Of the major film festivals on the international circuit, the Toronto International Film Festival, or TIFF, is the only one that takes place in a city where a significant portion of the local population knows Indian cinema well. As TIFF opens today for its 36th year, it will again serve as a showcase for cinema from India, as well as films with an Indian connection.
Over the years, it has emerged as one of the most important film festivals in the world. In fact, in 2007, Time magazine called it the “most influential film festival, period”. It’s from here that the season’s Oscar buzz begins. To take a recent example, Slumdog Millionaire first created a sensation at TIFF in 2008, when it won the People’s Choice award, chosen by audiences at the festival. The film went on to sweep eight Oscars the next year.
In the past five years, TIFF has made a special effort to increase the presence of Indian cinema, says Cameron Bailey, co-director of the film festival. That has ranged from the high-profile Gala Presentations, as with Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, which drew huge crowds and visits by Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan in 2006, to showcasing filmmakers like Adoor Gopalakrishnan and Buddhadev Dasgupta.
“I’m the co-director of the festival, but maintain direct control over the selection from India because I see it as very important. I go to India every year and see dozens and dozens of films and I always want to bring the best new films that we can,” says Bailey.
THIS TIME
This year, TIFF will host the world premiere of Mausam, the directorial debut of actor turned film maker Pankaj Kapur, a period romance starring his son, Shahid Kapur, and Sonam Kapoor. Also making its debut will be Michael, a thriller starring Naseeruddin Shah, directed by Ribhu Dasgupta and produced by Anurag Kashyap. TIFF will also screen Chatrak (Mushrooms), a Bengali film shot in India by Sri Lankan film maker Vimukthi Jayasundara. For regional flavour, there’s the Tamil film Azhagarsamiyin Kudhirai (Azhagarsami’s Horse), directed by Suseendran.
High-profile Bollywood glamour will be supplied by Akshay Kumar, producer of the Indo-Canadian cross-cultural comedy, Breakaway, to also premiere at TIFF 2011. The film captures the Indian immigrant experience in Canada, telling the attempts of a Punjabi youth who wants to play ice hockey. Anupam Kher reprises the role he played in Bend It Like Beckham, as the aspiring athlete’s stern father.
Another highly awaited event at this year’s festival is a conversation with author Salman Rushdie and director Deepa Mehta, who is adapting Midnight’s Children to the big screen. The Toronto-based Mehta has finished shooting the film in Sri Lanka and agreed to a sneak preview of some scenes from the film after Bailey called her with a request.
Indian actress Freida Pinto, who first tasted success in Toronto with Slumdog Millionaire, will return to a happy hunting ground with her film, Trishna, a contemporary adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s classic tragedy, Tess of the D’Urbervilles, by British film maker Michael Winterbottom.
An unlikely presence at TIFF 2011 will be Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed, subject of the documentary film, The Island President. The film tracks Nasheed in his efforts to get the world to pay attention to the potential environmental catastrophe facing his nation if ocean levels rise. The Island President includes behind-the-scenes footage of the leader during a visit to India and meetings with Indian officials.
TIFF is a great venue for films to get noticed and Bailey wants Indian film makers to make better use of it. Indian cinema has to reach out to a wider audience, he says, and not just for financial reasons.
“Obviously, the films do very well economically,” notes Bailey. “But I think, culturally, if Indian cinema wants to have the impact on the world that Hollywood has had, or even Hong Kong cinema had in the 1980s, then it has to break out beyond the very large audience that it already has.” Bailey points to the examples of John Woo and Jackie Chan and asks, why not Aamir Khan?
For now, Canada’s largest city is rolling out the red carpet for the likes of U2, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, and a parade of other stars.
