Bombay now Mumbai, was a city considered to be a cosmopolitan city, a city which was only concerned about making money and not interested in knowing from where you have come from or who were you. Post ’92, the fault line has run deeply with ghettos that are now an integral part of my city. For a city which is the epicenter of Bollywood, there are hardly any movies based on ’92 riots. The one which comes to my mind are Bombay and Black Friday, both coincidentally directed by people by non natives. Continue reading “Bombay (1995): Mani Ratnam’s ode to the city that never sleeps”
Tag Archives: Mumbai
Phantom (2015) Movie Review: Bollywood’s Poetic Justice
I have lived in Bombay for more than 25 years of my life. I have witnessed more than dozen terrorist attacks on my hometown, with two of the attacks, the 93 Bombay Blasts and 26/11 attacks being the worst terrorist attacks ever seen in mankind’s history in my opinion. Unfortunately, there have not been many films on these attacks, or on the after effects of the attack. I still remember 26/11 vividly, the reason being I was supposed to go to Cafe Leopold on the same day but I was not keen to travel to South Bombay. Not a day goes by thinking, what if I was there on that day at that place. For those who grew up in Bombay, it was like seeing a part of our identity being destroyed.Continue reading “Phantom (2015) Movie Review: Bollywood’s Poetic Justice”
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Free film screenings in August
A list of the best free film screenings in Mumbai in the month of August listed as per the venues. If we have missed out on any screening feel free to point out.
Alliance Francaise
40, Theosophy Hall, New Marine Lines,
Mumbai, Maharashtra 400020
Contact : 022 2203 5993
All films at this venue begin at 6:30 pm.Continue reading “Free film screenings in August”
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Free Film Screenings in July!
A list of the best free film screenings in Mumbai in the month of July listed as per the venues. If we have missed out on any screening feel free to point out.
Alliance Francaise
40, Theosophy Hall, New Marine Lines, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400020 022 2203 5993
Hannah Arendt de Margarethe Von Trotta, (113′)
A look at the life of the philosopher and political theorist Hannah Arendt, who was a reporter for The New Yorker on the war crimes trial of the Nazi Adolf Eichmann. Her articles and her “banality of evil” theory trigger of an unprecedented controversy.
Date – 06/07/2015
6:30 pm
Les Temps changent by Marion Milne (88′) 
A vision of what could be our life on earth in 2075. Through stories from all over the world, this docu-fiction deals with the ecological, geopolitical and economical consequences of global warming.
Date(s) – 13/07/2015
6:30pm
Timbuktu by Abderrahmane Sissako (100′)
A stunning French-Mauritanian drama film. Not far from Timbuktu, now ruled by the religious fundamentalists, Kidane and his family live peacefully in the dunes. They find their quiet lives abruptly disturbed after a tragic accident…
Date – 20/07/2015
6:30 pm
This film will also play at Deepak Cinema on 28/07/2015 at 7 pm.
Patang by Prashant Bhargava (105′) 
A poetic journey to the old city of Ahmedabad, Patang weaves together the stories of six people transformed by the energy of India’s largest kite festival. When a successful Delhi businessman takes his daughter on a surprise trip back to his childhood home for the festival, an entire family has to confront its own fractured past and fragile dreams.
In partnership with The Root Reel
Matterden CFC
38 N M Joshi Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai 400 013 022 24923399
La Grande Illusion by Jean Renoir (117′) 
During the first World War, two French soldiers are captured and imprisoned in a German P.O.W. camp. When the men are transferred to a high-security fortress, they must concoct a plan to escape beneath the watchful eye of an aristocratic German officer…
Date – 07/07/2015
7:00 pm
Vandal by Hélier Cisterne (84′) 
15-year-old Chérif is a rebellious teenager. Placed under the guardianship of his Aunt and Uncle, he has to return to his apprenticeship as a mason. It’s his last chance. But every night graffiti artists descend upon the city’s walls. And with this, a whole new world opens up before him…
Date – 14/07/2015
7:00 pm
Les enfants du Paradis / Children of Paradise by Marcel Carné (87’) 
Widely considered one of the greatest French films of all time. This nimble depiction of nineteenth-century Paris’s theatrical demimonde, filmed during World War II, follows a mysterious woman, Garance, loved by four different men.
Date – 21/07/2015
7:00 pm
Les garçons et Guillaume, à table / Me, Myself and Mum by Guillaume Gallienne, (85′) 
Based on a stage show of the same name, this autobiographical, inventive comedy follows Guillaume, who has always been considered as the daughter his mother never had. Guillaume will discover who he is actually and will manage to break free from his mother’s pernicious influence.
Date – 15/07/2015
7:00 pm
This film will also play at Alliance Francaise on 27/07/2015 at 6:30 pm.
What About Art
29th Road, Bandra West 992021178
A l’ombre des masques by Valéry Gaillard (52′) 
Around the same time that Africa started marching towards industrialization and emancipation from colonial governments, artists began to change as well, mixing the sacred and the profane, travelling around the world and creating the art of today. Date – 16/07/2015 7:00 pm
Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum
91 A, Rani Baug, Veer Mata Jijbai Bhonsle Udyan, Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Marg, Byculla East, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400027
A Man Vanishes by Shohei Imamura 
It is a subversive film from 1967 that blurs the line between fact and fiction, between truth and falsehood. Madhushree Dutta, filmmaker and founder and executive director of Majlis, will introduce the film and be in conversation with the curators and the audience after the film.
Date : 10/07/2015
Time: 6:00 pm 
Nakajima Testujiro Aka Hokusai – “La Menace Suspendue” (30′) Persian Miniature – “Les Jardins Du Paradis” (30′) by Alain Jaubert
Two documentaries from the Palettes collection focusing on Nakajima Testujiro Aka Hokusai’s work of art, “La Menace Suspendue“, and on Persian miniatures, “Les Jardins Du Paradis“.
Date(s) – 30/07/2015
6:30 pm
Talespinners 2 | A series that tells seven tales of children who confront challenges with ingenuity and creativity. Each story brings facets of a different cultural community to the screen, through a setting, accent, folk element, tradition, particular food or vocabulary. Young viewers will be captivated by the adventures and determination of the Talespinners’ children. This collection includes four original tales and three inspired by books. The stories have particular appeal to modern kids growing up in a complicated world.
Recommended age group: +5yrs
Museum Entry fee applicable
Adult Rs. 10/-
Child Rs. 5/-
First come first seated! Limited seating
Video line-up:
Asthma Tech (Jonathan NG 2006; 7 mins 9 secs)
The Girl Who Hated Books (Jo Meuris – 2006, 7 min 21 s)
Jaime Lo, small and shy (Lillian Chan – 2006, 7 min 48 s)
Maq and the Spirit of the Woods (Phyllis Grant – 2006, 8 min 29 s)
“Mind me good now!” (Chris Cormier – Derek Cummings-2005, 8 min 15 s)
Oma’s Quilt (Izabela Bzymek – 2007, 12 min 52 s)
Tzaritza (Theodore Ushev – 2006, 6 min 58 s)
Date(s) – 30/07/2015
4:00 pm
Russian Centre
31-A, Dr. G. Deshmukh Marg, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400026 022 2351 0793
White Bim, Black Ear (172′) by S. Rostozkov 
White dog called Bim is looking for its owner. It encounters all kinds of people and situations.
Date: 10/07/2015
Time: 6:00 pm
Elena (107′) by Andrey Zvyagintsev 
Vladimir and Elena are an older couple who met late in life. Vladimir is rich and cold; Elena is deferential and devout. After Vladimir has a heart attack, he must decide who to leave his money to, and Elena faces a terrible choice
Date: 17/07/2015
Time: 6:00pm
Repentance(153′) by Tenzig Abuladze 
The day after the funeral of Varlam Aravidze, the mayor of a small Georgian town, his corpse turns up in his son’s garden and is secretly reburied. But the corpse keeps returning, and the police eventually capture a local woman, who is accused of digging it up.
Date: 28/07/2015
Time: 6:00pm
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June Film Screenings (Mumbai)
Here is a list of free film screenings in Mumbai which we feel you shouldn’t give a miss:
2nd June
Place Matterden CFC
Time: 7pm
Jacquot de Nantes, by Agnès Varda (118’)
Jacquot Demy is a little boy at the end of the thirties. His father owns a garage and his mother is a hairdresser. The whole family lives happily and likes to sing and to go to the movies. Jacquot is fascinated by every kind of show (theatre, cinema, puppets). He buys a camera to shoot his first amateur film…
6th June
Place: NCPA
Time: 2 pm
Red Like The Sky (Rosso come il cielo)
A young boy who loves movies goes blind. His distraught parents want to keep him by their side but the law requires he attend residential school with other blind children. At first, he rebels only to triumph over his loss when he learns to share his magical world with others. Film based on the true story of Italy’s most renowned cinematic sound editor, Mirco Mencacci.
Director: Cristiano Bartone
(For children between seven and 14 years)
9th June
Place: Matterden CFC
Time: 7pm
Les 400 coups / The 400 blows by François Truffaut (99′)
Francois Truffuat’s masterpiece, it is an intensely touching story of a misunderstood young adolescent who, left without attention, delves into a life of petty crime.
16th June
Place: Matterden CFC
Time: 7pm
Pickpocket (73′)
Luc Bresson’s exceptional film, is about Michel who takes up picking pockets as a hobby, and is arrested almost immediately. After his release, though, his mother dies, and he returns to pickpocketing because he realises that it’s the only way he can express himself…
17th June
Place: Prithvi Theatre, Juhu
Time: 7pm
Cyrano de Bergerac by Jean-Paul Rappeneau (137′)
The classic and tragic story of Edmond Rostand’s play brought back to the screen. Cyrano tells the tale of the soulful poet/philosopher and expert duelist embodied by a majestic Gérard Depardieu, who loves the fair Roxanne, but is ashamed to woo her because of his huge nose. Instead he writes love letters for slow-witted, but handsome Christian in order to win her hand for him. She falls deeply in love with the author, but doesn’t know they were written by Cyrano…
19th June
Place: Russian Centre
Time: 6 pm
The Flight by Alexander Alov (197′)
The film is about a group of people who in other times wouldn’t have anything in common, some of them innocent bystanders, some moral criminals. But nothing is straightforward and simple. From Russia “the run” continues to Constantinople, to Paris, back to Russia. Some of them have understood that they can`t live outside Russia and go back maybe to be happy, maybe not, some go back to face sure death for their crimes, some don`t go back and know that are going to miss homeland forever, some are comfortably well off (are they?) in exile.
23rd June
Place: Matterden CFC
Time: 7pm
Pierrot le fou (version restaurée) by Jean-Luc Godard (115′)
Quintessential Godard, the film is about Pierrot who escapes his boring society and travels from Paris to the Mediterranean Sea with Marianne, a girl chased by hit-men from Algeria. They lead an unorthodox life, always on the run.
29th June
Place: Alliance Française Auditorium
Time: 6:30pm
Cyrano de Bergerac by Jean-Paul Rappeneau (137′)
The classic and tragic story of Edmond Rostand’s play brought back to the screen. Cyrano tells the tale of the soulful poet/philosopher and expert duelist embodied by a majestic Gérard Depardieu, who loves the fair Roxanne, but is ashamed to woo her because of his huge nose. Instead he writes love letters for slow-witted, but handsome Christian in order to win her hand for him. She falls deeply in love with the author, but doesn’t know they were written by Cyrano…
30th June
Place: Matterden CFC
Time: 7pm
Laurence Anyways by Xavier Dolan (168′)
Montreal, 1989. Laurence has lived for two years with Fred, the love of his life. On his 30th birthday, he decides it’s time to tell her the truth about who he really is: although he’s madly in love with her, he’s a woman trapped in a man’s body and wants to undergo a sex change…
If you think we have missed any must watch screening, feel free to let us and other movie buffs know about it.
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KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival 2015
Noted filmmakers Anubhav Sinha and Chitra Palekar, national award winning filmmaker and actor Amir Bashir, actor Meghna Malik, columnist Malavika Sangghvi and festival director Sridhar Rangayan on Wednesday announced the sixth edition of KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival – South Asia’s biggest and India’s only mainstream LGBT film festival. The festival – that will screen 180 films from 44 countries – will be held between May 27-31, 2015 at three venues in South Mumbai – the iconic Liberty Cinema and Alliance Française de Bombay at New Marine Lines and Max Mueller Bhavan at Kalaghoda.Continue reading “KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival 2015”
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Bombay Velvet: A Quick Review
If you give Anurag Kashyap Rs. 20 Cr and 100 characters he makes a critically acclaimed film. And if you give him Rs. 100 Cr and 20 characters he makes a critically maligned film.
But that doesn’t mean that he makes a bad film. Its just that the standards set by him are so high, that people are willing to tear him down at the slightest mistake.’Bombay Velvet’ is exactly that. The male lead is the ”art direction” and the female lead is its ”jazz music”. In the supporting cast you have Ranbir (Johnny), Anushka (Rosie) and Karan Johar (Khambatta) getting “re-introduced (after DDLJ). They are in turn supported by some good actors like Satyadeep Misra (Chiman) and Manish Chaudhary (Jimmy).
The story revolves around Bombay in the 70s when liberalisation was a far cry while mafia dons, smuggling gold, jazz and blues were in vogue. The set design constructed in Sri Lanka is impeccable and transports you to the nostalgic era of Bombay when it was not yet called Mumbai. Music by Amit Trivedi is pure magic and so is the sensuous voice of Neeti Mohan. Anurag takes a long time to establish the era and the mood of Bombay and makes one impatiently wait for the story to begin. The characters lack depth and the screenplay gets confusing at times. People who are used to the typical Bollywood movies will be disappointed as this is a dark movie. There are lot of “inspirational” scenes from Hollywood, but they are well done and Indians should be used to this by now!
Ranbir is normal, Anushka is a pouting doll while Karan amuses with his mannerisms and expressions.
Hate it or love it.. but don’t miss it!
– IndieYogi
Note-IndieYogi’s posts are short/quick reviews,catering to the reader on the go. The attempt is to try something new in addition to the regular style of writing/reviewing.
Continue reading “Bombay Velvet: A Quick Review”
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Bombay Velvet: Worth To Be A Big-Shot?
“Apan ko jo bhi mangta hai, sab log bolte hai apan ke aukat ke bahar hai. Apan ko apan ka aukat badalne ka hai.”
This was what Anurag Kashyap might have been going through inside his head, before making this multi-starrer blockbuster. And oh well, was it able to gain that aukat?
Set in a period of post-Independence, from 1949 to 1969, the film opens with a wonderful background score by Amit Trivedi and visuals of Old Bombay in a newsreel format against the song Aam Hindustani being sung by Dahlia (Raveena Tandon). Honestly, just that start there gives you a hope. An assurance that this might turn out to be the best film you have seen so far. But, oh wait!Continue reading “Bombay Velvet: Worth To Be A Big-Shot?”
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Kiran Rao to head NFDC’s unique film centre “FILMBAY”
Filmmaker Kiran Rao will spearhead a new and unique film centre in Mumbai “FilmBay”, a National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) initiative to be launched by the end of this year. The “FilmBay” will provide an alternative, exhibition space for independent and art-house cinema and documentaries that may never get a traditional commercial Bollywood release.
Kiran Rao, as Creative Director, will be supported by renowned members of the industry, Anupama Chopra, Anurag Kashyap, Zoya Akhtar, Dibakar Banerjee and Rohan Sippy, who will bring in their collective expertise to make the Film Centre a diverse, eclectic hub for debate and discussion.Continue reading “Kiran Rao to head NFDC’s unique film centre “FILMBAY””
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