The team of award winning and internationally lauded "Masaan" proudly showcased the Cannes-cut version of the movie at its India premiere here on Wednesday.
The opening movie of the sixth edition of the Jagran Film Festival, "Masaan" is the directorial debut of Neeraj Ghaywan and is laced with effortless performances by a cast, which is a mix of a veteran like Sanjay Mishra, intense performer like Richa Chadha and promising newcomers like Vicky Kaushal and Shweta Tripathi.
The cast and crew was present here for the screening of the film, which will make its way to the Indian screens on July 24 with nine more minutes of footage.
"It is a proud feeling to showcase this film in our homeland," Ghaywan said before the screening, and added that the premise of the movie was about how today's youth wants to "escape" from 'old culture'.
Richa, who plays a key character, suggested audience members to watch the movie with an open mind and sans expectations.
"We have a lot of pressure on us that we are winning awards on international platform," she said, referring to the film's twin win at Cannes International Film Festival earlier this year.
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"Masaan", set in Varanasi, won the Promising Future Prize and the International Federation of Film Critics (Fipresci) Award at Cannes.
After the five-minute standing ovation that the movie received post its screening in Cannes, the India premiere of its Cannes-cut version here saw a standing ovation before the screening. But when the end credits rolled, there were praises galore.
An uncle of actor Sanjay Mishra described it as a "mind-boggling" piece of work, which has "subtle performances"; while another viewer praised the movie for the impact of its music, composed by Indian Ocean.
It was a fitting full house start to the five-day Jagran Film Festival at the Siri Fort Auditorium, where jury members such as Pooja Bhatt and Udit Narayan marked their presence too.
With a line-up of films, workshops, sessions and interactions, the fest promises to be a treat for every cinema fan.
The 2015 edition of the Jagran Film Festival will traverse from Delhi to Kanpur, Lucknow, Allahabad, Varanasi, Agra, Meerut, Dehradun, Hisar, Ludhiana, Patna, Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Raipur, Indore, and Bhopal before culminating in Mumbai.