ITV

Tag: Kiran Rao

  • Facebook and Kiran Rao partner to unleash the power of mobile storytelling

    Facebook and Kiran Rao partner to unleash the power of mobile storytelling

    MUMBAI: From cinematic canvas to mobile canvas, filmmaker Kiran Rao marked her return to direction with two films made for Facebook India. Each film is under ten seconds in duration and is a part of the Facebook Thumbstoppers initiative launched in May this year to redefine short-form mobile video ads in the country

    Speaking about the films, Kiran Rao said, “Ten seconds. No audio. To shoot vertical. And show change in human behaviour. The brief for these films was certainly exciting. I must say that it was some great learning as a filmmaker. The mobile medium has a set of realities which as content makers one must embrace and play with. Once you understand the medium, the storytelling comes naturally. It was fun making these films, and it is great to be back doing what I love most.”

    Kiran's last directorial venture, ‘Dhobi Ghat’, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, and enjoyed worldwide acclaim with its global release in 2011. She has produced several films such as Taare Zameen Par (2007), Peepli Live (2010), Delhi Belly (2011), Dangal (2016), Secret Super Star (2017), and the television show Satyamev Jayate (2012-2014) with Aamir Khan Productions.

    Link to the videos: https://www.facebook.com/business/m/thumbstoppers

    Sunita G.R., Head of Marketing at Facebook India said, “Mobile has fundamentally reshaped consumer behaviour. People consume as well as recall content faster on mobile. As mobile becomes more pervasive, there has emerged an ardent need for marketers and creative agencies to create mobile-first ads and to embrace the possibility that stories that stop thumbs from scrolling, evoke emotions, and change human behavior can be told in under ten seconds. The partnership with Kiran Rao is a powerful ode to the magic that can be created in ad storytelling for the mobile-first world.”

    Since its launch in May, Facebook Thumbstoppers has endeavored to encourage the industry to create short-form mobile storytelling that is built for the medium rather than adapted from other traditional formats. Thumbstoppers are those stories that can stop thumbs from scrolling, evoke emotions, and have the potential to change human behavior in less than ten seconds.

    The two films created by Rao touch upon two of the most glaring societal truths – gender inequality and domestic violence against women. The first film depicts a young boy and his sister being served milk at home. The milk in the boy’s glass is considerably greater in quantity than that in his sister’s glass. He pours some of the milk from his glass into hers to make the quantities equal, thus crafting a compelling story against gender discrimination.

    The second film has a woman nursing a bruise with an ice pack when her domestic help walks up to her and hands over a cellphone which has the number of the police. The film aims to inspire people to take that first courageous step.

    The two films powerfully showcase how integral it is to capture the audience’s attention in the first few seconds. Keeping the sensibilities of mobile consumption in mind, they are both built for the vertical landscape for seamless mobile viewing, and ensure that the right messaging lands even with the sound-off, and is a delight with sound-on. The films formidably convey that powerful storytelling is possible in a few seconds without compromising on the tenets of good filmmaking – emotion, suspense, drama, and cutting-edge creativity. 

    As a part of this initiative, Facebook is also throwing open a 'Thumbstopper Challenge' – an invitation to all creative minds to submit their short stories on the brief of driving behaviour change in less than ten seconds, by 12th July. The winners of the Thumbstopper Challenge will be announced in August, and the top winners will get to travel to Cannes next year. Facebook will also produce the top 20 films.

  • Dangal: This is a winner!

    Dangal: This is a winner!

    Sports-based films had few takers till late, especially the concocted stories kind. However, the biographical sports-oriented films seem to work better, albeit, if they are inspiring enough and based on the lives of self-made successes.

    Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Paan Singh Tomar, M S Dhoni: The Untold Story, Mary Kom are a few examples. Whose story the film is based on and the faces behind such a film also matters.

    Dangal is a biopic based on one such story that has a lot working for it. The story defies taboos and traditions of the native Haryana where a father pining for boys in the family but siring, instead, four daughters, decides to train his daughters to step into an arena of wrestling, a sport dominated by men, and excel.

    Dangal is based on the life of Mahavir Singh Phogat, a wrestler from Bilali village in Haryana who served as a coach for India’s Olympic wrestlers. Phogat, played by Aamir Khan, always dreamt of making wrestling champions out of his sons and win a Gold Medal for India. However, his dreams are far from being realised when his wife, Daya Shobha Kaur (Sakshi Tanwar) delivers four daughters.

    Phogat is disillusioned when one day while he hears of his two daughters beating up a village bully. Seeing their aggression and fighting spirit, he decides to do something nobody in his state would dream of. Train his daughters into world class wrestlers and bring the country its first gold medal.

    As the training begins, much to the girls’ reluctance and resistance, any and everything that hinders their training and concentration is done away with. The salwar kameez are replaced by shorts and T shirts, their long hair are shorn off and chicken becomes the staple food. A wrestling arena is built in the family farm and the girls’ cousin, Aparshakti Khurrana’s character, is the guinea pig with whom the girls practice their wrestling strategies.

    As the older of the two daughters, Geeta (Fatima Sana Shaikh) qualifies to train at the National Sports Academy, the grounds rules change, something Fatima is not used to. Life here is easier than the one she lived at home training under her father. Her first lesson from the coach (Girish Kulkarni) is that she unlearns all that her father taught her and begin anew. There is enough indulgence in watching TV, outings in the town and also freedom to eat gol gappas. This only works to corrupt the qualities and expertise that the girl possessed in wrestling.

    The result is, Geeta goes on losing all her international bouts and gets into verbal conflicts with her disappointed father. By now, even the younger Phogat girl, Babita (Sanya Malhotra) has qualified for a place at the Academy. Through her, she sees the value of her father’s coaching. Then starts a dual of coaches unawares of each other as Geeta listens to all that her coach has to say while follows what her father teaches her.

    Aamir Khan has become the master of playing unconventional roles in a totally deglamorised avatar and yet promise a hit! He gets into the skin of the veteran coach, Mahavir Singh Phogat so much that even the later would be proud of.

    The girls, Zaira Wasim and Suhani Bhatnagar as young Geeta and Babita are excellent as most of the earlier and challenging part rests on their shoulders. Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra, the grown-up Phogat sisters, carry on the solid base created convincingly by the young ones and not letting a continuity jerk show. SakshiTanwar and Aparshakti are natural all the way.

    Dangal wins half its bout at the writing stage itself as the narration is smooth and witty dialogue make the initial training parts enjoyable which, in other such training phases in a film are tougher on viewers than on the aspiring sportsperson! Direction by Nitesh Tiwari is accomplished; he never lets the film sag at any stage despite its genre and length (161 minutes).

    The climax strays for the better and sends a viewer back with a serving of patriotism. Cinematography is very good. The songs have a purely utility value.

    The Haryanvi language used extensively in the film is no deterrent. Dangal is a winner all the way with all the makings of a first blockbuster biopic in Hindi film industry.

    Producers: Aamir Khan, Kiran Rao, Sidharth Roy Kapur.

    Direction: Nitesh Tiwari.

    Cast: Aamir Khan, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Sanya Malhotra, Zaira Washim, Suhani Bhatnagar, Sakshi Tanwar.

  • Dangal: This is a winner!

    Dangal: This is a winner!

    Sports-based films had few takers till late, especially the concocted stories kind. However, the biographical sports-oriented films seem to work better, albeit, if they are inspiring enough and based on the lives of self-made successes.

    Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Paan Singh Tomar, M S Dhoni: The Untold Story, Mary Kom are a few examples. Whose story the film is based on and the faces behind such a film also matters.

    Dangal is a biopic based on one such story that has a lot working for it. The story defies taboos and traditions of the native Haryana where a father pining for boys in the family but siring, instead, four daughters, decides to train his daughters to step into an arena of wrestling, a sport dominated by men, and excel.

    Dangal is based on the life of Mahavir Singh Phogat, a wrestler from Bilali village in Haryana who served as a coach for India’s Olympic wrestlers. Phogat, played by Aamir Khan, always dreamt of making wrestling champions out of his sons and win a Gold Medal for India. However, his dreams are far from being realised when his wife, Daya Shobha Kaur (Sakshi Tanwar) delivers four daughters.

    Phogat is disillusioned when one day while he hears of his two daughters beating up a village bully. Seeing their aggression and fighting spirit, he decides to do something nobody in his state would dream of. Train his daughters into world class wrestlers and bring the country its first gold medal.

    As the training begins, much to the girls’ reluctance and resistance, any and everything that hinders their training and concentration is done away with. The salwar kameez are replaced by shorts and T shirts, their long hair are shorn off and chicken becomes the staple food. A wrestling arena is built in the family farm and the girls’ cousin, Aparshakti Khurrana’s character, is the guinea pig with whom the girls practice their wrestling strategies.

    As the older of the two daughters, Geeta (Fatima Sana Shaikh) qualifies to train at the National Sports Academy, the grounds rules change, something Fatima is not used to. Life here is easier than the one she lived at home training under her father. Her first lesson from the coach (Girish Kulkarni) is that she unlearns all that her father taught her and begin anew. There is enough indulgence in watching TV, outings in the town and also freedom to eat gol gappas. This only works to corrupt the qualities and expertise that the girl possessed in wrestling.

    The result is, Geeta goes on losing all her international bouts and gets into verbal conflicts with her disappointed father. By now, even the younger Phogat girl, Babita (Sanya Malhotra) has qualified for a place at the Academy. Through her, she sees the value of her father’s coaching. Then starts a dual of coaches unawares of each other as Geeta listens to all that her coach has to say while follows what her father teaches her.

    Aamir Khan has become the master of playing unconventional roles in a totally deglamorised avatar and yet promise a hit! He gets into the skin of the veteran coach, Mahavir Singh Phogat so much that even the later would be proud of.

    The girls, Zaira Wasim and Suhani Bhatnagar as young Geeta and Babita are excellent as most of the earlier and challenging part rests on their shoulders. Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra, the grown-up Phogat sisters, carry on the solid base created convincingly by the young ones and not letting a continuity jerk show. SakshiTanwar and Aparshakti are natural all the way.

    Dangal wins half its bout at the writing stage itself as the narration is smooth and witty dialogue make the initial training parts enjoyable which, in other such training phases in a film are tougher on viewers than on the aspiring sportsperson! Direction by Nitesh Tiwari is accomplished; he never lets the film sag at any stage despite its genre and length (161 minutes).

    The climax strays for the better and sends a viewer back with a serving of patriotism. Cinematography is very good. The songs have a purely utility value.

    The Haryanvi language used extensively in the film is no deterrent. Dangal is a winner all the way with all the makings of a first blockbuster biopic in Hindi film industry.

    Producers: Aamir Khan, Kiran Rao, Sidharth Roy Kapur.

    Direction: Nitesh Tiwari.

    Cast: Aamir Khan, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Sanya Malhotra, Zaira Washim, Suhani Bhatnagar, Sakshi Tanwar.

  • Kashish International Queer Film Festival scores its highest, here’s how!

    Kashish International Queer Film Festival scores its highest, here’s how!

    MUMBAI: Society’s acceptance is expanding to acceptance of new ideas, cultures and beliefs. The twenty first century is about moving forward with acceptance to new change, and as media is a mirror for and of society, everything is reflected on movie screen. With article 377 and awareness and acceptance for LGBTQ community at large today, films have also expanded their base to cover this topic.

    National Award Winner Sridhar Rangayan has rolled out the seventh annual edition of Kashish International Queer Film festival in Mumbai. The festival will launch between 25 May 25 and 29 May at three different venues: Liberty Theatre, Alliance Francaise de Bombay and Max Muller Bhavan. The theme of the festival remains ‘Seven Shades of Love’.

    This is one of the most significant festivals screening films themed around the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) community. Kashish International Queer Film Festival has been promoting such films even at international platforms and has been celebrating LGBT cinema in Mumbai via the festival.

    This year the festival will screen the highest number of films – 182 from 53 countries. In the 2015 edition of the festival, the number was 180 films from 44 countries.  There are 27 Indian films in Tamil, Kannada, Telegu and Hindi, to be screened in the festival. The festival has films ranging between a time duration of 12 minutes to 112 minutes. Feature films, documentaries and short films are on the list. About 50 films concern women and transgender.

    Festival director Sridhar Rangayan said, “We are delighted that the quality of filmmaking around LGBTQ issues in India has gathered quite a lot of momentum in recent years. This year we received more than 60 Indian film submissions, out of which we are screening 27 films, which have been shortlisted both for their narrative strength as well as their technical finesse. Four of them are co-productions and two of them are national award winners. So it is a good time for Indian LGBTQ cinema”

    The festival will open with the UK/USA feature film Carol, directed by Todd Haynes. Carol is a love story of the 1950s in New York between two young women. The cast includes Cate Blanchett and Roony Mara. The movie will be screened at Liberty Cinema on May 25.

    This year, the highlight films are Aligarh directed by Hansal Mehta, I am Not HE SHE directed by B.S. Lingadevaru, who also has another film in the festival  – The Threshold. Hansal Mehta’s Aligarh is also been looked forward to. Other awaited screenings are- Reaching for the Moon directed by Bruno Barreto, Oriented directed by Jake Witzenfeld and Tab Hunter Confidential directed by Jeffrey Schwarz.

    The festival finale will be the screening of the US award winning film Those people directed by Joey Kuhn. The film is story of young gay artist and his struggles.  

    Kashish International Queer Film Festival is associated with Wishberry as title sponsor. Other supporters are IBM as associate sponsor. Godrej, Whistling Woods and Canada are supporting sponsors. There are other festival sponsors like Anupam Kher’s Actor Prepares, Wadia Movietime, Wendell Rodricks, Lotus Unusual and Accord Equips as award partners amongst others.

    The festival also has a film competition for young film makers, wherein 41 films will be competing this year. The films will be judged on the quality of filmmaking, narration and uplifting of LGBTQ community. Explaining, director of programming Kashish International Queer Film Festival Saagar Gupta said “Films in the competition are shortlisted on the basis of novelty of ideas or engaging storytelling or technical brilliance or all of these. Special attention is given to those dealing with issues faced by LGBTQ youth in a positive, uplifting manner; or act as a catalyst for a discussion; and also reiterate this year’s theme – 7 Shades Of Love”.

    The categories of awards include Best Narrative Feature, for which four films will be competing. The winner will be awarded with a trophy and a cash prize of Rs 30,000, sponsored by Anupam Kher’s Actor Prepares. Actor Prepares is also sponsoring another category i.e. Best Performance in the Lead Role with a cash prize of Rs 20,000.

    Other categories include Best Documentary Feature; three films will be competing for this award. The International Narrative Short category has 23 competitors. Both carry a trophy and a gift hamper as awards. Six films will compete for Best Documentary Short. This category will award winners with a trophy and a HD Shooting Kit comprising of camera, mike and light; sponsored by Accord Equips. Best Indian Narrative Short is also sponsored by Actor Prepares, where two films will be competing. The winner will receive a trophy and a cash price of Rs 20,000.

    The Final Award is the Riyad Wadia Award for best emerging Indian Film Makers. The award carries a cash price of Rs 15000 and is sponsored by Wadia Movietime and a HD shooting kit sponsored by Accord Equips.  There are five films competing for the award.

    These films will be judged by National Award winner Rajeshwari Sachdev, TV actor Manav Gill, director Paravathi Balagopalan, theatre director Kaizaad Kotwal, international festival director Andrea Kuhn and Kashish International Queer Film Festival Sridhar Rangayan.  

    “The quality of the films in the competition this year is a testimony to the diversity of narrative styles as well as technical and aesthetic brilliance of filmmaking. They are not just LGBTQ films, but films that have a new storytelling edge to them. Every year Kashish tries to raise the bar, and this year the films in competition in seven categories are definitely world-class.” added Rangayan.

    Kashish, each year, focuses on one country with the title country in focus. Brazil is the chosen country for this year’s edition. The management explained the reason for choosing Brazil as a country of focus was because of its legalization of same sex marriages. Brazil will also be hosting Olympics this year. 11 films from Brazil will be screened in the festival.

    The opening night of the festival will be launched by chief guest and British actor Sir Ian Mckellen and Sonam Kapoor as Guest of Honor at the Liberty Cinema, Mumbai. Other dignitaries likely to attend the event include Kiran Rao, Kunal Kapoor, Sona Mohapatra, Nisa Godrej, Rajeshwari Sachdev, Manav Gohil along with Sridhar Rangayan.

     

  • Kashish International Queer Film Festival scores its highest, here’s how!

    Kashish International Queer Film Festival scores its highest, here’s how!

    MUMBAI: Society’s acceptance is expanding to acceptance of new ideas, cultures and beliefs. The twenty first century is about moving forward with acceptance to new change, and as media is a mirror for and of society, everything is reflected on movie screen. With article 377 and awareness and acceptance for LGBTQ community at large today, films have also expanded their base to cover this topic.

    National Award Winner Sridhar Rangayan has rolled out the seventh annual edition of Kashish International Queer Film festival in Mumbai. The festival will launch between 25 May 25 and 29 May at three different venues: Liberty Theatre, Alliance Francaise de Bombay and Max Muller Bhavan. The theme of the festival remains ‘Seven Shades of Love’.

    This is one of the most significant festivals screening films themed around the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) community. Kashish International Queer Film Festival has been promoting such films even at international platforms and has been celebrating LGBT cinema in Mumbai via the festival.

    This year the festival will screen the highest number of films – 182 from 53 countries. In the 2015 edition of the festival, the number was 180 films from 44 countries.  There are 27 Indian films in Tamil, Kannada, Telegu and Hindi, to be screened in the festival. The festival has films ranging between a time duration of 12 minutes to 112 minutes. Feature films, documentaries and short films are on the list. About 50 films concern women and transgender.

    Festival director Sridhar Rangayan said, “We are delighted that the quality of filmmaking around LGBTQ issues in India has gathered quite a lot of momentum in recent years. This year we received more than 60 Indian film submissions, out of which we are screening 27 films, which have been shortlisted both for their narrative strength as well as their technical finesse. Four of them are co-productions and two of them are national award winners. So it is a good time for Indian LGBTQ cinema”

    The festival will open with the UK/USA feature film Carol, directed by Todd Haynes. Carol is a love story of the 1950s in New York between two young women. The cast includes Cate Blanchett and Roony Mara. The movie will be screened at Liberty Cinema on May 25.

    This year, the highlight films are Aligarh directed by Hansal Mehta, I am Not HE SHE directed by B.S. Lingadevaru, who also has another film in the festival  – The Threshold. Hansal Mehta’s Aligarh is also been looked forward to. Other awaited screenings are- Reaching for the Moon directed by Bruno Barreto, Oriented directed by Jake Witzenfeld and Tab Hunter Confidential directed by Jeffrey Schwarz.

    The festival finale will be the screening of the US award winning film Those people directed by Joey Kuhn. The film is story of young gay artist and his struggles.  

    Kashish International Queer Film Festival is associated with Wishberry as title sponsor. Other supporters are IBM as associate sponsor. Godrej, Whistling Woods and Canada are supporting sponsors. There are other festival sponsors like Anupam Kher’s Actor Prepares, Wadia Movietime, Wendell Rodricks, Lotus Unusual and Accord Equips as award partners amongst others.

    The festival also has a film competition for young film makers, wherein 41 films will be competing this year. The films will be judged on the quality of filmmaking, narration and uplifting of LGBTQ community. Explaining, director of programming Kashish International Queer Film Festival Saagar Gupta said “Films in the competition are shortlisted on the basis of novelty of ideas or engaging storytelling or technical brilliance or all of these. Special attention is given to those dealing with issues faced by LGBTQ youth in a positive, uplifting manner; or act as a catalyst for a discussion; and also reiterate this year’s theme – 7 Shades Of Love”.

    The categories of awards include Best Narrative Feature, for which four films will be competing. The winner will be awarded with a trophy and a cash prize of Rs 30,000, sponsored by Anupam Kher’s Actor Prepares. Actor Prepares is also sponsoring another category i.e. Best Performance in the Lead Role with a cash prize of Rs 20,000.

    Other categories include Best Documentary Feature; three films will be competing for this award. The International Narrative Short category has 23 competitors. Both carry a trophy and a gift hamper as awards. Six films will compete for Best Documentary Short. This category will award winners with a trophy and a HD Shooting Kit comprising of camera, mike and light; sponsored by Accord Equips. Best Indian Narrative Short is also sponsored by Actor Prepares, where two films will be competing. The winner will receive a trophy and a cash price of Rs 20,000.

    The Final Award is the Riyad Wadia Award for best emerging Indian Film Makers. The award carries a cash price of Rs 15000 and is sponsored by Wadia Movietime and a HD shooting kit sponsored by Accord Equips.  There are five films competing for the award.

    These films will be judged by National Award winner Rajeshwari Sachdev, TV actor Manav Gill, director Paravathi Balagopalan, theatre director Kaizaad Kotwal, international festival director Andrea Kuhn and Kashish International Queer Film Festival Sridhar Rangayan.  

    “The quality of the films in the competition this year is a testimony to the diversity of narrative styles as well as technical and aesthetic brilliance of filmmaking. They are not just LGBTQ films, but films that have a new storytelling edge to them. Every year Kashish tries to raise the bar, and this year the films in competition in seven categories are definitely world-class.” added Rangayan.

    Kashish, each year, focuses on one country with the title country in focus. Brazil is the chosen country for this year’s edition. The management explained the reason for choosing Brazil as a country of focus was because of its legalization of same sex marriages. Brazil will also be hosting Olympics this year. 11 films from Brazil will be screened in the festival.

    The opening night of the festival will be launched by chief guest and British actor Sir Ian Mckellen and Sonam Kapoor as Guest of Honor at the Liberty Cinema, Mumbai. Other dignitaries likely to attend the event include Kiran Rao, Kunal Kapoor, Sona Mohapatra, Nisa Godrej, Rajeshwari Sachdev, Manav Gohil along with Sridhar Rangayan.

     

  • Tourism Ministry denies removing Aamir Khan as Incredible India’s brand ambassador

    Tourism Ministry denies removing Aamir Khan as Incredible India’s brand ambassador

    MUMBAI: The Tourism Ministry has denied removing Aamir Khan as the brand ambassador of the Incredible India ad campaign.

     

    In response to media reports citing that Khan would no longer be endorsing the campaign in light of the ‘intolerance’ controversy that broke out late last year, the Tourism Ministry has clarified that “there is no change in the stand of the ministry in this matter.” 

     

    The Ministry further clarified that at present it had a contractual agreement with creative agency McCann Worldwide to produce social awareness campaign and the said campaign featured Khan.

     

    It may be recalled that at a public event last year, Khan said that his wife Kiran Rao fears for the safety of their child and was mulling the option of leaving the country.

     

    However, as of now it looks as if Khan will continue to be the face of the Incredible India brand campaign.

  • Aamir Khan sent notice for using ‘Satyamev Jayate’ as show title

    Aamir Khan sent notice for using ‘Satyamev Jayate’ as show title

    MUMBAI: Known to be soft targets, it’s almost become a fad to sue celebrities in India these days. After the likes of Amitabh Bachchan and Madhuri Dixit being recently pulled into the Maggi Noodles controversy, now Aamir Khan has landed himself in a legal mess.

     

    An activist has sent a legal notice to the Bollywood actor and director of popular television show Satyamev Jayate, for using the country’s emblem as the title of the programme allegedly without the permission of the Central Government.

     

    The activist Manoranjan Roy says that the name Satyamev Jayate is a part of the national emblem as well as part of the State Emblem, which cannot be used without permission as per State Emblem of India (Prohibition of Improper Use) Act 2009.

     

    The notice sent by advocate Manoj Singh on Roy’s behalf to Aamir Khan, his wife Kiran Rao and the show’s director Satyajit Bhatkal, demands that producers of the show furnish a copy of government permission. “Otherwise our client has given us peremptory instructions to initiate legal proceedings against you,” it says.

     

    No authority has the right to register or grant patent, which contains the State Emblem or its part, the notice says, adding that “it cannot be used to get monetary benefit or for the purpose of advertisement.”

     

    Satyamev Jayate hosted by Khan, aired on Star India’s channels and Doordarshan.

  • WIFT: WOOING WOMEN

    WIFT: WOOING WOMEN

    Women are increasingly blazing a trail in the world of film and television these days. But one is disappointed when one looks at how the ladies are faring as far as the Women in Film & Television (WIFT) association is concerned. More than a year after its formation it has only 300 odd members.

    “We fail to understand why people are still hesitant about joining. Maybe we need to be more out there (sic). We want people to spread the word so that we can help as many women as possible,” says WIFT founder Petrina M D’Rozario.

    The association is dedicated to advancing professional development and achievement for women working in all areas of film, video, and other screen-based media.

    Her association with the organisation goes back a long way when she was studying in New Zealand. When she came back to India, she thought of starting the Indian arm of the global society. 

    Internationally, the association has organised various forums wherein people from the industry have come forward to help each other and the ones who want to enter the ‘glamourous’ world of entertainment. There are 44 chapters all across the world with over 14,000  members.

    Petrina D’Rozario launched the India chapter of WIFT

    “After completing my studies and job, when I got back, I thought to myself that there could be nothing  better than meet people from the industry through the platform of Wift. I had made a lot of friends in New Zealand through the platform. When I found out that that there was no Wift in India, I thought of starting the platform where like-minded women filmmakers and women in the industry can meet, talk, discuss and help each other.”

    Petrina personally went and met senior women  professionals in the industry and got them on its advisory board. There are 11 advisory board members with the likes of Kiran Rao, Anupma Chopra, Jeroo Mulla, Lynn DeSouza and many more.  There are three board members including Petrina. Film critic and editor, Uma da Cunha and media relations professional Riddhi Wallia are the other members.

     “I was approached by Petrina to join the association when I was heading Colors. I was so impressed and charged by the aim of Wift that I didn’t hesitate once to confirm my support. An impetus behind joining was to help tap talent and support women across the country to have a safe destination and network to get a foothold in the entertainment (film/television) and media industries which we all know is a very competitive field. I was keen to do my part to help all women including those from marginalised communities to have the correct and best chance to enter the industry,” recounts Grazing Goat Pictures co-founder Ashvini Yardi.

    The association doesn’t want to be known as a sorority. It is no kitty-party gang, but aims to provide opportunities to other women to interact as well as network, helping them grow in the field. “If a media student joins us, we ensure that she meets people like Kiran Rao, Zoya Akhtar and the likes. This gives the student a chance to learn from them,” says Petrina.

    Through its mentoring scheme WIFT  looks at matching professional members with experienced practitioners for mentoring over a six month period or as designed by the mentor.  The scheme is designed to increase women’s skills, knowledge, networks and confidence as they build their careers. The mentors include the cream of the industry across disciplines like Tanuja Chandra (Director), Deepa Bhatia (Editor), Anjuli Shukla (Cinematographer), Zoya Akhtar (Director), Kiran Rao (Director),Paromita Vohra (Documentary Filmmaker), Onir (Director), Aarti Bajaj (Editor) and Akeev Ali (Editor).

    Ashini Yardi feels that WIFT is a brilliant platform which provides direction and support to women who have dared to dream

    Filmmaker, producer and activist Madhusree Dutta who is an advisory member says that such organisations are very much needed because there is a need to provide a cohesive working space in what has  male-dominated industry.  “One might wonder what travails can people like Kiran or Anupma or me go through.  The association isn’t about what we are going through now. It is about what we have gone through and do not want them to tread the same path. We want a better place and want to help women in the industry,” says Dutta while explaining her association with WIFT.
    So, does it plan to revolutionise the industry? ‘No’, comes the prompt reply from Petrina. “We are not here to ‘change’ the world because we can’t even do that. We are no big shakers who can make changes or bring a revolution in the industry individually; it all happens collectively through the course of time.”

    However, there are challenges it faces. “If you follow the crowd, there won’t be any but if you go against the tide, there will be challenges,” she says. The shortage of funds is the biggest roadblack. “In a city like Mumbai, one needs to pay-up for even putting a toe at some place. So, when we want to screen films or organise events or workshops, we do face monetary issues.”

    But she is quick to add that there are many who are willing to help them and provide venues at low or no cost to hold various events as it is for a good cause. The association aims to have events – workshop, film screenings, and discussion forms – every two weeks. And they are for women only. “However, during workshops men are allowed,” laughs Petrina.

    WIFT just finished one such event – The Red Dot Film Festival. The three-day festival (23, 24, 25 August) was held at the Films Division in Mumbai. The movies featured were by national award-winning filmmakers, actors, editors, and writers cutting across languages, forms and styles. Among them were I Am Micro, Paradesi, Celluloid Man, and many more.

    Madhusree Dutta wants the industry to become a cohesive place for women to work

    The organisation feels that films are a medium, which touch millions of lives, and therefore they have the potential to bring about a societal change, even if it is one step at a time. Be it women-centric films, which give conventional commercial flicks a run for their money. Women lyricists and music composers are taking the traditional male bastions by storm. Women writers and directors are winning international accolades for their portrayal of sensitive subjects and women actors and producers balance creativity with commercial success. The world is changing, step by step, with these exceptional women acting as the torchbearers, showing the way for the aspiring millions. Hence, the hope is that these women and WIFT will end up being the true champions of women empowerment.

    Petrina says she is hopeful WIFT’s numbers will rise. “We have kept membership low at Rs 2,000 a year for professionals and Rs 700 for students,” she says. “We would love to have many more than what we have currently.”

    Karisma Kapoor and Shobha De at the launch of The Red Dot Film Festival

    Internationally, WIFT organizes regular get togethers like luncheons, special events, high teas to foster exchange of ideas between its members and the association has almost become a movement for women in the TV and film trade. The numbers in India too will surely rise over time, there’s no doubt, as WIFT starts getting more active and word of mouth spreads amongst the army of women who are defining film and television today.

    But don’t be surprised by the first words you hear if you are a woman in media and you happen to be introduced to Petrina. “Are you a member of WIFT? If you are not, then it’s high time that you did.”

    With Petrina as chief evangelist, you’ll hear a lot of WIFT in the coming weeks, months and years. More power to her elbow!

  • Dhobi Ghat out of BAFTA

    Dhobi Ghat out of BAFTA

    MUMBAI: Aamir Khan’s Dhobi Ghat, which was among the BAFTA Longlist of films in non-English language, has failed to make it to the top five list.

    The top five that will now vie for the best foreign language film include Incendies (Canada), Pina (Germany), Potiche (France), A Separation (Iran) and The Skin I Live In (Spain).

    Kiran Rao‘s directorial debut Dhobi Ghat featured in the BAFTA Longlist in Film Not in the English Language category, but it has failed to make it to the top five list for the prestigious international award.

    The Longlist is the result of round one of voting by members of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts members. It lists 15 contenders in each category, which are reduced to five for the final nominations.

  • Dhobi Ghat makes it to BAFTA

    Dhobi Ghat makes it to BAFTA

    MUMBAI: The British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) has unveiled its list (Longlist) of films that would be part of those competing in this year’s awards.

    Among the films in the non-English films category, Kiran Rao-directed film Dhobi Ghat (Mumbai Diaries) has made it to the longlist. It will compete with films like Asghar Farhadi’s Nader and Simin: A Separation and Wim Wender’s Pina to get a nomination for the prestigious awards.

    The Longlist, announced recently, is the result of Round One voting by members of the Academy. With a total of 285 films that took part this year, the first round of voting reduced the list of eligible films to 15 in each category.

    Other films that would also participate this year in the non-English films category are: Abel, As If I Am Not There, The Boy Mir – Ten Years in Afghanistan, Calvet, Incendies, Little White Lies, Pina, Post Mortem, Potiche, Le Quattro Volte, A Separation, The Skin I Live In, Tomboy and The Troll Hunter.

    Round Two voting will reduce these 15 contenders down to the five nominations in each category.

    The winners will be announced at the Orange British Academy Film Awards on 12 February.