Third iView film fest in New York high on Indian movies

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NEW DELHI - The third iView Film Festival in New York, Sep 18-26, will be inundated with Bollywood movies and it will be opened with the US premiere of Onir’s “I Am” .

The gala that will open with “I Am” will close with the world premiere of Big Pictures’ “Mirch”, according to the official website.

Myna Mukherjee, festival director, said: “Cinema remains one of the most effective and powerful ways to change societies like ours that are still fraught with silences around issues of gender, sexual and human rights. We are thrilled to have so many voices joining us to amplify our mission of using the popular media to blow up the marginal.”

“Together we hope, the filmmakers and their work will show the stunning breadth and capacity of the film industry, burst open new spaces for dialogue, and sustain critical South Asian Cinema,” she added.

“I Am” throws light on issues and dilemmas in India like policing of homosexual men, adult survivors of childhood sex-abuse and unmarried motherhood, and it is being supported by the United Nations Development Program.

It stars a cast that includes Sanjay Suri, Shernaz Patel, Anurag Kashyap, Radhika Apte, Rahul Bose, Arjun Mathur, Abhimanyu Singh, Mukesh Sawlani, Nandita Das, Purab Kohli, Anurag Basu, Manav Kaul, Juhi Chawla, Manisha Koirala, Madhu Sagar, Behram Rana and Rushad Rana.

“Mirch”, on the other hand, is a series of four short stories about infidelity. Directed by Vinay Shukla, it stars Konkona Sen Sharma, Raima Sen, Shahana Goswami, Shreyas Talpade, Arunoday Singh, Prem Chopra, Boman Irani, Sushant Singh, Saurabh Shukla and Tisca Chopra.

Sanjay Sharma’s “Dunno Y…Na Jaane Kyun” too will be screend at the fest. The film is about a struggling model who goes to Mumbai in search of fame and fortune and then forms an intimate relationship with another man. It stars Kapil Sharma, Maradona Rebello, Helen, Zeenat Aman and Rituparna Sengupta.

The fest will screen over 25 movies, including feature films, documentaries and short films.

Rituparno Ghosh starrer English-Bengali bilingual “Aar Ekti Premer Golpo” (”Just Another Love Story”) and Dibakar Banerjee’s “Love Sex aur Dhokha” will also have their North American premieres.

Actors like Zeenat Aman, Helen, Juhi Chawla, Arshad Warsi, Rahul Bose, Konkona, Raima Sen, Sanjay Suri and Purab Kohli, and directors like Vishal Bharadwaj, Aparna Sen, Ghosh, Banerjee, Shukla and Onir are expected at the festival.

Much acclaimed and political documentary “Bhutto” will also have its New York premiere during the fest.

Organised by Endangered, the gala is a human rights film festival exploring gender, sexuality, culture and religion through South Asian Cinema. The movies will be screened at Asia Society, Tribeca Cinemas and Big Cinemas Manhattan.