagues. It’s an inspiration for the younger generation because it’s all about following your passion, not just education. When you do something passionately, you do it to the fullest. While in India mainstream cinema is distributed easily, a non –feature film is not easy to distribute. Addressing the media Deepti said, “We make films out of passion. It’s our way to show the world that we are talented and yes we do exist.”

Accompanied by Deepti, Prabal Chakraborty expressed his surprise when he found that his film Sampurak had made it to the festival this year. “The funniest thing was that I found out my movie has been selected for IFFI by accident. My friend, who is a Shankar Mahadevan fan, shared to me that Deepti’s movie has been selected. When I checked the list, I was thrilled to see my film there in there.” Talking about the film Prabal described it as a rooted and Indian but he highlighted the fact that writing the script of the film was challenging. Having been into IT all these years, film making was a dream come true for this director who accepted that one must always follow the dreams. “There is nothing as rewarding as seeing your own film on the screen”, concluded Prabal.

While there were conferences doing the rounds at the festival, an Open forum was inaugurated. Organised by Federation of Film Societies of India in collaboration with the International Film Festival of India’18 and Entertainment Society of Goa, the forum aims to discuss ‘The Role of Film Festivals in promoting film culture and the need for spreading the film festival across the country.’

 Present at the forum Chairman of the Feature film jury and a renowned director Rahul Rawail said, “The word Regional cinema is offensive. The various regions in India with different languages are making some content. There are brilliant films being made in different languages. To mention some, we saw a film in language Jasari which is spoken by 67,000 people only. There was a Nagamese film and film from Lakshwadeep which touched our hearts. I strongly feel that these films need to be promoted and hence at this forum I request all to create avenues for encouraging these films and allowing people to watch them as well .There are very few mediums which allow us to watch movies in different languages.”

With the presence of dignitaries and experts, open forum witnessed exchange of thoughts to encourage short films and bring the films in various languages on one single platform. Festival director and one of the speakers at the forum, Chaitanaya Prasad expressed his idea of promoting such films so that they see the light of the day. “It is a great honour for me to come speak here as a director of film festival. I think forums like these gives push to the cinema in country and I agree with the idea to bring forth various film genres on one single platform. Here in IFFI we are talking about variety, diversity, joy of cinema which needs to be shared with all. I believe that as stakeholders you all have a better understanding of films as far as we are concerned. Being the golden jubilee next year, it would be a big moment for us all, as we feel that India will open to the world.

It’s you and your valuable suggestion that makes it a lot better. We would be indebted to all you present here. I believe there would be variety of views and it matters how we put it in a bouquet of ideas.”  

Mr. Senthil Rajan, OSD, International Film Festival of India- 2018; Mr. Rajendra Talak, Vice-President, ESG; Mr Karan V Shantaram, President FFSI; Mr. Nagathihalli Chandrasekhar, Chairman-Karnataka Chalanchitra Academy, Bengaluru; Ms Marianne Borgo, French actress and Mr. Amit R Agrawal , Head Global Film Festival India, were also present at the forum. 

 Indian Panorama has some beautiful films being screened this year. Most of the film talk about the human emotions in a way that touches the heart. One such film this year happens to be a Bengali film Uronchondi. While this film talks about the human emotion of being free, it also is a film that has everyone debuting beginning from the director to the actors. “It’s a film about spirit of life. On daily basis, we all get bored of our busy schedules. This film is all about setting free from the mundane life. While few people are able to take that plunge not all are privileged to live a life as they wish to. This film is all about sky, roads and nature”, said Abhishek Saha, director of the film.  Accompanied by the director were actors Amartya Ray and Rajanandini Paul who were grateful for being given the opportunity to be part of the film that took them for a different journey altogether.

 The last conference of the day was addressed by the international film makers where they talked about their respective movies.

Director of movie A Translator, Rodrigo Barrisuo stated that he never visits the festivals in the desire of getting an award. Based on the true story of his father, Rodrigo made this movie with his brother as co-director that portrays story of a Russian Literature professor at the University of Havana  who is ordered to work as a translator for child victims of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster when they are sent to Cuba for medical treatment.

Also present at the conference was American director, producer, actor and writer whose movie Maine has travelled to IFFI this year. “I am a heart broken man and I feel I attract heart-broken people”, expressed Matthew. According to him the movies that he has watched so far, the filmmakers around and his life is the source of inspiration.

This year IFFI has pool of amazing films doing the rounds.  With society maturing to numerous societal issues, filmmakers are encouraged to bring out stories that were once a taboo. One such film based on story of transgender is Roobha. Directed by amazing storyteller Lenin M Sivam, Roobha is based on a true story penned down by a Tamil writer. Stating that short films are his forte Lenin also discussed about how filmmaking is a difficult task. “I can express my thoughts well through short films. So when I read the book ‘Roobha’ I decided to make a film on it. Not only this addresses the issue in the society but also portrays emotions of a transgender. Along with Lenin M Siva, the actor Amrit Sandhu was present who portrays the role of transgender Roobha. “Playing a transgender was challenging but for him Roobha is someone who is just like every other human being. It’s just that their emotions never get addressed,”said Amrit.  

 The festival looks promising with array of international and national films being showcased in the next few days.

Panaji : GOA, 23^nd NOVEMBER 2018: … Jahnvi Kapoor recites an emotional poem in her mother Sridevi’s memory, Boney Kapoor chokes with emotion as he remembers the first female superstar of Indian cinema … A hesitant singer and director Arijit Singh gives in to public demand and croons to his songs at his Masterclass on ‘Hitting the Right Notes’ … Pankaj Tripathi, Divya Dutta, Rahul Bose, Rajshri Deshpande, Nila Madhab Panda and Aseem Bajaj recollect their journey into the world of cinema, in a session titled, ‘Redefining Stories’ … The cast and crew of films like Bhayanakam and Malai walked the red carpet at IFFI 2018 … Eight-time National Award-winning film editor Sreekar Prasad conducted a Masterclass titled, ‘A “Cut” above the Rest’ … The Sports Biopics section inaugurated with the screening of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag in the presence of Director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and actress Divya Dutta at Joggers’ Park in Altinho ~

 The third day at IFFI, 22^nd November 2018, saw perhaps the busiest schedule of masterclass and panel discussions.. The highlight of the day, undoubtedly, was a session that most of the fans were eagerly waiting for – a panel discussion titled, ‘Konversation with the Kapoors’ moderated by Rumi Jaffery with Producer Boney Kapoor and his children, actors Arjun Kapoor and Janhvi Kapoor. However, Arjun Kapoor couldn’t be present due to his commitments towards his upcoming film, Panipat.

The conversation began with Boney’s take on the film industry and the changes that he has seen over the years. Boney said, “The current times are our film industry’s diamond era. There is much discipline in place unlike the earlier times. The business has become more streamlined. The reach of our films also has grown multifold. Earlier, we used to release our films across 50-60 screens in the country, in addition to maybe 10-15 screens outside the country. Now, for example, Thugs Of Hindostan was released across 7000 screens worldwide. I foresee Indian films being screened in almost 10,000 screens soon.” Boney however admitted that a shortage of good writers has been plaguing the industry for long, and continues to do so.

Soon, the spotlight was on Janhvi Kapoor who looked gorgeous dressed impeccably in a white gown. When asked on her observations in the industry and the changes from the current generation’s point of view, Jahnvi, without mincing her words, said, “The acting and storytelling of the films in the Golden Era were far ahead of the current times. We are stuck in the commercial trap; the freedom in storytelling was more before. Also, India has had a history of women oriented films across the years but never did we have this practice of stereotyping or giving tags to films, such as ‘female centric’ or ‘women oriented’, like we do now.”

Boney, whose real name is Achal Kapoor, went in flashback mode, trying to narrate how his and Anil Kapoor’s journey in films began. After acting together in a play in their college days, the brothers soon knew that only one of them could continue acting and the other could follow his passion behind the scenes. Boney being the older brother chose the latter. The producer of films such as Wanted, Tevar and many more blockbusters however admitted that he plans to don the director’ hat again soon.

Having a conversation with the Kapoor family without the mention of Sridevi is simply impossible, and the moderator did a fine job of broaching the topic with sensitivity. While acknowledging the void created by her absence, a teary eyed Boney in a voice choked with emotion said, “Nobody is as complete as her as an actor. It would have been nice to have her with us to see her receive the National Award.”

An articulate Jahnvi described the past year that has been a mixed bag of emotions – the year caused the irreversible demise of her mother Sridevi, and also marked her own debut in the film industry with the Hindi remake of Marathi blockbuster, Sairat. Jahnvi said, “The year has been about tremendous personal growth. The worst and the best – both the things have happened to me in the past one year. But I’m extremely pleased with the fact that our family is complete now. About my mother’s loss – we are still in shock and haven’t been able to process it yet. But we are thankful for the love we have received. I just want to entertain you all and aspire to win your love.” The actress also recited a heartfelt poem penned down in the memory of her beloved mother.

Boney acknowledged that nothing makes him happier than to see his children come together as a family. The producer was overwhelmed with emotion, choking as he said this.

The young actress who will soon be seen in her next film, Takht, said that she would love to act in a remake of the classic film Khamoshi starring Waheeda Rehman and Rajesh Khanna, for the sheer acting prowess displayed by Waheeda Rehman in the climax scene of the film. Takht is a period film starring Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt and Anil Kapoor. The film is being produced by Karan Johar.

Arijit Singh at his Masterclass

The focus then shifted to Maquinez Palace where the stage was set for a masterclass with one of the most sought after playback singer of current times, Arijit Singh. The session titled, ‘Hitting The Right Notes With Arijit Singh’ saw a packed house full of fans of the versatile singer who were optimistic of hearing their favourite icon croon to some of his popular songs. And the singer did not disappoint.

The session however started off with Arijit talking about his musical journey, right from the time he started learning classical music to the point where he participated in the reality show Fame Gurukul, followed by a contract with TIPS. The rest is, of course, is well known history.

When asked by one of the audience members about the possibility of Indian classical music going mainstream, Arijit was quick to dismiss the notion. Arijit said, “Indian Classical music cannot be mainstream. It is not meant for entertainment, but for transforming thoughts, for concentration and meditation. It is an internal process that equips us to deal with the external world.”

The versatile singer spoke at length about his feature film that marks his debut as a film director at IFFI 2018. Arijit said, “We started work on the film with a lot of pride and ambition. But we made a lot of rookie mistakes. We used to wander with the DSLR shooting whatever we liked. We did this for a year and half and ended up at the processing desk with a lot of raw footage. We did our best but the end product was not upto the mark.”

Arijit said that the team went back with the lessons learnt and started working on the script. Arijit said, “After working for about two and half years, we can say that we are somewhat happy with the result. We have been patient and we are sure that the lessons learnt will be implemented in our next film.” Arijit clarified that the team does not have a release plan for the film Sa.

The story of the film has written by Arijit’s wife, Koyel Singh and also features his son playing a pivotal role.

Pankaj Tripathi, Rahul Bose, Divya Dutta and Rajshri Deshpande at IFFI 2018

The day began early at Kala Academy with some of the country’s best actors – the talented Divya Dutta, Rahul Bose, Rajshri Deshpande, Pankaj Tripathi – who in the recent past has tasted tremendous critical and commercial success with his work in films like Stree, Bareilly Ki Barfi, and web series like Sacred Games and Mirzapur – and filmmaker Nila Madhab Panda engage in a conversation with cinematographer and producer Aseem Bajaj.

The session titled, ‘Redefining Stories’ saw the panelists take turns to narrate their personal stories, of their journey into the world of cinema. The topic then made way for a conversation on the changes in Indian cinema over the years. Actress Divya Dutta said, “Now roles are being written for characters that have substance. When Veer Zaara was offered to me, Aditya Chopra had told me that I will never regret doing the supporting role. After the success of that film, people started noticing me and I started getting roles that were beautiful but were not lead.” She further added, “Now roles are being written for all the actors. It is a time to cherish. Films are being made with stories from the heartland, from smaller towns of India. Pankaj Tripathi is a great example of being a heartland star. Things are moving away from the cliché.”

Using his film Poorna as an example, Rahul Bose said, “The story of a 13 yr old – the youngest girl to climb the Mt Everest, had every predictable beat of a mainstream film. Yet the film sank in B towns. It broke my heart. We realized that India, apart from a few metro cities, is not interested in a mainstream film without a face. As a producer I will never make a film, however mainstream, without a face.” Aseem Bajaj, in agreement said, “We celebrate mediocrity. Let’s get out of it.”

Pankaj Tripathi, a brilliant actor but a man of few words, summed up his story in a line saying – “The fact that a person like me is on the panel to discuss ‘Redefining Stories’, in itself is an example of a story redefined.”

Honourable Governor at the screening of Bhor

Her Excellency, Mridula Sinha, Governor of Goa made her presence felt at the screening of the film Bhor directed by Kamakhya Narayan Singh.

At the occasion, Her Excellency Mridula Sinha said, “The movie Bhor is a subject close to me since I have also written down a book Gharwas on the Musahar caste. I congratulate the director Kamakhya Narayan Singh and the whole team for making the film on this subject which enlightens us about the issues faced by the people from Musahar caste.”

On the premiere of the film Bhor, the Governor presented a signed copy of her book Gharwas to the director Kamakhya Narayan Singh.

Eight-time National Award winner Sreekar Prasad’s Masterclass

The audiences at IFFI 2018 enjoyed the golden opportunity of learning from eight-time National award winning ace film editor Sreekar Prasad at a Masterclass titled, ‘A “Cut” above the Rest’. The veteran, who has a command over the pace of the story and tastefully edits, thereby designing the flow of the story. Mr Prasad admitted that he steers clear of following a typical editing pattern.

While speaking to the audience, Mr Prasad said, “It is imperative to get the narrative right and for that, it helps a great deal if the editor reads the script. Contrary to the practice a few decades ago, I now find myself involved right from the early stages of the production of a film.”

Red Carpet at IFFI 2018

The audiences at IFFI 2018 also got a glimpse of the cast and crew of the Malayalam film, Bhayanakam at the red carpet. Jairaj, the director of the film, said, “It is my 9^th consecutive year at IFFI, next year it will be my 10^th year. It will be a huge and big celebration then. The movie Bhayanakam is a based on two eras – World War I and World War II. We are showing the agony of World War I. This is something which has not effectively documented. Even people from remote villages are now aware of this after watching the film. We are happy about that.”

The cast and crew of the film, Malai also walked the red carpet.

Inauguration of Sports Biopics section

The day also saw the inauguration of the Sports Biopics section, with the screening of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag in the presence of the Director of the film, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, actress Divya Dutta and cine lovers of Goa at the Joggers’ Park in Altinho.

While speaking at the occasion, Mr Mehra said, “The concept of open screenings is very popular at international film festivals like Cannes and Locarno. The atmosphere is great. Watching the movie under the open sky is an amazing experience. It is a great initiative taken by our honourable Minister of Sports and I&B under Khelo India initiative.”   

The 49th edition of International Film Festival of India (IFFI) began on 20^th November 2018 and will go on till 28^th November 2018, in Panjim, Goa.

Panaji, Goa, 23 November 2018: NFDC & Moviebuff announced their collaboration with the Moviebuff Appreciation awards for the Film Bazaar 2018. Moviebuff Appreciation awards will recognise cinematic excellence and help promote new aspiring filmmakers. The awards will be scrutinised by an eminent panel of jury consisting of internationally acclaimed festival programmers/directors, producers and industry executives.

Film Bazaar is the converging point for film buyers and sellers from all over the world. The focus is on discovering, supporting and showcasing South Asian content and talent in filmmaking, production and distribution.

Moviebuff will present the Moviebuff Appreciation awards to three winners each of whom will receive Rs 3 Lakh worth of sponsorship for their first movie. The award will include:

• Two Lakh worth of trailer promotion through 300 Qube network theatres. This will enable the filmmakers to gain a wider reach to the theatrical audience and help create visibility for their movie.

•  Moviebuff will master the DCI DCP free of cost. 

• Filmmakers will get a Qube Wire account with a wallet worth US$ 500. This can be redeemed   when they use the Qube Wire platform for distribution of movie content.

Moviebuff offers the most exhaustive database of movie related information to an Indian movie-going audience. It aims to be an end-to-end solution for a variety of users, including, but not limited to, consumers, content creators, exhibitors and affiliates, and serves the role of a one-stop shop for these users, providing information as well as solutions for anything related to the business of movies — consumption, exhibition and content creation.

“We are extremely excited about the Moviebuff Appreciation awards.  We hope the partnership with NFDC will help to promote new aspiring filmmakers who have the spark in them for good storytelling. Moviebuff has been involved in many innovative initiatives which help to spot new talent and give them an opportunity to pursue their cinematic dream.” said Jayendra Panchapakesan, Co-founder of Qube Cinema, on the occasion of the launch of the award.

Qube Cinema is the technical partner of Film Bazaar 2018 and has been providing technical support since 2012. The technical support this year includes deployment of digital cinema equipment for playback at the screening theatres, mastering of the films selected for the Film Bazaar screening, free KDM and quality control, managing the movie DCP and scheduling.

Panaji: November 23, 2018 .. The feast of St. Francis Xavier at Old Goa will be held on December 3, 2018 and Novenas will be held from November 24, 2018 to December 2, 2018. As the Feast and Novenas attract a large number of devotees, traffic arrangements have been made, to avoid inconvenience.

On the route from Panaji to Old Goa via Ribandar, there will be Special Buses to ferry passengers. The Special Buses from Panaji to Old Goa will proceed via Ribandar and on reaching Dempo Engineering at Old Goa, will take left turn to enter the Bhakia Property for parking at Bhakia Bus Stand.

The Two Wheelers and Four Wheelers, on reaching Dempo Engineering at Old Goa will take left turn to enter Bhakia property for parking. Vehicles having VIP Car Pass will be allowed to come up to the entry road and will be parked in VIP Parking Lot. The vehicles carrying Disabled Persons will be allowed to come up to Old Goa Church Junction and park their vehicles in the open space opposite Sulabh Sauchalaya near Old Goa Panchayat. The vehicles parked in Bhakia property and in the open space opposite Sulabh Sauchalaya near Old Goa Panchayat on their return journey to Panaji, will take the same route via Ribandar.

            On route from Panaji to Old Goa via Kadamba By-Pass Panaji to Ponda Route Buses will not be allowed to proceed via Ribandar. Instead, they will be diverted at KTC Circle to proceed via Kadamba By-Pass (NH-4A). The Two Wheelers and Four Wheelers on reaching Kamat Gas Station junction will take left turn towards Santa Monica Nursery and on reaching at St. Augustine Tower junction will take further left turn and on reaching Habitat junction will take right turn and on reaching Dempo Engineering will take left turn to enter Bhakia property for parking.

All Heavy and Medium Vehicles will be diverted via Kadamba Bye-Pass NH-4A. The new road connecting Kadamba By-Pass to Santan Church will be One- Way from Kadamba By-Pass towards Santan. Similarly it will be “No Entry” for Medium and Heavy vehicles from both sides i.e. from Santan Church and from Kadamba By-Pass. On Saturday, Sunday and on the Feast Day, Heavy and Medium Goods Vehicles wanting to proceed via Old Goa will be diverted at Karaswada Junction on NH-17 and at Banastarim Junction on NH-4A to proceed via Amona Bridge.

The road from Pilar to Old Goa will be made One-Way for the movement of traffic. No vehicle from Old Goa will be allowed to return via Neura. All vehicles shall exit via NH-4A at Merces or light vehicles can exit via new road to Santan Church. Four Wheelers from South Goa will be allowed to come up to Ella Farm Gate and will park in the Ella Farm field, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Service open space. Two wheelers will be parked in the private property prior to Neura junction and in the parking lots behind the Bom Jesus of Basilica. Buses coming from South Goa via Neura road on reaching Ella Farm main gate will take left turn and come to Bus Stand at Kunkolkar School Ground and will exit on NH-4A for onward journey.

Arrangement for vehicles commuting from Ponda – Two Wheelers and Four Wheelers coming from Ponda side on reaching near Pinto Garage will take left turn for parking at the ground behind Pinto Garage. For return journey, the two wheelers and four wheelers will take the same route to go towards Ponda. The normal traffic from Ponda wanting to go to Panaji on reaching near Dargah junction at Old Goa will take Kadamba By-Pass (NH-4A). Ponda to Panaji Route Buses will not be allowed to proceed via Old Goa Church complex. Instead, they will be diverted at Neura Junction to proceed via Kadamba By-Pass (NH-4A). Vehicles desiring to proceed towards Gaundalim are advised to proceed via Banastarim and avoid Old Goa. Heavy vehicles coming from Ponda side will be diverted at Banastarim Junction via Amona Bridge to join NH-17 at Karaswada. The stretch of road between Old Goa Police Station to Church junction via MLA Shri Pandurang Madkaikar’s  House will be made One-Way. No vehicle from Church junction will be allowed to take right turn to reach Old Goa Police Station via MLA Shri Pandurang Madkaikar’s House.

The vehicles coming from Diwar to Old Goa will proceed via Viceroy’s Arch and will be parked in the courtyard of St. Cajeton Church. The vehicles coming from Diwar will proceed through Viceroy’s Arch and Arch of Conception to go towards Ponda and Panaji. Vehicles from Ponda side wanting to proceed to Diwar will take right turn a Neura Junction and proceed to Diwar Ferry via Old Goa Main Junction. The vehicles coming from Gaundalim side and desiring to proceed to Diwar will take right turn near Ramesh Naik house to proceed to Diwar jetty. The vehicles coming from Panaji via Ribandar to go to Diwar will take left turn at Old Goa Church junction, take route towards St. Catherine Chapel and thereafter take left turn on the new by-lane to go to Diwar jetty. The lane connecting Gaundalim road to Arch of Conception will be No Entry. The road from Old Goa Church junction towards Diwar Ferry via St. Catherine Chapel will be made One-Way. No Heavy and Medium vehicles will be allowed to cross Diwar ferry. All such vehicles will use Ribander ferry to enter and exit Diwar.

Two Wheelers and Four Wheelers coming from Panaji side via Ribandar, will be parked at Bhakia Property. Vehicles coming from Panaji side via new Kadamba By-Pass (NH-4A), will be diverted near Kamat Gas Station to proceed for parking at Bhakia Property taking left near St. Augustin Tower junction. Two Wheelers and Four Wheelers coming from South Goa side will be parked at Ela Farm, at Animal Husbandry Premises and at Open space on either side of highway near Neura Junction. Two wheelers will also be parked in private property prior to Neura junction. Two Wheelers and Four Wheelers coming from Ponda side, will be parked at open ground near Pinto Garage. Two Wheelers will also be parked at two open Plots belonging to Mr. Colaco and Mr. Sequeira opposite  MLA Shri Pandurang Madkaikar’s Residence. Two Wheelers and Four Wheelers coming from Diwar Ferry will be parked in the courtyard of St. Cajetan Church. Vehicles having Passes issued by Traffic Police will be parked in the Open space near Old Goa Main Junction & near Sulabh Souchalaya and in the Courtyard of V.P. Old Goa. Priest vehicles in the compound behind Basilica of Bom Jesus. Church Volunteers in the asphalted parking area behind Sulab Souchalaya.

The stretch of road between Old Goa Church junction to Gandhi Circle will be closed for all types of vehicles except emergency vehicles like Police, Ambulance and Fire Brigade. The ring round road connecting Old Goa Church junction to St. Catherin Chapel to Arch of Conception to Petrol Pump to Old Goa Police Station to MLA Shri Pandurang Madkaikar’s house to Old Goa Church junction will be one-way. All the motorists are requested to kindly follow the traffic circulation plan and to cooperate with Traffic Police, to ensure smooth flow of traffic.

Panaji: 22nd November 2018 ::: The Entertainment Society of Goa, INOX, K Sera Sera, Vasco and Ravindra Bhavan, Margao presents on the occasion of the International Film Festival of India the screening of the Indian Panorama films selected for IFFI 2018.

The films screening at INOX, Margao will begin from 23^rd to 28^th November and at K Sera Sera, Vasco from 24^th to 29^th November 2018. Daily shows at both theatres at 3.00 pm, 6.00 pm and 9.00 pm.

Entry passes for screenings at INOX, Margao will be available at Ravindra Bhavan, Margao and for K Sera Sera, Vasco passes will be available at the venue.

Entry is strictly for individuals above the age of 18 years.

GOA, 22nd NOVEMBER 2018:…. The Other Story opened the Israel-Country Focus … Direct flight from Goa to Tel-Aviv to be introduced …. IFFI Lifetime Achievement Award winner Dan Wolman’s upcoming script is partly based in India … The biggest mafia which is ruining this industry is the multiplex mafia,’ says Rahul Rawail, Chairman of the Indian Panorama, Feature section.

 The 49^th edition of the International Film Festival kicked off on a celebratory note amongst an august gathering of celebrities, film fraternity and cine buffs. Expressing his pleasure about his country, Israel being the focus country this year, His Excellency Consul General of Israel to India Ya’akov Finkelstein said, “Through cinema we want to fortify the relations between India and Israel. I want to encourage the people of India to visit Israel and also make it a filming destination as I encourage the thought of seeing is believing. It is part of the growing partnership between Israel and India that embraces all levels of cooperation from the government to the business sector to people to people relations to the cultural relations between two countries.”

The 10 Israeli films offer a glimpse into the issues plaguing his country, history, landscapes, he said. The section opened with director Avi Nesher’s The Other Story. In Shalom Bollywood: The Untold Story of Indian Cinema, one of the other movies selected, viewers are introduced to the 2000 year-old Indian Jewish community and its place in shaping the Hindi film industry. The movie is directed by Danny Ben Moshe.

He also highlighted the co-production signed between the two countries that will enable cross cultural ties. He elucidated that Dharma Productions had already shot their movie Drive there and more films are in the pipeline.

His Excellency Consul General of Israel to India Ya’akov Finkelstein also spoke of the direct flight from Goa to Tel-Aviv to be introduced.

Speaking to the media, lifetime award recipient at IFFI, Dan Wolman shared his journey with the gathering. Wolman earlier received the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ at the Jerusalem International Film Festival and won The Ophir Life Time Achievement Award. His noted films include Lemon Popsical, The Distance and Foreign Sister. There is a special presentation of three of his films at the festival- Ben’s Biography, Floch and Hide and Seek.

Wolman described his work as an ‘advocate of the fringes’. His films have dealt with topics like old age homes, prostitutes, homosexuality and other offbeat topics. In his films he’s not trying to follow the trend, but find a way to do things that are courageous, and different and still continue to work.

He’s already scripted a children’s film My Father’s Secret India that will be spread across Israel and India. He’s using the opportunity to look for investors looking to collaborate on the project, he said.

Also present was producer of the opening film The Other Story, David Silber. The story that began four years ago and reflects on Israeli children turning to religious life and the parent’s dilemma how to deal with it. “The film talks about secular parents who feel that they are losing their daughter to religious world and are trying to fight it and eventually learning how to accept the daughter,” he said.

In another press conference with the Jury members of the Indian Panorama feature and non-feature films, Rahul Rawail, Chairman of the Indian Panorama, Feature section praised the great strides taken by regional cinema. He said that in the future Indian cinema will be referred as a collated whole and not regional or Hindi cinema.

Other jury members present were (IP – Feature) Major Ravi; and K. G. Suresh, Director General, Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi.

Highlighting the shift in the non-feature category, veteran director Vinod Ganatra said that short films will ‘definitely take over.’ He noted that 60 percent of the entries were short films.

The jury shared that the task of selection was a tough one. But through endless discussions, debates and analysis they arrived at the best set that would represent the country on an international platform.

The movies experimented with various topics and Major Ravi noted that they had 18 transgender films. This meant that audiences are maturing and accepting new ideas. He elucidated with examples of Bengali film Nagarkirtan. Directed by Kaushik Ganguly, it explores the love story between a flute player Madhu and Parimal, a rural boy who realises he’s a woman trapped in a woman’s body.

Apart from content, Rawail highlighted that there are no outlets for audiences to watch regional cinema. “The biggest mafia which is ruining this industry is the multiplex mafia. They decide what film will run, what will not run, for how many weeks and it’s all based around how much popcorn and samosas they can sell. They are not interested in the film,” Rawail said.

Infrastructure needs to be developed to screen for regional films, he added. “Costs are exorbitant for movies today. People pay for it and then they do not enjoy these kinds of films. The more people watch these films they will want to see them more and more.”

The third press conference introduced the cast and crew of the opening Indian Panorama films in the feature and non-feature categories. Olu, directed by veteran filmmaker Shaji N Karun takes you deep down under the Kerala backwaters where Olu (she),a gypsy girl mysteriously survives beneath the waters where she has been sunk by her rapists. She comes to the surface only on full moon nights and it is on one such night she meets a painter Vasu.

The director Shaji N Karun credited all those involved in the success of the film. He said that the fantasy film has strong influences of Buddhism in terms of use of motifs like lotus and the moon.

In the non-feature category Kharvas, directed by Aditya Suhas Jambhale moves the viewer with it is stirring tale of Aasawari, an artist who loses her child as a still born. He mentioned that the goal was to focus on ‘problems that we many times skip.’ “If it is about a woman we pretend that we don’t know about it or there is problem at all. It is a story of a mother who is trying to find peace in a turmoil situation where she has to fighting within herself as a mother and the perceptions of society.”

The film was shot in Goa for five days and the incredible aspect as a new filmmaker was trying to configure the climax. Shooting in a cow shed over long hours was a challenge. His theatre background came to his rescue in capturing his final shot.

The festival is all set to continue spreading the joy of cinema over the coming days.