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Producing films for a nation with a population of 1.1 billion and many official languages is no small task. But that just may be helping India to beat out Hollywood in the number of flicks it puts out every year.
This month offers Southern California a taste of major filmmaking from the Indian subcontinent. The fifth annual Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles will take place April 17 through 22 at the ArcLight Hollywood.
The 6-day program consists of 36 films, including 13, eight documentaries and 15 shorts. Although in eight different languages, the majority of the films are in English and Hindi, India's two main official languages. English subtitles will be available. “India produces between 800 and 1000 (feature) films a year," says Festival Director Christina Marouda.
The fest will open with "Provoked," a British-Indian co-production featuring "Lost's" Naveen Andrews, the twice Oscar-nominee Miranda Richardson (Harry Potter And The Goblet of Fire), and Aishwarya Rai, India's highest paid actress and former Miss World. Based on a true story, "Provoked" is about a woman who fights for her freedom after being accused of killing her husband.
The 6-day-long program features the new series Bollywood by Night" to highlight some of Bombay-produced, best mainstream films. At least one Bollywood film has been show in past fest editions, according to Marouda. This year there will be five, all of them for the audience over 21, including Shekhar Kapur's popular "Mr. India," a science-fiction, super-hero movie that was first screened in 1987.
While most Indian films are for domestic release, more and more of them are reaching foreign markets in Asia and making it to world festivals, according to the festival director.
This year the festival will give a tribute to India's prolific actress Deepti Naval, who has more than 60 films under her belt. "She's a remarkable artist," Marouda says. "She's also a poet and a painter." Three of her films will be shown. Also there will be a poetry reading of her works. Naval is expected to attend the tribute.
Coinciding with Earth Day on April 22, the fest will host EcoVision, a program to raise awareness about the environment, according to Marouda. It will include a film on sustainability that uses eco-friendly products and processes. "Recycling will be promoted during the event," she says.
The film program includes the feature films "Valley of Flowers," "Dirty Laundry," "Life Is All About Friends," "Pray For Me, Brother," "Outsourced" and the short "Divided We Fall: Americans in the Aftermath" about the journey of a Sikh American student across the U.S. after the 9/11 terror attacks.
The festival will take place at the ArcLight Hollywood, 6360 Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood. Tickets are $15 for the film showings and $60 for the galas. For tickets and more information, visit www.arclightcinemas.com and www.indianfilmfestival.org.
FILM PROGRAM
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
7:30pm-Opening Night Gala
PROVOKED
Director: Jag Mundhra
In a case that redefined the seriousness of spousal battery in British courts, a Punjabi woman fights for her freedom after being imprisoned for the murder of her abusive husband.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
7:00pm
SHORTS PROGRAM 1
PRINTED RAINBOW
Director: Gitanjali Rao
An old woman and her cat living alone in the city collect matchboxes through which their flights of fantasy come to life.
BARE
Director: Santana Issar
A daughter searches to find meaning, if any, in her relationship with her alcoholic father.
GANDHI AT THE BAT
Directors: Stephanie Argy, Alec Boehm
A recently uncovered newsreel from 1933 reveals a secret trip taken by Mohandas Gandhi to Yankee stadium where he served as a pinch-hitter for the home team during one particularly suspenseful game.
MONSOON
Director: Shyam Balsé
An American cardiologist is haunted by memories of his wife's death when he returns to India to treat his ailing father, a superstitious man whose traditional convictions clash with modern medicine.
ANAMIKA - HER GLORIOUS PAST
Director: Pavitra Chalam
A quest to understand the transformation of the Devadasi image from the revered patron of the arts to the maligned woman of today.
MORNING FOG
Director: Aminta Goyel
As the morning fog rolls in over the dense jungle a girl in search of an elusive tiger encounters a beast of a different kind.
8:15pm
VALLEY OF FLOWERS
Director: Pan Nalin
A great Asian love story. An unforgettable tale about passion, death and reincarnation. A mesmerizing Himalayan epic that spans two centuries, from the Silk Route of the early 19th century to the bustling metropolis of modern-day Tokyo.
9:30pm
Q2P
Director: Paromita Vohra
> Look at the toilet.see the city. The silence that surrounds toilets is broken in this serious and sometimes whimsical examination of the state of women's public restrooms in Mumbai.
DIRTY LAUNDRY
Director: Sanjeev Chatterjee
From Gandhi's political awakening, to the anti-apartheid movement, to the dawning of democracy, this film looks at the important role South African activists of Indian descent have played in their country's political history.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
7:00pm
SHORTS PROGRAM 2 presented by Film Independent
NAME DAY
Director: Nikhil Prakash
> When his brother falls victim to a violent hate crime, an agnostic Arab-American is driven to seek revenge, and in the process finds himself on the verge of self-discovery.
SHANU TAXI
Director: Vasant Nath
An honest Mumbai taxi driver looks to make the most of a cell phone rewarded to him by a customer, setting off on a path to achieve his dreams that extend well beyond the city's traffic.
ARRANGING LOVE
Director: Sheila Jayadev
The tradition of arranged marriage is embraced, questioned, and negotiated among several young Indians and their partners.
TEA BREAK
Director: Srinivas Sunderrajan
As news of a bomb blast comes through over the radio, a discussion between two friends about the event reveals bitter truths about them.
POT OF GOLD
Directors: Dipa Donde, Nitin Donde
A tale from the Warli tribe of Maharashtra tells what happens when an overworked wife finds a pot of gold.
UNDISPUTED
Director: Vikramaditya Motwane
What happens when the worst actor in Bollywood finally gets his shot at stardom?
7:15pm
LIFE IS ALL ABOUT FRIENDS (UNNI)
Director: Murali Nair
Award winning filmmaker, Murali Nair offers up this coming-of-age story examining caste, friendship, and loss among four friends in rural India.
8:00pm
TRIBUTE TO DEEPTI NAVAL
Moderated discussion with Deepti Naval followed by the screening of the film:
TRIBUTE FEATURE: KAMLA
Director: Jag Mundhra
A tribal slave girl who is brought to the city by a manipulative news reporter looking to prove the existence of the flesh trade in modern India, creates ripples in the capital through her story, upsetting the reporter's life.
9:15 pm
HORIZONS
Artist: Karmacy
Director: Nimo Patel
MUMTAZ
Artist: Bombay Dub Orchestra
Director: Huw Jenkins
PRAY FOR ME BROTHER
Artist: A.R. Rahman
Director: Bharatbala
FOUNDATION & EMPIRE
Director: Graham Geigenmuller
With a unique, hybrid sound combining various world music cultures, UK-based Asian Dub Foundation entertains, educates, and challenges people from their base in East London to the world at large.
10:00 pm
BOLLYWOOD BY NIGHT: OMKARA
Director: Vishal Bharadwaj
Vishal Bhardwaj (Maqbool) transforms Shakespeare's classic Othello to an Indian landscape in a high tension psychological drama of political and personal warfare that garners deadly consequences.
Friday, April 20, 2007
7:00 pm
OUTSOURCED
Director: John Jeffcoat
An American call center salesman whose department has been outsourced is coerced into training the company's new Indian recruits in the idiosyncrasies of American culture and business practices.
7:15 pm
PANCHVATI
Director: Basu Bhattacharya
Following a failed marriage, a passionate painter finds true love in her own way through a liaison with her ex-husband's elder brother.
8:30 pm
ARE YOU ALRIGHT AFGHANISTAN? (KHOOB ASTI AFGHANISTAN?)
Director: Soumitra Ranade
An Indian filmmaker who grew up in Afghanistan as a teenager returns to the country after twenty-six years, retracing definitive memories of his youth in a country ravaged by war.
ART IN EXILE
Directors: Nidhi Tuli, Ashraf Abbas
Tibetan artists living in exile in Dharamsala, India use art to keep their identity and the 'Free Tibet' movement alive.
9:30 pm
MISSED CALL
Directors: Mridul Toolsidass, Vinay Subramanian
Aspiring filmmaker Gaurav Sengupta lives his life through the viewfinder of his camcorder. He struggles to juggle social and familial demands with his passion for filmmaking. When he finds love in Gayatri, and the camera begins to threaten his future with her, he must decide whether to let go or to continue telling his story.
10:00 pm
BOLLYWOOD BY NIGHT: THE WALL (DEEWAR)
Director: Yash Chopra
Two brothers, one an exemplary cop and the other a criminal face off on a moral battlefield where even the fierce love of the mother they both adore may not be able to salvage the bonds that fate has torn asunder.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
1:00 pm
SHORTS PROGRAM 1 (ENCORE)
3:00 pm
BOLLYWOOD BY NIGHT: THE WALL (DEEWAR)
Director: Yash Chopra
Two brothers, one an exemplary cop and the other a criminal face off on a moral battlefield where even the fierce love of the mother they both adore may not be able to salvage the bonds that fate has torn asunder.
4:00 pm
DIVIDED WE FALL: AMERICANS IN THE AFTERMATH
Director: Sharat Raju
The film follows the journey of a Sikh American student as she drives across the country in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, documenting stories of hate, violence and discrimination against Sikhs in America.
6:30 pm
OFFICE TIGERS
Director: Liz Mermin
The young, passionate executives of Office Tiger, a professional support services company in Chennai, brews fierce in-house competition among employees to ensure customer satisfaction to its clientele in the West.
8:00 pm
I AM ALIVE (MAIN ZINDA HOON)
Director: Sudhir Mishra
Upon assuming responsibility of her in-laws following her husband's presumed death, Beena struggles to balance a new, promising relationship and her familial commitments, only to watch her new life undergo a drastic change with the unexpected return of her husband.
9:00 pm
ARE YOU THERE? (KYA TUM HO)
Director: Anish S. Ahluwalia
A lonely housewife, a university professor, and an internet café owner try to overcome their past and put their lives in perspective, while forging new alliances through an internet chat room.
10:00 pm
BOLLYWOOD BY NIGHT: MR. INDIA
Director: Shekhar Kapur
A struggling musician who dedicates his life to caring for orphaned children finds himself faced with the task of saving the nation from an international terrorist who will stop at nothing to destroy and take over India, all with the help of a short-tempered journalist, a hoard of kids, and a secret gadget that defies human vision.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
12:00 pm
LIFE IS ALL ABOUT FRIENDS (UNNI)
Director: Murali Nair
Award winning filmmaker, Murali Nair offers up this coming-of-age story examining caste, friendship, and loss among four friends in rural India.
1:30 pm
SHORTS PROGRAM 2 (ENCORE) presented by Film Independent
3:00 pm
BOLLYWOOD BY NIGHT: MR. INDIA
Director: Shekhar Kapur
A struggling musician who dedicates his life to caring for orphaned children finds himself faced with the task of saving the nation from an international terrorist who will stop at nothing to destroy and take over India, all with the help of a short-tempered journalist, a hoard of kids, and a secret gadget that defies human vision.
3:45 pm
1000 DAYS AND A DREAM
Directors: P. Baburaj, C. Saratchandran
Kerala community activists organize and struggle against corporations, politicians, and police in their attempt to shut down a Coca-Cola bottling plant that is poisoning their lands and children.
7:00 pm
Closing Night Gala
VANAJA
Director: Rajnesh Domalpalli
Set in rural South India, a place where social barriers are built stronger than fort walls, VANAJA explores the chasm that divides classes as a young girl struggles to come of age and secure her destiny as a classical dancer.
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