Tales from the festival (or at the IFFH 2010)

As you all know, the 2nd Indian Film Festival of Houston was held the past weekend. Here’s a short review of what went on.

It was quite interesting attending. I am so glad that they had film screenings on Saturday too, because weekdays are just so impossible. Anyway, thought it well organized although a bit lacking in the marketing/buzz department. The festival had dismal attendance, I thought. The impression of “festivals” is that they screen arty, intellectual stuff unsuited for “normal” people like us, although that is not the case. Granted that if you are a fan of “Partner” or “Singh is Kinng” the festival may not be to your taste, but for decent, quality-based films, we do need to get the word out on events like this.

It would help if folks knew about the films to be screened, and more people were informed. I saw an advertisement in an Indian newspaper, but there wasn’t much news of this via radio/TV. I gather that they are kind of small right now, and a non-profit to boot, so not sure of the funds they have to get on TV and toot their horn. But desi Houston radio would have been a viable option, what with the directors being in Houston – a few interviews would have gotten the buzz going.

I’d intended to see the short on Shahrukh’s life and then Udaan, since you had to buy a package of 2 films. But as it happened films were clubbed together, that is you bought a ticket for 2 films which would play one after another in the same theater. And they wouldn’t allow you to switch theaters, so I ended up watching “The Road home” and “Udaan” (reviews coming soon – watch this space !)
It worked out fairly well, since “The Road home” was a short of 20 minutes, and then we finished up our dinner (this is the Studio Movie Grill) and Udaan started soon after. After Udaan finished, the film’s director Vikramaditya Motwane was at hand to answer a few questions, which was fantastic, since the crowd loved the film.

In reply to the questions coming his way, Motwane said that he’d written the film seven years back, but had only recently received funding to make it. And isn’t that a pity – here’s this talented man with a great script, and he can’t get funding ! The events in the film were based on some of his own life events, as well as inspired by his father and friends’ experiences. Asked about a sequel, Motwane said that he wasn’t immediately interested in making one, although a sequel in a couple of years wasn’t ruled out. When I asked him whether he would be getting into commercial cinema, he said that Udaan was commercial cinema, put Ajay Devgn in the film and it will be commercial. He also said that the poems in the film, which I thought were beautiful, were written by a couple of his friends.

All in all, a pretty well-spent evening, and the food, which was an after-thought for us, wasn’t bad either.