A retrospective on Kamal Haasan’s work will be the highlight of this year’s film festival at IHC. The legendary actor will also interact with movie buffs
Award-winning films like Margarita With A Straw and Chotushkone will be screened at the 10th edition of Habitat Film Festival which will also have a retrospective on actor-director Kamal Haasan’s work. The 10-day movie gala, scheduled to begin from May 8, will showcase best of 48 pan-Indian movies in over thirteen languages.
Fresh and innovative storylines, stunning cinematography, veteran actors and directors and rising stars, award-winning performances of 2014-2015 are all an integral part of the festival apart from 19 national award-winning films. Kamal Haasan’s retrospective opens on May 9 with an interaction with the star followed by a screening of Vishwaroopam (Hindi).
Over the next 10 days, Habitat Film Festival will see the screening of several outstanding films including Marana Dandane (Kannada), Bey Yaar (Gujarati), lajwanti and Gour Hari Dastaan (Hindi), Kuttaram Kadhithal (Tamil), labour of love and Chatushkone (Bengali), Quolf (Kashmiri), Shukha Asuchi (Oriya), Piku (Hindi), Elizabeth Ekadasi and Ek Hazarachi Note (Marathi), Ottal (Malayalam), Qissa, Punjab 1984 and Chaar Sahibzaade (Punjabi), Pallefam (Manipuri), Borhxaranya (Assamese) among a host of other films from various regions and languages.
Haasan’s retrospective will showcase his multifaceted talent with the screening of his popular movies like Vishwaroopam, Ek Duje Ke liye, Sadma, Chachi 420, Saagar, Hey Ram (Hindi) and Virumandi, Nayakan and Guna (Tamil). This year, some of the actors/directors scheduled to attend the festival are Kalki Koechlin, Shoojit Sircar, Ananth Mahadevan, Pushpendra Singh, Bauddhayan Mukherji, Abhishek Jain, Sohini Dasgupta, Atanu Ghosh, Hiren Bhora, Sajin Baabu and others.
Vidyun Singh, programme director, IHC, said, “In the 10 years since we began the festival to provide a dedicated platform to showcase the best of pan-Indian cinema, our movies have gone places. A brave new breed of directors, skilled professionals, out-of-the-box producers, refreshingly innovative narratives and path breaking storylines have ensured an increasing and respected space in the international cinema space where Indian films are garnering critical appreciation and accolades and winning awards.”
Apart from film screenings, there will be several other activities like exhibition Rhythm, Raga And Melody at the Convention Centre Foyer in collaboration with the National Film Archive of India, Pune. Jawaharlal Nehru University professor Ira Bhaskar will be in conversation with the legendary actor-director Kamal Haasan.