Koel Purie, Ranvir Shorey, Gul Panag are not the names you would expect to pull in audiences at a film festival.
Koel Purie, Ranvir Shorey, Gul Panag are not the names you would expect to pull in audiences at a film festival.
However, these stars did walk the red carpet at the ongoing 10th Osian’s film festival being held in New Delhi which is vibrant not only because of the stars’ couture on the carpet but because of the films on show.
On Monday, Osian’s had some big names to offer from world cinema like Paul Schrader’s Mishima, Wong Kar-Wai’s My Blueberry Nights and the Japanese master filmmaker Shohei Imamura’s Ballad of Narayama. India’s Johnny Gaddaar by Sriram Raghavan also made its presence felt with audiences coming in to watch his thriller.
The day also saw Golden Globe nominated filmmaker Schrader’s interactive lecture on New Media and the death of cinema that was a hit among the visitors. Siri Fort auditorium, a South Delhi recreation hub that is hosting the festival has been decked up with rare posters and paintings giving it the feel of serious film festival cementing the fact that Osian’s believes in incorporating a cinematic culture among the audiences.
“It’s (Osian’s) like a one-stop shop for world movies. You can hardly get to see these movies outside,” was visitor Navin Parekh’s comment on the festival. “This festival always pulls in people who love cinema and we get to see the films at such a cheap price.”
However, though the festival had some classic movies up for grabs, it was a little dull with the Bollywood biggies missing in action. Again, like any growing film festival, it suffered from some minor organisational glitches like Wong Kar-Wai’s My Blueberry Nights started all right, but somehow the film skipped most of the scenes and resumed leaving the audiences rather confused. If Wong was in the theatre it would have been great to see his reaction to this slip.
The audiences however put their hands together for the fest. “This festival is in its growing stage and like all film festivals it is only learning from its mistakes. We should give it some more years and then watch out. I’m sure many big people from Bollywood will then also associated with the festival,” says Rini Chatterjee, a movie buff.
Some visitors say they do not want Bollywood at all. “Presence of Bollywood people creates a nuisance. There has to be added security arrangements, media keeps on running after them creating trouble for people who are not celeb crazy and want to enjoy films. There was almost a stampede at Osian’s a couple of years back due to this Bollywood people,” says Vinod Gupta.
“Osian’s is doing a great thing by not inviting these celebs at all. They do not add anything to the fest. Yes, if their film is being screened, then they should definitely come,” feels Sudhir Nath.
But as always many people want to see Bollywood giants at Osian’s and say that big people will bring Osian’s added attention. “Some big names will help Osian’s,” feels Alok Tipnis. “Everyone likes to see a Bollywood star at a film festival, like in Cannes, there are so many of them walking the red carpet. Osian’s should try and get some big names. It will help them in getting good notice.”
g_prithwish@dnaindia.net
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