Director Neeraj Ghaywan's Varanasi-set drama "Masaan", which won two Fipresci Award at Cannes this year, opened the sixth edition of Jagran Film Festival here on Wednesday.
Director Neeraj Ghaywan's Varanasi-set drama "Masaan", which won two Fipresci Award at Cannes this year, opened the sixth edition of Jagran Film Festival here on Wednesday.
The film's India premiere was attended by its cast- Richa Chadha, Sanjay Mishra, Vicky Kaushal, Ghaywan and co-writer Varun Grover along with actress-turned-filmmaker Pooja Bhatt, singer Udit Narayan, among others at Siri Fort Auditorium. "I can't describe the happiness I feel in showing the film, which has got accolades world over, to my own audience. I feel proud today," Ghaywan said.
"Masaan" is about how four lives intersect along the Ganges in Varanasi and their desire to escape the moralistic small-town in which they are confined. The movie is jointly produced by Manish Mundra (Drishyam Films), Macassar Productions, Sikhya Entertainment and Phantom Films. "We hope people like the film here as much as it was loved all over the world because it is an Indian film. It is a rooted film. I am sure they will (like it)," Richa told PTI.
The India premiere of "Masaan" was followed by the screening of Hollywood star Ben Affleck's Oscar-winning film "Argo". This year's opening day screenings included the 1976 Hindi classic "Chitchor", director Satyen Bose's epic black-and-white emotional drama "Dosti", 1980s family film "Nadiya Ke Paar", along with director Phani Majumdar's 1962 women-centric film "Aarti", in the Indian Retrospective category. Filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj's Kashmir-set "Haider", an adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet, was screened in the Indian Showcase section.
The five-day extravaganza will showcase more than 100 feature and short films this year. There are 20 films in the World Panorama section. The jury includes director Hariharan, who serves as the chairman of the jury, Bhatt, editor Srikar Prasad, Narayan and cinematographer Mahesh Aane. The festival will travel from Delhi to other Indian cities like Kanpur, Lucknow, Allahabad, Varanasi, Agra, Meerut, Dehradun, Hisar, Ludhiana, Patna, Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Raipur, Indore, and Bhopal before culminating in Mumbai.
As the official country focus partner of the Jagran festival, the American Centre is screening best of American cinema at its auditorium, simultaneously. Epic romantic-comedy-drama "Forrest Gump", starring Oscar winner Tom Hanks, is the opening film in the Country Focus segment.
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