Films and culture of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa have splashed on the Capital with their wide range of thinking movies and discussion rounds with filmmakers. SANGEETA YADAV reports on India’s first-ever BRICS Film Festival
Call it cinematic love or just a responsibility to tell a good or impactful story, filmmakers are taking to film festivals as never before and competing their work of art with the best across the world. From screening women-centric films, biopics, issue-based drama, action-suspence and romantic comedy, to having open discussions on cinema with filmmakers, India’s first ever BRICS Film Festival going on at Delhi’s Siri Fort Auditorium is a hub not to be ignored.
The festival opened with power-pack performances from cultural troupes from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa and felicitation of veteran actor Rishi Kapoor for the contribution of his father, the late Raj Kapoor, to Indo-Russian relations.
Veeram, the festival’s powerful opening film, transported viewers to the 13th century with its premiere of Veeram. An adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the film revolves around the life of Chandu played by Kunal Kapoor who is a kalaripayattu warrior and meets a tragic end due to a betrayal. The show ran not only houseful but left everyone mesmerised.
For director Jayaraj Rajasekharan Nair, Veeram was made not to compete withBahubali but to be competent enough for Hollywood films. “My dream to come up with a trilingual film has come true with Veeram which is shot thrice in three different languages. I am obsessed about two things. One of them is William Shakespeare and thusVeeram is the third film after adaptations of Othello andAnthony and Cleopatra. Among all the Shakespearean tragedies, the subject and dialogues have been constructed in such a way that they are relevant in today’s time. Second is Navarasa and this film denotes the ninth rasa —Veeram.Since the film is set in the 13th century, I have showcased minute details of kalaripayattu art form,” the six-time National Award winner says.
The director feels that taking a film to international film festivals before releasing it commercially is a great way to garner appreciation and make waves. “There have been many films that got premiered at Cannes and garnered a lot of popularity at the box office and at Oscars too. My ultimate aim is that only shouldVeeram become popular at festivals but also at the box office. To make a film stand-out, one has to make it artistic and successful,” he says.
The five-day BRICS carnival will not only screen movies in the competing category, non-competing category, documentary and short films but also explore cuisines from BRICS nations at the Food Court and shop their traditional crafts from A Craft Fair.
Some of the films from Brazil are The History of Eternity that talks about the love, desires and dreams of 40 inhabitants in a desert village. They’ll Come Back delves into the life of 12-year-old girl Cris’s self-discovery and her attempts to find her way back home. Road 47 is based on real events of Brazil’s involvement in World War II and follows the trajectory of the landmine clearance unit from the Brazilian Expeditionary Force.
There’s a glimpse of Russian cinema too with films like Very Best Day by Zhora Krizovnicka on show. About love by Anna Melikyan is a mixed bag of love stories. The Battle of Sevastopol by Sergey Mokritsky is a biographical film charting the story of Ukrainian lyudmila Pavlichenko, one of the deadliest snipers of World War II.
The Chinese film Go Away Mr Tumor by Han Yan is based on the life of comic book artist Xiong Dun, who after her cancer diagnosis, authored a popular webcomic that became a sensation in China. Tian-Ming Wu’s movie Songs of the Phoenix is a Chinese art house drama and Jianqi Huo’s Xuan Zang is a historical adventure film based on Xuanzang’s 17-year overland journey to India during the Tang dynasty in the 17th century.
The films from South Africa include Free State by Sallas De Jager that set in 1979 and tells the story of a forbidden love affair between a white African woman and an Indian man.Kalushi by Mandla Dube is a biopic that chronicles the life of Solomon Mahlangu whose life was ended at the age of 23 by execution during the height of apartheid. Mrs Right Guy by Adze Ugah revolves around the challenges faced by the contemporary single woman in her search for a mate is so relevant right now. And Tess by Meg Rickards is about the sex worker Tess who falls pregnant and fights to keep her past from swallowing her whole.
From India, there is Baahubali- the Beginning by SS Rajamouli and Bajirao Mastani by Sanjay leela Bhansali.
So sit back and enjoy the best of world cinema through BRICS Film Festival which is on till September 6.
MOVIES SCREENING TODAY
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