Retrospective honours Indian filmmaker

Abu Dhabi: Film enthusiasts in the capital had an opportunity to watch masterpieces of internationally-acclaimed Indian filmmaker Shyam Benegal and interact with him last week.

A film festival ‘Shyam Benegal’s Retrospective’ comprising movie screenings, workshops and discussions began in the capital on Thursday.

The legendary filmmaker attended the festival which ended on Saturday. The festival will close with the screening of the film ‘Mammo’ at Kerala Social Centre at 8pm.

Namrata S. Kumar, deputy head of mission at the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi, inaugurated the festival on Thursday in Benegal’s presence.

The festival began with the screening of the film ‘Zubeida — The Story of a Princess’ at the Indian Embassy auditorium.

The festival is jointly organised by Indian Film Society of the UAE, Cultural Wing of the Indian Embassy, Kerala Social Centre, New York University Abu Dhabi and Abu Dhabi Indian School.

Winner of the highest award in Indian Cinema for lifetime achievement — the Dadasaheb Phalke Award — Benegal is highly respected in the Indian film industry.

His first feature film ‘Ankur’ was a trendsetter in the 1970’s. His films have been acclaimed in Indian and international film festivals in the past four decades.

The second day of the festival started with a talk on ‘Secularism in Indian Cinema’ by Benegal at Kerala Social Centre followed by the screening of the film ‘Sardari Begum’.

Based on a true story, the film opens with the death of Sardari Begum, a singer, when she is killed by a stone thrown during a riot outside her Delhi home. The religious nature of the incident and the impending elections combine to attract the media’s attention. When a young reporter covering the funeral discovers her father among the mourners, her curiosity prompts her to investigate further. Then comes the revelation that the singer was in fact her aunt, who was disowned by her family for rebelliously learning music from a concubine.

The final day of the festival started with a public lecture by Dr Anuradha Needham of Oberlin College. There was also a discussion with Benegal, Needham and Rajeswari Sunder Rajan of New York University Abu Dhabi.