Parade, pride and party came together after 2 years of the pandemic in Mumbai’s iconic march celebrating solidarity in gender and sexuality diversity. Mumbai’s queer community organised a Mumbai Pride March last weekend in Carter Road, Bandra. Around 2,000 colourfully dressed people took to the streets for the Pride Parade, after 2 whole years of the Pandemic. The Mumbai Pride Parade was organised by the Color Positive Foundation which saw around 2000+ people from the LGBTQ+ community. EORTV, countrys biggest OTT platform showcasing LGBTQ content and stories, was on board as the official streaming partner. The day was a celebration of solidarity and pride and saw people come together and make their voices heard and celebrate their identities.
Bandra Film Festival (BFF), a digital film festival presented by Filmkaravan in collaboration with YouTube is currently streaming four poignantly introspective drama shorts on its platform. These shorts are based on day-to-day life experiences that invoke ideas of identity and the self and being showcased under the theme ‘Introspect’ on the BFF Youtube Channel.
There are a lot of different interpretations of what a ‘silent crime’ can be. While pandemic still continues to rage around the world, Bandra Film Festival, a digital film festival presented by Filmkaravan in collaboration with YouTube is all set to stream some really poignantly introspective drama movies based on silent crimes. Crimes which we see happening in our daily lives, some which we ignore to speak against or worse still stay mute allowing it to happen .The posters of the films were unveiled recently on BFF’s social media and we can’t wait to watch them.
The festival’s next line-up of films themed ‘Silent Crime’ opening with ‘Vanaja’ a gem from the past, is a spirited drama film in Telugu directed by Rajnesh Domalpalli, dealing with a young girl trying to find her self-worth in the midst of a repressive caste system and physical abuse. ‘Tipu’ directed by Mihir Lath is a short heart wrenching drama about a 6-year-old transgender kid Tipu who is sent away to live amidst the transgender community against his own will by his own family, all the time thinking he has been abducted by witches and finally, ‘Crash’ a docu fictional film directed by Rajdip Ray takes a look on the impact of road accident on the people, their apathy, calculated concerns & emotions in the locality where the accident takes place.
Speaking about the thematic line up,Namrata Grewal from Marketing & Communication at BFF said, “ Silent Crime’ is an interesting term, because it’s not a cut and dry genre to define, like, say, ‘comedy’ or ‘horror.’ That means there are crimes going on that are not acknowledged, ignored or worse still hushed by society’s apathy. This is a genre which will keep the audiences hooked to their screens. BFF programmed this new thematic line up ‘Silent Crime’ so that our audiences can continue to have the opportunity to watch a wide range of films from the comfort of their homes and in coming days more movies will be added on BFF’s platform.“
Netflix’s feature film What Are The Odds, a sweet slice of a film about the lives of two school kids from Mumbai. Vivek (Yashaswini Dayama) and Ashwin (Karanvir Malhotra) turned exactly one year today. What are the Odds? a lockdown release feature film, which saw Abhay Deol donning the producer’s hat in collaboration with the makers of Delhi Crime- FilmKaravan Originals is celebrating one year of release today on 20th May, directed by Megha Ramaswamy the film also featured Monica Dogra, Priyanka Bose, Manurishi and Sulbha Arya. The story revolves around two unintentional teenage friends who end-up spending an entire day together. The movie not only did wonders for the audience but also has etched deeply in our hearts.
Reminiscing about the film’s journey, Director Megha Ramaswamy said, “One Year since our bundle of many joys saw the light of day! It has really been a year full of odd squadding. I cherish every message song and work of art that has poured in from all over. If there was something that kept us hopeful, it was love. Everyday the outpour of many people/artists creating their piece of art using stills from the film, writing poems, singing covers… it still feels surreal! We are all such a close knit community of friends now. I am thankful I got an opportunity to work with a wonderful cast and crew! This is the start of something special. I hope everyone is home and safe! Thank you for preserving us so endearingly in your kind hearts.”
Adding to the director’s quote, Yashaswani said “Time really flies and how, imagine even in a lockdown. It just feels like yesterday that we were promoting this film, recording bytes, doing our press rounds and adapting to Work From Home. And here we are, one year to release but still at home. These are very challenging times and we are all trying to get by. I hope and pray that we get back to normal as we know and come out of this in good health. Happy to be celebrating the One year anniversary of What are the Odds. You can now watch it on Netflix India”
Talking about the same, Karanvir said,“The times are really tough for our country. Having some sort of a silver lining always brings a gentle smile during a crisis, this a catastrophe though so looking at the bright side is extremely hard. Anyway, the silver lining in this case is that my first Independent film ‘What Are The Odds?’ celebrates its first anniversary. Well there obviously isn’t any celebration as such but it feels good to know that our colourful little film brought some cheer and inspired plenty to dream out loud!(DOL! Is that a term yet?)”
The film was released during the 1st lockdown last year and is celebrating its anniversary in the 2nd. I really hope this cycle doesn’t continue further. The biggest highlight for me after the release has been the artwork people have created and tagged us in. The love people showered through creating doodles, poems, videos etc is special. Feels good to see that two school kids crouching and staring at a fishbowl with a gold fish talking to them miraculously has caught people’s eye and has been recreated the most. Well, it’s kind of symbolic as we’re all staring at the future in the same way hoping for some miracle to unfold.
Talking about the same, Producer Pooja Kohli said, ” What are the odds? It is a very special film for us. We learnt the art of work from home and it was just the start of the pandemic. Despite the challenges and crises, we sailed through. I really hope that we tide over the second wave soon , to get back on ground & experience human connection once again . Safe & Healthy wishes for everyone.”
What Are The Odds is streaming right now on Netflix.
Curated by Uma da Cunha, the Discovering India section at the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival with Star spotlights Indian Cinema’s universal reach in globalised, changing landscapes. This section showcases international films made by resident Indians (‘Roam Rome Mein’), or films by filmmakers of Indian origin living elsewhere (‘The Last Color, ‘The Illegal’, ‘Aadhar’), looking back to their remembered homeland, as well as films by international directors that connect with India, either in theme, locale, or by featuring the country’s film talent (‘Sun’).Continue reading “[SCREENING SCHEDULE] DISCOVERING INDIA section at Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival with Star”
Film critic Rajeev Masand and Festival Director, MAMI, Anupama Chopra caught up with Bollywood’s next-gen – Ananya Panday, Avinash Tiwary, Janhvi Kapoor, Mrunal Thakur, and Radhika Madan at the Ji
Film critic Rajeev Masand and Festival Director, MAMI, Anupama Chopra caught up with bollywood’s next gen – Ananya Panday, Avinash Tiwary, Janhvi Kapoor, Mrunal Thakur, and Radhika Madan at the Jio MAMI Movie Mela with Star, 2019. They answered with aplomb questions about their first brush with fame, auditioning for roles, rejection, the road ahead and experiences that have shaped them. Here is a snapshot of how their confidence, candour and disarming charm won over the audience.Continue reading “Jio MAMI Movie Mela with Star 2019 – New Blood: Ringing In The Next Generation”
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