This is the city of cinema... This is where a few hundred dreams are realised every year... Some travel festivals abroad... Some are lucky enough to get a theatrical release... Some are applauded & embraced... While some get forgotten within the onslaught of many Fridays that follow... Yet theres just one worthy event that brings cinephiles together in all its frenzy... This year I was invited to present some of the best films from the International Competition, New Faces in Indian Cinema, Real Reel & India Gold at MAMI ... Well, such is the madness of movies... the craze for cinema... It makes this greying man turn young... And I did spend the last week franticly reading up on films that I was introducing, trying to learn more about these amazing storytellers ~ young & old, near & far... Watching trailers... Trying my best not to mispronounce those wickedly tongue twisting surnames... Making sure to call upon all the Important people attached to the film onto the dais for the Q&A... Also hopefully ensuring that the audience left the screening with not just a great viewing but an enriching interaction... I did my bit, hoping that these sessions were both stimulating and engaging... The high point being the brief conversation with William Dalrymple who presented Martin Scorseses new documentary on The New York Review of Books, ~ The 50 Year Argument... And yes, it was also nice bumping into so many of you... Some at the opening ceremony, some within the theatre, some inside the loo, some within the lift, some mid-way between the venues...All discussing their best film of the day, the disappointments, the highs & lows of cinema... Well, the festival might have come to an end... But the celebration continues... Heres a big Congratulations to all the deserving winners... Like Federico Fellini said There is no end. There is no beginning. There is only the infinite passion of life. Thank you Shyam Babu, Anupama Chopra, Anu Rangachar, Srinivasan Narayanan, Nidhi Singh, Somen Mishra... And Each & Everyone who made Mumbai Film Festival come true... A special mention about all those kids in the May I Help You T-shirts... Well, you all were the real heroes, ~ managing unruly crowds, running up & down to the projection room, fighting the glitches, taking the blows... Yet smiling, courteous, calm & composed... Thanks for making sure it all fell in place so well... A big cheers to you all...
Posted on: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 15:06:09 +0000
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