Toronto film fest to have strong Indian flavour
August 18th, 2009 - 3:07 pm ICT by IANS
By Subhash K. Jha
Mumbai, Aug 18 (IANS) The forthcoming Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), starting Sep 10, will have a strong Indian presence — while two mainstream Bollywood films “Dil Bole Hadippa” and “What’s Your Rashee?” will have their world premieres, Dilip Mehta’s “Cooking With Stella” has been selected for a screening in the prestigious Gala section.
Jon Amiel’s “Creation”, a bio-pic on Charles Darwin, is also being premiered in the same section where Dilip’s film is being screened and he says he is thrilled by the honour.
“The Toronto International Film Festival is, after Cannes, undoubtedly the most significant festival worldwide. To have one’s film participate in it is glory enough, but to have a gala screening and a world premiere is mind-blowing,” Dilip, brother of Canada-based Indian filmmaker Deepa Mehta, told IANS.
“For me, as first-time feature director this was such a tremendous high to have our film in the company of such an amazing film. ‘Creation’ nipped us all in the post but we were right up there. TIFF selected ‘Cooking With Stella’ for a gala screening for our world premiere on September 16th.
“The numbers are daunting. Approximately 3,000 plus films are submitted for the festival. Of these about 350 are selected of which 15 or so have the distinction of a gala screening at the amazing Roy Thomson Hall,” he added.
This was the very section where Deepa’s elegiac “Water” that had Lisa Ray, John Abraham and Seema Biswas in lead roles had been premiered. While “Water” focussed on the difficult lives of widows in the 1930s, Dilip’s film is in a different mood space.
“For 34 years, I have covered death, misfortune, war, plagues and other human tragedies for Time, Newsweek, National Geographic and other such major journals. I entered the world of cinema with ‘The Forgotten Woman’, a hard documentary to portray the reality of the widows of India.
“Similarly ‘Cooking With Stella’ also looks at a classic Indian tragedy, that of servants and employers but without wanting to give a lecture on morality.”
While filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker’s “What’s Your Raashee?” stars Priyanka Chopra and Hurman Baweja, “Dil Bole Hadippa” is Anurag Singh’s directorial debut. Produced by Yash Raj Films, it stars Rani Mukerji and Shahid Kapoor. Both the films are female-centric.
Apart from screenings, Indian actresses Seema Biswas and Shriya Saran will walk the red carpet.
- Seema Biswas, Shriya Saran Walk the Red Carpet at Toronto Film Festival - Aug 18, 2009
- 'Cooking with Stella' a big hit at Toronto film fest (With Images) - Sep 17, 2009
- Cooking With Stella To Premiere At MIAAC 2010 In New York - Oct 18, 2010
- Cooking With Stella team to release 103 recipes - Apr 19, 2010
- 'Cookign With Stella' hit at international film festivals - Sep 23, 2009
- Rani, Priyanka join Playboy founder as Toronto film fest guests - Aug 21, 2009
- Dilip Mehta's 'Cooking With Stella' hit at Los Angeles fest - Apr 23, 2010
- Rickhshaw ride at Toronto film fest makes Lisa Ray happy - Sep 20, 2009
- Toronto Festival Show Dedicated To Lisa Ray - Sep 23, 2009
- Seema Biswas makes first filmic foray into comedy with 'Cooking with Stella' - Mar 19, 2010
- 103-item recipe book for Dilip Mehta's Cooking with Stella - Apr 21, 2010
- Lisa Ray to undergo stem cell transplant for cancer (With Images) - Nov 18, 2009
- This Year Toronto Film Festival Will Miss Rani And Priyanka - Sep 10, 2010
- Two Bollywood films to be premiered at Toronto film fest - Jul 31, 2009
- Toronto film festival to kick off with hockey musical - Jul 15, 2010
Tags: bio pic, charles darwin, deepa mehta, gala screening, human tragedies, indian filmmaker, indian flavour, indian presence, international film festival, john abraham, jon amiel, rashee, ray john, roy thomson hall, seema biswas, subhash k jha, time feature, toronto film fest, toronto international film festival, world premieres