Ever since the tremendous success of Danny Boyle's 'Slumdog Millionaire', there has been an increased demand for Indian films among the western film audience. Not a surprising news, 11 Indian films were screened at the Fribourg International Film Festival in the category named Out of Bollywood. This was done to let audiences from foreign countries to understand more about Indian films.
Edouard Waintrop, artistic director of the film festival, claimed that Indian films have grown far beyond melodramas with song tracks and dance numbers. The aim of putting up a different category for Indian movies was to acquaint the foreign audiences with the diverse style of Indian movies, he said. He also commented that all the movies screened in the festival deal with various social problems faced by India and its people, so they are simple to understand.
One of the movies shown was the classic Aparajito (The Unvanquished, 1956), the second part of 'Apu Trilogy' by Satyajit Ray. It is the story of a small child and his growing stages in life, and the issues he has to confront in life. The Apu trilogy was appreciated internationally and fetched Ray and Indian movies recognition in world Cinema.
Various discussions were held with eminent people like director Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Hubert Noigret, the film critic and Olivier Paulus, filmmaker from Switzerland. These discussions were about the diversity of Indian films just like its culture and how they represented various religions, traditions and beliefs in India.
Starting from the 1940s onwards, the friction between Muslims and Hindus had been a theme for numerous directors and even today a lot of films are being made with the subject. Another movie that was screened at the film festival, 'Firaaq', directed by Nandita Das is set in Gujarat, at the time of the communal riots when many Muslims were brutally murdered by Hindus. The movie depicts how Hindu policemen tortured Muslims to death. The film, with its Altmanian echoes, is a portrayal of how violent act paid back in violence.
'Ramchand Pakistani' by the Pakistan filmmaker Mehreen Jabbar is another movie that deals with Hindu-Muslim tensions. The film revolves around a little boy and his father who live close to the borderline between Pakistan and India. They both get jailed when the boy crosses the border and his father runs to call him back. The father understand the fault of crossing the border, but both of them get arrested and were put in a prison. The movie depicts the bad attitude of corrupt Indian policemen to innocent Pakistanis.
Edouard Waintrop, artistic director of the film festival, claimed that Indian films have grown far beyond melodramas with song tracks and dance numbers. The aim of putting up a different category for Indian movies was to acquaint the foreign audiences with the diverse style of Indian movies, he said. He also commented that all the movies screened in the festival deal with various social problems faced by India and its people, so they are simple to understand.
One of the movies shown was the classic Aparajito (The Unvanquished, 1956), the second part of 'Apu Trilogy' by Satyajit Ray. It is the story of a small child and his growing stages in life, and the issues he has to confront in life. The Apu trilogy was appreciated internationally and fetched Ray and Indian movies recognition in world Cinema.
Various discussions were held with eminent people like director Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Hubert Noigret, the film critic and Olivier Paulus, filmmaker from Switzerland. These discussions were about the diversity of Indian films just like its culture and how they represented various religions, traditions and beliefs in India.
Starting from the 1940s onwards, the friction between Muslims and Hindus had been a theme for numerous directors and even today a lot of films are being made with the subject. Another movie that was screened at the film festival, 'Firaaq', directed by Nandita Das is set in Gujarat, at the time of the communal riots when many Muslims were brutally murdered by Hindus. The movie depicts how Hindu policemen tortured Muslims to death. The film, with its Altmanian echoes, is a portrayal of how violent act paid back in violence.
'Ramchand Pakistani' by the Pakistan filmmaker Mehreen Jabbar is another movie that deals with Hindu-Muslim tensions. The film revolves around a little boy and his father who live close to the borderline between Pakistan and India. They both get jailed when the boy crosses the border and his father runs to call him back. The father understand the fault of crossing the border, but both of them get arrested and were put in a prison. The movie depicts the bad attitude of corrupt Indian policemen to innocent Pakistanis.
About the Author:
To get information on movies bollywood or to read hindi movie reviews go to DoctorFlix.
