UAE | Heritage and Culture

'Muslim cultures of Bombay Cinema' kicks off

Muslim Cultures of Bombay Cinema, a film festival and the first of its kind, kicked off on Thursday evening. The festival will run until March 22.

Staff Report
Published: 17:08 February 26, 2009

Abu Dhabi: Muslim Cultures of Bombay Cinema, a film festival and the first of its kind, kicked off on Thursday evening. The festival will run until March 22.

The festival celebrates and explores the rich influence of Muslim cultures on the cinema of Bombay from the 1930s to the present and includes the work of key Muslim directors, Mehboob Khan, Sohrab Modi, and Kamal Amrohi.

Muslim cultures are expressed in Bombay cinema through the influence of the Urdu language on a cinema that is often termed "Hindi" cinema, through Islamic poetic forms, story-telling traditions, and musical expression, and through distinctive forms of social life.

Through Muslim cultural idioms widely inform Hindi-Urdu cinema they are most articulately manifest in the three broad genres that are represented in this festival: the Historical, the Courtesan Film, and the Muslim Social.

The festival will feature 14 films drawn from these genres that have been selected on the grounds of their historical and aesthetic importance.

Some of these film have never been subtitled into English before nor widely seen since their original release.

Filmmakers and actors will attend the screenings for Q&A, and a workshop will take place on the topic involving experts on Islamic art, culture and society in South Asia.

Factfile:

What: Film festival - Muslim Cultures of Bombay Cinema,
When: February 26-March 22
Where: Al Dhafra Auditorium, Cultural Foundation, Abu Dhabi

Screening Schedule

Historical Films

Thursday February 26 at 7:00pm, Jodha Akbar (2008) ; Directed by Ashutosh Gowariker
Saturday February 28 at 3:00pm, Pukar (1939) ; Directed by Sohrab Modi
Saturday February 28 at 7:00pm, Mirza Ghalib (1954) ; Directed by Sohrab Modi
Sunday March 1 at 3:00pm, Chaudhvin ka Chand (1960) ; Directed by M Sadiq
Sunday March 1 at 7:00pm, Mughal-e-Azam (1960) ; Directed by K Asif

Muslim Social Films

Thursday March 12 at 3:00pm, Najma ( 1943) ; Directed by Mehboob Khan
Thursday March 12 at 7:00pm, Mere Mehboob (1963) ; Directed by H.S. Rawail

New Wave Films

Saturday March 14 at 3:00pm, Garm Hawa (1973) ; Directed by M.S. Sathyu
Saturday March 14 at 7:00pm, Mammo (1994) ; Directed by Shyam Benegal
Thursday March 19 at 7:00pm, Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro (1989) ; Directed by Saeed Mirza

Courtesan Films