The 50th edition of the International Film Festival of India 2019 (IFFI 2019) saw filmmakers like Shaji N Karun and Subhash Ghai in conversation with film critic Derek Malcolm and film trade analyst Taran Adarsh on Friday. The point of discussion was the emergence of OTT platforms, ideal budget of a film and what could be defined as a festival film.
Ghai said, "The important thing today is to know how to be relevant for the cine-goers. I get to know about Tamil culture and its people through films made by Mani Ratnam, Bengali and Malayalam cinema is so beautiful. Cinema is the biggest influential device and is the culmination of our own mythology and heritage."
"Filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak was my Guru, he was the vice principal at FTII, Pune and I was like a blue-eyed boy for him, he used to answer all my questions over drinks. When I made my films, I had his guidance in mind," he added.
Malcolm said, "When I first came to India in the '70s as a cricketer and not as a critic, I attended the film festival in Bombay but there were no Indian films being screened. Along with the American critics, when I spoke to the festival director, he informed us that they don’t screen Indian films and if we need to see those, we need to see them in the commercial cinemas downtown but the scenario has changed now.”
“There are many aspects to look at the cinema. It can entertain your mind, time or touch you spiritually. It is also the history of India. Filmmakers like Satyajit Ray made films without money but had enough intellect,” said Shaji N Karun.
IFFI has come a long way as far as the number of participating countries is concerned. From 23 countries in 1952, it has reached 76 this year. IFFI 2019 is screening 26 feature films and 15 non-feature films in Indian Panorama section.
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