By Aditya Pisharody
With just one day to go for what is apparently the 17th annual edition of the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, it is fair to say that there seems to be a genuine degree of buzz and excitement around the event. The Mumbai Academy of Moving Images (MAMI), which organizes the festival, says they aspire to “showcase the latest cutting-edge, independent cinema – art house fare alongside genre movies from Bollywood and Hollywood and cult international movies. We offer the best of world cinema to the people of Mumbai and we offer the best of Indian cinema to the world”
In most places in the world, art-house and “indie” cinema aren’t everyone’s cup of tea in the best of times. In India, and especially in Bollywood – known for its larger-than-life love stories and colorful dance sequences perfectly blended into a cocktail of happiness and melodrama – indie films have historically been the distant, socially awkward cousin that nobody understands or really pays attention to.
In recent times, that has been gradually shifting as younger audiences who have grown up in the digital age have been exposed to many more different types of filmmaking and therefore become more open to making and consuming films across genres. Had directors like Dibakar Banerjee and Anurag Kashyap been born 30 years earlier, they would not have had the exposure to Alfred Hitchcock’s neo-noir films that inspired much of their work. More importantly, the audience that watches their films today arguably wouldn’t be as receptive if their palates hadn’t been warmed up by someone like Quentin Tarantino.
[Shameless plug for our podcast episode on Indie movies here]
Despite this, box office success remains elusive for most indie films even when critical acclaim is forthcoming. Once again, technology and globalization have come to the rescue as film-makers now have more avenues to showcase their movies than just theatres – be it in the form of alternative distribution channels (e.g. online streaming, video-on-demand, etc.) or through international platforms (i.e. film festivals). In fact, many Indian films now release at Cannes or Toronto or another major festival – hoping that their success will actually encourage Indian distributors to help them release in India. (The more relaxed censorship rules internationally also help – but that is a topic for another day).
Which brings us back to this festival – our festival. Why does this year feel different? A simplistic (and somewhat cynical) answer is that this time there are many more major Bollywood superstars backing the event.
Once again, the box office records will tell you that star power counts a whole lot more towards a successful run than things like logic, substance or storylines.
Which still doesn’t answer the question of why these stars are backing the event (which brings us to the really cynical answer that the festival director is renowned film critic Anupama Chopra, and the crème de la crème of Bollywood have certain incentives to be in her good books – not a theory I buy myself but one that I’ve heard).
One reason undoubtedly is that it is much easier to promote anything now given the rise of social media. With so many different channels like YouTube, Twitter, Facebook etc. – it is very easy for major celebrities (and minor celebrities, and non-celebrities even) to post an article, a video or a tweet whenever they see something that interests them or looks cool. This automatically creates an illusion that everyone is talking about something (a phenomenon that digital marketers base their entire strategy on – but again a topic for another day).
Notwithstanding this, I do genuinely believe this edition is fundamentally different for 2 reasons.
Firstly, Indian films are finding their feet in the independent film arena traditionally dominated by French and other international industries. For some of the reasons outlined above, many more indie films such as ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’, ‘Masaan’ and ‘Margarita with a Straw’ have found critical and commercial success both at home and abroad. It must also be said that there is a surfeit of talent – from directors to writers to actors and beyond – that is willing to create this kind of cinema that did not exist before. More than 30 Indian feature films and documentaries will be featured in this year’s Jio Mami, an abundance of local content not seen before.
Most significantly, there is a desire within the film fraternity to acknowledge, celebrate and reward the artists behind these movies. There is also greater appreciation of regional films in languages other than Hindi, embracing the diversity of perspectives that our country brings – as evidenced by the decision to send off-beat Marathi film ‘Court’ to the Oscars as India’s official entry.
Secondly, for all the romanticizing about small, independent cinema mentioned above – at least part of the buzz is due to the star power. However, the stars in question are not Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan or Amitabh Bachchan – but instead the likes of Tanmay Bhat, Sorabh Pant and Varun Grover.
The rise of stand-up comedy has also heralded a rise of digital content – a development currently limited to short form content and web-series (and slowly infiltrating TV thanks to AIB’s new show), but will surely also make its way to movies soon.
Eros International (coincidentally chief sponsors for this festival) are already experimenting with online content and platforms through Eros Now – both by making movies available online on their digital platforms before they hit TV screens or DVDs, and also using web series and online content as supporting promotion for their movies. The profiles of the content creators (AIB, TVF, EIC and others) behind this new wave also very strongly overlap with the target audience most likely to appreciate and enjoy a festival with a line-up like this. Bringing them on board (formally through a panel discussion – more on this below, and informally through social media) has been a great way to raise awareness and create excitement.
At the end of the day, there is a lot to like about the 17th Jio MAMI Indian Film Festival. In a week which gave us the colossal disappointment that was Shaandaar – a film that defied all semblance of logic and sensibility – it is refreshing and reaffirming to know that there is so much content and talent out there. Go for an Indian film, go for a French film or go for a panel discussion – but if you are in Mumbai, please do go. Chances are you will not regret it.
As an added bonus, here are the 2 films and 2 panel discussions we are most interested about:
1. Aligarh
(Directed by Hansal Mehta, Starring Majoj Bajpayee and Rajkummar Rao)
'First Look' poster of Manoj Bajpai in Aligarh. The film will premiere at this year's Jio MAMI festival.
The real life story of Dr Shrinivas Ramchandra Sihas who is suspended from his job as a professor at Aligarh Muslim University in Uttar Pradesh. Combine the proven acting prowess of the two lead actors with a highly charged subject matter not usually dealt with in Indian cinema, and you have the ingredients of a truly fascinating story. Also, Aligarh will be the first Hindi film to open the Jio MAMI festival since the inaugural edition in 1997 - further reinforcing the idea that Indian movies and indie movies are no longer oxymorons.
Date: October 30th, 9pm. Venue: Regal Cinemas, Colaba
2. Umrika
(Directed by Prashant Nair, Starring Suraj Sharma and Tony Revolori)
A quirky, unconventional story about the residents of a small village who hear stories about America or 'Umrika' from one of their own who left for the promised land. According to director Nair, the film is about "the mythology of America and, more generally, how cultures perceive each other: the stereotypes, assumptions, misunderstandings and labeling as “exotic” of all things unfamiliar." While Suraj Sharma is not a stranger to Indian audiences, a bigger surprise is his co-star Tony Revolori - if you think he looks familiar it's because he was last seen playing Zero Mustafa in Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel.
3. "PLAY": A Celebration of the Digital Narrative
(Panel discussion featuring various corporate reps and creators including filmmaker Sujoy Ghosh, Tanmay Bhat (AIB) and Biswapati Sarkar (TVF).
Digital media has without a doubt changed the way we as a nation consume and interact with media. Featuring a panel with top corporate reps from media and tech companies such as Google and Conde Nast, as well as content creators like Sujoy Ghosh, Tanmay Bhat and Biswapati Sarkar - this will be an eye-opening insight into what the future of digital could hold, from those who are most likely in the know.
On the fun side, the event will also feature screenings of some of the most successful digital content in 2015 including Sujoy Ghosh's short film Ahalya, AIB's Honest Weddings, and TVF's Permanent Roommates (all highly recommended) - as well as brand new content from SnG Comedy, Aditi Mittal and others.
Date: 1st November, 12pm - 3pm. Venue: PVR Juhu Scene 3
4. Bollywood: the Next Five Years
(Panel discussion featuring Alia Bhatt, Parineeti Chopra, Kriti Sanon, Aditya Roy Kapur, Ayushmann Khurana and Arjun Kapoor)
While this may seem like a strange choice given the focus I have given in this blog post to new and unconventional cinema or formats - this has the potential to be the most intriguing panel. If there is any chance that the Bollywood might get more experimental or dabble in different types of content - the chances are that the people on this panel will be heavily involved. Each of the actors on this panel have shown the appetite and ability to take on fresh, unconventional and even risky roles and pull them off with great aplomb (barring Kriti Sanon who seems hopelessly out of place in this company). I for one am extremely curious to hear their views on the changing landscape of Bollywood, and how they foresee the industry to evolve.