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THE_Dubai International Film Festival has unveiled the line-up for a special Indian movie section.
This year the diverse and exciting Indian films will feature in a separate segment for the first time, A Celebration of Indian Cinema.
Masoud Amralla Al Ali, DIFF's artistic director, said: "This year DIFF has created a separate programme for Indian cinema as it is a country with a vast supply of thriving and creative regional films. Its geographic size is an indication of the diversity of the films it produces year round."
In creating a new segment for Indian cinema, the lesser known cinematic traditions of India will now have a platform to reach a larger audience. Filmmakers from other centres such as Chennai, Calcutta, and Kerala will have a bigger platform to showcase their work."
The full range of Indian cinema will be mightily apparent in this year's dizzying cross-section of genres featuring a range of the region's top talents, including several unique collaborations and celebrated works that have won recognition at other festivals.
Aids Jaago, an artistic collaboration between the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and film-maker Mira Nair (Salaam Bombay, Monsoon Wedding) and her company Mirabai Films, presents four short films by some of India's best contemporary directors that dismantle myths and misconceptions about HIV/Aids in India.
Set allover India, Aids Jaago showcases the creative filmmaking brilliance of Santosh Sivan (Prarambha, The Beginning), Farhan Akhtar (Positive), Vishal Bhardwaj (Blood Brothers) and Mira Nair (Migration). The film had its world premiere at the 32nd Toronto International Film Festival, and the panoply of stars includes Irfan Khan, Shabana Azmi, Sameera Reddy, Shiney Ahuja, Raima Sen, Ayesha Takia, Rahul Bose, Nandita Das, Prabhu Deva and Siddarth.
Before the Rains, the English language debut of acclaimed director Santosh Sivan (The Terrorist, Asoka) portrays the dilemma of a married British colonialist in 1930s India who is caught having an affair with his beautiful housemaid.
By contrasting the beliefs and lifestyles of the local villagers and the colonialists, the film explores the predicament of people who straddle two cultures. It stars Linus Roache, Nandita Das and Rahul Bose.
Films that explore topical political content are also prevalent at DIFF this year: Frozen, which has garnered recognition at top festivals, is the story of a family of three leading a sparse close-knit existence amongst the remote, snow-capped Himalayan mountains until the arrival of the Indian Army and the daily irreversible conflicts it brings to their isolated lives. The film is the debut feature of Shivajee Chandrabhushan, with seasoned actor Danny Denzongpa in the lead role.
Another very timely presentation will be the London-shot Shoot to Kill, a political thriller by Jagt Mundhra that features Om Puri and Naseerudin Khan in a central role as a police commissioner torn between loyalties.
DIFF also provides a chance to see non-commercial gems that might never make it to local screens. Naalu Pennungal (Four Women) by internationally-acclaimed director Adoor Gopalakrishnan, released recently in Kerala to an enthusiastic response. It portrays the struggles of women in a male-dominated society.
Manish Acharya's debut feature Loins of Punjab Presents, is a roller-coaster, rib-tickling story of seven strangers whose lives collide over three days in a small New Jersey town as they take part in a Bollywood-styled singing contest. Actress and activist Shabana Azmi stars in this English sleeper hit which has delighted audiences across India in the last weeks.
Lal Pahare'r Katha (A Story of the Red Hills), makes its world premiere in Dubai, following the life of a tribal dancer whose innate love for the art form helps him overcome a failed relationship.
