Film clubs give Mumbaikars a taste of cinema other than Bollywood.
Every Sunday morning, Sugandha Vaidya takes a train to Marine Lines. No. It’s not for work. Rather, she thinks of the Akira Kurosawa movie she is about to watch.
“Many of my friends prefer to sleep out a Sunday, but I’d rather watch a good movie in the morning itself. I get an idea about critically-acclaimed cinema and it still leaves half the day for me to do other things,” points out Vaidya, a law student.
World cinema is no longer just for connoisseurs. Film clubs in the city have brought home the best of cinema — be it regional, foreign or shorts. And Mumbai has been lapping it up.
“We started Enlighten for people who have travelled abroad, or even those who haven’t but are bored of the regular entertainment,” says Pranav Ashar, founder, Enlighten Film Society.
Enlighten was started as part of Enlighten Media Group (which also has a DVD label structured as private limited company) in 2007 with 1,500 members.
More From This Section
It has now spread to over four cities and 10,000 members — by far the biggest in the country. The society has an abundant star presence — Amitabh Bachchan, Sudhir Mishra, Saif Ali Khan, Luke Kenny, Shabana Azmi, Waheeda Rehman among others.
While Enlighten prides itself in screening world cinema, a comparatively newer entrant — Wide Angle Film Society (WAFS) — dishes out regional fare. The society, started by Marathi actor Sandeep Kulkarni along with Dhananjay Kulkarni and Varsha Tawade, holds screenings every alternate Sunday at Vile Parle. With a nominal membership cost of Rs 1,000 for a year (it is only Rs 650 for students), WAFS has a small but loyal bunch of followers.
“Ours has always been a non-commercial activity. We don’t wish to just show movies but also encourage debate and discussion”, points out Kulkarni. With topics as varied as women’s rights and RTI, the serious movie-goer will always find issues. Early this year, WAFS screened south Indian movies for all those who had been missing out on their dose of Malayalam and Tamil movies.
Discussion is a big part of Shamiana, the short film club which, too, started in 2008. As the name suggests, the club screens shorts of every kind — be they award winning or ones made by members themselves. Not surprisingly then aspiring film-makers and students swear by how much they learn from the screenings.
“Movie goers already have an idea about Kurosawa and Majidi. However, when it comes to shorts, even if they are readily available on YouTube, people seldom know which to watch. That’s where we come in,” points out Cyrus Dastur, the founder of Shamiana.
“There are some people who come just to be entertained. And some who come to learn. The post-screening discussions not only give an idea of budget and camera techniques, but also the things people want to watch in a short film,” feels Samarth Garg. An investment banker, Garg has turned to film-making through his venture, Masterstroke Entertainment and has already made eight shorts.
| ENLIGHTEN FILM SOCIETY Membership charges — Rs 1,800 (yearly), Rs1,200 (half yearly), Rs900 (quarterly) Where: Screenings at Andheri, Marine Lines and Nariman Point When: Sundays (10 am) and sometimes during the week (6.30 pm) SHAMIANA — THE SHORT FILM CLUB Membership charges — free (there are cover charges depending on the screening venue) Where: Screenings at Blue Frog, Lower Parel; Eros, Churchgate among others When: As and when announced through social media (usually in the evenings) WIDE ANGLE FILM SOCIETY Membership charges — Rs1,000 (yearly) Where: Screenings at Sathaye College, Vile Parle (East) When: Second and fourth Sundays, around 11 am |