The 13th Habitat Film Festival in Delhi offers a feast of regional cinema

Vidyun M Singh, director programmes, Habitat World, India Habitat Centre, emphasises that the festival has carved a niche as one solely dedicated to Indian regional cinema

If the death of screen legend Sridevi in February inspired sections of the media only to titillate rather than inform audiences, her posthumous recognition with a National Award for one of her less remarkable roles was conveniently populist. For those looking for a genuine tribute, the ongoing 13th Habitat Film Festival in New Delhi holds promise with a discussion and screening of 16 Vayathinile, one of her early films that vaulted the child actor to superstardom.

This edition of the film fest also honours late actor-producer Shashi Kapoor, bringing into focus his contribution to non-Bollywood cinema. The list includes classic picks from the Merchant-Ivory stable, such as The Householder (1963), Shakespeare Wallah (1965) and In Custody (1993), and the political thriller New Delhi Times (1986).

Still from Drishtikone

M Singh, director programmes, Habitat World, India Habitat Centre, emphasises that the festival has carved a niche as one solely dedicated to Indian regional cinema, long before it became the flavour of the season. Regional cinema created a buzz at the National Awards recently, with jury chairperson Shekhar Kapur claiming that it is giving Hindi films a run for their money. “For us, it’s the thirteenth year in our effort to be able to give visibility to wonderful cinema that has always been happening. So, there are a lot of award-winning films and brand new ones which will hopefully go on to win several awards,” she says.

Still from Vikram Vedha

 

The festival opened on Thursday with Bengali filmmaker Kaushik Ganguly’s drama Drishtikone. Among other notable films are Assamese movie Village Rockstars, which won Best Film at the National Awards, Marathi revenge saga Ajji, films that have had their share of controversies such as Nude and S Durga, and Tamil thrillers Vikram Veda, Aram and Kaatru Veliyidai. Promising a subcontinental sweep, the line-up also includes Ralang Road (Nepali), Juze (Konkani), Hello Arsi (Odia), Idak: The Goat (Marathi), Reservation (Kannada), Walking with the Wind (Ladakhi), Paddayi (Tulu) and Nana — A Tale of Us (Nagamese). A retrospective segment will showcase movies of director K G George, who is credited with revolutionising Malayalam cinema in the 1970s.

Still from New Delhi Times

Anindya Pulak Banerjee, an actor-turned-director, is one of the newcomers at the fest. His movie, The Watchmaker, being premiered here, is a quasi-surrealist take on cinematic storytelling and is inspired by the German expressionist movement, he says.

Besides screenings, classes by directors and actors such as Vishal Bharadwaj and Tisca Chopra, as well as panel discussions, promise to bring the audience closer to understanding and appreciating cinema. One of the highlights of the festival is a session with lyricist-director Gulzar and director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra on May 20.

Still from The Hungry

“We are a festival with no awards and no jury. We try and focus on people who have made a seminal contribution to Indian cinema, and it’s not restricted to directors. It can be actor, cinematographer, editor, people who are not on screen. So we try and focus audience attention on the craft of cinema,” Singh says.

Still from S Durga

Noted scholar on Asian cinema Aruna Vasudev, who has been a mentor for the Habitat Film Club, says the movies at the fest over the years have been an eye-opener for a growing audience. “At this festival, you get to see films made in small towns and in languages that are not part of the major ones.”

Ajai Jaisinghani, a member of the Habitat Film Club and a regular at the fest, agrees that the selection of films is wider compared to any other event at the national capital. He only wishes that viewers went beyond a parochial tendency to flock together to watch films based on their respective mother tongues and savour the cornucopia on offer from all languages and regions.