The event dubbed “Roles of the Indian Films Heroine: The Changing Ethos” is an Indian film festival beginning from April 14 and running through April 18, according to the organizers.[break]
The movies to be screened during the festival focus on “Women from different communities in India,” uncovering Indian lifestyles, arts and cultures from the 1950s to 2005, spanning five decades. The protagonist in each movie is a woman who bravely faces the obstacles of life, and in most cases, comes out a winner.
The movies to be screened at the festival are, in order, Devi (1960), Mother India (1957), Sahib Bibi Aur Gulam (1962), Charulata (1964), Paroma (1985), Ankur (1974), Umrao Jaan (1981), Maya Memsaab (1993), Hazaar Chaurasiki Ma (1998), Parineeta (2005), and and Black (2005).
“Each movie has a different story to tell, and is based on different backgrounds,” explained Sen, adding, “The movies that will be featured in the fiesta will have a lot of common things to share between Nepal and India. Mostly, it’s the culture that we share in common, and these films are rich in it.”
ICC has also announced a film seminar on April 17 and 18, which will have prominent personalities of Indian cinema and literature, such as Nandita Das, Shohini Ghosh, Govind Nihalini, Dr Patricia Uberoi, and Samik Bandhopadhyay. The seminar will have the audience and panelists interact on the movies after their screening during the festival.
Know your Guests
Govind Nihalini is an Indian film director who has 17 films to his credit, including “Hazzar Chaurasiki Maa”, “Tamas”, and “Dev.” His films have won 12 Indian National Awards.
Dr Patricia Uberoi is a Professor in Sociology at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). She is the author of “Freedom and Destiny”, “Family, Kinship and Marriage in India”, and “Rise of Asian Giants: Dragon-Elephant Tango (edited, 2008) being her recently published work.
Samik Bandyopadhyay was the regional editor of Oxford University Press (OUP) in Calcutta (1973-82). He was also the producer emeritus at Doordarshan from 1989 to 1992.
Nandita Das has acted in over 30 feature films in 10 different Indian languages. “Fiaaq”, her directorial debut, has won over 10 international awards. She was also a member of the main jury at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.
Shohini Ghosh is the Sajjad Zaheer Professor of Video and TV Production at the AJK Mass Communication Centre at the Jamia Millia Islamia. She directed “Tales of the Nightfairies”, a short film about the sex workers’ struggle for their rights in Kolkata. It won the best movie award at the Jeevika, 2003.
FESTIVAL CALENDAR
Devi
Date: Wednesday, April 14
Directed by Satyajit Roy
Duration: 1 hour 33 minutes
Actors: Sharmila Tagore, Soumitra Chatterjee
Synopsis: The story of a 17-year-old girl who is deluded into believing in her divine powers. This realization comes only after her father-in-law, a rich landowner, has a dream that she is the incarnation of the Devi.
Mother India
Date: Wednesday, April 14
Directed by Mehboob
Duration: 2 hours 52 minutes
Actors: Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Rajendra Kumar, Raj Kumar
Synopsis: The struggle of Radha, the mother of four children, who loses two of them in natural calamities, and one who turns into a renegade bandit. Her heroism, however, empowers her to control her destiny and that of the village as well, and that too in the aftermath of her husband deserting the family and the village.
Sahib Biwi aur Gulam
Date: Thursday, April 15
Directed by Guru Dutt
Duration: 2 hours 32 minutes
Actors: Meena Kumari, Guru Dutt, Waheeda Rehman
Synopsis: The story of a devoted wife who is starved of affection by her husband. She takes to drink to keep her alcoholic husband company but ends up an alcoholic herself. In the end, she leaves home on a mission to cure her husband – never to return.
Charulata
Date: Thursday, April 15
Directed by Satyajit Ray
Duration: 1 hour 57 minutes
Actors: Madhabi Mukherjee, Soumitra Chatterjee
Synopsis: Charulata is the neglected wife of Bhupati, a liberal but obsessed with politics. Things change, however, when Aamal, Bhupati’s younger brother, encourages Charulata to write, and her book is published.
Paroma
Date: Thursday, April 15
Directed by Aparna Sen
Duration: 1 hour 40 minutes
Actors: Rakhi Gulzar, Mukul
Synopsis: The story is based on the life of Paroma, a housewife, and how she is rejected by her family after her photographs are published in a journal. At first, Paroma attempts suicide; but after recovering in the hospital, she takes a decision that surprises everyone.
Ankur
Date: Friday, April 16
Directed by Shyam Benegal
Duration: 2 hours 5 minutes
Actors: Shabana Azmi, Anant Nag
Synopsis: The movie shows the relationship between a frustrated zamindar’s (landlord) son and his maidservant, Lakshmi, who remains happy despite her predicament. The arrival of the zamindar’s wife and Lakshmi’s pregnancy leads to the final crisis.
Umrao Jaan
Date: Friday, April 16
Directed by Muzaffar Ali
Duration: 2 hours 25 minutes
Actors: Rekha, Farooq Shaikh
Synopsis: It is the tale of a little girl who is kidnapped and sold into a brothel in Lucknow. Her name is changed to Umrao Jaan, and she is trained to sing, dance and recite poetry there. Her accomplishments are celebrated beyond the city, making a young nawab fall in love with her.
Maya Memsaab
Date: Friday, April 16
Directed by Ketan Mehta
Duration: 2 hours 17 minutes
Actors: Deepa Sahi, Farooq Shaikh
Synopsis: Maya, a newly-married young girl, is filled with excitement of starting a new life. But the monotony of marriage bores her and life becomes oppressive. She finds escape in extramarital affairs which lead her to duplicity, debt and despair.
Hazaar Chaurasiki Maa
Date: Saturday, 17 April
Directed by Govind Nihalani
Duration: 2 hours 32 minutes
Actors: Jaya Bachhan, Nandita Das
Synopsis: A mother loses her son to the violence stirring Bengal in the Naxalite movement. The story moves on to show her heroism. Her normal life in a family is changed irrevocably by one phone call at midnight, and a visit to the morgue.
Parineeta
Date: Sunday, April 18
Directed by Pradeep Sarkar
Duration: 2 hours 9 minutes
Actors: Vidya Balan, Saif Ali Khan, Sanjay Dutt
Synopsis: Orphaned Lolita is sent to her uncle’s family where she is introduced to Shekhar, with whom she shares bittersweet experiences through childhood. It however takes the arrival of an outsider for them to discover their true feelings for each other.
Black
Date: Sunday, April 18
Directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Duration: 2 hours 2 minutes
Actors: Amitabh Bachhan, Rani Mukherjee
Synopsis: Debraj Sahai, an alcoholic but a dedicated teacher to the deaf and blind, goes to the McNally house to teach Michelle, who is autistic. Despite obstacles, he succeeds in teaching Michelle her first word, and there is no looking back after that.
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