Missing Woodstock

City music lovers disappointed at missing date with Ang Lee's new musical drama.

When the going gets musical, they go Goa. That seems to be filmmaker Ang Lee's (maker of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Brokeback Mountain) India mantra. The Oscar-winning director's ode to musical musings - that came alive with the release of his latest film, Taking Woodstock, entered India with a premiere in Goa recently. But even as the film opens in India two months after its worldwide release, Delhi music fans have to wait at least a few more weeks before they could catch a glimpse of it.

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Delhi-based musicians are disappointed. "This is so unfair!" screams Gavin Pacheco, bassist, Faridkot. "Earlier only international music acts used to play foul by not performing in Delhi. Now, we're also denied of musicals. Why couldn't they hold a simultaneous release in Delhi," questions Gavin. Adds Deepak 'Dean' Nair of rock act Punkh, "It's not the first time it's happened to us."

PVR Pictures, the distributors of the Focus Features production in India, serve us the reason. "The Goa premiere made sense because if one has to recreate the Woodstock feel in India, it could only be there," says Sanjeev Bijli of PVR adding that they plan to release it in Mumbai and Pune before getting it to Delhi in a few weeks. While Bijli feels "a platter release works best for niche films like these", it's in best interest to share its prints across the country.