In the India Gold competition section of the 19th edition of the Mumbai Film Festival (12-18 October), 11 films are competing for the top prize. These films tell diverse stories in various languages from across the country and feature new and exciting talents emerging from all corners. In a brief tête-à-tête with The Hindu , nine of the competing filmmakers introduced their films, discussed the films that have piqued their curiosity, and have a few recommendations for the festival crowd.
Sanal Kumar Sasidharan, director S Durga (Sexy Durga)
Malayalam
The film — initially titled Sexy Durga — was denied permission to screen at the festival after the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting received around 1,000 complaints against its objectionable content. Sasidharan got a clearance from the Trivandrum branch of the Censor Board of Film Certification on October 9 to screen it with the title changed to S Durga.
What is your film about?
It is about the hypocrisy in our patriarchal society where men on one hand worship women as a goddess and on the other hand consider them an easy target and a prey on them if the women happen to even venture out of their houses alone after 7 p.m.
What should the MAMI crowd expect?
The audience should go in with an open mind that the film is not about religion or goddesses or disrespectful to women as the title is being misunderstood.
Karma Takapa, Director Ralang Road
Nepali
What is your film about?
[It’s] about a day that is both strange and mundane which brings together characters who are caught up in their own situations.
What should the MAMI crowd expect?
The film is based in my hometown and explores the socio-political dynamic of Sikkim through expressions of local art and culture. The attempt is to move beyond presenting an exotic tourist destination.
Which films will you recommend for cinephiles?
I’d recommend catching the India Story films like A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings , Returning to the First Beat and Pushkar Puran .
Rima Das, Director Village Rockstars
Assamese
What is your film about?
Village Rockstars is a metaphor, something that we look up to. Dreams weaved and achieved by the uninhibited forms the plot line of the narrative.
What should the MAMI crowd expect?
Surprises in the midst of simplicity and beauty.
Which films are you going to watch?
Sweet Country , Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts , On Body and Soul , Thelma , I am not a Witch .
Pushpendra Singh, DirectorAshwatthama
Brij
What is your film about?
After nine-year-old Ishvaku's mother is killed in a raid by bandits he is sent to his maternal village where he tries to overcome the shock by entering into an imaginary realm but the real doesn't let him go easily.
What should the MAMI crowd expect?
The film has autobiographical elements and deals with memory a lot; there's a play between reality and imagination. It's an ode to Victor Erice and other filmmakers who have inspired me.
Which films will you recommend for cinephiles?
Anup Singh’s Song of the Scorpions , Kamal Swarup’s Pushkar Puran , Surabhi Sharma’s Phir se samm pe aana , Pratik Vats’ A very old man with enormous wings , Karma Takapa’s Ralang Road , Debashish Makhija’s Ajji and Dipesh Jain’s In the Shadows .
Miransha Naik, Director Juze
Konkani
What is your film about?
It’s about a teenager’s struggle with a tyrant landlord in a slum area in Goa.
What should the MAMI crowd expect?
A dark, realistic drama with no music for the most part.
Which films are you going to watch?
S Durga , The Square , On Body and Soul .
Which films will you recommend for cinephiles?
I saw Free And Easy by Geng Jun and I liked it a lot so I will recommend that.
Devashish Makhija, DirectorGranny (Ajji)
Hindi
What is your film about?
It’s a story we all know about the atrocities against women, especially rape and the patriarchal mind-set of our society that needs to change.
What should the MAMI crowd expect?
I have layered the rape revenge drama and would like every person to walk in and take something away from it – the feeling of implication is strong and you can say the film is like a tight slap on the viewer’s face for being part of the patriarchal mind-set.
Which films are you going to watch?
Sanal Kumar Sasidharan’s S Durga because he is also telling a story with similar themes but had a totally unique take that I am excited to see.
Which films will you recommend for cinephiles?
Kamal Swaroop’s Pushkar Puran . He is one filmmaker whose work has shaped my own journey as a filmmaker.
Ektara Collective, DirectorCheckmate(Turup)
Hindi
What is your film about?
Turup is about how the life of people gets affected when religion and morality become the means for political gain, and how the most unlikely people act to subvert a volatile situation.
What should the MAMI crowd expect?
A film that has a contemporary story line, realistic acting, strong protagonists and hope and resilience that exist even in bleak times.
Which films are you going to watch?
It will be nice to watch S Durga ! To see the work beyond the name that had the moral brigade's hackles up. Let’s all fight and go to see it at some point.
Which films will you recommend for cinephiles?
Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro , to celebrate once more our best black comedy, the person who made it and the people who were part of it. A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings and Returning to the First Beat , 24 frames , A Fantastic Woman , The Other Side of Hope and The Party .
Shlok Sharma, DirectorZoo
Language: Hindi
What is your film about?
Three stories about rappers and a drug peddler from three different parts of Mumbai intertwine through the narrative.
What should the MAMI crowd expect?
A 90-minute film shot entirely on an iPhone, probably India’s first such experimental film.
Which films are you going to watch?
Darren Aronofsky’s Mother!
Which films will you recommend for cinephiles?
Mother!
Dipesh Jain, Director In The Shadows (Gali Guliyan)
Hindi
What is your film about?
It’s a psychological drama about a man who lives in the walled city of Delhi and never moves out of it.
What should the MAMI crowd expect?
A dark, intense, atmospheric film which I would say is more experiential than it is genre-driven. Also the main lead actor Manoj Bajpayee puts in a stellar performance, which is amongst his best.
Which films are you going to watch?
Ashwatthama , The Square .
Which films will you recommend for cinephiles?
Lucrecia Martel’s Zama .
Published - October 12, 2017 09:44 pm IST
