Cinema: IFFI '99: Mixed Menu

India Today, January 18, 1999
Jan 18, 1999

CINEMA: IFFI '99
Mixed Menu

The international film festival opens with an impressive line-up of films--and the usual hiccups.

By Amarnath K Menon

Is Shekhar Kapur's Elizabeth India's answer to Richard Attenborough's Gandhi? Does it really have a unique Bollywood style? And how different is Indian filmmaking from that abroad? Well, filmgoers don't have to keep guessing. The 30th International Film Festival of India (IFFI '99) to be held in Hyderabad from January 10 promises to answer these questions for the Indian audience.

The screening of Elizabeth will kickstart the 10-day festival which has had its usual share of controversy. There were doubts about the preview committee's decision to choose Kapur's film over Deepa Mehta's Earth, which supposedly did not arrive in time. "Both films were in the run because we were keen to open the event with the work of an Indian," explains Malti Sahai, the festival director. With Mehta's Fire having been recalled from film theatres after its recent run in with the Shiv Sena, the Indian audience is once again deprived of appreciating her talent.

Whether the decision was influenced or not, Kapur's magnum opus leaves no room for disappointment. Elizabeth, with all the international hype -- it was the first British production to be directed by an Indian, it was screened at the Venice and Toronto festivals and got Kapur the best director award from the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, New York -- is a much-awaited film.

The Film Directorate also ran into trouble with the Telugu film industry over the selection of the 16 regional films in the Indian Panorama section: not one of these is Telugu. The Andhra Pradesh State Film Development Corporation is sharing the cost of the event with the directorate and the least the industry expected was inclusion of the state's films. It has been claimed that more films are made in Telugu than in any other language besides Hindi and though numbers are no substitute for quality, the absence of Telugu films only makes it embarrassing for the hosts.

Next, the organisers were accused of giving unmerited exposure to Shabana Azmi while neglecting Telugu actresses in the Women in Cinema category. The organisers finally relented by agreeing to include the works of the actress-director-singer P. Bhanumathi and a tribute to the tragedienne of the Telugu screen, Savithri.

On the upside, however, the 10-day festival boasts an impressive line-up with some landmark films of the century. In what promises to be India's toast to the cinema of the millennium, the Film Directorate appears determined to please both the audience and the filmmakers with the introduction of a new award and category. Bernardo Bertolucci, Italian director of The Last Emperor and Little Buddha fame, will receive the Golden Peacock Lifetime Achievement Award. His latest work, Besieged, will also be among the 85 films to be screened in the Cinema of the World section.

The Visions of India category wraps up the century that saw the rise of the Indian cinema with its "How we see ourselves vs how they see us" theme. This highlights the contrast in the perception and portrayal of India in films by foreigners vis-à-vis the Indians. Satyajit Ray, V. Shantaram, Mrinal Sen, Adoor Gopalakrishnan and Girish Kasaravalli represent the national section while David Lean's Passage to India, Louis Malle's Phantom India and Attenborough's Gandhi present the white man's view of a country that has inspired many a fantasy and imagination.

To acknowledge the indigenous, however, is not to ignore the masters who have influenced filmmaking over the past 100 years with some unforgettable contributions. The screening of Ikiru will be a homage to Akira Kurosawa, as will Mexican Fantasy to the legendary Sergei Eisenstein. Also making a debut in India, albeit late, will be the works of well-known Polish director Wojctech Jerzy. His The Sandglass and The Doll will add a retrospective touch to the assortment.

Finally, it is not only the film world that is excited about the event with moviemania catching up with a host of others. IFFI '99 will coincide with the inauguration of artist M.F. Husain's museum of art and cinema, Cinema Ghar. The opening of the multicuisine Planet Tollywood will also add a truly international flavour to the mixed menu. Just as well, considering that the festival has managed to bring a variety of fares for all tastes.

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