NYIFF 2018

frontdesk.com
Marathon Indian Film Festival kicks off in New York
Manik Mehta, May 6, 2018

NEW YORK, May 6 : The New York India Film Festival (NYIFF) will hold its 18th edition, kicking off on May 7 and will last until May 12, screening a line-up of 78 films.

Many of the films are heavily art-oriented and devoid of the glitzy character that characterizes many of today’s Bollywood films.

One of the salient features of this year’s film festival is that it will pay tribute to two Bollywood icons, Shashi Kapoor and Sridevi, both of whom passed away within a span of the last six months.

Shashi Kapoor, the youngest of the Kapoor brothers, Raj and Shammi, starred in a number of films made under the banner of Merchant-Ivory films, including classics such as “The Householder”, “Shakespearewallah”, “Heat and Dust”, etc.

The film festival will also include a Merchant-Ivory retrospective taking the audiences on a journey to past productions that will include the classic “Autobiography of a Princess”, featuring Madhur Jaffrey.

Bollywood actress Sridevi, who captivated audiences around the world, and died in a tragic accident in her hotel room in Dubai a few months back, can be seen in a light comedy hit film “English Vinglish” which was made in 2012 with a lively, fun-filled and fast-paced New York City serving as the backdrop of the film.

“English Vinglish” narrates the story of an Indian housewife who arrives in New York with little or no knowledge of English, and adapts herself to the fast-paced and fiercely competitive Big Apple which shows little sympathy to people who do not have the means to survive.

Sridevi’s performance fetched her rave notices, and she was hailed as “India’s Meryl Streep”.

India’s consul general in New York, Sandeep Chakravorty, who hosted a formal press conference at the consulate’s premises in conjunction with the film-fest organizer, Indo-America Arts’ Council (IAAC), spoke of the growing international popularity of Indian films, stretching to frontiers extending beyond the boundaries of India.

Indeed, some U.S. experts on South Asia envisage India’s soft power would be considerably enhanced with the growing popularity of Bollywood films.

They point out that while Indian films have been popular in Asia, Middle East and Africa, they are also, meanwhile, being watched by mainstream Europeans and Americans.

“It has not always been hunky dory … it was quite a struggle in the beginning but now Indian films are being appreciated for their cinematic values worldwide,” said Chakravorty.

Aron Shivdasani, IAAC’s executive director and the driving force behind the NYIFF, told Bernama that films are a strong medium to communicate with people and convey a message on any subject.

“This is the 18th edition of the NYIFF. New York is the ideal place to have such a fest of Indian films abroad,” she said, describing New Yorkers as “sophisticated” and “world open”.

The six-day festival will show 78 films in 11 languages – English, Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Tulu, Konkani, Bengali and Assamese.

Shivdasani pointed out that although almost all the films were from India, there were also entries from smaller film-producing countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, as well as films with India-related content or made by Indians in North America and the UK.

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