Entertainment | Celebrity

DIFF to highlight Indian cinema

Hansal Mehta’s award-winning film Shahid leads the celebration of 100 years of Indian filmmaking

Staff Report
Published: 13:09 November 14, 2012

Image Credit: Supplied
Hansal Mehta’s Shahid will be screened at Diff

In a nod to 100 years of Indian cinema, Dubai International Film Festival will showcase the country’s acclaimed films and their finest filmmakers. The annual festival runs from December 9 to 16.

Leading the Indian contingent is Hansal Mehta’s award-winning film Shahid. A tale based on a true story of a slain human rights lawyer, the film was lauded by Deepa Mehta who dubbed it as a “small film with a big heart”. From Bengal, director Kaushik Ganguly will premiere his film Sound (Shobdo), a story about a film technician. Kerala will be represented by Joy Matthew’s Shutter. The film touches upon how the lives of an expatriate from the Gulf, an auto driver and a film director intermingle due to some unforeseen circumstances.

During the festival, Indian filmmaker Buddhadeb Dasgupta will pay homage to the celebrated poet Rabindranath Tagore with his short films based on thirteen poems.

“To commemorate 100 years of Indian cinema, we have selected a collection of unique films that reflect the richness, flavour and essence of Indian filmmaking. Over 1,000 films are made every year in India and the platter is huge and diverse which is a testament to the filmmaking excellence we see year after year,” said Nashen Moodley, DIFF’s Director of Asia Africa Programmes, in a statement.