New Delhi: Director Ashim Ahluwalia, whose film 'Miss Lovely' is being showcased at the Toronto International Film Festival, says returning to the festival feels like homecoming as his maiden project was also screened there.
"My first film 'John and Jane' went to Toronto and that was the first international festival I attended. It was a place of great support at a time when I really needed it. It's great to be invited for the second time, this time with a bigger film, and in a way its like a homecoming for me. I feel a connection with that festival," Ashim told PTI.
The film, set in the grim underbelly of the C-grade film industry of '80s Mumbai, premiered in the'Uncertain Regard' section of Cannes and TIFF screening is its second big outing in the international film circuit.
The director said his main aim would be to look for US distribution for the film. "The primary aim is to look for US distribution. To get the film out in North America is really important. TIFF will also help get the film to a wider English speaking public and press, because Cannes is very French and European. Toronto has a more international kind of press corp, so our aim would be to get more reviews in the English magazines and press."
Ashim said 'Miss Lovely' received a mixed response at Cannes but he is hoping that the audience would be more understanding at TIFF. "Miss Lovely is that kind of a film where you need to know a little bit in order to understand it. In Cannes there was no press screening, so the expectations were different and complex. In Toronto they have a press screening beforehand so people will get to know what to expect from the film - that's a very positive thing. Toronto will help 'Miss Lovely' get out to a larger audience," he said.
The 10-day festival, beginning today, will also screen films like 'Shanghai', 'Ishaqzaade' and 'Peddlers' with their City to City programme focusing on Mumbai this year. But Ashim says his film is way different from the Indian movies selected.
"It's completely different from the other films that have been selected. The selection shows a range - on one hand you have mainstream films and on the other hand there are independent ones. 'Miss Lovely' is a part of Mumbai but very different from Mumbai, it's in a different space altogether."
Ashim is certain that 'Miss Lovely' has the potential to change the way people outside look at Indian films. "Miss Lovely is going to make it difficult to define Indian cinema that way it has been in the past. The Cannes screening was a bit polarised because people were expecting certain things. But the film does not fit into any genre, it's a new category in a way.
"It's definitely not a Bollywood film, neither is it a multiplex film or a straight arthouse one. It's changing the definition of what an Indian film can be," he said.
And the film is on its way towards bringing in that change since its heading to many more festivals after Toronto. "It's been invited to a lot of festivals this year and I think in six months people will begin to understand that this is a new kind of cinema and a new kind of space. I didn't set out to make a conformist film, so I am glad if people say it's something new."
Comments
0 comment