by Mo Shah

The South Asian International Film Festival (or “SAIFF”) finally came of age this year, despite being an institution for only two annual iterations. The first SAIFF, held during the 2004/2005 film season, was an unqualified marketing success, but fell prey to the trappings of an ambitious group of coordinators. Despite a glitzy roster of films (from the Ashwaria Rai vehicle “Bride and Prejudice”, to M.F. Hussain’s challenging and esoteric “Minakshi”) the festival itself seemed to focus on crowded after-parties and ticket sales for the next day’s shows. In other words it was an exercise in event-planning over film adoration. And were it not for a superb set of South Asian flicks, it almost collapsed under the weight of its marketing prowess.

This year, the SAIFF ironed out the kinks. Parties, hysteria, and people-watching, though still evident, finally took a back seat to a truly inspired set of films. Soman Chainani, Managing Director of the event, was partially responsible for some of the bravura selections both this year and last and has continually showered us with flickers of inspired cinema since the inception of the festival. One gets the feeling that his continued relationship with the festival can only translate into even more enjoyable fare in years to come.

So – since this year the festival was truly about the movies, here are three that stood out in this writer’s opinion:

Hari Om (2005): Bharatbala Ganapathy’s meditative road movie was arguably one of the most rewarding films to emerge from India during 2005 (it comes second only to Page 3). The film revolves around an auto-rickshaw driver who takes a French tourist across Rajistan to escape a rather prickly situation at home. This concept alone is enough to give pause and wonder – but the actual relationship, or journey, that is fleshed out in a hundred minutes is nothing short of remarkable. Vija Raaz (Monsoon wedding), who plays the risk-shaw driver, does so with comical restraint, and Camille Natta does a fine job as his French counterpart. Without being overly “bollywood” or “holier-than-thou” – the script still manages to infuse some of the fun musical elements that are particular to India, and ends the journey at a point where self discovery and life itself take upon new meaning for both parties involved.

Film Website: Hari Om

Being Cyrus (2005): Okay, so there’s an English language film premiering at SAIFF starring Saif Ali Khan, Naseerudin Shah, and Dimple Kapadia and I’m not going to write about it? Please. This was perhaps the most hyped movie of the festival. It sold out rather quickly, so another show had to be tacked on to the program. However, for all the hype and promise, Being Cyrus turned out to be a rather dry work that borrowed far too heavily from superior Hollywood fare. The plot, which is not easy to summarize by any stretch, involves a young apprentice (Saif) who moves in with a prominent artist (Naseerudin) only to fall prey to the artist’s rather forward wife (Dimple). Or so we are meant to think. From here the plot goes into over-drive; splintering to an abrupt halt right when the audience would expect it to. All of the key actors involved have impressive resumes, and they deliver interesting, in not nuanced performances throughout – but one is left to wonder that had this talent been put to better use, we might have walked away with a classic.

Film Website: Being Cyrus

Sunset Bollywood (documentary 2005): “Sunset Bollywood” is more than just a clever title, it is the un-sung highlight of this year’s festival, Sunset Bollywood is that rare documentary that keeps you glued, humored, intrigued and fascinated throughout its screening. Director Komal Tolani (present at the screening and soon to be interviewed by EGO) deserves a plethora of kudos for simply pursuing such an overlooked topic: “What happens when you become an overnight sensation in Bollywood and can’t maintain your star status?” In other words, what happened to one-hit wonders like Rahul Roy, Bhagyashree, and Kumar Gaurav? This documentary goes the distance with some truly hilarious film-clips, heart-felt interviews and great footage from the 80s. The use of split screens and dramatic editing do not go wasted and only add to the fleeting 180 minute joy-ride. One hilarious revelation by teen-queen Bhagyashree reveals that she left films (after the blockbuster success of Mainay Pyaar Kiya with Salman Khan in 1989) because she got married and did not want to act in movies with other men “holding” her. The studio responded by grooming her husband into, quite possibly, the worst actor in Indian history! All this and more can be found in the delightful “Sunset Bollywood”.

Film Website: Sunset Bollywood

As the SAIFF team, headed by Shilen Amin, begin their work on the third festival, I for one am eagerly awaiting the program schedule. This year, tickets will probably sell out faster for a good reason – because South Asian cinema audiences will choose quality over glitz. Cheers to another year of inspired cinema.