On the third day of CIFF, Ali Fazal and Richa Chadha celebrate the success of their maiden production ‘Girls will be Girls’, director Sudhir Mishra talks about his deep love for films

Gurnaaz Kaur

Cinephiles are in for a treat, as every new day at the Cinevesture International Film Festival (CIFF) is bringing some thought-provoking interactions based around the film industry. Actors, directors, producers… some known names from Mumbai have made a beeline for Chandigarh to share their insight into the world of filmmaking. Whether you are interested in production, acting, direction or scriptwriting, these insiders are happy to talk about the process.

The third day began with a heartfelt conversation, where actor Suvinder Vicky shared excerpts from his journey laced with some funny anecdotes. Even as a kid, he knew acting it was. “I always wanted to be an actor. As a child, I would play Amitabh Bachchan, thanks to my baritone voice and lanky structure, while my brother would act as Dharmendra.” Thanks to Chauthi Koot, it changed the course of life and career for Suvinder. “That was the turning point. And I owe it to Gurvinder.”

An enthusiastic audience wanted to know his acting chops and what went into the preparation for the role of Balbir Singh in Kohrra. The actor said, “I am director’s actor. And I believe in living the vision of my director-screenwriter. All that is in my hands is to do my best as an actor.”

Ali-Richa shine

Accomplished actors Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal are celebrating the success of their maiden production Girls will be Girls, which has won two awards at the Sundance Film Festival. To take up production was a conscious choice. As Ali explained, “We wanted to make some cool stuff, be a part of narratives that have the potential of designing our futures.”

Richa wanted more creative control over the things she was doing and thus their production house, Pushing Buttons, was born, “I wanted to lessen the gap between what I was watching and what I was acting in. Sometimes what you watch are not the parts that come to you.” Aware of the huge responsibility it entails, Richa and Ali understand it has to be a sustainable business, “We’ll do our best to marry both.”

Man from the heartland

Next was a peek into direction and the love for movies that Sudhir Mishra has. His upbringing in the Indian heartland, Madhya Pradesh to be precise and his habit of internalising everything reflected brilliantly in the thought-provoking film, Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi. “I knew every character and person in the film.” But he identified most with the character of Geeta. “All of us are Geetas.”

While he lives and breathes films, and there are many favourites, the one he wants people to remember is, “Khoya Khoya Chand. It is autobiographical and somehow show my family structure and upbringing.” To those who dream of making films or are already film-makers, his message is, “Keep on making films because some of us exist only when we make films.”

It’s the right venue

To debut in Chandigarh was a conscious choice by CIFF team. Highlighting the many reasons that make it a perfect city for an international event surrounding the science and mathematics of filmmaking, Nina Lath, founder-CEO of Cinevesture, says, “It’s a city whose genesis lies in design, it’s also a city which has a high rate of literacy. I was a Panjab University student and we had a really vibrant cultural scene at that time. I am sure those cultural activities are still happening here. But films are ultimately a culmination of all arts and it makes sense to bring them together in a city that already has so much happening.”

Screened on March 29

Films Director

The World of Goopi and Bagha Shilpa Ranade

If Only I Could Hibernate Zoljargal Purevdash

Rapture Dominic Sangma

Seven Winters in Tehran Steffi Niederzoll

Roleless Hirase Kentaro, Masahiko Sato, Seti Yutaro

Jaggi Anmol Sidhu

Something Like An Authobiography Mostofa Sarwar Farooki

Goodbye Julia Mohamed Kordofani

The Breaking Ice Anthony Chen

Adh Chanani Raat Gurvinder Singh

Monster Kor-eda Hirokazu

Guras Saurav Rai

Whispers of Fire and Water Lubdhak Chatterjee

The Tenants Eun-Kyung Yoon

Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro Kundan Shah

Conversation between a father and a daughter

Shekhar Kapur and his daugther, singer- songwriter and actress Kaveri Kapur also shared notes during the last session, on Day 3. Titled Films and Music—A Family Jam, the conversation began on a happy note when the two admitted they were nervous to hold the discussion.

“I am going to ask you what people haven't asked you,” began Kaveri. And ready to 'grill' dad, she asked, "Tell something that people don't know about you?” Shekar replied, “They don't quite know about how fearful I am. A man who is scared every morning." But where does this fear come from? "It's the fear of not knowing who I am."

This set the mood of the converation. From creativity being an accidental act to constantly trying to define time with the help of art... the father-daugther duo left the audience spellbound.

Kaveri expressed her intrigue about her father's spirituality and Shekhar humbly said ‘we all are each other’s guru’. Self-enquiry, dropping the ego and holding on to it to create art, changing landscape of cinema, the need to question the process... the conversation was honest, fun and deep all, at the same time.

Shekhar also got talking about his movie Masoom - The New Generation when someone from the audience enquired about his next. While the title comes from his first directorial Masoom that went on to become a cult classic, the references for this one he has picked from the way today’s generation approaches life and family. “What’s the idea of a home, how do they bond with family… teenagers today talk about anxiety and therapy, where does that stem from...it all brought me the ideas to create a second Masoom.”

Pain & victory

Writer-director Tahira Kashyap spoke about how she courageously fought cancer, “I want people to know that if detected at an early stage, cancer is treatable. You can continue to live a disease-free life after that.”

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