‘Cannes is a marketplace’

This year, with almost eight movies making their way to the Cannes Film Festival, many feel there couldn’t have been a better opportunity for Indian cinema in terms of global exposure. However, the fact that goes unnoticed is that none of these movies belong to mainstream genre.

Actor Nandita Das, who is among the few Indians who have had the privilege of being a member of the prestigious Cannes Jury says, “Cannes is a great place to showcase your films and also see some of the great films that never come to India. However, Cannes is also a market place where people network and just have meetings! Very few of them actually watch films!”

She continues, “There are a lot of good movies that need to make it to Cannes. However, we don’t have a professional body  that can promote our films and send them to the right places.” 

As for Mehreen Jabbar, director of her upcoming movie  ‘Ramchand Pakistani’, she says, “Mehreen has a unique cinematic sensibility, very quiet and dignified, a bit like the European style of cinema. The fact that she has her roots in Pakistan reflects in her work.”

Based on a true story, the movie is about a small child who accidentally crosses the border. The film has parallel tracks between the father and child in jail and the mother who goes through panic, pain and denial. “It’s a real pity that these people are often caught in political turmoil and bureaucratic paperwork,” explains Nandita whose upcoming movies include an English film ‘Before the Rains’ by Santosh Sivan and a Malyalam film by Adoor Gopalakrishnan. 

h_vikas@dnaindia.net