Cinephiles in Capital: Get set to watch the best of awarded pan-Indian cinema

From Shoojit Sircar’s October to Aparna Sen’s Sonata, there are 60 films from across India that will be screened at this upcoming festival in Delhi.

Film buffs in the Capital, get ready to witness the 13th edition of Habitat Film Festival — an annual extravaganza of award-winning pan-Indian cinema. From Hindi romance-drama October (2018) to Tamil action-thriller Vikram Vedha (2017) 60 films will be screened over 11 days at this fest.

The festival will showcase a host of acclaimed regional films, too. Vidyun Singh, director programmes, Habitat World says, “How does one get to see the films that get awarded? Like Assamese film, Village Rockstars (2017), has won the National Award. When you read about it, you feel like going to a website or an Assamese channel to watch it, but it often doesn’t have subtitles. That’s where this festival plays a role in creating a pan-language audience for Indian regional cinema.”

A scene from Assamese film Village Rockstars (2017), which has won four National Awards.

The opening film, of the festival, is director Kaushik Ganguly’s Bengali drama Drishtikone. The line-up includes names such as the hard-hitting Marathi film Ajji, high voltage Malayalam thrillers S Durga and Take off, Hindi feature film Hungry, and investigative Tamil thriller Aran. Besides, the festival will pay a tribute to actor-producer Shashi Kapoor by screening some of his films such as New Delhi Times (1986) and Shakespeare-Wallah (1965). Singh adds, “We will also screen a Tamil film Pathinaru Vayathinile (1977), to pay a tribute to Sridevi.”

A scene from Shakespeare-Wallah (1965), which will be screened to pay tribute to late actor-producer Shashi Kapoor.

A highlight of such discussions with filmmakers will be the session on May 20, which will have Gulzar in conversation with Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra.

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