The best of world cinema in the city draws to packed houses..

With the 13th Mumbai Film Festival nearing its end and another three days to go, the excitement continues to be roaring. Melancholia, The Yellow Sea, Abu, Son of Adam, Teesri Manzil and were without doubt the popular movies for the day. 

The topic of Open Forum was The relevance of film reviews: Do they really matter today …? It had prominent critics including Mayank Shekhar, Bhawana Somaya, Anupama Chopra and director Nikhil Advani discuss the relevance of film reviews and if they really matter today. Speaking at the forum the critics addressed the aspect of how they understand all films involve hard work and toil, however also criticized that at times filmmakers and those involved, offer sums to alter their perception and rating of a particular movie. Commenting on how critics are being churned out by every publication and portal, Nikhil Advani said, “Now everyone believes in reviews. Everybody is becoming a critic and trade analyst.”

Dimensions Mumbai section jury for which Kiran Rao, Renuka Shahane, Vikramaditya Motwane, Onir and Nishikant Kamat were present. Encouraging the young talents and new generation of film makers Kiran Rao said, “It’s a great step forward to encourage young film makers. This is my first experience as a jury member and I must say it has been great”. She further suggested, “We should try and screen these short films before a regular movie screening in theatres. This would give a great platform to budding film makers”.

Salim Ahamed director of
Abu, Son of Adam

Kamat added, “Each film had a compelling storyline that portrayed Mumbai and its attractions really well, but along with this, we as a panel are also judging movies on their technical aspects and how well these components translate into a complete movie”. Appreciating the efforts of the young directors Renuka Shahane said, “It’s a big thing to say so much in five minutes, but the thoughts of these directors are very calculated”.

Later in the evening Salim Ahamed director of Abu, Son of Adam (National award winning film and India’s entry for Oscars) was present for the screening of his movie. Talking on his movie he said, “When I used to work in a travel agency many people would come to me for going to Haj, and that’s when I got inspired from a real life incident and it stayed with me for a really long time. So, I decided to make this into a movie as soon as I got the opportunity.” 

Anupama Chopra with Nikhil Advani at the Open Forum

The day concluded with houseful screenings of Melancholia. The highlight of the evening was the special screening of Teesri Manzil as part of the special Homage to Shammi Kapoor for which Shammi Kapoor’s son Aditya Raj Kapoor was present. Aditya said, “It is a great feeling that Mumbai Film Festival is honoring Shammi Kapoor by screening Teesri Manzil on the big screen. The joy of watching Teesri Manzil on big screen is completely out of this world. When I saw the film last year, I was with dad and Asha aunty. That was in fact the first time that dad also saw the film for the first time on the big screen after its premiere. This time it would be a bit sad as dad isn’t around, but I hope everyone enjoys the film nonetheless.”

The 6th day concluded with much fanfare with audiences praising the arrangements and schedule of the day. With the festival drawing closer to its end, audiences are packing in to catch the best of world cinema in the city.